Chapter 55 Little Comfort

Chapter 55 Little Comfort
As it turned out, getting the cook fired was really easy.
I just marched down to the kitchen, told him he needed to pack his bags, and he threw down his knives and stormed out. Some of the staff tried to put up a fuss, saying I had no right to do something like that, but he left the property of his own free will, so that was the end of that.
Unfortunately, though, getting some alone time with Malcolm proved to be more difficult. He was always in his office, having terse conversations with people on the phone.
Even when he wasn't on the phone, he looked pale and stressed out, and he refused to tell me what was going on. Obviously, I knew something was wrong, but since he didn't want to tell me the details, I left him alone.
As the days went by, I kept feeling quite nauseous in the mornings. I tried varying my diet, including eating only light foods at night, but nothing seemed to help.
I got so paranoid that the staff was trying to poison me that I brought some whole fruits into my room for dinner, but the next morning, I still puked my guts out. Honestly, it was starting to make me go a little crazy that I couldn't figure out why I was vomiting so much.
Even worse, my body started feeling bloated and heavy. It was as if something inside of me had been knocked out of kilter, and I couldn't understand it. I made a special point of going down to the Kent family beach to take a quick dip in the ocean, hoping that would refresh my spirits, but the benefits never lasted very long. It was all so strange.
And with Malcolm constantly busy and me feeling out of sorts, I started getting really irritable. I wasn't sleeping enough, and I found myself snapping at the staff sometimes for minor infractions. Furthermore, nothing I ate tasted quite right.
Sometimes, I got so hungry that it felt like my stomach was about to jump out of my throat, and other times, I could barely get a bite down. Morning, noon, or night, I felt like I was strapped into some awful roller coaster, going from high highs to low lows, and I just wanted to get off and feel normal again.
Even my clothes started feeling tight. It seemed like no matter what outfit I put on, the fabric felt restrictive, almost as if it were choking and squeezing me. At first, I suspected the staff was washing everything in water that was too hot, but then I tried on a top still in the bag from the store, and it too didn't fit quite right. Pretty soon, I started getting a bit paranoid, thinking there was some kind of conspiracy against me.
Matters weren't helped any when I asked the staff to bring me Ricardo. I was sure that a few moments alone with him would restore me, but they eventually informed me that he had gone to Mexico, something about his father being ill.
That left me feeling more irritable than ever, and sometimes I had to catch myself to stop from shouting and cursing all the time. Honestly, it felt like I was cursed or something.
As a last resort, I went to visit my mother. As usual, she was passed out from the medication, but sitting next to her bed and holding her hand did make me feel slightly better. Even though I knew she couldn't hear me, I found myself talking to her.
"Mom, I really wish you were here right now," I told her, stroking the soft skin on her wrist. "It just feels like everything is upside down these days. My body feels two sizes too big, and I feel gassy and nauseous all the time. Everyone here hates me, and Malcolm is too busy with his business problems to notice."
My mother let out a little sigh at that point, which made me think maybe she could hear me after all, even if she wasn't able to talk.
"How did we go wrong, Mom?" I said, fighting back a tear. "It seems like yesterday it was just the two of us against the world. But then you had to go and fall in love with a billionaire. Not that I blame you. He charmed me as well. But now both of us are out of sorts, and I just don't know what to do."
I saw my mother's eyelids move a bit, which told me she was having a dream. Perhaps she was remembering how good we had it when it was just us in our little house.
"All we ever wanted was for someone to love us," I told her. "And yet just when it seemed lke it was in our grasp, it slipped through our fingers. I don't know how, Mom, but I promise that I'm going to find some way out of this situation."
My mother's hand trembled, and for a moment, I remembered being a little girl sitting on the sofa. I'd come down with a bad cold, and my mother was gently sponging my forehead with a washcloth. It was a really tender memory that made me smile.
"Anyway, you get your rest," I told her, giving her hand a comforting pat. "The doctor said you'll be better in no time, and then we'll figure this out together. I love you."
There was no response from my mother, but I imagined her smiling up at me, and that gave me a burst of strength. She was such a strong woman, and now I realized that I needed to be strong, too.
After I got up and left her room, I considered calling my cousin Lindsay. But then I remembered the ugly circumstances of how we parted. I already had enough problems in my life. The last thing I needed was her judging me and giving me unsolicited advice!
All in all, I felt lonelier than I had for a long time. I found myself wandering the halls of the mansion, feeling almost like a ghost as I passed by people without speaking to them. Everyone was so wrapped up in their own lives, and no one had time for me.
Why did it all have to be like that? It was so unfair. I'd done nothing wrong except seek out a little comfort, and yet all the comforts that money could buy had me feeling bloated, irritated, and restless.
I was so sunk down in my misery that I nearly crashed into a young man standing in the foyer. When I looked up, I saw to my surprise that it was Jack. He had on a very smart looking linen suit, and his skin had a very healthy glow to it as if he'd just returned from a relaxing vacation.
I had to be hallucinating, right? Malcolm had told me that Jack was gone forever.
"Hello there, Alice," said Jack, flashing me a big smile that got my heart racing.
"Jack? Is that really you?" I said, scarcely able to believe my eyes.
"I promised you I'd come back for you," said Jack, wrapping his arms around me, and that's when I knew it was all very real.