“Arrghhhh… d*mn it!” Abel cursed.

“Mr. Abel, are you alright?” Luca immediately went to his aid.

“Blerghhhhh…” Before he knew it, Abel had involuntarily vomited blood and soup all over the floor.

“Mr. Abel! Mr. Abel!” Luca exclaimed in shock as he rushed to sit Abel back down on the sofa.

“This is terrible. Why can’t my stomach just behave?” he moaned in pain.

“I’ll get a doctor. Hang in there, Mr. Abel!” Luca said before rushing out of the door.

Benjamin and Janie were chatting on the ground floor when Luca rushed in gasping for breath, shocking the both of them.

“Luca, what’s wrong?” Benjamin asked, getting on his feet.

“Mr. York, please call a doctor! Mr. Abel is not doing well!” Luca breathed panickily.

Wordlessly, Benjamin and Janie immediately rushed to the room upstairs only to find Abel lying weakly on the sofa. The room was filled with the unpleasant stench of vomit that covered the floor. The entire scene shook Benjamin and Janie to their core.

“Abel! Abel, how are you feeling?” Benjamin almost yelled, but Abel was not able to answer.

“Mr. Ryker’s stomach is probably bleeding profusely. Ben, call a doctor right now!” Janie urged him. Benjamin immediately called the doctors through an intercom machine.

Two minutes later, a few doctors and nurses arrived from the main hospital wing. They immediately carted Abel onto a stretcher and into an ambulance upon assessing his condition. Luca followed beside his employer the whole way.

“Janie, stay here with Emma. I’ll keep an eye on Abel,” Benjamin told Janie.

“Ok,” Janie nodded. “Quick, go with Luca! He doesn’t know anyone around here.”

The doctors immediately put Abel on an IV drip and painkillers. More than an hour later, the pain and bleeding had finally stopped, and Abel was conscious once again. As he took in his surroundings, he found himself in a hospital ward. Luca was by his bedside watching over him, while Benjamin was standing by the window. Abel finally realized he had passed out after throwing up and immediately tried to sit up.

“I can’t be sitting around here. I’m supposed to be by Emma’s side! I can’t leave her…” he grumbled as he tried to flip the bedsheets off him.

“Mr. Abel,” Luca stopped him from getting off the bed. “The doctors say your stomach bleeding is in critical condition. You need immediate surgery…”

“Don’t listen to them,” Abel refuted. “There’s no way I’m going under the knife right now. I need to be with Emma!” He pulled out the needles attached to his skin forcefully and bolted out of the ward in slippers before Luca could stop him. He ran into the elevator, pressing for the first floor and immediately running back toward the building where Emma was in. However, moments later, pain took over his stomach and body once again and his vision turned dark as he crashed onto the ground.

“Emma…” he groaned out his last word before knocking out.

When he regained consciousness once again, it was already bright outside. Waylon Adelmar was seated by his side this time.

“Waylon,” Abel muttered weakly. “I can’t be here. I need to be with Emma…”

“You know what you need? You need treatment,” Waylon said flatly. “You’re in critical condition right now.”

“I won’t die so easily,” Abel argued. “I’m a lover of life, don’t you know? If I receive surgery now, I won’t be able to get out of the bed for weeks…”

“It’s not up to you any longer,” Waylon said. “I know you need Emma, but have you ever thought that Emma needs you just as much? If she was awake right now, would you want her to worry about you?”

Abel considered Waylon’s words silently. It was true that he would not want Emma to worry about him, but he could not help himself.

“Waylon, please… I’m begging you… just let me watch over her!” Abel pleaded.

“No, you need to be treated right away!” Waylon refused to budge.

“Not yet!” Abel countered.

“Don’t put me in a difficult position, Abel…” Waylon said directly.

Abel was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “Or why don’t I take Master Adelmar’s medicine?” he suggested.

“You’ll still need to be treated in the hospital. Your stomach is critically inflamed and needs to be pumped to reduce the swelling,” Waylon explained.

“Well then, sue me for insubordination!” Abel snapped as he tried to yank the tubes attached to his flesh once again.

Waylon raised his hand, sending a silver needle shooting straight toward Abel’s chest, knocking him out once again.