There's a saying, 'It's hard to find someone who will love you unconditionally.'

It's true. The person sleeping on the chair while grasping my hand tightly was the proof. Before him, my life was empty and monotonous. Before him, every single person had always demanded something from me but Daniel, he barged into my life without warning and gave me everything I was deprived of. He never demanded anything in return just gave everything unconditionally.

And what I did? I gave him pain, the bandage wrapped around his hand and the moistened eyes I saw last night were the proof of it. Still, he remained true to his words and didn't leave me in the middle of the night. Being upset with me, he could have left me alone to show his anger towards me but he put aside the issues to be with me.

I guess this is what unconditional love is.

He was sleeping soundly with his head resting on the bed near my waist. His face profile exhibited exhaustion. I knew he must have been up to look after me. Lifting my free hand, I brushed the loose strands of hair away from his face and admired him lovingly.

"I'm sorry for making you worried. I'm sorry for giving you trouble." I whispered, gently stroking his hair.

A nurse chose the moment to enter the room. She was about to speak but I shushed her and boobed my head in Daniel's direction to make her aware of a sleeping person. She nodded her head in understanding as she sauntered towards the bed. After changing the bandage on my forehead she picked up a syringe.

"Is this to make me sleep again? If yes, then, please don't inject it. I've slept enough." I pleaded.

"Oh, no, ma'am. This is to reduce pain." I nodded my head and allowed her to inject the medicine into my hand.

"Could you please have someone arrange breakfast for us?" I asked thinking about Daniel as he must be hungry. She nodded her head and went out.

"Daniel, wake up." Patting his cheek lightly, I tried to wake him up. He stirred a little but didn't open his eyes then I again tried and this he woke up with a jolt.

"What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked in concern, sleep still not leaving his eyes.

"I'm fine. You should have breakfast."

"Breakfast? What time it is?" He asked while rubbing his eyes. He then checked the time on his wristwatch. "It's six-thirty in the morning?" He frowned and looked at me. "For how long have been up? Why didn't you wake me up before? Has the doctor came to check on you yet?"

His questions brought a small smile to my face. "I've been up for half an hour now. And, yes, a nurse came and dressed my wound. And I had no intention to disturb your sleep as you were sleeping like a baby."

He didn't say anything just kept staring at my face. I knew the look, he wanted to ask questions.

"Go, freshen up, and then have your breakfast," I ordered, adjusting myself in a sitting position in which he helped me.

"Are you aware that you are in no state to order me around?" He glared at me, squaring his arms across his chest.

I sighed. "I know and I also know that you're in no state to question me with an empty stomach. So, fill your stomach with food before asking me anything."

He knew I was right that's why he left for the bathroom without questioning. We had our breakfast in silence and then he sat on the chair, giving me a pointed look.

"Come here." I signaled him to come near me with my index finger. He raised an eyebrow asking me what for. I frowned when he didn't stand up from the chair.

"Don't be grumpy and come over here," I whined. Sighing, he stood and sat on the bed, facing me. I cupped his face and brushed his hair with my fingers.

"What have you done to your hair?" I asked, combing his hair up.

"Trying to distract me?" He asked, swatting my hand away from his face.

I sighed. "No. Preparing myself to answer your questions."

"Well, if you've prepared yourself then may I now ask?" The sarcasm in his voice made me wince mentally. Nonetheless, I nodded my head.

"It's not I'm asking why you went out 'cause I never stop you from doing so. What I want to ask is why did you go out without informing me when you knew some filthy people were after you? You didn't take the bodyguard with you! Why did you play with your safety, huh? You informed me you were home then what came up all of a sudden that you had to go out?" His voice was stern and harsh, raising with every question. I bit the inside of my cheek, looking down on my lap.

"Don't keep sitting like that. Answer me, Eloise!"

"I...I received a phone call from... Cl...Claire." I couldn't help but stutter. "She said she needed my help and asked me to meet her at the club." I kept staring at my lap because couldn't look up to him.

"What help? And why did she ask you for help considering the fact that you two never get along? Most importantly, you agreed?" Confusion and doubt were laced in his voice.

"I thought she genuinely needed my help that's why I went to meet her," I mumbled.

"What did she need from you?"

"You"

How could I tell him that? I had no intention to tell him what she wanted so I skipped the part.

"Umm... Before she could ask, her phone rang and she went out to take the phone call. And Michael came into the picture..." I told him everything that had happened, from the start to the end.

"For god's sake Eloise, how can you be so careless?" He abruptly stood up which made me look at him. "How could you agree to take his help? You went with him without thinking! You could have called me!"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. Maybe the effect of the drug—"

"That's the height of being foolish, Eloise." He snapped which made me flinch. I looked at him in horror thinking about what suddenly happened to him. He had never acted like that before.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was when I didn't see you at home? My heart almost stopped when I tracked your location and found you at that bastard Rick's hotel. I was terrified when I saw you lying unconscious on the floor. Panic arose in me and I thought..." He let out an annoying breath.

"Dan—"

"You can't understand the dread I felt when the thought of not being on time crossed me. I... I went into the past at the exact moment when..." He couldn't complete his sentence and I didn't need to run my mind for what was he referring to.

A lone tear rolled down my cheek thinking how deep I had hurt him. Unknowingly, I had opened his deepest wound which wasn't healed yet.

He ran his hands through his hair and came up to me, cupping my face he spoke, "I knew nothing would happen to you but I couldn't wave away the fear of losing you." I saw fear in his eyes. I saw anxiety in his eyes. Though he was angry, he couldn't hide his concern for me.

"It feels like I failed to protect you."

"No, Daniel, don't say this." I gripped his wrists. Panic arose in me, he did not have to blame him. He was punishing himself for the things he never did.

"Don't blame yourself because of my dumb decisions. I'm the one who is at fault. I am the fool here. You did your best to keep me safe. And trust me, with you I feel the safest person in the world. Please, please, don't take it on you. Blame me, scold me, punish me but not yourself. Please." I pleaded, tears of guilt flowing out of my eyes.

"Hey, shhh... Don't cry." He wiped my face with his palms. I snaked my arms around his torso and pressed the side of my face against his abs. "I'm sorry." I sniffed. He kissed the top of my head but didn't say anything.

He was still upset. We stayed like that for a while then we separated and he gave me my medicine. The door of the room swung open and Trish, Evan, and mom came into view. Evan hugged me tightly and scolded me for being careless, Trish did the same.

"Can I talk to her in private please?" It was my mother who spoke. I glanced at Daniel pleading him with my eyes not to leave me alone with her but he bobbed his head telling me to talk to her. They went out leaving me alone with my mother.

"How do you feel, Eloise?" She asked as she sat on the chair beside me. I kept my face straight, not looking at her at all. I was still not ready to have any kind of conversation with her.

I heard her sigh as she grasped my hand. "I'm sorry, Eloise, for everything I did. I know my apology will do nothing at this moment but trust me I deeply regret what I did. I couldn't be a good mother or wife. I'm sorry for neglecting you and your father for a long time but now I want to mend things between us." Her voice cracked at the end.

"I've hurt you a lot but believe me, Eloise, I love you. I never wanted any of this to happen. I accept that I was blinded for luxury and fame but not anymore, I've learned my lesson. And I assure you that I'll do anything to make everything correct between us. I'll try my best to bring my family close together."

My soul was weeping at her confession but I did not let it surface on my face. Deep down I wanted to hold her hand but I balled my hand to resist myself from doing so. I didn't even utter a word.

She intertwined her fingers with mine and gripped my hand tightly. "Look at me, Eloise." She pleaded but I didn't look at her.

"I take it as you still don't want to talk to me." She sighed. "It's okay, I understand." She let go of my hand and stood up. "Just to tell you...I'm going back to your father and this time for good. I'll mend everything between us and will make sure he doesn't watch the news until everything cools down."

She leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Please forgive me." She whispered before leaving the room.

I didn't cry, I wanted to but I didn't. I was satisfied that she realized her mistakes but I still couldn't forgive her. Maybe one day I'll but not now. I wasn't ready.

Daniel, Evan, and Trish came back into the room and but with Xavier, Ariana, and Sean.

"How are you feeling, Eloise?" Ariana asked.

"Better," I replied with a smile.

"Thank goodness you're fine, Eloise. You have no idea how hard it was to handle this mess." Sean joked, pointing at Daniel to which he scowled. Everyone present in the room laughed and I chuckled.

"Yes, it was hard. He was crying like a baby." Xavier too joked then faced me. "He cried for you."

My smile vanished and my eyes met Daniel's. He averted his eyes.

"I hope you two have cleared everything between yourself?" Xavier asked, looking between me and Daniel.

"Yes, I guess," I mumbled lowly.

Sean and Xavier came and stood on either side of me. "Jokes apart, don't do this again, Eloise. You made all of us worried." Sean spoke.

I nodded my head and held their hand. "Thank you for taking care of Daniel. And thank you for helping me." I said sincerely. They looked at me in confusion.

"I knew you both came to help me. I heard your voices." I said.

"Anything for family." They both smiled, patting my head in a brotherly way.

We chatted and laughed a little but Daniel didn't. Surely he engaged himself in conversation and smiled a little, that's all. Soon time for them to leave came.

"Eloise, if you need anything don't hesitate to call me. I'm just a call away, okay?" Ariana said. I smiled in reply.

Everyone left in a while, leaving me and Daniel alone. He called the doctor to check on me.

"When can I take her home?" He asked the doctor.

"Well, I have already checked her vitals and everything is okay." She then faced me. "Eloise, do you feel any pain, dizziness, or headache?" She asked. I shook my head in no.

"Hmm, she's recovering and I think she does not need to stay here anymore. She still needs to take medicine though. I'll tell a nurse to prepare the discharge papers." She said and left.

"Well, as you can go home, I think you should change," Daniel said, giving me a bag that Trish had brought with her. The bag had a casual maxi dress in it.

Daniel helped me to stand up from the bed. "Umm... Do you need help with the dress?" He asked hesitantly.

"My hands and legs are fine, Daniel. It's just my head which has a small wound. I can manage." I assured him with a smile.

"Are you sure? If not me, I can call a nurse to help you." He added.

"Daniel, I've no problem with you helping me with anything. I really can manage." I pecked his cheek and went to the bathroom to change my dress.

When I came out I saw him packing my belongings. I smiled at the sight in front of me. I crossed my arms across my chest and watched how he calmly read the name of every medicine before keeping it in the bag. This man never fails to amaze me. He never hides his concern. He never fails to show his care.

Approaching him I hugged him from the back. He went stiff but relaxed immediately.

"Umm, everything is packed, I think I should go out to the reception to ask for the discharge papers." He said, removing my hands from around his torso. I sighed but didn't say anything. He too needed time to heal. He wasn't leaving me, that thought was enough to keep me sane.

Suddenly, the door of the room swung open and the person who came into view turned my mood bitter.

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