Chapter 867 Familial Bond
“Kurt!” Amelia was sweating bullets when she woke up with a jolt.
“Did you have a bad dream, Mommy?” Tony was initially sitting on a chair, but he immediately rushed toward Amelia when he saw her waking up.
Amelia wiped away the cold sweat on her forehead and carried Tony up into her arms. “Tony, how’s your godfather?”
Tony shook his head and furrowed his brows. “Daddy is still unconscious. Mommy, I was worried about you, so I came to see you. Tiffy has gone to see Daddy. She’ll be back shortly.”
With Tony in her arms, Amelia got out of bed and wanted Tony to lead her to Kurt’s ward. In her dream, Kurt was drenched in blood, and he was on the verge of death. Is the person who’s supposed to take care of me and Tony going to die?
The moment Amelia and Tony arrived at the entrance, the door was already pushed open, and Tiffany was seen walking in from the outside.
“Babe, you’re awake! Are you feeling okay?” Tiffany asked caringly.
“I’m fine. Where’s Kurt? I need to see him,” Amelia answered hurriedly.
“Okay. I’ll bring you there. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s going to live. Don’t worry.” Tiffany brought them to the ward, and a complicated look appeared on Amelia’s face when she saw Kurt lying on the bed with his eyes shut. Deep down, she felt rather sad.
“Did the doctor say when he’s supposed to wake up?” Amelia asked in a hoarse voice.
Tiffany deliberately answered in a relaxed tone, “If nothing goes wrong, he’ll regain consciousness before night time. However, Kurt is strong. He might even wake up before that.”
Amelia stayed silent and continued to look at Kurt with her complicated gaze.
Tiffany knew how bad Amelia felt, so she pulled Amelia to the couch to sit her down. “Babe, Teddy told me about what happened. It was just an accident, and no one was at fault. Don’t let it affect you so much, okay?”
Amelia heaved a silent sigh. “I know what you mean, Tiff. It’s just that he risked his life to save me. I would be lying if I say I don’t feel a thing for him. However, I’ve given my heart to Oscar. Although I was moved by Kurt and I promised to be with him, I’m never going to forget about Oscar. I don’t think I’m treating him fairly. My heart is filled with guilt because I know I won’t reciprocate his love for me.”
Hearing that, Tiffany let out a sigh as well. Oh, well… That kind of debt is the hardest to repay.
After that, both of them fell silent.
As expected, Kurt regained consciousness in the afternoon.
When he woke up, the first thing he asked was, “Is Amelia hurt?”
Tiffany shook her head. “She’s fine. She went back to make you some soup, and she’ll be back shortly. Did you know she worried about you more than anyone else when you got hurt?”
Kurt smiled when he heard that. “Since I got her to worry about me, I would say the injury is worth it.”
Tiffany glanced at him and uttered, “Judging by your tone, it appears you’ve deliberately gotten injured to get her attention.”
In response, Kurt merely smiled. He was neither denying nor confirming her speculation.
Seeing that, Tiffany gritted her teeth and gave him some water. She then sat on a chair and fixated her eyes on him. “Kurt, tell me the truth, okay? Did you take the bullet for her on purpose?”
Kurt maintained his smile and met her gaze. “Tiffany, do you think I would risk my life if I don’t love that person?”
Tiffany was taken aback by his words. She knew it was impossible, but she hoped Kurt would admit that he had gotten injured so that Amelia would pity him. That way, Amelia wouldn’t need to feel as guilty. She knew she was being selfish and went overboard for thinking that way. However, she wasn’t happy with the fact that Amelia was going under immense pressure.
Tiffany crossed her legs casually and said, “Kurt, I hoped you would say you had gotten injured on purpose. That way, Amelia wouldn’t need to feel as bad. You’re my friend, but Amelia is family to me. Hence, I don’t wish to see her feeling aggrieved. Do you understand?”
Kurt lowered his gaze to conceal his emotions.
Suddenly, he uttered, “Tiffany, I intend to make full use of my injury this time around. Boss doesn’t remember Amelia anymore. Do you really want her to return to the country and get mistreated?”
Tiffany was stunned for a moment. She shot him a meaningful stare and asked cautiously, “What do you mean?”
A smile appeared on Kurt’s pale face, and he answered, “It’s nothing. I just want Amelia to stay here. I think she’ll have a better life without the drama of prestigious families. Even if she were to keep me in her shadow, I would be willing to stay by her side for the rest of my life. However, I don’t want her to go back to Tayhaven. We both know Boss will hurt her the moment she returns.”
Tiffany fell silent.
Meanwhile, Kurt just kept staring at her silently while waiting for her response.
After a while, Tiffany shook her head and shrugged. “Kurt, you’ve overestimated me. What makes you think I’ll be able to stop Amelia from returning to the country? She chooses her own path. I believe she had already considered the consequences of her decision to return. Since she has already decided, don’t you think we should support her instead of tricking her?”
The smile on Kurt’s face faded lightly. “Do you really want to see her get hurt?”
Tiffany mulled over it for a while and said, “It’s not about what I want. If we were to keep her here when she insists on going back, don’t you think she’ll be unhappy for the rest of her life because of her entanglement with Oscar? Why don’t we just let her go through whatever she needs to go through? We shall wish her nothing but happiness if she could fix her relationship with Oscar. If that didn’t work out, I’ll definitely wish both of you well.”
After a pause, she added, “Now, will you just give her some space?”
Kurt merely shut his eyes in response.
Seeing that, Tiffany twitched her lips.
Then, Amelia and Tony arrived with an enormous basket. She could sense the tension in the air. Hence, she put the basket on the desk and asked, “What’s with you guys? Did you guys have a fight?”
With that, she walked toward Kurt and smiled at him. In a gentle tone, she asked, “Kurt, are you still in pain? Do you want me to get the doctor?”
Kurt met her gaze, and he was charmed by her tenderness.
Tiffany then cleared her throat to interrupt the amorous moment. “Babe, I’ve already gotten the doctor to check on Kurt. The doctor said he’s healing fine, so you can stop worrying.” She paused for a chuckle and continued, “Didn’t I say he’s strong? He’s not going to die from a gunshot.”
Amelia shot her a weird look in response. “Did you guys fight?”
Tiffany froze momentarily before shrugging casually and asking, “Babe, why did you ask?”
Amelia gave it some thought and decided to just shake her head. She then opened the basket and took out the mushroom soup she made. She took a spoonful of the soup and blew on it before delivering it to the side of Kurt’s mouth. “It took me a few hours to make this mushroom soup. Have a taste and see if you like it, okay?”
Kurt opened his mouth and drank the soup reflexively. Every time Amelia delivered a spoonful of soup to him, he would just open his mouth in response. Even if she were to feed him poison, he would swallow it down unhesitatingly.
That was the first time Amelia fed him food.
Kurt’s heart raced wildly when he saw the woman he loved being so near to him. At the same time, he was staring at her. If I don’t look at her now, I might not be able to do so anymore in the future.
As Tiffany was looking dubiously at Amelia feeding the mushroom soup to Kurt, she could sense the romantic tension between the both of them. What’s on her mind?
Once Kurt had finished his mushroom soup and fallen asleep, Tiffany told Tony to watch Kurt before dragging Amelia out of the ward.
When they arrived at the stairs, Tiffany said directly, “Amelia, what are you trying to do? Do you not realize you’re giving Kurt false hopes?”
Amelia lowered her gaze in response. Nobody could tell what was on her mind at that moment.
“Babe, what exactly is the matter with you? Are you going to accept Kurt? Are you not going back to the country anymore?” Tiffany asked a string of questions at once.
Hearing that, Amelia raised her helpless gaze and replied, “Tiff, I just want to take care of him. After all, he got injured because of me. I can’t possibly sit on my hands now that he’s lying in a hospital bed, can I?”
Tiffany choked for a moment. She then waved her hands dismissively and uttered in an angry tone, “Babe, what you’re doing now is only going to give Kurt the wrong ideas. You’re not doing anyone any good.”
At that moment, Amelia’s mind was a complete mess, and she was losing her composure. “What should I do, then? Everyone can see how well he treats me. I want to reject him, but he hasn’t given me a chance to do so. He had even almost lost his life because of me. I can’t possibly sit back and do nothing!”
She loved Oscar, but Kurt had done too much for her. She knew she couldn’t just ignore his good intentions. If not for Oscar, I might even fall for Kurt. However, that’s not the reality. I guess everything has to end here.
Upon hearing those words, Tiffany parted her lips, but she didn’t know what to say.
Just like that, an awkward silence ensued.
After a long while, Tiffany took a deep breath and broke the silence by saying, “Babe, I’m sorry. I was too impulsive.”
In response, Amelia also took a deep breath to compose herself. “I was at fault too,” she uttered wearily.
The gunfight the night before and Kurt’s surgery had kept her up the whole night. She felt exhausted from the guilt and pressure she was enduring.
“Tiff, I didn’t act ambiguously on purpose to create misunderstanding. I was just trying to do everything I can to make it up to Kurt. Otherwise, my guilt might consume me,” Amelia explained.
“I know what you mean. I was just afraid that your actions could give Kurt the wrong ideas. If that happens, he’s going to suffer in the future,” Tiffany voiced her concerns.
Amelia knew that could happen. Even so, she couldn’t possibly ignore Kurt’s well-being. He had already saved my life twice. Regardless of my intentions, I must take care of him.
“I understand.”
“That’s good. Forget about it. I’m not going to meddle in it anymore. If you could forget about Oscar, I think Kurt isn’t that bad of a choice. Think about it, will you?”
In response, Amelia merely pursed her lips because she didn’t know what to say.
“Let’s get out of here. I was just kidding.”
Amelia followed her back into the ward.
Due to Kurt’s injury, Amelia had no choice but to delay her trip back to the country. She told Teddy about it, and he told her to not worry about anything because he would make the necessary arrangements on her behalf. After all, they still hadn’t figured out who was the mastermind behind the shooting. Hence, it wasn’t safe for Amelia to return to the country yet. The mastermind could easily send men over to the airport to finish the job they started.
Of course, Teddy wasn’t going to tell Amelia that.
“Let Mr. Alfsen rest and recuperate, Amelia. Once I’m done with my work, I’ll go over to check on him later tonight,” Teddy said on the phone.
“All right. I’ll hang up now,” Amelia replied.
After hanging up the phone, Amelia went back to the ward, but she didn’t see Tiffany and Tony around. Instead, she found Kurt trying to get off the bed.
By then, he had been hospitalized for five days. His body recovered relatively well, and he could sit up.
Seeing that he was trying to get up, Amelia quickly went over to him to help him. “Kurt, what do you need? I can help you.”
“I’m good. I just want to go out in the open to get some fresh air. Push me out to get some sunlight, will you? I think I’m turning moldy,” Kurt joked.
Amelia laughed and borrowed a wheelchair from the nurse to push him downstairs. They then stopped by a field where he sat in the wheelchair while Amelia sat on a bench.
Kurt lifted his head and slightly narrowed his eyes when he said, “Amelia, the past few days have been the happiest days of my life. Although I know you’ve only been taking care of me out of guilt, I’m thrilled. This is the first time we’ve been so close to one another. I know it’s a selfish thing to do, but I’ve even thought of using my body as an excuse to keep you by my side. However, I can’t do that because I know you won’t be happy.”
Amelia merely looked at him.
Kurt then widened his eyes and turned toward her. There, their eyes met. From Amelia’s clear gaze, he could barely see his existence. Even though I had risked my life for her and disobeyed Oscar’s orders, she never loved me right from the beginning.
With that in mind, he suddenly broke into a relaxed smile and said, “Amelia, if you had the slightest love for me, I would do everything in my power to keep you by my side. Unlike Boss, I know how to appreciate you. I would cherish you and protect you from ever getting hurt. Unfortunately, that’s not what you want.”
Amelia smiled and replied, “Kurt, you’re an incredible man. If not for Oscar, I would’ve fallen for you. If you don’t mind, we can be a family from now on. Relationships change, but familial bonds will never change.”
Hearing that, Kurt lifted his hand to pat her head. “All right. We are family now.”
Finally, Amelia smiled in relief. “Kurt, thank you for being so understanding.”
Kurt concealed the sadness in his eyes and answered, “We’re family now, remember? There’s no need to thank me. No matter what you want, I’m willing to give it to you. I won’t pressure you anymore. Hence, stop feeling guilty. Whatever I did, I did it willingly.”
Amelia felt warmth in her heart.
Kurt then looked at her solemnly and said, “Amelia, since you can’t reciprocate my feelings for you, I shall stay by your side as your family. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you.”
