Do Not Trigger Him

Every night, Aiden made sure to call his grandmother and wished her a good night.

Every night, his grandmother had something else to report to his grandson.

One day, it was the swimming class for senior.

Another day, it was the chess competition with a fellow patient.

Grandma Thompson bragged about winning a box of butter cookies, courtesy of White Chapel.

"And, can you believe it, Aiden? Everyone is so nice in here. I made so many friends within days of staying!!!"

Aiden smiled to himself while he listened to his grandmother's words. It turned out that it was not a mistake to pick White Chapel.

The hospital not only focused on the physical recovery but was also determined to do so without forsaking their patients' mental health.

That was why there were so many activities across all age ranges.

It almost didn't feel like staying in a hospital, more like a lavish home for aged but wealthy residents!

The nightly conversation was Aiden's greatest motivation to go through the content of the contract every night.

The thick staple of contract was full of law jargon that Aiden did not understand. He neither had friends who practiced law nor dared to show the contract to anyone.

As a result, the young man had to search for every foreign term that he did not understand to gain a full understanding of the scope of the contract.

He knew that he had to sign eventually, but it didn't mean that he had to be stupid about it.

He needed to know his rights and responsibilities; boundaries that he could not breach; and also the penalties that were involved.

After diligently studying the contract for a few days, Aiden came to understand that this must be a general contract that Ryan gave to anyone whom he wished to buy blood from.

Aiden was neither the first one nor the last one to sign such a contract.

The terms that were mentioned in the contract were more than fair according to the Law Of Three Races. Summarized in a few sentences, Aiden was to sell blood for a flat rate of £20,000 per transaction.

It was more than generous.

Additionally, Ryan Caldwell was going to cover transport and accommodation on every day of the transaction and then on the following day after the transaction.

Should any mishap happen, Ryan Caldwell would be responsible for providing any medical assistance at a cost that he alone should bear.

In return, he was allowed to summon Aiden anytime and anywhere. Aiden had no room for negotiation at all.

Failure to appear was going to cost him another blood transaction at no cost.

Aiden made sure to understand every clause before he finally scribbled his signature on the last page.

Aiden arranged to meet with Angela on his next trip to visit his grandmother to hand over the signed contract. Angela told him that a copy of the contract would then be sent by mail to his address at Harrow Lane.

"When is it going to take place?" Aiden asked when they met over the weekend. "The blood transaction, I mean."

Angela shrugged.

"Mr. Ryan Caldwell has never bought any drop of blood before. This is the first time he does it."

"..."

Aiden was speechless. Where did that elaborate blood-selling contract come from, then?

"You can ask him directly, or I can contact you when he wants your service."

"Oh. Alright, then."

For someone who had paid that much money in advance, Ryan Caldwell did not look like someone who was in a rush to get his money back. That was not necessarily a bad thing for Aiden. The young man focused on recovering from anemia, his part-time job, his student union responsibilities, and his mid-semester exams.

On the last day of exams before winter break started, Aiden got a message from Angela.

"Hello, Aiden. Ryan would like to request your presence at Dominion during winter break, at least for five days. Can you make it?"

Five days?

Five days of selling blood?

Was that not going to kill him?

Aiden was not sure what to answer. Instead of asking Angela what it meant, he ended up asking her to give him some time to think about it.

Angela graciously agreed, although she was quite confused with Aiden's answer.

Aiden did read the contract properly, right?

Over at his place, Aiden did not know what to do. He ended up sending Nick a text to ask for a friendly counsel.

Nick did not answer with a text but with a phone call instead.