Chapter 39: [Bonus chapter] The toxic family

"I have enough of this!" Kavan said. He took Sabrina's hand and stood up.

"You can cut me off, disown me, do whatever you like, I am marrying Sabrina, that is final," he told his grandfather. He pulled Sabrina with him and strode to the front door. Sabrina followed him meekly.

"Kavan! You step out that door…" Bhavesh issued a warning.

Kavan turned around and glared at his grandfather.

"Look, grandfather, I do not want to be disrespectful but you are the one forcing me to do this. Go look for another heir then, maybe get uncle Darun or uncle Darian to marry Reesha and produce heirs! Or maybe YOU marry Reesha to produce heirs for you, I am so done," he said.

With that, he turned away and pulled Sabrina with him. He flung open the door and stormed out even as his family members started talking loudly among themselves with his mother calling to him to stop.

"Ignore them, this is why I had to run away, I have forgotten how toxic they can be," Kavan muttered under his breath as they left the compound of the house. They reached the gate just as Reesha ran out to them, shouting at Kavan to stop.

"Kavan! Stop! Stop!" she cried and annoyingly, he paused and turned around. Sabrina wanted to drag him out. Why is he stopping for that woman?

"I am sorry Reesha but I have never given you any hopes about getting married," he said to her. Reesha shook her head, gasping from running all the way.

"It's not that. Your grandfather collapsed!" she said urgently.

Well, that sounded like it's right out of a TV drama, Sabrina thought fleetingly. She wondered if the grandfather had really fainted or was putting on a show. However, Kavan looked stricken. He paled.

"What? Is he okay?" he asked. He released Sabrina's hand and gazed at the house, as if he could see all the way from the gate.

"They've called for an ambulance, I think you should stay, don't be so rash," Reesha said. He nodded. He turned to Sabrina. She merely nodded supportively. She can't very well tell him that she suspected his old grandfather was putting on a show for attention. That sounded callous.

So, they - the three of them - hurried back to the house with Reesha taking the lead. Sabrina is wondering how the drama will unfold next.

As it turns out, Kavan's grandfather is really out cold. It was literally like a scene out of a TV family drama. Everyone else was crowded around him with Kavan's mother was sobbing loudly and saying "Don't go, not yet! Don't go!" repeatedly. Kavan quickly went to them and made everyone give his unconscious grandfather some space.

"Give him space to breath! You can't crowd around him like that," he said. He knelt before his grandfather and checked his pulse.

"He still has a pulse, it's weak, but he's alive so give him some space," he said. Sabrina peered over Kavan's shoulder. Too bad she didn't have the powers to detect illness. Xin Yi will be able to do that easily.

The ambulance arrived about five minutes later and it was decided that Dayada follows his father in the ambulance while the rest will meet them at the hospital.

"Come with us, we will take you to the hospital," Reesha offered when Kavan's uncles and parents had left without even stopping to ask if he needed a lift.

"Sure, thanks," Kavan said, smiling at her. Sabrina pursed her lips to stop herself from saying anything. Reesha is up to something. Even after all that drama and Kavan walking out like some hero in a rom-com movie, Reesha seemed to still have hope of snagging him for herself.

Too bad you sly sneaky minx, Sabrina thought. Kavan is not going anywhere near you, she think silently as she followed Kavan to Reesha's car with her parents. Sabrina has to squeeze in with Reesha's parents while Reesha drove and Kavan sat up front with her. The 10-minute trip to the hospital was the longest trip for Sabrina. It was highly uncomfortable especially with Reesha's mother looking at her disdainfully and the father plainly ignoring her.

"So, how many months?" Reesha's mother - Dana - asked Sabrina. For a moment, she didn't know what she was asking. She stared at the woman, puzzled.

Dana gestured at her flat belly. "The baby? How far along are you?"

Dammit. She will have to continue telling the lie.

"Uh..two months, I suppose," she lied.

Dana nodded. "That explains your flat stomach. Well, it is still early yet, you can still abort it," she said quietly to her.

Sabrina widened her eyes. Wow. This woman doesn't lose the chance to try to get rid of her for her own daughter's sake.

"Why would I abort it?" she asked the middle-aged woman, her tone chilly.

Dana rolled her eyes as if Sabrina had asked a silly question.

"Well, if Kavan is marrying Reesha, you will end up as a single mother and really, abortion is kinder to you and the kid," she said.

Sabrina looked to the front. Kavan didn't seem to have heard a single thing Dana said. The woman had made sure to say it quietly into her ears.

"What makes you think Kavan will marry Reesha? He has already made it clear that he is marrying me," Sabrina replied.

Dana tittered mirthlessly.

"Are you really that slow? I suppose people from the boondocks can be a bit slow, his grandfather is in hospital, don't you think he will now listen to whatever his grandfather wanted?" she said, her tone derisive.

It rankled Sabrina. She wanted to zap this woman and turn her into a pile of dust. But of course, dragons aren't allowed to physically harm humans. Besides, it would be a total waste of her powers.

"We will see then won't we?" Sabrina replied instead. After all, Bhavesh ending up in hospital doesn't mean he will get his way. Surely Kavan wouldn't allow his grandfather to manipulate him this way.

It was a relief when they finally reached the hospital and Sabrina alighted from the car, away from Reesha's toxic parents. Kavan rushed inside while Sabrina, Reesha and her parents followed closely behind him. Kavan's parents and uncles are already inside, sitting patiently at the emergency waiting room.

"They told us to wait here, they suspect it's a stroke," Darian came up to tell Kavan. Kavan's mother glowered at him, her eyes swollen from crying.

"Are you happy now? You did this!" she cried.

"Now, now, settle down, Ranee," Dayada said, patting her. "I am sure appa is fine," he assured her. She shrugged his hand off angrily. She pointed at Sabrina, her face red with anger.

"What are you doing here? You are the cause of this! If anything happens to appa, I will make sure you pay for it!" she spat.

"Ma, please," Kavan said. His face is pale with worry. Sabrina patted his back to comfort him, ignoring his mother. "It's okay, don't worry," she murmured to him.

"Get out you gold digger!" Kavan's mother hissed at her. She stood up and pushed Sabrina. Hard. Caught unawares, Sabrina stumbled and almost fell but managed to stabilised her footing while Kavan immediately grabbed her arm.

"Ma! You can't do this!" he exclaimed. He pulled Sabrina to his side. "She is my fiancée and she is pregnant, you can't do this to her!" he added.

"Tch. Don't even think I will allow you to marry this shameless gold digger, we don't even know if that so-called baby is yours," Ranee snarled. She huffed and turned away.

Kavan took Sabrina's arm and ushered her away from his family and away from Reesha and her parents.

"Can you help? Can you do something to help my grandfather?" he asked her softly. She looked around. Kavan had whispered to her so nobody else heard him.

"I can try…but I need to touch him," she said.

Kavan sighed. He looked visibly relieved. "Okay, once we are allowed in to see him, I will find a way for you to go in with me," he said.

"Kavan, don't you think it is a bit too much to lie about a non-existent baby?" she whispered back. He gave her a ghost of a smile in reply.

"We can keep trying and make it real," he whispered in reply.

Uh-oh. Looks like she will need to tell him about the reproductive cycles of dragon shapeshifters that are vastly different than humans. But she can't tell him now. She will have to wait for an appropriate time to tell him.

Sucks to be me at this moment, Sabrina thought. Why did she have to fall for an heir to some billionaire family and be subjected to all these name calling and prejudices?