Chapter 49 - Strangers

Misha's sudden arrival took everyone by surprise, including Angela, who then had the urge to throw him out of the room and slam the door behind him. Of course, she couldn't do this, so instead, she tightened her grip around the teenager's arm. It was as if the boy's presence was enough to make her tremble in anger.

After all, who wouldn't be furious when the one who had tried to kill their 'son' suddenly showed up in the said 'son's hospital room, acting as though nothing had happened, happily roaming about without a care in the world? No one.

Well, Angela was also truthfully annoyed by the boy's presence, inwardly cursing everything that could be cursed, but only because Misha was disturbing her plan. It had nothing to do with Gabriel's wounds and emotional state.

With gritted teeth, Angela couldn't help but wonder what that brat was doing here. From her investigation, she knew the boy's family tended to visit Gabriel before noon. Or at the very least, they always left before 2 pm, and that was why Angela had come at this hour, even making sure there was no one before entering the room. In the presence of outsiders, she couldn't freely talk and had to watch her tongue, especially when those said outsiders were the ones she was badmouthing and scheming against.

If Angela didn't care about the nurse standing in the corner of the room, it was because she knew the hospital staff wouldn't do anything that risked to anger her, keeping their mouth shut even if they were outraged to death. Otherwise, the medical staff feared Angela would talk her husband into stopping providing money and medical equipment to the hospital.

Naturally, there were some exceptions, like Yuki, but most abided by the unspoken rule, which was as follow:

"Never interfere with the Laflamme family's business. Turn a deaf ear to everything you hear and a blind eye to everything you see."

There was a reason behind the birth of such a controversial rule. This particular hospital was owned by a family, not by a not for profit foundation or a charity – this was why it was considered to be private by people. It wasn't something common in Canada, and Gabriel's father's financial support was necessary for the proper functioning of the hospital because it didn't receive government help.

On the one hand, that hospital specialized in a few medical fields that were very specific. Therefore, it needed peculiar equipment that was worth a fortune, and the owners knew patients couldn't entirely pay it with overly expensive admission fees. No one would seek their help to treat their disease if they couldn't afford it. On the other hand, they also researched rare diseases, which weren't very popular with donators, yet that kind of study cost an arm and a leg.

To put it bluntly, Gabriel's father was their most important donator, be it for money or medical equipment. They couldn't afford to offend his wife, much less the man. This harsh reality was known to everyone in the hospital, even Yuki. Gabriel had also understood the situation a long time ago, and he knew he couldn't count on the medical staff

Little did he know that a few young nurses had loose tongues, answering Misha's daily inquiries; some even dared to badmouth his father in the empty corridors, thinking that no one would hear them. Ultimately, they were all unsatisfied with that family's way of doing things but deeply hid it in their presence, obediently nodding to their every word most of the time.

In the end, the hospital simply decided to prioritize the overall well-being of their patients, and thus, it had decided to ignore the teenager's pleas four years ago. Now wouldn't be any different, and Gabriel knew he couldn't confide in anyone, or else, the words he said would quickly travel to his father's ears. Only Yuki was brave enough to stand up for him, resulting in her being ostracized by the medical staff.

When Gabriel saw the nurse enter his room in the morning, he was quite taken aback. He was surprised that her superiors assigned her to him, and the teenager couldn't help but wonder what tricks she had used to get her way. The question was burning his lips, but Gabriel restrained his curiosity, reminding himself that he presently had amnesia.

So, to make a long story short, Angela was quite unrestrained in the hospital, treating it like her playground. The medical staff, who was two-faced, wasn't worth her time, and thus, Yuki was like air to her. However, things were different in the presence of an outsider, and at the moment, Angela's brain was working at full speed, evaluating her options.

When Angela learned that Gabriel had lost his memories, she had seen a chance to control him, and to do this, she first had to isolate him from his entourage, starting with that girlfriend of his. Masha was strong-willed, and she could easily influence the teenager, making her dangerous.

Although Angela knew the story she had told was rather far-fetched, it didn't matter as she only needed to instill doubt in the teenager's heart. Then, she would carefully keep on giving him unpleasant information about the girl while keeping them apart as much as possible. At the same time, she would emphasize how much they loved him and how worried they were.

While Angela was busy thinking, Misha entered the room. He didn't seem to notice the tense and awkward atmosphere, walking up to Gabriel's side with an excited face. He gave off the feeling that if there had been no one in the room, he would have long jumped in Gabriel's bed, hugging him to death.

Once the boy stood beside Gabriel, Angela asked with a soothing voice, even if she already knew the answer, "And who may you be, little fella?"

"I'm Misha!"

"And you're alone? Where are your parents?"

"Coming up. They were too slow, so I went up first."

"You couldn't wait to see Gabriel?"

"Of course, I couldn't! I waited for so many days before that Sleeping Beauty consented to open his eyes!" pouted the child, puffing up his small cheeks like a squirrel.

Angela chuckled a little. "I can see that. But I'm sorry, I need to talk to him. Can you leave us alone for a moment, please?"

"And who are you?" suspiciously asked Misha, sizing up the trio without an ounce of shame.

"I'm Angela, his mother. And this is Jake and this is Tristan, his two brothers."

"Mother? Brothers?" repeated Misha, tilting his head. "Then how come I haven't seen you at all these past two weeks?"

Angela's mouth twitched a little, but her smile didn't disappear. "I'm very sorry. We were outside the country and just came back. Since it's the high season, I couldn't find any plane that had three places left to come back sooner."

"Oh? Really?" snorted the boy as contempt and mockery flashed through his bright blue eyes. "And strangely enough, you just so happen to return from your vacation now, the day after Gabriel woke up?"

"You!" growled Jake, jumping to his feet. "What are you implying!"

"Nothing much," shrugged Misha before cooly adding, "Just that you're lying through your teeth. Frankly, you're nothing like a family. You're not even better than strangers."

"Little brat!" grunted Jake as he strode to the child, gripping his collar while looking down on him with scornful eyes. "How dare you say that! You're the stranger, you little shit–"

The sentence ended with a low cry, and Jake bent over with a pale face. His fingers became weak, and Misha easily escaped from his grip, a devilish grin on his angelic face as he took a step back. Because Jake was too tall, he couldn't slap him, so he simply hit him in the nuts.

Who told Jake to resort to violence while they were having a peaceful, friendly discussion?