Ariel felt her body sizzle with currents of tingles as she felt Aiden's warm and unexpected kiss on her lips.
She would have pushed him away if not for Grandma Nari's voice she suddenly heard behind them.
"Oh, my poor kids. I told you he couldn't stay without her," Grandma Nari stood beside the door and was smiling at Aiden and Ariel.
Aiden slowly moved his face away from Ariel as Grandma Nari spoke, he gave Ariel a smirk before he lifted his face to his Grandma, subtly drawing Ariel to his side.
Grandma Nari quickly moved over to them and hugged Ariel first.
"Ariel, how are you? You scared me; how is the baby? Is it alright?" She asked worriedly, using her palm to feel Ariel's forehead.
She led her to the bed and gently made her sit down.
Ariel caught the expression on Ken's face as she passed him.
He looked hurt, and she knew why.
Aiden's unexpected kiss must have hurt him, no one would want to watch someone they loved get kissed by someone else in front of them.
She removed her face from his, feeling bad. She would explain the whole thing to him later.
"Carla, come over here, is the baby okay?" Grandma Nari asked again.
Ariel panicked as she heard the question again. She quickly looked over at Aiden, silently asking for help.
As Carla walked over to her, she gave Aiden a questioning look, she didn't want to say something contrary to what they wanted to say to the old lady.
Aiden saw Ariel's and Carla's alarmed look and immediately thought of what to do.
"Grandma," he called in a quiet voice, staggering and holding onto Carla.
"Aiden! Carla, what's wrong with him?!" Grandma Nari ran over to him in a second.
She quickly held his arm over her shoulder, leading him to the bed and making him sit beside Ariel.
"My head hurts, Grandma...I feel like I'm about to faint," Aiden held onto his head slowly; he leaned his head on Ariel's shoulder, putting his arms around her and locking her in a tight hug.
Ariel frowned and went stiff. This was just the wrong time to play pretend with Aiden, she was vexed and wanted nothing to do with him at the moment. And, why was his voice suddenly changed, was he pretending to be weak to avoid providing Grandma Nari with answers about the supposed baby's well-being?
Well, if so, she would play along, she wouldn't want to be the reason their lies got uncovered.
"Carla, what's happening to him?" Grandma Nari was anxious, she looked from Aiden to Carla in alarm.
"Calm down, Grandma. I'll take care of him. His injuries were a lot worse than Ariel's because it seemed that he had used his body to cover hers when their car collided with the van. So, just a little more rest would take care of him," Carla explained.
"Don't worry, Grandma, I'll stay with him and make sure he's alright. I'm much stronger, too," Ariel offered, smiling as she gently patted Aiden's lap.
Ken was standing by the side of the bed, his fists clenched beside him. His heart was breaking over and over again. Seeing Aiden kiss Ariel had been a shock to him, he knew they tried to pretend to be a sweet couple in front of Grandma Nari, but he never knew they took it to that level.
How was his heart supposed to cope with such a sight? And the worst part was that he couldn't take his eyes off them, the more he stared at their bodies comfortably leaning against each other, the more his heart chattered.
"You're such a sweet girl, Ariel; please take good care of my baby boy, and don't push yourself, okay? Thank God Aiden shielded you; he's going to be such a good father," Grandma Nari spoke softly.
She went over, leaned down, and placed a soft kiss on Aiden and Ariel's cheek.
"Yes, he'll be such a good father," Ariel smiled but her fists were clenched in anger beside her.
"My head hurts..." Aiden closed his eyes and hugged Ariel closer to himself, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
Ariel bit her lips to keep herself from moaning unexpectedly. Aiden had gone crazy, he was secretly kissing and licking her neck!
He was too much! This wasn't what they agreed on, he was trespassing.
"Let's get him rested. Aiden, please lie down, and I'll get you some sedatives; it'll help relax your aching muscles and let the medications I have given you earlier work better. And tomorrow morning, you'll be good to go," Carla informed and subtly detached Aiden from Ariel, gently pushing him to lie on the bed.
"Come here, baby," Aiden lay on his side and patted the space in front of him.
"Oh, Carla, is it advisable to lay with him, I mean, he does need all the rest he could get, and I don't want him feeling uncomfortable and stuff like that," Ariel smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She was begging Carla to save her.
Grandma Nari chuckled and patted Ariel's back. "Don't worry, child, trust me, your body beside his is an energy boost, it's not a discomfort," She urged Ariel softly.
Ariel couldn't refuse. She felt Ken's burning gaze on her as she slowly walked over to the bed and sat down before she lowered her body beside Aiden's, laying her head on the pillow beside his.
The hospital bed was small, so her back was automatically gummed on Aiden's front as she lay beside him; she was still trying to figure out how she was going to keep to herself when Aiden placed an arm around her. Again, he buried his face behind her neck.
Carla saw how Aiden was trying his best to make everyone uncomfortable, or rather, make Ken uncomfortable. Her poor cousin looked as if he was about to burn a hole in Aiden's back as he stared at Aiden's arm over Ariel's body.
She had to save him and give this confused couple some time to think about what they really wanted for themselves.
Carla quickly went over to the smiling Grandma Nari and held her hand. "We should let them rest, Grandma; his symptoms are normal for someone who went through an accident; I promise you, he'll be good as new tomorrow morning," Carla slowly led Grandma Nari out of the room, narrowing his eyes at Aiden.
"Come on, Ken, let's give them some space," Carla called after Ken as she left the room.
Ken stared at Aiden for a second before he finally followed Carla out, not sparing Ariel a glance.
Outside the room, Moon had immediately hidden outside beside the hospital room when he saw Aiden kissing Ariel.
She had come with Grandma Nari to visit Aiden but she never expected to be welcomed by such a scene. She felt betrayed.
Aiden had promised not to let Ariel come between them, yet he was the same person kissing her. Did he have to go to such great lengths just to prove to Grandma Nari that their marriage was real?
Her heart was filled with pain and anger toward Ariel; she had just wanted to threaten her about leaving Aiden's side, but from the looks of it, she might just have to hurt her for real.
She couldn't stand it; she used to be the only female Aiden used to care for, but not anymore. That Ariel girl from some unknown background was trying to steal him away from her, she wouldn't let her.
Impossible.
She heard Carla coming out of the room with Grandma Nari and Ken and she immediately faked to answer a call.
"Oh, yes, yes, I'll send a copy to you tomorrow, yes, see you soon," Moon pretended to end the call on her phone at the same time Grandma Nari walked out.
"Moon, you didn't want to see your brother anymore?" Grandma Nari asked as she saw Moon in the hallway.
Moon smiled; her eyes went from Carla to Ken; it lingered on Ken for a second longer before she turned to Grandma Nari.
"I'm sorry. Grandma, I received a call from work asking for some documents I had handled; how is he? Can I go see him now?" She moved to walk toward the door.
"You can't see him," Carla held her wrist, stopping her.
"It's true, dear. He's not feeling so well so Ariel has to take care of him. If you want to help them, go bring them some food, you still remember Aiden's favorite, right?" Grandma Nari asked.
Moon gritted her teeth as she heard that Ariel was going to be alone with Aiden...taking care of him?
Not for long.
"Of course, Grandma, I still do. I'll go bring it immediately, Ken, why not accompany me," She went and hooked her arm around Ken, leading him away from the others.
"I'll be with Carla, Darling," Grandma Nari waved.
"Okay, Grandma," Moon smiled back at her.
As she dragged Ken into the elevator, she kept smiling until the doors slid shut; her smile immediately fell from her face and she quickly put some distance between her and Ken.
"I see the way you look at her, Kenneth. How about you and I strike a deal?" Moon asked in a sinister tone.