Through the silence of the night, Tabitha could make out the faint voice of a woman on the other end.
“Mittens is gone, Christian! I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find it. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off it.
“It’s just a tiny baby. If anything happens to it, I don’t want to live anymore…”
“Don’t! Don’t go there. Nothing will happen to it.”
Panic clouded Christian’s face.
He took a glance at Tabitha before walking out while covering his phone, his voice trailing off.
“It’s late. It’s not safe for you to venture out alone to find Mittens. I’ll be there in five…”
Moments later, Christian scrambled back to the room, threw on a jacket, and made up a lie about a work emergency before heading out without so much as a glance at Tabitha.
Doubling over in pain, Tabitha could only watch as Christian faded into the background.
The emotional betrayal hurt far more than the physical illness.
Left without a choice, Tabitha had to drag herself across the room to find her medication.
Slipping on her foot, Tabitha tumbled out of bed and passed out on the floor.
Tabitha woke up in a hospital ward.
The nurse was prepping her up for IV therapy when Tabitha opened her eyes. The nurse perked up with excitement and relief.
“You’re awake at last. Mr. Loader spared no expense to get you treatment. He was very upset while you were out.”
The nurse sounded rather envious.
However, Tabitha simply let out a wry smile.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. Alcohol had been essential to closing business deals while she fought to save Christian’s dying business, and it had taken a permanent toll on her health.
Yet now, she wasn’t even worth more than a pet cat belonging to his ex.
Unable to stand the smell of disinfectants in the ward, Tabitha propped herself up and stepped out.
She barely took a few steps out the door when she spotted a familiar figure passing by.
As her heart skipped a beat, Tabitha quietly kept up.
Tabitha caught sight of Christian hiding in the corridor, whispering into his phone.
Christian chuckled, his voice full of resignation and affection.
“No, I can’t leave right now. She’s still out cold.
“Hang in there. I’ll definitely make time to see you. It won’t be long now.”
Kelsey must have said something because Christian flashed those cute dimples and responded dotingly, “Got it. I miss you too.
“Alright. See you soon.”
After hanging up, Christian furrowed his brows.
He couldn’t shake the feeling of a pair of eyes on him.
Despite turning around and checking several times, Christian didn’t see anyone else in the corridor.
Upon learning that Tabitha was awake, Christian dropped his hostile act and became civil with the medical staff.
He logged the doctor’s orders into his phone and demanded repeated assurances from the medical staff that Tabitha was fine before agreeing to her hospital discharge.
Behind the wheel, Christian seemed to be in a good mood.
“Tabitha, my assistant mentioned that your wedding dress is ready. Shall we schedule a fitting?”
Tabitha’s face wasn’t giving anything away. She looked up indifferently and paused for a lifetime before murmuring, “Sure.”
With her approval, Christian’s grin widened, and he stepped on the gas pedal.
“I have been dying to see you in a wedding dress. Today is the designer’s last day in the city. At least you can voice your opinion if anything needs alteration.
“I can’t believe that you’ll be my wife in less than a month. We’re finally getting our happy ending,” Christian rambled on, lost in his emotions.
Tabitha looked out the car window in silence, not even bothering to put on a fake smile.
She wondered if Christian was truly happy and whether she or Kelsey was his happily-ever-after.
The sharp shrill of a ringtone broke Tabitha free from her thoughts.
Christian put the call on loudspeaker without a care. “What is it?”
His secretary sounded anxious. “You need to get to the office right now, Mr. Loader. Miss Cook is facing some serious issues.”
As his face grimaced, Christian swerved the car to another lane and slammed on the gas to get to the office.
Thrown by the force of the turn, Tabitha lunged forward until the seatbelt whipped her back against the seat with a thud.
She had barely gotten better, and the jerk left her head spinning.
Christian managed to cut the thirty-minute drive short by two-thirds.
He killed the ignition, jumped out of the car, and bolted into the office building.
While they got on the elevator, Christian finally took notice of Tabitha behind him, and she didn’t look quite right.
“Tabitha, um… I need to tend to some urgent business. Why don’t you wait for me in my office?”
Pale in the face, Tabitha shook her head. The elevator doors opened before she had a chance to get a word out.
Not sparing even a second for Tabitha, Christian was out of the elevator and took strides to the conference room.
He burst through the door and witnessed Kelsey standing alone against the senior executives, her fists clenched.
One senior member threw Kelsey’s business proposal onto the desk brutally.
“Oh, give me a break. Don’t talk to me about your academic achievements overseas. You haven’t proven yourself over the years. You’re just Mr. Loader’s side piece. You have no right to put us on this project.”
The others let out a snicker.
“That’s enough.” An angry growl interrupted their laughter.
Christian’s presence pushed Kelsey to tears.
Fuming with rage, Christian pulled Kelsey behind him and narrowed his eyes dangerously at the senior executives.
“Kelsey is here on my authority. You can take up any issues with me. Don’t take your anger out on a new hire.
“Besides, Kelsey has already produced results. She’s behind the new patent we’re filing for.” Christian switched up the tone.
A wave of shock swept through the room.
The executives exchanged whispers, clearly taken aback by Kelsey’s achievement.
Kelsey was baffled as well. She looked into Christian’s eyes, her eyes welling up.
“Christian…”
He gave her a look of assurance. “Relax. No one gets to look down on you on my watch.”
Standing at the door, Tabitha gripped the doorframe to stop herself from falling.
It never occurred to her that the secret development project she had been working tirelessly on would be handed on a silver platter to Kelsey by Christian himself.
Tabitha dropped her jaw to say something, only for Christian to pull her out in no time.
“I’m sorry, Tabitha, but you saw what was happening in there. I had to do that to give her standing in the company.
Tabitha’s voice was raspy. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“It’s just for now. I’ll make it up to you later.”
Fighting back the agony, Tabitha smiled and uttered callously, “Don’t bother.”
Christian didn’t have to go through the trouble because there was no future for them down the line.
Stepping out of the building, Christian looked at his watch and suggested that they could still make it to the wedding dress fitting in time.
However, the moment was lost for Tabitha.
A furious scream cut through the air.
Out of nowhere, an armed assailant jumped out and pointed his knife at Tabitha.
“You must be Christian’s lover.
“You ruined the lives of my family, so I’m taking yours today!”
He slashed the knife at Tabitha.
“No!”
In that split second between life and death, Christian threw himself in front of Tabitha and took the hit for her.
As the blade plunged into his flesh, blood gushed out.
Christian slumped to the ground in agony, his hands over his abdomen.
The sight of blood sent the assailant into a panic, and he threw his weapon aside and took flight.
Tabitha held Christian up shakily, her breath hitched.
The bleeding wouldn’t stop. Yet, Christian fixated his gaze on Tabitha as if numb to the pain.
“Thank goodness you’re safe, Tabitha.”
Tabitha was quick to dial the emergency services and stayed by his side all the way to the ER.
She couldn’t wrap her head around the whole thing.
Christian was in love with Kelsey, even to the point of letting her crash the wedding. Yet, there he was, throwing his life on the line to save Tabitha.
What was all that for?
Three hours later, the doors to the operating room swung open.
The doctor emerged, looking exhausted. He peeled his gloves and mask off.
“Fortunately, the blade missed his vital organs by mere inches. However, the patient has lost a lot of blood, so he needs rest.”
Tabitha and the secretary, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, were relieved to learn that he was out of the woods.
The secretary expressed emotionally, “Mr. Loader risked everything to save you, Miss Bray. He loves you more than life itself.”
Tabitha remained silent.
Before, she had absolute faith that Christian loved her with all his heart. However, he redirected his devotion to someone else.
Yet, he took the knife for her in the face of danger. Tabitha could not read him.
Tabitha’s heart only had room for Christian.
Christian, on the other hand, could fit a lot more than one person into his.
Tabitha lowered her gaze.
She would never settle for such cheap, shared affection.
Once the anesthesia wore off, Christian demanded to see Tabitha.
Despite the medical staff’s protest, Christian yanked the IV off his arm and stumbled out of bed.
He bumped straight into Tabitha as she entered the ward with food.
Christian held Tabitha tight, his voice carrying fear.
“Thank goodness you’re okay, Tabitha. You have no idea how scared I was to lose you when he came at you with a knife.”
Tabitha broke free from his grip with composure.
“The doctor said that you need rest. You should stay put in bed.”
Tabitha’s presence steadied Christian’s nerves. Lying back down, Christian was compliant as the nurse hooked him up on a drip.
Noticing the packed food in Tabitha’s hand, Christian said with a smile, “I’m all wrapped up in bandages. I don’t think I can eat on my own.”
Tabitha sighed and opened the container to spoon-feed him.
With his belly filled, Christian rested his head on Tabitha and squeezed her hand.
“I had a terrifying dream that you left me, Tabitha. I woke up terrified, and my only thought was to find you.
“I’m so glad that it was just a dream. You’re never going to leave me, right?”
He looked up and stared intently into her eyes.
