Chapter 81

"Damn! Can't believe he slapped you, Mom," Samantha said. "Why's he furious?"

"He's always been," Bianca was wiping off her tears with her white handkerchief. "I saw it when I was in his home. He's just lashing out at everyone 'cause things aren't going down well between him and Elodre."

"Yeah, that's true, Mom," Samantha said. "I heard her crying to Jasmine a few days ago."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Bianca said.

"Of course not," Samantha said. "I was listening to them at the door."

"What did she say?" Bianca asked curiously.

Samantha opened her mouth to speak when the doctor walked in. "Oh, Mrs. Brooks!"

"Doctor Jake!" Bianca smiled up at him while covering her face with her hair.

"Samantha!" He walked over. "I'm glad to see that beautiful smile on your face. How do you feel now??"

"I feel much better, doctor Jake," Samantha said.

*********

******

A few days after Samantha had been fully discharged from the hospital, she was lying on her bed at Cayden's place when she heard a mild knock at the door. With both hands on her stomach, as she got out of bed, she walked to the door, opened it, and gasped. "C…Cayden?" And her heart began to slam hurtfully in her chest.

"Sam," A slight smile pulled his lips. "May I come in?"

"Sure!" She opened the door wide and he got in. Cayden had neither smiled nor spoken to her for days, not even the day he came to pick her up from the hospital. So, what's he here for?! She wondered curiously while shutting the door. She swallowed hard and turned to him. He was sitting on the bed.

Nervously, she walked to him, her eyes blazing with curiosity. Fear twirled down her spine as she met his blazing ice-blue eyes.

"Come here," He stretched his hand to take hers and she placed her tiny trembling hand on his big hard palm. Gently, he pulled her so that she sat beside him and he wrapped her slim body in his right arm. He pressed a kiss on her forehead and gazed down at her. Her gaze was down. "Look at me, sweetheart."

Her lashes fluttered as she lifted her gaze upon him.

"How have you been?" He said.

"I… I've been good." She said,

"Is the pain still severe?" He asked.

"Kinda," She said. "But I feel much better now. Th…thank you."

He bobbed slightly. "Why haven't you been waiting for me to return from work lately?" He asked softly.

You can't be serious bro!! She said in her head. She glanced at him and lowered her gaze and he smiled. "B…because…I…felt you were mad at me…" Her voice was unsteady.

He chuckled softly and said, "Yeah, sweetheart, I was angry. So angry as you know." He sighed and hesitated briefly. "The situation was nasty, Sam, coupled with the stress at work. You know…" He slipped his fingers into his hair and scratched his head. "I was fuckin outta my mind." He blew out heavily and gazed down at her. "I was exasperated, Sam. It was shocking and infuriating to see you in such a terrible situation. It threw me off balance."

"I'm sorry for my outburst," Cayden said. "Honestly, I didn't mean to be so hard on you. It was never my intention to hurt your feelings or put so much pressure on you, okay?"

A smile lit up Samantha's face and she blushed.

"You know how crazy I can be sometimes," He arranged her hair and kissed her forehead. "You're my little girl who's so grown to become a stunning red-haired princess. A gorgeous crazy lady, Samantha."

She chuckled softly. "We all are crazy…"

"Yeah," He smiled. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you biggie!" She laughed and was choked by the sharp pain in her stomach.

"Oh, the stitches, Sam," He petted her. "I'm sorry, okay?"

She nodded.

"Does it hurt that much?" He asked.

"Just a little," She said.

"You'd be fine," His arm was tight around her. "You just hafta rest."

"Yeah," She said.

"I gotta go now," He arose and stretched. "I'm so fuckin exhausted."

"Urrm…Cayden?" She said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He gazed down at her.

"I…I wanna…" She railed off.

He sat back and said softly, "I'm all ears, Sam. You wanna do what?"

"Perhaps I…I have a friend who wishes to work for you…c…could I recommend her as your cook?"

Cayden raised a brow. For some reason, a smile pulled his lips and he shook his head. "So you wanna…" He chuckled. "You wanna recommend a cook for me, huh?"

"Yes," She bobbed. "Trust me, brother. You know I've never done this before…she's really good."

Cayden laughed.

"Stop laughing, bro," Samantha pushed his shoulder mildly. "I feel silly when you do that."

"But that's kinda weird and ridiculous." He said.

"Well, she's always been talking about you in every conversation," Samantha said. "She could be coming from home."

"Hmm," Cayden sighed. "What's her name?" He raised a brow.

"Brittany," Samantha said.

"I know a bunch of Brittanies," Cayden said.

"She's Brittany Cowell, Samantha said. " She's been fussing about working for you, so I promised to talk to you about it. The ball is in your hands, brother."

With amusement gleaming in his eyes, his gaze was fixed on her. He blew out heavily.

"Please, brother," She pleaded. "If she misbehaves, blame me,"

"You know, sweetheart," Cayden said. "I would've loved to give her a chance, but my wife wouldn't be comfortable with that. I'm pretty certain about that. You know she once suspended all my working girls…and I had to call them back when she went under the weather."

"Oops!!" Samantha said.

"My wife doesn't like girls around," Cayden said.

"So, what about Jasmine?" Samantha said. "I can tell she loves Jasmine so much."

And that touched him deeply. "Yeah," He nodded slightly. "She loves Jasmine so much. And I did too. Just can't believe she did such a thing. Damn!"

"So, have you spoken with her since then?" She asked.

"Who do you mean?" He raised a brow.

"Jasmine," Samantha said.

"I tried but she seemed lost," He said. "She couldn't even speak up and you know how annoying that can be." He said. "God knows if I speak to her a second time I'll rip her face off."

Samantha sighed.

"However," Cayden said. "I might wanna speak with your friend someday."

"Wow!!" Samantha grinned. "That'll be great!! Sure she's gonna have ants in her pants when I tell her about this!"

He shrugged. "Whenever I'm ready I'll let you know."

Samantha nodded.

********

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THE FOLLOWING DAY,

After meeting with the president, Cayden was about to get in his car when he noticed Heather leaning against a flashy black car a few distances away in the parking lot. She quickly looked away from him once she noticed he was gazing at her.

Damn, he never noticed her in the building during the meeting. He thought and sighed.

Heather got in her car and was about to shut the door when she felt a firm grasp on her wrist and she inhaled, holding her breath for a while. She glanced at him but quickly looked away, struggling in vain to pull her wrist away from his grip.

"Heather," He said softly.

"Let go of me, Cayden!" She said,

"I will," He said.

And she felt like he'd just stabbed her chest with a knife.

"But could we at least sit out somewhere tonight and talk?" He asked. Please…" He could see her struggling to stifle a cry. He'd seen tears drop on her dress…and a pang of regret swept up his body as he recalled slapping her hard the other night at Presh Health. With all remorse, he blew out heavily.

"W…what else do you wanna say to me, Cayden," She was struggling hard to swallow up her cry but tears betrayed her. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she felt its salty taste as they entered her mouth. "You've already said it all. There's nothing more to say."

"There is more to say, Heather," He was still holding her wrist. "Just gimme a chance, please…"

*********

For three days, Heather has been weeping. Her husband has traveled for an appointment. She was broken, yet couldn't get over Cayden. She'd been watching him throughout the meeting and can't even recall what she went for at the meeting. It was just Cayden that had been clouding her mind since then, especially when he held her wrist. That was how he used to hold her when they were together.

********

Since then, Cayden couldn't just get over the regret that had been bubbling in him. He regrets everything! Every fuckin thing!! How did he go about leaving her for Elodre?! He wondered. He'd aggrieved her so badly. He'd broken her into pieces and he knew it. He's killed her spirit. He's hurt her so fuckin much!! Damn!! Especially…damn! Especially slapping her with so much anger at Presh Health Hospital!

Damn!! How did he do such a thing?! How did he sleep without even thinking how she slept with so much grief? Hell! He slipped his fingers into his hair and disheveled it aggressively. Damn!! He'd traumatized her!

Restlessly, he wiped his face with his palm and groaned.

Shortly, the door creaked open and his secretary came to him. "Good day, Mr. Brooks!!"

He bobbed slightly in response.

"There's one Mrs. Monroe that wants to meet with you." She said,

Mrs. Monroe?! He thought. Who the fuck is she?! He blew out heavily and said, "Let her in."

***

Once the door opened he gasped in astonishment upon seeing the lady. Damn!! Is she Mrs. Monroe?!