ARABELLA.

We all know that human existence will come to an end one day. But disregard that fact. Our families, loved ones, friends, and all living things will die. Death is an unavoidable reality. Despite this, we keep that information in the back of our minds.

My world had collapsed, I felt as if someone had taken away my ability to breathe, and I had no idea what to do next.

My cries became louder as I entered the hospital, and I began to lose myself. I could feel my sanity leaving my soul and hanging by a thread, but I didn't care because all I wanted to do was only see my father.

My father, who has always showered me with love and happiness. In my adolescence, I was reckless; I used to talk back to people, and while some thought I was a brat, my father took pride in it, he used to say.

"Princess, never be afraid to voice out your thoughts. "

My eyes welled up with tears as I hugged the warmest body and inhaled the enticing scent of Jasmine from her. My mother's name. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was tired and dull. I despised seeing her in this state.

"He'll be fine," I murmured as I kissed her cheek.

She let out a soft cry while clutching me.

"Ells," a voice beside me said, pulling me into his chest.

My younger brother. My heart broke seeing him; he had handled the situation so well.

As his erratic heartbeats greeted my ears, I wrapped my hands around his back.

"How is he doing?" I raised my eyes and whispered.

"We haven't seen him, but we've heard he's awakened." He spoke softly,

As he went on, I breathed a sigh of relief. He was fine, he finally woke up, and he is now fine. I tried to remain calm.

"The hospital is preparing the operating table. He requires immediate surgery because his pulmonary artery is blocked, according to the doctors" He took a deep breath.

I closed my eyes as the same fear engulfed me once more.

"Why?" I sobbed softly, "Why him? What caused his pulmonary artery to become blocked?"

"Smoking. It caused his arteries to become thinner."

My father had overcome all of his problems, except for his desire for cigarettes, which he could never overcome. I know that nowadays, smoking is so common that we don't give it a second thought. But smoking is bad, and no matter how many arguments I had with my father about it, he was never able to stop.

I tore through so many of his packets and didn't speak to him for days, but nothing changed. If he wasn't at home and in front of us, he'd smoke outside. Mum despised it and complained, but she also scolded me thousands of times for being so harsh with Dad.

However, in my father's defense, he used it as a stress release. He put in a lot of hours, and being Washington's most prestigious lawyer has its downsides.

Even so, I would not say that he used a good medium to relieve his stress; there are many others in the world who may be more stressed out but do not smoke.

"Jake," Sebastian's surprised low voice greeted my voice, causing me to stop.

I could feel my eyes watering and couldn't stop myself from crying when I turned around and saw my elder brother's similar brown eyes staring at me.

He looked thinner and paler than the last time I saw him, with darker circles under his eyes. But his hair was rebellious as usual; his small soft curls were now longer and caressing his brows.

Before approaching me, he hugged Seb and murmured something in his ears.

I didn't hesitate for a second; I dashed towards him, enveloped him in a bear hug, and burst out crying like a baby. All my resentment towards him for being unreachable and refusing to communicate had vanished- I was just relieved to be back in my brother's arms.

His strong masculine scent invaded my nostrils, and I didn't feel any better after smelling it.

"Shh," he murmured as he stroked my hair.

"I hate you, I hate you so fucking much," I sobbed, hitting my fist into his chest.

He chuckled.

"Looks like my sister has learned to curse, eh? New York did an excellent job." He teased, a smile on his face, but tightened his grip on me and kissed my brow.

"I absolutely detest you," I mumbled, sniffling.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized softly. I didn't say it was fine because it wasn't; instead, I remained silent while we hugged for a while.

"When did you get here?" I inquired quietly, taking a seat next to my mother, while he stood next to Seb.

My gaze was drawn to Seb, who was unusually quiet.

I'll never forget how he handled me in Texas, and now that everything is rushing through my mind, I just realized how lost I was and how protectively he had held me. He didn't let me leave his arms for a second and only grumbled when Jen drew me into her arms. He looked after me the entire ride and made me wear his coat when he noticed I was shivering while still dressed in my gown.

I am grateful for my friends, but I consider myself even more fortunate to have him.

"3 hours ago," Jake said in response to my previous question, as I nodded.

My gaze was drawn to Seb, but he was lost in his own thoughts.

"Thank you for looking after her, mate. I owe you. "

While I drew circles in my mother's hand, I overheard Jake telling him quietly.

"You owe me nothing," Seb responded, his voice dripping with guilt.

When I raised my eyes to meet his, he was already staring at me softly.

I wanted to hug him and tell him there was nothing to be sad about, but that would be another lie because whatever we were doing was a way of betraying my brother and Sebastain's best friend.

I exhaled sharply and averted my gaze from him as he did the same.

We'll think about it later.

"Were you still attending the Gala?" Mum inquired, taking my hand in her own. Her eyes were red and swollen, and tear stains covered her skin.

I gave a nod.

Before she could finish her sentence, a male nurse approached us.

"The operating table is set up, someone needs to sign the paperwork, and three relatives can meet the patient."

As Mum stood up, I nodded.

"Elle, mum, and Theo, go meet him; I and Seb will just sign the papers and pay the bills," Jake explained.

Mum nodded, but I could tell she was upset after hearing that. Before Jake could walk away, she clutched his hand, and I could see faint lines of guilt in his eyes. And it almost seemed like he was trying to escape the situation.

"Can four of us come in?" Mum inquired.

"I don't think that's okay," the nurse said.

"Not even if it's Mr. Brown's wife, who is the chairman's sister of this hospital?" Mum asked, her brow furrowed.

From my mother's side, this was my uncle's hospital, Victoria Angels. That's correct, but as much as we disliked taking advantage of it, things like this appear to be a blessing at times like this.

The nurse remained silent, as if he wasn't sure if mum was telling the truth.

"Just because we don't use it as a form of leverage doesn't mean we can't- "

"I need to talk to some of my seniors."

"There's no need to work so hard for such a minor issue; let me call my brother and you can just talk to him," Mum said, pulling out her phone and dialing my uncle's number.

Moments like these make me realize how strong my mother is and how blessed I will be if I can be a tenth of what she is.

The nurse took a deep breath and quickly muttered that four of us could enter, but only two at a time. Mum agreed with a nod hanging up the call.

Theo and Mum were the first to enter, and tears streamed down my cheeks once more. I'm not sure I can handle it.

I was terrified. While Jake attended to a call in the corner, Sebastian slowly approached me and stood beside me.

We didn't say anything, and he just stood next to me, close enough for me to feel the warmth of his body.

His fingers brushed up against mine, and they naturally wrapped around each other. He tightened his grip on me, as if to let me know he was right there with me, feeling the same pain I was.

"Thank you," I said quietly, looking ahead, "for being here."

He tightened his grip, "Thank you for letting me in, it means more than you'll ever know," he quietly said, before casting a quick glance at Jake and bringing his lips to my hands.

"I wish it was your lips," he grumbled, while I laughed softly.

So many emotions ran through me right now.

He was adoringly staring at me.

"He'll be fine, Ells," he said solemnly.

I sniffled and nodded.

"He should be fine."

Suddenly, he unwrapped his fingers from mine and clenched his jaws, creating a space between us. I frowned at his antics and then that Jake was approaching us.

"I'm sorry, I had to take that call," Jake explained to no one in particular. Sebastian nodded stiffly, but I remained silent.

How long can we keep this a secret?

"Are you comfortable standing out here, brother?" Jake inquired.

Sebastian nodded, the tick on his jaws still visible, "I'll be right back," he muttered, nodding at me.

It was amazing how well we understood each other without saying a single word.

"What happened to him?" I shrugged as Jake muttered under his breath.

Mum and Theo came out right away, saving me from further questions. Mum's eyes were teary and wet as she sniffled softly, and Theo rubbed his eyes.

"He was inquiring about you. Go see him "She said this while staring at me.

I nodded and smiled sadly.

As I approached the door, I noticed Jake standing in the same spot he had previously and not moving.

"Jake," I called out to him. He stared at me but said nothing, as if his body was present but his mind was not.

"It'll be fine," Mum said quietly as she pushed him forward. He looked mum with a pleading expression, but she said nothing.

Something wasn't right, and I could feel it in the air. But they weren't telling us what was wrong, and judging by Theo's expression, I knew he felt the same way.

Jake came up to me and took my hands in his, as if he needed my help. I squeezed his hands to remind him that I was here with him.

As the eldest, I knew he felt the need to be strong in situations like this, but at the end of the day, we were all humans with emotions.

"We'll get through this," I said quietly, my eyes welling up with tears as I stared at my older brother.

"We'll get through this," he repeated after me, squeezing my hand and kissing my brow.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and they were trying to cover it up from me.