Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 56

To have free time for ourselves and to have fun during our stay the next day, the two brothers took Hillary and me on a brief tour around the parts of Hawaii renowned for tourism and for individuals notably lovers to hang out. Ben was the one who drove us around the city in one of the expensive automobiles that I saw parked inside the garage in the compound. He had a good taste selecting the places we wanted to visit and above all the places he chose for us to spend the outing, was the zip line I truly enjoyed at the amusement park not too far from the heart of the main city.

There, we had a lot of other fun particularly the horse ride and gigantic Ferris wheel which truly was daringly fretful taking a ride along with other visitors but it was more fun riding the Ferris wheel with Richard whilst Ben and Hilary were together as well during the joy ride that lasted for an hour before we got ready to leave. Richard won a cowboy action figure for me at a game of darts with Ben before we left the park but Hillary got nothing from her fiancée who promised her a golden wristwatch in replacement of his loss at the game.

We left the amusement park as soon as Ben led us back to the car taking along with some of the goodies we bought during the tour and returned back to the estate in the evening only to find out that Richard's mother was in critical condition. We were told by the servants to wait at the sitting room for the doctor whom Mr. Stark had called to check her condition, to finish his checkup that had lasted for several hours prior to our arrival.

Above everyone, Richard was much anxiously apprehensive than the rest of us and when it was time for the doctor to leave, Mr. Stark's personal attendant came down from the upstairs chamber to see us at the sitting room and told us that we were permitted to see his boss's wife.

Before us, Richard was the first to climb upstairs to his mother's bedroom and there we met her lying unconsciously in a deplorable condition on her bed where she was covered with a blanket and a sophisticated BP machine was placed beside her which constantly displayed the rate of her heartbeat while her husband stood beside her expecting her to regain consciousness.

Mr. Stark became aware of our presence as soon as we entered into the room but he didn't move a muscle from where he had stood, with his hands behind his back, the entire time the doctor was examining his wife nor did he reprimand anyone for not being around in the house when his wife's condition showed warning signs of her inevitable demise.

We surrounded her bed the moment we came to where she lay quietly on the bed and joined Richard's dad in waiting for her to regain consciousness. Ben slowly shifted to the side of his father and whispered something into his ears but it was loud enough for the five of us to hear what he inquired excluding the patient.

"Dad....What did the doctor say about her condition?", Ben asked, looking at Richard's face which had gone horrid at the sight of his mother in a terrible state. Mr. Stark shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"He said that she had passed the worst but....", "But what?"

It was Richard who asked. His face had gone pale ever since he entered the room and didn't quite consider how terrifying his white-washed face had turned when he looked at his dad.

"But I fear she may not survive after this attack", "Shit!", Ben cursed and placed his hands akimbo before looking away to sob quietly. Not only was he feeling despondent but the rest of us felt dejected by Mr. Stark's shocking news particularly Richard who felt the pain more than his family members.

I hugged Richard when he was about to break down in tears and pressed him close against my bosom not minding the fact Mr. Stark was watching his son crying in my arms. Hilary was unhappy with the situation and was the first to see Mrs. Miriam regain consciousness from her unconscious state.

Mrs. Miriam saw her son sobbing in my arms as her eyes opened slowly enough to see her husband and her first son standing beside the bed near Hilary. She could barely speak when all eyes except Richards' fell on her and must have been surprised to see her bracelet on my wrist enough to let out a hollow groan which arrested all attention to her.

"You're awake", Mr. Stark muttered, taking his eyes off me at first sight of his wife waking up from an unconscious state.

"Yes....How long was I sleeping?", "At most Three hours since lunchtime", Mr. Stark replied without hesitation and beamed a false smile to ease the tension despite the moody situation.

For a while, Mrs. Miriam thought about what had compelled Richard to shed tears not to mention Ben whose eyes were now swollen with the tears though he tried to hide it from her but it was clear that he had heard something ominous. Then something crossed her mind as she stared back at us. It was her bracelet which she had seen on my wrist and her attention immediately shifted towards me instead of inquiring what had compelled both of her sons to shed hot tears as though someone had already died.

"Rosalie, right..?", She said as her eyes fell on me "Come closer", she beckoned at me and I shifted closer to the bed leaving Richard to dry his tears with the back of his palm.

"Show me your left wrist", she ordered once again asking for my left hand on which I had worn her bracelet and a sudden flush of anxiety clouded me. I did as she had told me without hesitation and she took my hand before fondling the bracelet.

Mr. Stark recognized the bracelet and he too was surprised that I had worn it but he didn't say anything just like the rest of us and just kept staring at me waiting to see if his wife had something to say about it. Her fingers felt a bit warm but stale cold to touch as her phalanges touched my skin but I waited patiently for her to finish ruminating about the bracelet.

Teardrops slowly dribbled down her eyes as she fondled the bracelet whilst we watched her in profound silence.

"It's yours now", she muttered after a prolonged silence and I took my hand away from her crisp fingers.

"Stark....", she called despite her croaked voice breaking.

"I'm right here", "I want to see the beach one last time", she said looking at her husband with her eyes filled with tears.

"It's too late for us to go outside...we'll do that tomorrow morning", "No, I want to go now. You know I very much like it when the bay is cold at night", she said persuasively with every bit of her voice going softer by the minute.

Mr. Stark kept quiet, feeling a heavy weight bearing down in his heart and exhaled to let out the pain that had eaten deep inside him.

"Fine, we'll do as you wish", he said and kissed his wife on the forehead before leaving the room to call the servants.