Chapter - 57 - One more time

Rick took the strips of tablets and put them inside his pocket before taking a good look at the sleeping beauty, Gianna. He crouched beside her and looked at her, as if she was the rarest painting in this world. Her mesmerizing face and unique scent exuding from her made him hesitate to leave her, but he had no choice but to leave.

Rick walked towards the balcony and was about to leave, but he couldn't leave without a goodbye. He slowly slid inside the study room and scribbled something on the sticky note. Rick stuck the scribbled note on the balcony door before jumping out of the balcony. He left the apartment the same way he came in.

Rick slowly walked to the location he sent to Derrick, which was a 15 minutes walk from Gianna's apartment. He intentionally shared a place farther from her apartment because Rick didn't want Gianna to face any issues because of him in the future. He reached the spot 10 minutes to 1 am and saw a black car waiting under the tree.

Rick took out his phone to dial Derrick's number, but Derrick called him instead. "Hurry up!" said Derrick and hung up the call. Rick quickly crossed the road and hopped into the seat of the car. "You are impressive! How did you even manage to escape from those men?" exclaimed Derrick.

"Take me to my men," said Rick and shut his eyes after leaning on the seat. Derrick, an attractive man in his early 40s with a proper build, was Rick's business partner. Derrick was long used to his cold behavior and never took it to heart.

The rest of the car ride was in silence, and it came to a stop, roughly after 45 minutes. Rick's heart felt heavier every minute as the distance between him and Gianna grew. He didn't know if the feeling was temporary or permanent, but he was sure of one thing, that is, he wanted to hold on to the memory forever in his heart.

He got down from the car and was immediately greeted by Albert. "Capo!! You are finally back!!" exclaimed Albert as he hugged him tightly. Rick let out a groan, and Albert looked at him questioningly.

Rick was a man of few words, so he lifted his t-shirt to show his wound. Albert and Derrick gasped at the same time, and Albert asked, "Are you alright, Rick? Come, let's go to the clinic at once!" Rick stopped him and said, "I am fine! Take me to Ben." Albert couldn't go against Rick, so he led him to the ICU where Ben was lying.

"How serious is it?" asked Rick looking at Ben, who was lying on the bed. "He is stable now. He will be transferred to the recovery ward in no time," said Derrick standing beside Rick. "Now we have an idea about the Ellerbrock's stand in Halston city, so make sure our next plan is carried out meticulously. I don't want a single drawback in the next plan! Am I clear? asked Rick, with narrowed eyes. Both Albert and Derrick understood the heaviness of his words by the cold vibe he was giving off and responded to him with a stern 'yes'.

Rick walked to the room which was arranged within the base, and sat on the bed looking at the bandage around his waist. He grazed the bandage slowly and mumbled to himself, "Will I ever be able to meet you again? I find it funny because I badly want to get injured again, so I can see and be with you, Gianna! I am going crazy !!!" Rick covered his face with the pillow and let out a loud groan of frustration.

Rick couldn't sleep that night because Gianna's beautiful face would appear whenever he closed his eyes! 'Did I really fall in love with her? I am going crazy !! Why is she torturing me even after I left her? I have seen many women out there, but why does she stand out in my heart? Is she feeling bad that I left without saying goodbye?' thought Rick with his eyes open wide.

Rick knew he would lose control of his mind if he continued to think about Gianna and would lag in his work so he gave up sleeping and switched on his laptop to gather the details of Mr. Richard Ellerbrock. He continued his search all night and found out that his grandson Alexander Ellerbrock was admitted to Silver Crest Hospital.

Rick suddenly remembered Gianna's junior mentioning the name Alexander in their call and not only that, Gianna is also working in Silver Crest Hospital. A strong bang of realization hit his mind when he connected all the dots! So, Alexander is admitted to Silver Crest hospital where Gianna is working and she is his doctor in charge, and that is how Gianna was acquainted with Mr. Richard Ellerbrock!

Rick wasn't surprised but felt a little guilty because he had accused her of being one of the Ellerbrocks, the previous night. He wanted to apologize to her but was not sure he should put her in danger just for him to apologize. Yet again, he ended up thinking about Gianna again and felt completely lost for the second time in his life!

The first time he was lost, he wanted to die, but now he desperately wanted to live! He wanted to live so he could at least see Gianna for one more time!