Queen of My Heart

RONALD

As soon as they were at the hospital, the hospital staff took over, taking Raina into the ER.

Someone gave Ronald a blanket to wrap Adriana because the jacket he gave her earlier was now soaked.

Ronald assisted Adriana in taking off the jacket and wrapped the blanket over her small body.

Then he carried her in his arms while he talked to the doctor, explaining what happened, which included how he found both mother and child beside the road.

St. Mary’s Hospital was a private hospital and considered one of the best in town. It was also Ronald’s family’s hospital. Dr. Philip, his family doctor, was not on duty, so another doctor attended to them.

The staff asked Ronald and Adriana to wait in the reception while the doctor attended to Raina.

“Will my mama be okay?” Adriana asked with tears in her eyes as she looked at Ronald.

“You don’t have to worry. Your mama will be fine,” he replied to the little girl who sat on his lap.

Adriana nodded, after which she rested her head against Ronald’s chest.

Suddenly, something caught Ronald’s eyes. It was a bruise on Adriana’s arm. He touched it. She flinched and cried out. Ronald apologized. He calmed her down and hugged her.

He couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the little girl. He couldn’t wrap his head around how someone could be so cruel as to hurt a child.

Eventually Adriana fell asleep.

After some time, the doctor came out of the emergency room and approached Ronald.

“How is she?” Ronald asked.

“We’ve transferred her to the recovery room. She will be fine. She just needs lots of bed rest.

“We have treated the bruises on her body; the person who did that hit her really hard.

“We also found old bruises on her, which tells us that whoever might have done this must have been doing it for a while,” the doctor said, and Ronald nodded.

“Also, we did our best to save the baby, but luck was not on our side,” the doctor said.

Ronald felt sick internally. Not only did the young lady and her daughter suffer from abuse, but she also lost a baby.

“I’m so sorry about that,” the doctor said.

Adriana stirred awake.

“Can we see her?” he asked.

“Of course you can. But she is asleep; we gave her something to help her sleep. She needs all the rest she can get,” the doctor said as he guided Ronald and Adriana to Raina’s ward.

Ronald entered Raina’s room and was greeted with the beeping sound of the monitor. The ward was a VIP ward, which had provisions for a visitor to stay with the patient.

But Ronald doubted he would be able to stay overnight. His six-year-old was waiting for him at home. He needed a change of clothes, and Adriana needed to stay warm too.

Ronald sat on a chair beside the bed and placed Adriana on his lap. The little girl almost started crying as she looked at her mom.

“Don’t cry, dear. Your mom will be fine,” he assured her.

Ronald sighed as he took in Raina’s features. Her face was pale. Despite the bruises on her face, she still looked beautiful. For her to have survived all of these, she was no doubt a strong woman.

“We have to go, Adriana.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I want to stay with Mommy.”

“Mommy needs to rest. I promise we will come to see her tomorrow.”

Ronald helped Adriana climb onto the hospital bed. The little girl kissed her mother, after which she whispered something in her ear. Ronald had no idea what she said.

He helped her down when she was done, and they exited Raina’s ward, hand in hand.

***

Ronald drove to his mansion, and Adriana stared in awe. She had never been to a place as big and beautiful as this.

He parked his car, got out, and went to the back passenger’s side, where Adriana was seated. He unbuckled her from the car seat and helped her down, and they walked hand in hand into his home.

As soon as Ronald opened the door, he was engulfed in a tight hug from his hyperactive six-year-old. Alessandra, his daughter, wrapped her arms tightly around his leg.

Ronald chuckled as he released himself from her and crouched to her height. He returned her hug, after which he kissed her cheek.

Even after eleven, his daughter refused to go to bed as she waited for her dad to come home.

“I missed you, Daddy.” She smiled.

“I missed you too, cupcake.” He kissed her forehead.

“I want you to meet someone,” Ronald said, gesturing for Adriana to come closer. She was hiding behind him all this while.

Alexa’s smile widened as soon as he saw the little girl.

“My name is Alessandra. But you can call me Alexa. What’s your name?”

“Adriana. But my mama calls me Adrie,” she said, and Alexa smiled, after which she pulled Adrie into a hug.

“Do you want to see my room?” Alexa asked.

“Yes, but I’m hungry. Do you have food?” Adrie mumbled.

She must have gotten hungry on their way back from the hospital but didn’t ask me for food, likely because her mom had taught her not to accept food from strangers, Ronald thought.

Maybe she felt the need to ask Alexa. Maybe because Alexa was someone of her age and she thought Alexa would understand her better.

“Do you want spaghetti or cereal?” Alexa asked Adrie.

“Cereal,” she answered.

“Daddy, please, can you make us some cereal?” Alexa pouted.

“Daddy has to rest, Alexa. But don’t worry—I’ll make the cereal for you and your friend,” a woman said as she approached.

“My name is Clarice. I’m Alexa’s nanny, and you’re Adrie, right?” Clarice asked as she walked toward them and crouched to the girls’ height.

Adrie answered by nodding.

“What’s a nanny?” she asked.

Perhaps she never had one, Ronald thought.

“A nanny is someone that takes care of little children,” Clarice replied.

“So you will be my nanny too? You will take care of me too, right?” Adrie asked with her puppy dog eyes, and they all chuckled, Clarice nodding at her request.

Clarice was Alexa’s live-in nanny. She was forty-seven years old, beautiful, and energetic.

She pulled Adrie into a hug but then gave Ronald a questioning look, likely noticing the wet clothes.

“Clarice, Adrie will need a warm bath and a change of clothes. I don’t know if Alexa has something that can fit her.”

“Alexa has some clothes that don’t fit her anymore. I’m sure they would fit Adrie,” she replied.

Ronald nodded.

“And please be careful. Adrie has a bruise on her arm,” he said, and Clarice nodded before guiding the girls to Alexa’s room.

Ronald sighed as he proceeded to his room to take a shower. What do you expect? His room was everyone’s dream room. Big and beautifully decorated to suit his taste.

Raina’s face kept popping up in his head as he took his shower.

He couldn’t help but wonder how someone that beautiful got herself into that situation. Why would one lay his hand on a woman?

Ronald had no idea what the full story was, but he promised himself that whoever did this to Raina and her child would end up in jail. He was determined to do everything in his power to ruin the individual.

As soon as he was done showering, he stepped out of the tub and wiped himself with a towel. He reached for his sweatpants and a shirt, putting them on before walking out of his room to check on the girls.

He stepped into the dining room and was greeted with giggles. The girls were at the dining table, eating their cereal as they laughed at what Alexa was saying.

A small smile crept to Ronald’s lips. He was happy because the girls were happy. He knew Alexa was happier.

Even though she had friends at school, she had always wanted someone to play with at home, especially now that school was on break.

Adrie was already in warm clothes. She had on pajamas and bedroom slippers.

Ronald walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Clarice brought a glass of red wine for him. He thanked her and accepted the wine, and she sat beside him.

“I think they are best friends already,” she whispered as she looked at Alexa and Adrie at the dining table.

Ronald smiled as he took a glance at them too. The living room was, in a way, connected to the dining room so they could see them.

“I saw the bruise on her arm. I applied some ointment to it. I’m sure it will look better tomorrow,” she said.

Ronald sighed as he remembered he hadn’t told Clarice the whole story.

Clarice was a second mom to Ronald. She had been there for him since Alexa’s birth, and they both adore each other, so he felt the need to tell her everything.

“Instead of taking the usual shortcut, I took the longer route, and by Adnan’s Drive, I saw Adrie and her mom.

“Her mom was lying on the ground, unconscious, and Adrie was kneeling beside her, crying. They were both drenched. I approached them and took them to the hospital.

“Dr. Philip wasn’t there, so another doctor attended to her.

“He told me she would be okay and that he had given her some sleeping meds because she needed to rest to recover faster,” Ronald said, after which he took a sip of his wine.

Clarice nodded with a sad smile, encouraging him to continue. She had a feeling there was more to the story.

“When I carried the woman into the car, I noticed she had bruises on her. Some were on her face, and I saw some on her arm, and she was bleeding.

“I couldn’t tell where the blood was coming from. The doctor confirmed she was hit really hard and that she had a miscarriage.”

“Poor lady. I’m so sorry she had to go through all of that,” Clarice whispered.

“I’m sure the abuse must have been going on for a while because the doctor said he saw some bruises on her which were healing.

“I wonder why someone would lay a hand on that beautiful lady,” Ronald said as he ran the fingers of his left hand through his hair.

A sad smile found its way to Clarice’s lips. It was as if she could read something on Ronald’s face that he hadn’t detected.

“And guess what? At first, I drove off, thinking it was none of my business, but then I couldn’t get the scene out of my head, so I had to reverse to help them. I’m so happy to have helped them,” he said.

“I’m glad you helped them. We have to be strong for her and support her. I wonder how she would take the news that she had a miscarriage. Poor child.”

“Hopefully, she will be fine by tomorrow, and we can pay her a visit,” he suggested, and Clarice nodded.

“Daddy, we are done with our cereal, and we washed our hands,” Alexa chimed up with Adrie beside her, showing Ronald their clean hands.

“Okay, darling. I think it’s time for bed,” he said.

“Already? But you just got back. I was thinking we would play a game. You, me, and Adrie.” She pouted.

“Sweetheart, it’s past midnight. You have to go to bed. We have the whole of tomorrow to play games,” he said.

“Okay, Daddy, but you have to read us a bedtime story, and please, can Adrie sleep in my room?” she asked.

“Sure!” he answered, and she squealed.

Ronald stood from the couch and led the girls to Alexa’s bedroom. He held Adrie in his right hand and Alexa in his left hand as they climbed the stairs carefully.

Alexa’s bedroom was big, painted pink, and had a lot of princess decorations. In the middle of the room was her princess-sized bed.

Alexa had arranged her stuffed toys neatly in the left corner of the room, and next to it was her shelf full of bedtime stories.

Her room also had a bathroom, toilet, walk-in closet, and a playroom. Alexa’s room was a dream room for many six-year-olds.

“Alexa, we should pray before we sleep,” Adrie suggested as she looked at Alexa and Ronald, who looked surprised at what she said.

“My mama makes sure I say my night prayers. That way, God will protect us all when we sleep,” she added.

Religion was something Ronald never religiously practiced. Sure, they went to church every Sunday, but that was it.

“Do you know how to pray?” Alexa asked her.

“Yes,” Adrie replied proudly.

She ran to the edge of Alexa’s bed and kneeled, then she looked at Alexa and her dad, encouraging them to join her, which they did.

They closed their eyes, and Adrie prayed.

“Thank you, Lord, for protecting me and mummy this night. Thank you for giving me, Alexa, Uncle Ronnie, and Clarice.

“Thank you for providing the dinner Alexa and I ate. Guide us all as we are about to sleep, and please take care of mummy in the hospital.”

“Amen,” they all chorused.

After the prayer, Ronald helped Adrie and Alexa get on the bed. Thankfully it was big enough for the two of them. He covered them with a duvet and reached for a bedtime story to read to them.

By the time Ronald finished the third chapter, the girls had fallen asleep.

He stood up from where he was seated and kissed the two of them on their foreheads. He kept the bedtime story on the shelf, after which he checked the windows in the room to see if they were closed.

They weren’t, so he shut them, then proceeded to set the thermostat to a normal temperature so the girls would not catch a cold by the time they woke up.

Alexa was used to not sleeping with the light on, but he didn’t know about Adrie, so he dimmed the light instead and exited the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

From the staircase, Ronald peeped into the living room and saw that the lights were turned off, so he assumed Clarice had gone to bed.

He proceeded to his room to get some rest. His room was twelve steps away from Alexa’s room.

He walked toward his nightstand and poured himself a glass of water, which he gulped down slowly before getting into bed.

Before falling asleep, he left his driver a message to come over at dawn to clean up the cars.