Cullen's doorbell rang.
"Right com_ Mother?" Cullen's words were cut off when he raised his face to see Mrs. Hernandez walk into his living room.
He expected to see his doctor, and not her.
His fingers working on his keyboard paused and he shut his laptop to attend to the woman before him. Her visits are usually so hectic.
The older woman had a visible look of worry in her eyes as she walked down the marble staircase. Her name was Mrs. Hernandez, Cullen's adopted mother. Her husband and she adopted Cullen after his mother's tragic dismissals and father's detention.
The older couple have never allowed him to feel the absence of his parents. They did their possible best, in the kindest way to fill up that vacancy in his heart.
Cullen's blood pressure rose as he watched her rush towards him. He placed both hands on his waist, drummed his feet on the floor, and turned away from her as he wondered what he had done to warrant her visit.
Unexpectedly, she stood before him. Cullen turned to face her and before he could mentally prepare himself, she faced him with a thick slap at the side of his head.
Cullen's eyes widened. "what_"
Before Cullen could complete his words, Mrs. Hernandez pulled him into a tight bone-crushing hug.
After a few seconds, she pulled away from the hug and angrily stumped to one of the couches to place her bag.
Cullen found her angry walk funny but still frowned at her as if reprimanding her behavior.
"You scumbag of a son," she cursed out of nowhere, and the smile on Cullen's face filed off, "You are unwell and the first thing you did was to call your doctor. How about me?"
Cullen's brows dropped in question. "Unwell? Who? Me?" he questioned back stupidly, with a confused expression.
Mrs. Hernandez galed at him like he had lost his mind, "Of course, you. You called your doctor's emergency line. When he informed me, I got so worried," she said.
Cullen rolled his eyes.
Mrs. Hernandez cupped both sides of Cullen's face and stared directly into his eyes. "Where hurts? I told you not to stress your body but you refused. I warned you about_"
"Mother," Cullen cut her off and took her hands off his cheeks, "Do I look unwell to you?" he questioned.
Mrs. Hernandez clenched her purse and gave him a playful jab on the head, "Don't play with me. What exactly is wrong with you?"
Cullen frowned, "I think that's enough for now," he muttered and turned to his laptop.
Mrs. Hernandez's heart dropped. She thinned her lips and followed behind Cullen. She only wanted to have a short moment with him but from his reaction, she seemed to have gone overboard.
"I'm not the one who's hurt," Cullen decided to explain as he took his seat before the mini gray marble table, "She's currently on the second floor,"
Hearing her son, Mrs. Hernandez blinked in surprise, curiosity, and excitement. She? A lady? Like a lover?
'Am I finally going to have more grandkids?' she thought to herself. Her face reddened at her thought.
Without wasting any more time, she dashed towards the staircase. Cullen spared her a glance and shook his head at her attitude. On second thought, Cullen decided to join her.
The moment Cullen stood up, his doorbell rang again. From where he stood, he could see his doctor before his door.
Cullen said nothing and walked toward the staircase. The doctor took that as a cue to come in.
Luckily, Cullen met up with Mrs. Hernandez right before she opened the door. He let out a low sigh and walked into the room behind her.
"What happened to her?" Mrs. Hernandez whispered to Cullen when she saw how pale Amelia was from where she stood.
Cullen said nothing and walked ahead of Mrs. Hernandez. He stood before the bed and stared at Amelia.
Just then, Mr. Hansen walked into the room.
"I thought I would be attending to you," Mr. Hansen said slowly, confusion laced in his voice. He was more confused than Mrs. Hernandez.
Cullen raised his face to the elderly doctor standing before the door. He cleared his throat softly and said, "Stop there. Anything you see here should not leak out," he forwarded.
Mr. Hansen's feet halted. He was taken aback by the warning. Cullen's intimidating aura made it difficult for him to say a word.
"Speak," Cullen ordered sternly, and immediately, the doctor nodded in affirmation.
Recalling Cullen's hate for non-verbal replies, he hasteningly parted his lips to say, "Yes. You should trust me,"
Cullen's brow from an I'm pleased arc. "You should know better than mentioning trust before me."
For some reason, after he said those words, the air in the room dropped harshly. Mrs. Hernandez slammed her forehead with her palm and rushed over to the bed, to see her new daughter-in-law.
However, her feet came to a sudden halt when she caught a glimpse of the woman in the bed. Every excited cell in her disappeared, and a surprised gasp left her lips.
"A… Amelia Theodore?" she stuttered out. Her feet made quick movements and when she stood before Cullen, she questioned, "What is she doing in your house? How did you two meet and escalate to this level?" her voice wasn't as soft as before.
The doctor at the door felt his feet glued to the floor in shock. What was Mrs. Theodore doing in the house of Mr. Henandez? Not just in his house, on his bed.
Could it be… could it be that Cullen and Amelia are having some secret affair? Was that why he asked him not to say a word outside? He knows Cullen feels nothing except anger. But how about the woman on the bed? He knows Cullen to be the most admired bachelor in the business world, country, and beyond. However, doesn't she feel remorseful for her loving husband she decided to ditch for someone younger?
Must women always be the problem?
Immediately, Mr Hensen felt reluctant to attend to the woman in the bed. How dare Cullen invite him over to check on her after having a wild night with someone's wife?
He wondered how the world would view Cullen after this.