Ch. 281..285: Forbidden Heat R18 Chapter 281-285

Chapter 281: Reiner – Silent Helper

A while after, the doctors and the nurses left the room, and I was alone. The room felt so quiet that it felt a little scary and lonely at the same time. Perhaps, it was because I was feeling a little lonely that the room suddenly felt colder than before.

I felt around the bed for the blanket that had been removed from my body when my body was being inspected by the nurses. My hands felt around on the bed, trying to locate the blanket.

Oh, there it is! My fingers finally brushed against the soft fabric of the blanket. I took it in my hand and began pulling it over my chest. I knew that not being able to see would make life difficult; however, I didn’t think that it would be this difficult. I couldn’t find anything because I couldn’t see. I had to rely on my sense of touch instead to fumble around when I searched.

The worst part was that it was so boring when I couldn’t see. I couldn’t watch the television or scroll through social media and random apps on my phone. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know where my phone is anymore.

I heaved a loud sigh as I laid back down on the bed, resting my head on the pillow. This is so boring. I just woke up, but I’m already bored out of my mind...

...

Reiner watched silently as Natalia fumbled around her bed in search for something. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was trying to find her blanket. Silently, Reiner pulled the blanket closer to Natalia’s searching hands. She looked quite frustrated when she couldn’t find it at first; however, when her hand touched the blanket, she looked quite happy and relieved. Her smile brought a smile to his lips.

It must be hard, not being able to see. Natalia looked very bored as she sat on top of her bed and looked around at nothing but darkness. Reiner could sense her loneliness and boredom. He began thinking of things that could ease her boredom somewhat. After all, the doctor hasn’t decided when she could leave the hospital yet. It is likely that she’s going to be stuck here for a few more days and that blinding eye patch would still be on for another week or so.

Now that she was conscious, another thing that he could get to work on was getting her to eat more. Maybe starting off with some dishes and desserts that she liked might be a good plan, he thought. Hospital food wasn’t exactly famous for its good taste.

...

You can call me crazy but...I think I felt a presence in the room with me. Actually, somewhere quite close to me. I wasn’t sure how I felt it. Maybe this is my sixth sense that had activated because I couldn’t see? I couldn’t hear anything in particular and obviously, I couldn’t see anything, but I was quite certain that someone was close to me.

“Umm...is somebody there?” I asked in a small voice, half convinced that perhaps I really was going crazy.

Silence.

“Excuse me...is somebody there?” I asked, a little louder this time.

Once again there was no reply. The room was completely silent. So silent that all I could hear was the sound of the air coming from the air conditioner.

Ok...I guess I was just imagining things. I sighed loudly. Too many days in the hospital isn’t doing my brain or my spirit any good, is it?

...

I was about to fall asleep again because I was bored out of my mind. I felt like I was rotting away in this room of darkness and perhaps that was precisely what was happening to me.

Suddenly, the door of the room opened quite loudly, and I heard footsteps walking into the room.

“Natalia. We’re here!”

Zak’s voice boomed in the room, and I was thankful that this was the VVIP floor which meant that very likely, I was the only patient here. That level of loudness should never be tolerated in a hospital. I smiled a little to myself, Zak must be excited to see me.

I guess since he used the word ‘we’, that Lucien and Edward are probably with him.

“Don’t be so loud...” Lucien warned sternly.

“Natalia, you’re finally awake,” Edward said with relief.

I felt the presence of the three men approach my bed and I turned my head in their direction, although, I couldn’t see them at all. I curved my lips into what I thought must be a smile based on muscle memory as I tried my best to smile at them.

“It’s great for you all to visit me. Feels like I haven’t seen you all in a long time...” I said truthfully. Although, I still wasn’t able to see them now.

“I was so excited and relief when I got the call telling me that you had regained consciousness,” Zak said with a small laugh.

“You really worried all of us...” Edward said with a loud sigh.

“How are you feeling?” Lucien asked, his voice full of concern.

“Thank you everyone. Sorry for making you worry so much. I think I’m fine now...” I said, trying to sound brave.

“I’m very sorry that you had to go through that. Everything that happened was my fault...” Zak said slowly and sadly. I could feel the raw pain in his voice.

“Oh...it’s ok. Don’t blame yourself. It was an accident, so no one is at fault, Zak,” I replied as I reached out my hand. I felt the warmth of his hand as he took it in his and I squeezed his hand slightly as I tried to comfort him.

“Actually...” Edward said and then stopping hesitantly.

“Hmm?” I made a questioning sound, not quite sure why he didn’t go on.

“We’re not entirely convinced that it was just an accident. We think some foul play could be involved...” Lucien said in a low voice.

It took me a while to fully wrap my head around the meaning of his words. Does he mean that someone...set the fire on purpose? I frowned as I considered that possibility.

Chapter 282: Reiner - A Good Change

“You mean that...you don’t think that it was an accident?” I asked, showing my shock.

“It could be...but the probability of it being a mere accident is quite low. Regardless, when these things happen to a family member, it is the family’s responsibility to investigate it,” Lucien explained sternly.

“Let’s not burden her with these issues. She’s still recovering,” Edward said sternly.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Lucien said, and I could feel his warm hand on my shoulder.

“Really? What is it?” I asked, curiously.

“Umm...Miss Natalia...”

I heard a familiar voice and I smiled immediately.

“Laura! That’s you, right?” I said excitedly.

“Yes, Miss,” Laura replied shyly.

“From today onwards, Laura will be here to help take care of you...and of course, to keep you company,” Lucien announced.

“That’s great but honestly, when I can go home? It’s so boring here. There’s nothing for me to do,” I grumbled.

The men just laughed like it was very funny.

“A few more days, Natalia. Please try to hang in there,” Edward said.

I let out depressing sigh. A few more days it is then...

...

Later that day, I heard the sound of the door opening and then closing and figured that someone had entered the room. Since I was sure that the three guys had left the hospital already, the visitor must be Laura or a member of the hospital staff.

I sat up in bed curiously as I waited for the person who had just entered to say something or to at least alert me of their presence; however, the person did not say anything even after I had waited for a while. The room was quiet as if I was alone and that made me start to doubt whether I had just imagined the whole thing just now.

Maybe...no one entered the room or anything...

“Laura...is that you?” I asked. It surely sucks not being able to see anything.

There was no reply. There was no sound at all. Honestly, that left me slightly freaked out. However, I decided to try again...

If it isn’t Laura then...

“Excuse me...is someone there?” I asked, making sure that I was speaking loud enough for anyone that was in the room to here.

Silence. Maybe I imagined it? It’s got to be my imagination because having a ghost enter my hospital room is so uncool...

I hugged my arms around myself as I shivered slightly. Sighing loudly, I lay back down onto the bed and closed my eyes.

...

The next day, just like the days before it, I had problem eating my food. However, today was slightly different because there was someone here to complain about my eating habits.

“It looks like you haven’t even touched the food. Does it not suit your taste after all?” Laura asked, clearly worried.

This time I didn’t have to worry about the identity of the person who had entered the room; it was Laura for sure.

This just made me feel worst. I felt like I was a burden to everyone including my own maid. It wasn’t my intention to make her work more difficult for her. However, the hospital food tasted very bland. Basically, it had absolutely no taste at all. I understood that perhaps this was intentional for health purposes but that didn’t make it easier to stomach.

The tasteless state of the food added to my already-lacking appetite made it even more difficult for me to eat anything. The result is the tray of pretty much untouched food that Laura is seeing. Trust me, the food was so tasteless that it was hard to figure out exactly what was being served because I couldn’t see. By this time, I could put food in my own mouth but that was about it.

Laura would feed me if she judged the meals to be too complex. Honestly, I hated being fed by her because it made me feel so useless.

“If I’m being honest, then, yes. The food is absolutely tasteless. I mean, how am I supposed to eat something like this?” I complained, honestly.

I sounded like a spoiled and whiny princess, and I didn’t like the sound of myself. However, it was the truth. I was sick of being stuck in the hospital and I just wanted to go home.

...

Life in the hospital was so boring that I felt like in addition to my body, my braincells were rotting away at a very fast pace. Because I couldn’t see, I couldn’t do anything. Having Laura with me was a good change and I appreciated her efforts; however, due to her schedule, she couldn’t stick by my side all the time.

She provided good company while she was there. At least, I could talk to her and ask about what was going on with the outside world. However, Laura was a very shy girl. Apart from not having much confidence to talk to me because I was the lady of the house that she served, her shy personality also made conversing with her for extended periods of time difficult.

Most of the time, she would either excuse herself or I would excuse her after I felt that she began feeling too uncomfortable around me. As time went by, our conversations naturally died down. Due to our lifestyle, there wasn’t much that we had in common that we could talk about, unfortunately.

For the next meal, Laura came in to serve me food and I could tell that something about the food was very different, and in a good way. From the moment that she stepped into the room, the smell of the food caught my attention.

Finally, food smells like food.

Unlike the countless meals in this hospital before, the food smelled like real food and well-prepared food. For some reason, it reminded me of home. I wondered when these types of food were allowed in the hospital and then I didn’t wonder about it anymore. The food smelled wonderful, and it made me want to see it.

“I’m here to serve your food, Miss,” Laura said politely.

I was already sitting up in bed. Laura made shuffling sounds as she began positioning the food table on top of my bed before I heard the sound of the tray being placed on top of the table.

Chapter 283: Reiner - Always with Me

Now that the food was right in front of me, I could smell the delicious odor more clearly.

“The food smells good...” I said softly.

“I hope the food will suit your tastebuds as well, Miss,” Laura said, and I could sense that she was smiling.

Well, I won’t know that until I take a bite. Feeling around the tray, I was able to locate the utensils and pick them up.

“It might be a little hot, Miss. Please be careful,” Laura warned as she guided my hand towards the food bowl.

“Thank you...I think I can take it from here...” I said, as I thanked her.

Slowly, I brought the food to my lips before softly blowing on it. When I tasted it, I had to say that it tasted even than I had imagined that it would. Perhaps it was the fact that I haven’t had anything besides hospital food for too many meals, but the food tasted amazing. I couldn’t help but smile at the comforting taste of the food. It really does remind me of home.

“Wow! I guess you really took my selfish complaint to heart, didn’t you? This food tastes amazing...” I said happily before continued to eat more of the food.

“Really, Miss?” Laura said happily.

“Yes. Finally, food tastes like food again. Hospital food has been really harsh on me,” I said before laughing a little.

Laura laughed along with me. I don’t remember the last time I was able to laugh along with someone else carefreely like this. Even if that person is just my maid right now, I hope that I would be able to laugh like this in the future with other people in my life as well.

Looking back, it’s really funny how good tasting food could make me feel so warm inside and fill my heart with hope. Hopefully, when I’m able to leave the hospital and remove these eyepatches from my eyes, my life and future would be bright and full of hope.

...

So much for feeling so hopeful the day before. My morning check-up with the doctors brought nothing but bad news.

“Extend my stay? In the hospital?” I asked incredulously.

I didn’t understand much about the technical side of what the doctors were telling me about the test results but what I could make out was that it didn’t go as predicted. This meant that they needed more time to monitor my recover. All in all, my stay in the hospital must be extended by a couple of days.

“Yes. I’m very sorry, Miss Natalia but your stay in the hospital has to be extended by a couple of days,” the doctor said, sounding regretful.

What does that even mean? How many days is ‘a couple of days’ exactly?

I wanted to scream from my own frustration. Lately, the hospital wasn’t just killing me with boredom, but it was suffocating me. How many days have I spent drowning in the darkness like this? It felt like I was losing my mind.

“Isn’t there something that you can do? You know, anything that can speed up my recovery?” I asked, sounding desperate.

“We’re doing everything that we can, Miss Natalia. Your father has been...very particular...about making sure that your health is in perfect condition before you leave this hospital,” the doctor replied firmly.

Ok, so Lucien is involved...

That makes sense. It definitely sounds like him to be overly worried about everything.

“Can’t I go home and do some self-recovery at home?” I asked, stubbornly.

“Recovery at home is part of the process, Miss Natalia, but it only happens when you are able to leave the hospital. Now that we still need to do daily check-ups on you, it is better for you to remain in the hospital, at least for the next couple of days,” the doctors explained calmly.

I sighed loudly, not bothering to hide my disappointment.

“What about my eyes? When can these eye patches be removed?” I asked.

Come on! There’s got to be something that they can do for me. If I can’t go home, then please give me my eyesight back at least.

“Oh, good point. About that, we are thinking of removing your eyepatches in two days’ time,” the doctor said.

“Well, that’s better than nothing...” I mumbled softly to myself.

“That’s it for today. Please rest a lot and make sure that you eat enough. As requested, I’ve granted special permission for you to have food brought in from outside of the hospital. Hopefully that will help with healing your body and spirits,” the doctor said warmly.

Oh...so I was right. Special permission indeed for real food...

“Thank you, doctor...” I thanked him. I knew that he was trying his best to heal me, and I also knew that he must be facing immense pressure from Lucien and perhaps Edward as well.

“Well then, can you take Miss Natalia back to her room now?” the doctor said.

Today was one of the days that Laura had some errands to run in the morning. She did mention that she would be back to join me early in the afternoon with a special surprise. I had no idea what she meant but had decided to leave it to her to surprise me.

There was a short silence in the room before I felt the presence of someone behind my wheelchair. Since I wasn’t able to see, they had figured that it was more convenient for everyone, including myself, to have me transported via a wheelchair whenever that I needed to leave my hospital room. Since I didn’t like the idea of myself feeling along the walls with my lack of sight, I readily agreed to using a wheelchair and being wheeled around.

...

“Well then, can you take Miss Natalia back to her room now?” the doctor said.

As the nurse that was called upon began approaching Natalia’s wheelchair, Reiner held up his hand to stop her from approaching. With a slight nod, he gestured that he will be the one who will take care of taking Natalia back.

--To be continued...

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Chapter 284: Reiner - Time Together

Just like he had requested, every staff related to Natalia’s case was aware that he was her personal butler and would be taking care of her. He had told them to keep this a secret from Natalia and to act as if he wasn’t there. Confused but without any other options left at their disposal, they had reluctantly agreed to play along.

Wordlessly, Reiner unlocked the breaks on Natalia’s wheelchair before he started to wheel her out of the doctor’s room. Unfortunately, the VVIP floor and Natalia’s room was quite a distance away from the doctor’s room which was located in the common part of the hospital. It wasn’t a problem for him, but he was worried about Natalia running into other people, especially if it happened to be someone who knew her or recognized her.

Of course, he avoided interacting directly with her as much as possible. Opting to use Laura or the nurses to help him execute his tasks. He also never spoke to her.

“Umm...excuse me...is the weather nice today?” Natalia spoke up suddenly. She seemed hesitant to ask and that was probably because she didn’t know which nurse was with her.

Reiner knew that sooner or later the situation would arise where he would need to communicate with Natalia. It wasn’t like he could avoid talking to her forever and for events like these, he was well prepared. Reaching for and adjusting the voice changer that he had prepared; he chose a young man’s voice.

“The weather is quite nice outside today, Miss Natalia,” he replied smoothly in a young man’s voice that sounded polite and a little cheerful.

“Oh...sorry, I had assumed that you were a woman. Sorry, I didn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with you being a man...or anything like that...” Natalia said as she laughed a little to cover up for her shyness.

“That’s not a problem at all,” Reiner replied.

Natalia was silent for a moment as if she was thinking about what she was about to say next. Reiner waited patiently as he continued to push her wheelchair forward slowly.

“Since the weather is nice outside today...do you think...it would be possible for me to go outside?” Natalia asked hesitantly.

Reiner stopped walking, surprised at her sudden request. It wasn’t like he couldn’t take her out, but he wasn’t sure if that would get in the way of her recovery. The doctor did say that she should rest, and he wasn’t sure if it was fine for her to be outside...

Natalia took his silence for another meaning entirely.

“Oh...umm...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in a tight spot like that. I guess, you must have other work to do and that you’re very busy. I guess...you don’t have the time to...” Natalia began apologizing for her request immediately.

“I’ll take you outside...” Reiner said firmly.

“...huh? Really?” Natalia replied. She seemed happy although slightly surprised.

“Yes. I can’t take you out for long because you’re still recovering but there’s a garden on the fourth floor of the building where patients can go out for a stroll or to get a breath of fresh air. If you’re fine with that then...” Reiner suggested.

“Yes! Please...please take me there,” Natalia readily agreed. She was clearly excited to go out for once in a while.

“Ok, Miss,” Reiner said.

It was a short walk and a ride on the elevator down to the fourth floor of the building before they arrived at the garden. Although the weather was decently pleasant, there were very few patients with their nurses in the garden.

“We’ve arrived, Miss,” Reiner said politely as he brought Natalia’s wheelchair to a spot in the garden.

Now that she was outside, she could feel the wind blowing against her face and through her hair. She felt the warmth of the sunlight on her skin.

“It definitely feels better to be outside compared to being in the hospital room all the time,” Natalia said before breathing in the air deeply.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling better,” Reiner said before he smiled adoringly down at her.

“Of course. This makes me feel so much better already. Thank you very much for bringing me out here. I never knew that this hospital had a garden here like this...” Natalia said as she smiled as well.

“I’m sure that you’ll recovery completely in no time. Please keep up your optimism and be sure to rest well,” Reiner said, trying to sound like a good nurse.

“Ok. I’ll try my best to do that. Umm...if you don’t mind...can you describe to me what the garden looks like? Sorry but...I can’t see anything right now...” Natalia requested shyly.

“I see. Sure, that’s not a problem...” Reiner said.

Reiner began describing the garden to Natalia, pointing out the structure of the layout and the various trees, plants and flowers that were present in the garden. He could name some of the flowers and some trees for her as well. In addition, he began describing the other people who were also in the garden such as the other patients with their nurses or relatives.

“Wow...I see. I guess the garden must be beautiful. I’ll make sure to check this place out when these eyepatches are removed from my eyes. What about the sky? You can see the sky from here, right? Can you tell me what the sky looks like right now?” Natalia asked, excitedly.

“Yes, you can see the sky very well from here, Miss Natalia,” Reiner said.

Reiner then proceeded to describe the peaceful blue sky with white clouds. It was indeed a pleasant day, and the sky was beautifully a mix of blue and white clouds. The sun was high in the sky, showing that it was around midday.

“It would be great...if I can see the sunset here...” Natalia mumbled as if talking to herself.

“I haven’t seen the sunset here myself but I’m sure that it will look very pretty,” Reiner said, picking up on her words.

After a while, Reiner judged that Natalia should have had enough time outdoors. He then suggested that they head back inside so that he could take her to her room. Once inside of her hospital room, Natalia quickly began to thank her nurse.

Chapter 285: Reiner – Reminds Me of Him

“Thank you so much for taking care of me today. I feel truly thankful. It was very boring to be stuck in the hospital room with nothing to do for many days, honestly,” Natalia said as she smiled.

“That’s not a problem. I’m glad to be of help,” Reiner replied politely.

“When I’ve recovered and if you’re free, let’s go see the sunset at the garden together!” Natalia suggested cheerfully. Reiner wasn’t sure if she was serious of if she was just speaking in the moment. However, her smile was happy and full of confidence and that warmed his heart as well.

“Sure...” Reiner whispered.

“Oh right! Sorry, I should have asked you this sooner. I guess I never caught your name. Can you tell me your name?” Natalia asked, sounding cheerful.

However, there was nothing he could offer to her as an answer to her question except for silence.

“Umm...excuse me. Hello? Are you still there?” Natalia said, sounding confused since she hadn’t heard his reply.

Reiner stood silently behind Natalia’s wheelchair. As far as he was concerned, the young nurse that had taken Natalia to the garden was dead and gone. There was no point in telling Natalia the name of someone that never existed. After all, she wouldn’t be able to find that young man anywhere, no matter how hard she looked.

When did he leave? Why did he leave all of a sudden? He hasn’t even helped me into bed yet. How am I supposed to climb on the bed on my own in this state?

I was more confused with the situation rather than feeling angry at him. The situation just made me want to giggle to myself. It felt very silly.

“Miss Natalia...I see that you’re back,” a familiar voice greeted me.

“Laura?” I called out her name questioningly.

“Yes, Miss. It’s me,” Laura replied in her sweet voice.

“Umm...did you see a young man who was with me until just now? Did he leave already?” I asked in a hurry.

“Oh...yes, Miss. He saw that I was here to take care of you, so he left. He seemed a little in a hurry...perhaps he’s got a lot of work to do...” Laura replied.

“Oh...I see...” I said, feeling a little disappointed.

He left so suddenly, I guess he didn’t hear my question when I asked for his name. Now that I don’t know his name or what he even looks like, I guessed that it was near to impossible for me to find him again. Who knows? Maybe we’ll run into each other again as long as I was still in the hospital. Honestly, though, I would rather be back home and sleeping in my own bed rather than being stuck here.

Whoever that man was, I wish him well and I was glad that I got to thank him properly.

Laura helped me get on the bed and adjusted my position until I was sitting up comfortably on the bed.

...

While Laura was busy helping Natalia get into bed and making sure that she was comfortable, Reiner was busy arranging the cakes that he had baked onto a plate. After he saw that Laura was done helping Natalia, he waved her over with his hand. Laura silently walked over, trying to keep her footsteps as light as she walked.

Reiner handed the plate with the cakes to Laura and gestured for her to serve it to Natalia. To his surprise, Laura shook her head slowly from side to side as she looked worried. Not quite understanding why she was refusing; Reiner raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

Laura sighed before taking out her phone and began typing.

‘Miss Natalia has ordered for us to stop serving her cake’

Reiner read the short text on the screen of Laura’s phone before he took out his phone and began typing. This was their usual mode of communication when they needed to communicate while Natalia was around. It worked quite well given that they couldn’t speak to each other.

‘Why?’ Reiner typed.

‘She says all cakes taste bad’ Laura typed on her phone.

‘These ones will be fine. Trust me.’ Reiner typed.

After Laura had read the text, he put his phone back in his suit pocket, signaling that their text-based conversation was now over.

Laura had an unconvinced look on her face as she looked at the cake on the plate. However, she decided to do just as Reiner had said and place trust in him.

“Umm...Miss Natalia. Here are some cakes for you...” Laura said hesitantly as she slowly placed the plate of cakes on the table in front of Natalia.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop serving me cake?” Natalia said as she softly pushed the plate of cake away from her.

“I think these should taste ok, Miss. Won’t you give them a try?” Laura said in a weak voice.

Taste, ok? Really?

Since the day that I had ordered Laura and the other maids to stop serving me cake, I haven’t eaten cake at all. I found it very strange that someone as timid as Laura was trying desperately to convince me to eat cake. I wondered what the cake looked like since I couldn’t see it.

I doubt the cake would taste any good, but I hoped that it was at least decent tasting. After all, I wanted to give it a try purely for Laura’s sake. I may not be the kindest person, but I didn’t want to disappoint Laura if I could help it. Knowing that this was probably the surprise that she had mentioned yesterday, I clumsily began taking a bit of cake into my mouth using the small fork that Laura had prepared.

The cake tasted wonderful but that wasn’t the main point. Apart from the fact that it was delicious, the smell and taste was very familiar. Everything about it down to the texture reminded me of him...

It reminded me of Reiner...

“Where did you get this?” I asked.

“Does it not suit your taste, Miss?” Laura replied in a small voice.

“No...it’s...” I began saying but decided not to continue.

I was about to say that it tastes like something that Reiner made but then I realized how impossible that was and how insane it would sound.