Arranged marriage to the princess of the Red Scorpions
Chapter 182 - Soon

Samuel was surprised to see how happy the jewelry store owner was to see that Samuel was perfectly fine when they stepped inside to pick up the rings. He guessed that the older man felt really endeared to the family after what Zane had done for him.

The rings were a perfect fit at least so there was no concern about having to get them adjusted again with how close the engagement party was going to be. Even the gift that he had gotten had been put on hold even though he was picking it up far later than he had originally intended to. The owner even slipped it into box that he had provided for them to carry the rings out in so that the princess wouldn't see it by accident.

Even though it had caused a certain amount of trouble, he still thought that it was worth the trouble to get it as a proper engagement ring for the other. He just hoped that she would like it. At a later point they could come back to get the rings from the Vedova Nera adjusted if necessary.

Somehow the ride wasn't as tension as it had been in the past. Neither Lena or Zane spoke all that much, but Samuel didn't feel like the silence was a tense one. Though the princess didn't seem exactly thrilled about being seated in the middle, she preferred to be able to look out the car window when they drove because it felt more peaceful to her.

Having Samuel back with her somehow made it less annoying though so that she could put up with it until they reached the hospital. There were still a lot questions that she wanted to ask, but knew that she would have to wait to talk with Jovani again as she presumed that there was still a lot Samuel hadn't been told yet or didn't quite understand.

When they reached the hospital, Zane didn't bother asking the receptionist where the room was located as Jeff's bothered had already told him what the room number was. Like the last time that Zane had been to the hospital to see Clive, a lot of heads turned when they noticed him walking through. Even if he was dressed down or wore no symbol to indicated who he was, enough people knew without having to ask.

Samuel took note of this and wondered if in the future people would look at him the same way once they knew that he was the head of the Vedova Nera family. He couldn't tell though if it was because people knew who he was and that was what made them pay attention or the reputation that he had gotten that caused people to become more aware when he was around.

Samuel didn't see himself creating the kind of reputation that Lena had said her father had. He understood the need to kill in order to protect and that he might replace himself in such situations in the future. He didn't however that he could do anything on the scale that Zane had done. Or would he if anything like that happened to Lena. He caught himself glancing over at her when he thought about this, she didn't notice this or the look in his eyes as she was too focused on paying attention to the room numbers and who else was around them as they walked down the hall in the hospital.

Jeff's brother was standing outside of the room as they approached. There was a limit of only two people at a time thus he stepped outside to allow the others to see his brother. He wasn't thrilled about it, but knew that nothing would happen since they were part of the family.

Samuel didn't miss the odd look that the other gave him as he walked past. He wasn't sure if it was anger or sadness. He couldn't blame the other if he thought that he was responsible for what had happened with his brother.

Jeff was probably most happy to see that Samuel was okay. They hadn't told him much about what had happened beyond the fact that the other was okay and he didn't need to worry about anything which was what the doctor had suggested. He was concerned too much extra stress would have a negative impact on the other man. The first two go in and see him were Samuel and Zane while Lena waited outside with the other.

Samuel beat the younger man to apologizing for what had happened and telling him that there was nothing he needed to apologize for. It had been his fault after all that everything had happened the way it did. Jeff didn't seem thrilled about this, but didn't argue with the other when he saw the look that Zane gave him.

No one was upset about what happened. Jeff had done the job that he was supposed to do. It was just a situation where the outcome wasn't going to work out well because of the number difference. The only thing to be thankful for was the fact that the younger man hadn't be killed enough though the bullet hit dangerously close to that point.

He also wasn't happy to hear that the doctor had expected him to stay for so much longer in the hospital in order to properly recover and ensure that there was going to be no complications.

"It's not like you're going to have your job taken away because you're spending too much time recovering. If you're up for it and we can take better precautions next time to make sure something like this doesn't happen again, I would be happy to have you working with me still." Samuel told the other who seemed to brighten up when he said this.

"Is this something that has been agreed upon over all?" Jeff then asked. He wasn't sure if Samuel had the power to have the last say in this matter or if that would fall on Lena since she had been the one to originally assign him to his position.

"Samuel is saying that it is and that's what counts. Since you're working him, he gets final say in this matter." Zane replied. He had nothing against it if that was what the two of them wanted to stick with. He didn't think that his daughter would object either.

Even if Lena was concerned about it, in her father's mind he doubted that she would argue with Samuel over the decision if it was something that he wanted to do. It was interesting to him to see how the dynamic between the two was being formed.

It was different from the one that he had with his own wife, but it somehow seemed to fit the two who were on the exact opposite side when it came to personality. It was feeling more and more to him that he had made the right call in keeping the engagement between Samuel and his daughter as had originally had been played despite her objections.

They discussed some of the other matters further before Samuel stepped out of the room so that Lena could speak with Jeff. He also did it because he wanted to apologize to the young man who seemed more than a little anxiously worried about his brother.

"I'm sorry for what happened. Your brother is a good person and it was my fault for not being more careful in my actions." This seemed to catch the other by surprise who turned quickly to look at the other before averting his gaze again.

"You don't need to apologize, it is part of the job that everyone here signs up for. Stuff like this could happen at any time and we still accept that risk." He told Samuel even though the tone of his voice told him he didn't quite accept it.

"That doesn't mean it is any easier to handle. You're family after all. I couldn't imagine being able to handle it well at all if something like this happened to one of my own family members." Samuel admitted as he shifted so that he was leaning against the wall in the corner in order to give the other more space.

Soon, that family would be expanding to include Lena as well. It did already in his mind, but something about the engagement made it feel like that was going to make it more official once it had actually happened.

He was going to need to get back to his old training schedule as well not that things were sorting out. He wouldn't tell Lena for the time being that Jovani had agreed to teach him so techniques to improve his aim so that he could better handle a gun. He would need to tell her thought that he was ready to get back to working with Clarice now that his injuries should've been held enough for it.