"Chloe, wake up...."

"Can you hear me......?"

"Can you respond just for me.....?"

"Mhmm," I mumble and wrench open my eyes. Everything's in a state of fuzziness. I see green colours contrasting with brown, everything seems pixel-like. I blink and finally register Ed's battered face hovering above my head. What happened?

"Chloe!" Ed shouts loudly, his weary face lightening up. "Thank goodness." He hugs me tightly and murmurs gruffly, "I love you so much."

"You worry too much man," I say slowly and try to sit up but the excruciating pain sends me lying down again. "Argh, my head hurts."

"You had a bad fall," he says seriously, using his arm to prod my head up. "Try not to move so much. I think your legs are broken."

"Ok..."

"Jeez." Ed shakes his head. "I thought you would just leave me like that. While you were unconscious, I kept thinking of so many things we have yet to do- get married, have kids, grow old together." He covers his eyes with his pain. Oh sheez. I'm the injured person here and I'm not acting as melodramatic as him. Still, it's touching.

"Ed," I croak out and touch his face. His pain is so stark and apparent, I almost flinch. He cares about me. He loves me. He worries about me.  "I'm so sorry I behaved so idiotically," I murmur. "I was too rash to believe that you were flirting with Beatrice."

"It's my fault too," Ed says softly. "I knew you wouldn't betray me by dating Fred and I apologise for my attitude. You were right. I was just trying to act tough. The fact is that we're lost and I refused to acknowledge that. I wanted to impress you just now."

"It's not your fault," I laugh but wince. My jaws hurt like hell. "You were very endearing just now though."

"So will you forgive me?"

"Obviously."

He presses his lips against mine and I smile before pulling away. It's not the best time to makeout right now.

"Have you called for help?" I ask wearily.

"Yes, using your phone. Thank goodness you had the sense to bring a working mobile," he tries to joke but I can see the pain on his face. "You've only been out for an hour but it feels like forever."

"That's got to be the corniest line ever," I snort, almost twisting my facial muscle.

"I don't care." He hugs me close to his chest with his arms.

"CHLOE! ED! ANYONE THERE?" I hear someone screaming and I look up.

I see a bunch of familiar people with the paramedics.

"Here...!" I try to croak out.

"We're here! SOS! " Ed screams loudly, waving his torchlight.

"You have a torchlight?" I say, somewhat bewildered.

"Always prepared," he says wryly.

"OH MY GOSH! CHLOE! ED! IS THAT YOU?" Zoe shouts and she comes scrambling down the ledge, sending rocks flying all over.

"Is she crazy?" Ed asks. 

"That's her normality." I smile.

Zoe slides down the mud and barrels towards me. "Are you hurt? Can you count my fingers?" She holds up her hand.

I swat it away mockingly and say, "I just had a concussion only."

"Sorry," she apologises. "They always do that number thing in the movies."

Two paramedics land next to me using a rope. Both of them look severe-looking and ominous.

"Miss, we need to get you on the stretcher right now. I'm going to inject you with something that will make you sleep for awhile."

"Ed," I say and reach out for him.

"Hush Chloe, just sleep well. I will be right beside you," he murmurs.

I close my eyes and as the drug hits my blood, I drift off into unconsciousness.

********

"Mum, how's her diagnosis?" I hear Ed's voice sound out.

"She's fine except for a few fractured bones. She will need to be put into a cast for the next few weeks." I hear a professional, feminine voice assure Ed.

"A few fractured bones? How can you call that "fine"? Is she going to be alright?" Ed says agitatedly.

"It's unlike you to care so much for a girl," the woman answers in a surprised tone. "Besides, don't you trust my professional opinion? I have been a doctor for more than thirty years."

"Fuck your professionalism," Ed growls. "Your professionalism has took you constantly away from the family."

I open my eyes and swivel my head to the right. An ebony-haired woman wearing a doctor's coat is talking, no, arguing with Ed. I spy her nametag, "Kendra Hardy". Hardy? She's related to Ed?

"Hello, I'm awake now," I say with more spirit.

Both heads jerk towards my direction. Ed's face melt into a picture of relief. "You're awake!" he exclaims and comes over to the bedside to clutch my hand.

The woman walks to the edge of my bed and says rigidly, "Miss Manson, is it? I'm your doctor in a professional capacity. Privately, I'm Ed's mother."

I stare at her. Now that I look closer, except for their hair colour, both of them share similar features- the same pointed nose, the defiant look and similar face shape. I always envisioned meeting my future in-laws at a dinner in a restaurant...not stuck in the hospital with my bones broken. Still, her face lack Ed's warmth. It's too hard, too cold and too severe.

"Nice to meet you," I say slowly.

"How long has this been going?" She gestures to Ed and me.

"A few weeks," I answer.

"2 weeks and 5 days," Ed answers automatically. I glance at him in surprise. He actually notes all these random stuff?

"What are you going to do about Hannah?" Ed's mother directs the question at Ed. "Are you going to ignore the issue and run away like a little boy?"

Ed looks as if he had just been slapped in the face. He stood up, straightened his posture and say angrily, "The issue with Hannah is over. I don't understand why both Father and you keep harping on it. "

"It's not over," Ed's mother hisses. I stare at her. It's so weird to see her cold, impassive face contorted with emotion. "Does she know about history with Hannah?" She points her finger at me.

Ed stiffens. "I will explain to her in due time."

"She needs to know how you behaved like a coward." Ed's mother raises her voice. "How you shirked your responsibility as a father."

As a father? What? What's going on? I try to sit up but I can't. Everything hurts like hell. Has Ed been keeping things for me?

"I'm not going to accept your relationship with her unless you give me a satisfactory explanation."

"I'm not the same kid you used to order around," Ed shouts. Thankfully, there was no one else in this private room to witness the spectacle. "I love Chloe. I don't care whether you approve of this or not but Hannah and I are history. Chloe's my future."

Ed's mother walks towards him and slaps him on the face. I gasp.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demand. No one slaps my boyfriend, not even his bitchy mother.

"Stay out of our private affairs," his mother snaps.

Ed looks as if he's stung but he looks in his mother's eyes and say, "Don't you dare say that to Chloe. She's going to be my wife."

"It's still early days," his mother snorts. "We will see if she can tolerate the news." With that, she stalks out of the room and bangs the door close.

"What's going on Ed? Explain this to me," I say, tugging his hand. He turns slowly to me, his face pained yet guarded.

"Are you sure you want to know the truth?" He closes his eyes. "I'm just scared that you will leave me because of what I told you."

I frown. "Are you suggesting we build our relationship based on lies? If I'm your girlfriend and possible future wife, I need to know what's going on with Hannah? Is she your ex-girlfriend?" I ask, slightly pained. Maybe Hannah and him dated for many years. Is it possible Ed still cares for her? That's why he's angry? Because he's betraying me?

"She's not just my ex-girlfriend." Ed's voice wavers slightly. "She was my ex-fiance and she was pregnant with my child."

I don't reply because I'm frozen with shock. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? That means....Ed and Hannah were engaged and they even had their own kid.....Does that mean I'm the 3rd party of the relationship? NO. PLEASE NO. I don't want to end up like my mum. PLEASE.

"What happened?" I croak out, my eyes start to fill with tears. I can't believe he never told me this. If he had, I would have....punched him or stabbed him with my stiletto heel.

"Hannah's a doctor here too. Her father is a stakeholder in this hospital," Ed says softly. "My family owns this hospital and my brother is in-charge of it. A year ago, the hospital ran into debts and Hannah's father volunteered to pump in money on the condition one of us married his daughter."

"Then your...brother?"

"Jack's a selfish bastard." Ed shakes his head. "Besides, he had a girlfriend then and I was single. I had met Hannah a few times and she seemed nice enough. I took her out on a few dates and both families decided on the engagement once they found out she was pregnant."

"Why did you break up then?" I sob. I don't even know why I'm crying. I'm just....angry at myself for believing Ed's lies. Damn him. I should have listened to the rational part of my brain and avoided him.

"I was used to complying with my mother's wishes but a few weeks from our wedding, I realised I had made a mistaken," Ed continues. "I couldn't fathom myself spending the rest of my life with that...woman and having a child together. Marriage is a sacred thing to me. I want to do it properly with the right person." His face softenes as his gaze lands on me.

"The child?" I croak. "What happened to the child?"

Ed gauges my reaction and sighs, "I forced her to abort it."

"You what?" I say. Did I really just heard what he had said? It's not...possible. Ed's the most sensitive man I've ever been with. He can't possibly kill an innocent life, his own child.

"The baby wouldn't have had a happy family even if he or she was born and I married Hannah," Ed says firmly. "We wouldn't have made a happy family. As I gradually got to know Hannah, I realised her sincerity and kindness was only a facade. She's insensitive and thoroughly self-centered. Why should the child deserve a mother like that?"

"But you killed your child!"

"Do you not register whatever I just said?" Ed says and grasps my hands. "I only want to have babies with one person and that's you. When I look at my child, I want to see your features in it, not Hannah's. I want to watch our kids grow up with you only. I don't want to share a future with Hannah."

"You're a murderer!" I shout, crying full-fledged now. I can't stop the tears dribbling down my cheek.

Ed looks stunned. "Chloe, please." He reaches out for me.

I slap his hand away.

"Leave me alone." I turn my head so that my back faces him. I can't stop crying. It hurts so much.

It's not just his history with Hannah. It's the fact that he forced Hannah to abort his child just because of his selfish wishes. The child is innocent. What would have happened if Mum had just aborted me when Dad left her?

"I will come back once you have calmed down," he says softly, his voice contained with masked emotion.

As he leaves, my tears soak into the pillow.

I hate you, Ed Hardy. I hate you.