Chapter 46

"I have to get back to work."

But as always, it wasn't so simple. Pulling him back was Ophelia. "But Oweeeen~!" she whined.

"Seriously, I have to go."

"But your wrist!" She tugged at his arm harder. With a sigh and a smile, Owen turned to her. He didn't want to lie and say he disliked her clinginess. Honestly, it didn't. Alas, the world ran on money and what little they made from WuTube wouldn't be enough to pay rent.

"It's not a big deal, I just have to tell them to make me do less physically demanding work." Owen gently took her hand and placed it on her heart. "Promise."

"Okay." Ophelia looked quite dejected. As much as it pained him, he had to go. He looked over at the living room and saw Isabella gaming. She was much less concerned. He appreciated that too. 

It was early in the morning and typically the two wouldn't get caught dead at this time. Today was different since he was recovering from his injuries. The two had even slept in the same bed as him. Being fret over was…nice. Before Ophelia and Isabella, he couldn't remember anyone worrying for him like they did.

"Isabella, I'll see you later. Remember to do the cleaning today."

"Love you," Isabella replied, half-listening. Owen chuckled and went off. He predicted that right before he came back, she would feverishly start cleaning. 

He biked to work. Arriving at the construction site, Owen was greeted by the familiar sight of his colleagues bustling about, preparing for another day of work. Despite his injuries, he was determined to contribute in any way he could—and make some sweet cash in return.

Owen approached Boss Mike and cleared his throat to get his attention. "Hey, Boss. I need to talk to you about something."

Boss Mike turned to face him. "What?"

"I...uh...I hurt my wrist," Owen admitted, his gaze briefly dropping to his injured wrist before meeting Boss Mike's eyes again. "It happened during my visit to the Big Boss's mansion. I didn't think it was too serious at first, so I had a doctor check it." He showed the bandages. "It's pretty bad."

Boss Mike frowned slightly. "So that's why you weren't here on Friday. Okay, I'll put you with Frank."

Phew. Nice. Boss Mike was often unreasonable but citing the Big Boss offered him some slack. Once he was up with Frank, time went by surprisingly fast. The older man was full of stories because of his golf trip with his family. Owen listened until Frank took note of his bandages and switched the subject to that.

"Who was the doctor, by the way?" 

"Dr. Belle."

"Dr. Belle?"

"I think I mentioned her to you, right? She was who helped me out after the crane incident. Funny how small the world is."

Frank blinked twice. Currently, it was lunch and the two sat inside a fleet of stairs in the interior of the skyscraper. "Really? Dr. Belle? The sleepy gal with the poker face?"

That was one way to put it. "Yeah."

"Ha! I forgot that you're technically new here. My friend, Dr. Belle is the hospital director's daughter."

'Wait, what?' Owen didn't know what he expected Frank to say. However…the hospital director's daughter was not on the list. If that was the case then…

"Hospital director's daughter…so our boss…" Owen trailed off, flabbergasted. "...but their last names…"

"Dr. Belle is the daughter of the Big Boss' first wife. She passed away so the daughter took her maiden name as her last."

"So the lady that visited on Friday is his second wife…?"

"Precisely. I heard there's some drama but, well, who doesn't have a little bit of family drama?"

Owen craned his head and stared at his bandages. Great. Just great. He, a normal employee, had been speaking casually to the daughter of the most powerful man in the city.

"Is Big Boss fond of her?" Owen ended up asking.

"Ha! Are you kidding?" Frank guffawed. "Fond?"

His heart rose.

"He loves her! He has two other daughters with his second wife but none are as loved as his surgeon daughter. He is very proud of her. Ha! I bet any guy who gets ten feet in her is probably going to get the mafia dad treatment."

His heart fell. He had asked the city's most powerful daughter to be his family doctor. Owen could only laugh. 'Why does this always happen to me?'

"Oh, speaking of important people, have you heard the rumour on the streets?" Frank nudged him on the shoulder as Owen shrugged. "Come on, you're young. You should know what I'm talking about."

"Uh, no, not at all. Injured, remember?"

"Oh, right, right. But still, I mean…" Frank awkwardly gestured at him.

"I'm confused. What?"

Frank pursed his lips, staring at the bottom of the stairs, and then blurted out, "You're a former gangster, right?"

Huh?

"Huh?"

"You have the body type and the vibe and the eyes. Seriously, you're mad intimidating until you smile. Unless I'm wrong? In that case, ignore what I said." Frank patted him on the back. Owen could only sit there and take it. "Anyway, word is that the Royal Lions, ya know, the guys with the orange jackets, their leader is out hunting for someone."

"The Royal Lions…to be honest, I don't know much about them. Are they new?" Owen asked.

"Pretty new and gaining power fast. I believe their leader is the youngest son of the Ferraris."

"So is he trying to bring his family to its former glory or what?"

"No idea. I just hear whispers. I don't know the details."

Owen sipped on his empty box of apple juice. Frank hadn't realized it but he was right on the dot. He was a gangster in the past and a notorious one to put it mildly. The past was the past though. He turned away from that life, never to return.

Owen Hart was a changed man. An ordinary man. A simple construction worker. A streamer.

*****

Family Doctor: Grace Belle

Strength: 5/10

Dexterity: 9/10

Constitution: 3/10 

Intelligence: 10/10

Wisdom: 6/10

Charisma: 7/10

Weed Addiction: 10/10