Chapter 124: Sacrifice
Ryan’s POV
The unpredictability of life, was really something.
His grandfather had made him come to their ancestral home by faking an illness. Then he had ended up having an actual medical emergency. Something that Ryan had nearly dismissed because he’d thought that the old man was toying with him again, trying to get Ryan to stay when he just wanted to leave.
It was terrifying.
Had he just decided that the old man was simply putting on a good show, he would have left his grandfather out there. Just thinking of the fact that for a split second, he’d considered leaving made Ryan feel sick. What would he have done if his grandfather had not made it?
Pacing in the waiting room, Ryan fought back at the guilt and worry, trying to eat away at him. Even though he had managed to get to his grandfather in time, there were still so many unanswered questions.
What if something truly was wrong? How in the world was he going to handle that? His mind was well into the process of turning itself into a minefield of ’what ifs’ when he was thankfully interrupted by the doctor showing up.
***
The good news was that it was not a heart attack, nor was it a stroke. Those two were the major things that Ryan had been worried about.
But the bad news was that it was something that he knew he had most likely been the cause of. His grandfather had suffered a panic attack.
Not only that, from the tests that the doctors had run. They had found that the old man’s blood pressure was also through the roof.
"We are going to be keeping him in the hospital for a bit so that we can keep a better eye on him. But so long as he avoids any stressful triggers, your grandfather should be perfectly fine," Looking at the doctor, Ryan could tell that she was telling him all of that in an effort to reassure him. She had no idea that each word out of her mouth felt like an accusation lobbied right at him. How was he supposed to tell her that Ryan just existing was one big stressor for his grandfather?
That no matter what he said or did, it always seemed to affect the old man negatively. Ryan had put distance between them to try and protect the old man. But that distance had hurt his grandfather( it had hurt Ryan too, but his pain did not matter in that moment).
He’d seen the agony in the old man’s eyes as clear as day. Then when the old man had suggested that he marry Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth, Ryan had just told him no without giving him a reason why.
From his grandfather’s perspective, he could see why Ryan refusing to marry the woman would seem like the biggest mistake on the planet.
For those who did not know her well, people who had only ever seen her carefully crafted mask, Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth was perfection.
She was the type of woman that fathers wanted their sons to marry, and mothers wanted their daughters to be like. But once one looked past all of the beauty and saw what lay beneath, There was nothing good about Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth. But his grandfather did not know that. He was so taken by Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth that the thought of Ryan not wanting to be with her had been enough for the old man to end up in the hospital. Just how was Ryan supposed to remedy the situation?
***
His grandfather had never been a particularly expressive man. But seeing him laying on the hospital bed, as still as a stone, not even a single flick of emotion showing on his unconscious face. Ryan wanted to be anywhere, but in that room. Instead of moving away though, he forced himself to move forward until he finally took a seat and held his grandfather’s hand in his own.
He was still warm. Just as he had been back at the garden. That reassured Ryan, but he did not like how limp his grandfathers hand was. After squeezing it gently and not getting a response, Ryan put his grandfather’s hand down and instead busied himself with fixing up the old man’s blankets.
"Hey, Grandfather, it’s Ryan. I’m sorry about earlier," As expected, the old man did not say anything, he just simply continued to sleep. Pulling back, Ryan moved his hand away from his grandfather’s blankets, folding them on his lap instead.
"I know that you worry about me, and even though I have not been the best at showing it these past few years, I worry about you too. It is why I have been keeping my distance," It was so tempting to just come out with everything and tell his grandfather while the old man could not really hear him.
But Ryan bit his tongue and kept silent. If he told his grandfather the truth one time, then he was scared that he would keep wanting to repeat it over and over. But if he did that, there was a chance that his grandfather’s condition might get worse.
Even if he were to wait for the old man to get better. Telling him about Gwendolyn might result in his grandfather ending up in the hospital suffering from more serious complications. Ryan could not have that. He had to keep the old man happy and healthy for as long as possible, and so once again taking his grandfather’s hand in his, Ryan made a sacrifice.
Just thinking of what he would have to do to safeguard the old man’s health made Ryan’s heart feel as though it were being torn out of his chest. But he forced the words to leave his mouth.
"If it is truly what you want, then fine, I will marry her. I will take Gwendolyn Stuart the fourth as my wife,"
