Chapter 24

"Apology accepted," she whispered as she lay on his chest.

"I love apologizing to you. Who knows what errors I will find myself begging for forgiveness for, next time," he said as he played with her hand intertwining their fingers.

"Who knows," she sighed, closing her eyes in contentment.

----

"Your coffee darling," she smiled, placing the mug in front of him as he looked over some files.

"Thank you," he said, removing his eyes from the papers to look at her as she walked towards the door.

"I will be in accounts," she smiled as he nodded his head in acknowledgment.

They had made a deal to continue with their normal routine but only work on finding out who was behind the attack at home. And thus far, their arrangement seemed to be working tremendously. Working out a flow diagram, he realized they still had to talk with the delivery man. He had let the issue slip his mind after the whole kidnapping fiasco.

---

Two days later "Go to work, baby, I will look after Mario," she said as she rocked their son back and forth. "The doctor said he will be here in a few minutes," she assured him.

"Please call me if anything changes," he said, looking worriedly at them both.

"It’s just a little cold, nothing that can't be fixed," she said in a confident tone.

"Call me, better yet, I will call you, just keep your phone close," he said, showing no sign of leaving.

"Baby. Go," Nyasha smiled as he reluctantly left them.

After the doctor visited, where some medication was prescribed for the little guy's fever, Nyasha stayed home, taking care of their son for the days that followed by.

His fever broke, and once she felt satisfied with his recovery, she decided to stop by his father's office to make sure he had something to eat.

She entered his office, finding a dark-haired woman clinging onto him as if her life depended on it. 

"Marcel," she breathed as he turned to look at her in confusion.

---

Marcel's POV

Since Nyasha was taking care of Mario, I had asked my secretary to prepare my morning cup of coffee, but somehow, she wound up feeling unwell. It seemed the flu bug was going around as I had to hire a temporary secretary for the time being.

"Here is your coffee, Mr. Martinez," Wanda said with a smile.

"Thank you, Wanda. Please put these files away for me," I told her, handing over said files.

A few minutes later, she returned, asking me if I needed anything else.

Shaking my head no without sparing a glance at her, I frowned when I didn't hear my door close. I felt a small hand on my shoulder, making me sit up straight as I shook off the hand.

Looking up, I found Nyasha there, smiling at me.

"You are working yourself like a dog. You need to relax," she said as I stood from my seat.

"And how exactly should I do that," I whispered, looking down at her.

"I can make you relax," she purred.

"When did you get here?" I asked her but got no response as she simply smiled at me.

I shook my head, feeling funny. Something was off.

"Baby, is it me or have you grown shorter?" I asked as she pulled me down to her.

"Are you making fun of my height or are you going to kiss me hello," she asked.

"Hmmm, the latter seems more interesting," I murmured against her lips.

A few minutes later, I heard the click of my door opening, making me pull away from her when I heard my name. Only one person could make me acknowledge my name in an instant.

Looking towards the entrance, I saw Nyasha standing by the door. Looking back at the woman I held, I saw Nyasha as well.

"What is going on here?" I growled, stepping away from her as I looked from one woman to another.

"The question should be, who is she?" The Nyasha by the door questioned, walking further into my office, placing her bag on the chair. 

The one in front of me remained silent as I closed my eyes, trying to clear up my suddenly blurry vision.

"Nyasha, what is going on?" I asked as my head started to pound.

"Take a deep breath, baby. Here, drink some water," she said, handing me a bottle of water before moving away from me to make a quick call.

Gulping down the bottle of water, I looked back at both women, and I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights as I watched my Nyasha end the call.

"Wanda, what are you doing in here?" I questioned my secretary.

-----

She didn't say a word as she slowly took a step away from me but stopped once her back collided with Nyasha.

"Please, I was only doing what I was told," she whispered. 

Nyasha looked at her husband, worried about him.

"Marcel," she said softly as he looked at her, still confused.

"What did you do to him?"

"It was just a mild hallucinogen," Wanda blurted out, stopping whatever she wanted to say further as she felt a sharp sting on her cheek. 

Nyasha was taking deep breaths as she stood before her anger and so much more reflected in her eyes as she looked at Wanda.

"Sweetheart," Marcel whispered, clearly trying to focus on them. Whatever she had given him was still potent in his system.

"Baby, please sit down. I will be back shortly," Nyasha begged him as he looked around for a chair.

Grabbing Wanda by her hair, she pulled so hard the woman cried out in pain, a mere wince would not suffice.

Dragging her out of the office, Wanda begged for mercy as Nyasha remained silent, never once speaking as all eyes were on them. Those who were talking or laughing stopped whatever they were doing as they saw a side to Nyasha they never thought existed. Anger was not enough to describe what she was exuding in that instant as Wanda lost her footing, losing a shoe in the process.

"Get your filthy self-up this instant," Nyasha seethed as she pulled her hair harder, eliciting a sharp cry of pain. Only Wanda's cries could be heard as silence reigned supreme amongst everyone else.

"Out," she said, making those in the elevator quickly vacate it.

"You made the wrong move. You touched my husband. You even had the audacity to drug him," she said through clenched teeth. But don't you worry one bit. I will not harm you, he will do that himself," she smirked as they headed to the underground parking bay where a car was already waiting to take dear Wanda away.

"No one can touch her, or else," she told the men before the car drove off.

---

Returning to the office, she found him sitting by the sofa, still confused, holding his head in his hands. He was drenched in sweat as he sat up, looking towards her.

"Baby, what is going on," he said. "And why do I suddenly have a killer migraine?"

Nyasha kept her eyes on him, explaining what had happened to him. 

"That's why I had this terrible taste in my mouth," he murmured, pissed off as she was about to stand up. "Don't worry, love, I used some mouthwash after brushing them," he said with a smirk.

"Marcel, you are burning up," she whispered worriedly.

"I will be alright can we just leave this place," he murmured.

"Let's get you home, darling," she said, helping him up.

He chuckled at her efforts to support him as they walked out of his office.

"Cancel all his appointments," she said to his PA as they took the private elevator straight to the parking bay.

He relaxed once they entered the car as he lay his head on her lap.

"Please don't fall asleep until Alexis checks up on you," she whispered, undoing his shirt as she ordered for the air one to be turned on.

He simply nodded his head okay, keeping his eyes on her, thinking about what would have happened if she hadn't come in at that time as his hands curled into tight fists.

She took one of his hands, uncurling his fist before holding the hand to her chest as a lone tear fell down her cheek.

"If they had done anything to you, I don't know what I would have done," she said in a broken voice.

"Shhhh, nothing and no one is going to take me away from you, my love," he said with a look of assurance as he pulled her down to his lips. "No one," he whispered after coming up for a breather.

---

"He will be alright," Alexis said as she examined his responsiveness before turning off the small torch.

"Thank you, Alexis," Nyasha said in dismissal as she walked in with Mario.

"How is my boy doing?" Marcel beamed as Mario showed off a toothless smile reaching for him.

"Oh no you don't, you need to go and deal with our guest first before you two start playing," Nyasha said.

"Party pooper," Marcel grumbled as he stood up and left the room.

"If you can't squeeze any information out of her, just call me," Nyasha teased as she focused all her attention on Mario kissing his chubby little cheeks.

"Who is momma's little prince?" was all he heard as he left the room to deal with Wanda.

---

"Please, I was just doing as I was told," she cried as Marcel stood in front of her after he threatened to kill her countless of times.

"Baby, what is taking you so long?" Nyasha said after an hour of them going nowhere.

"You know I can't beat a woman up, love, so I have been asking her some simple questions, but nothing seems to be working. I even threatened to kill her family."

"Well, firstly, she has no family, and her name is indeed Wanda, and she seduces men or drugs them for a high price," Nyasha said as she read from her iPad before handing it to one of the guards.

"Good to see my reinforcements will prove useful," he smirked as two ladies walked in.

"Leave us," Nyasha commanded the rest of the men.

Only five people remained: the two new arrivals, Wanda, Marcel, and herself.

"Sweetheart, I would like you to meet Lilly and Lauren. These two will handle Wanda on my behalf."

"Pleasure to see you again, ladies," she said as Marcel pulled her to his side. "Please," he said, giving them the go-ahead.

"Exactly how many people like these two do you know, my love," he murmured into her ear as his warm breath tickled her skin.

"A few here and there," she smiled, kissing him gently.

"Is that how you kiss your husband?" He asked, pulling her closer as she shook her head no pulling him down to her lips, finding pleasure in his arms. "You just had some ice cream, didn't you?" He murmured once they pulled apart. 

"What I wanted something sweet," she said innocently. "Sorry for the cold tongue."

"So full of surprises," he whispered, pulling her closer as he turned her around to face Wanda. "And I enjoyed taking the cold away," he said in a husk tone, kissing her neck.

"That was quick," she said, seeing the bloody mess Wanda was now.

"You know us, don't like to waste any time. It is, after all, a very precious commodity," Lilly said as she removed her gloves.

"So let's try this again, Wanda. Who sent you?" Marcel asked, keeping Nyasha in place before she moved out of his arms.

"I only received a call. He said he would pay me a million dollars for this job. I wasn't going to ask any more questions for such an amount. The plan was that I would drug him and sleep with him. Send the images to you to separate you two," she blurted out.

"Take him to Neil," Marcel said as Nyasha looked at him in question. "I had a little chat with him about her before you came in," he whispered for her ears alone.

"So you and my brother are now buddies?"

"Of course, who doesn't like me," he smirked as she rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smile as they left the room. 

"Love, you don't look so good," he said, placing a hand on her forehead as she let out a sneeze. 

"I'm fine, baby," she said, removing his hand as she let out another sneeze.

"You have caught the flu," he murmured, leaving the room in a flash before she could say anything.

"I never get sick. I think it’s just the drop in temperature, that’s all," she said as soon as he returned. 

"If you say so, my dear stubborn wife," he smirked. "Here, drink this," he said, handing her a cup of lemon and honey tea before going to turn up the room temperature.

"I'm already warm as it is," she protested.

"I need you to be warm enough—unless you want me to warm you up by other means," he said in a serious tone that rendered her speechless. "Thought as much," he said as he headed to the bathroom, removing his clothes, putting on his pajama bottoms before putting away his clothes in the laundry basket.

He returned to find her fast asleep, as he checked to see if she had finished her tea and drank the medication he had brought for her. Wearing a satisfactory smile, he slipped in beside her as she shivered, relaxing only when he pulled her into his arms.

She woke up to find herself locked in his hold. His leg was over hers, keeping her in place, which wasn't really helping as she felt very hot.

"Marcel," she whispered, trying to move out of his grip.

He stirred out of his slumber, looking at her worriedly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Weak and sore all over," she whispered.

Don't tell me your voice is going as well," he said as she nodded her head yes.

"Silence at last," Marcel rejoiced teasingly as she tried to master a scowl, failing miserably as he chuckled at her attempt.

"Let's get cleaned up, and then Alexis will come check up on you."

She didn't have any choice but to go along with him.

"Stay in bed," if you need anything, Alexis will be here for you," he said after they had another debate about him going to work.

Every hour or so, Alexis' phone would ring, and she would give the same response.

"This is so much fun," Alexis said as they drank some warm tea watching a movie.

Nyasha nodded in agreement feeling her medication kicking in.

"Don't worry, your voice will be back by tomorrow," she smiled as Nyasha looked at her wide eyed, obviously shocked by the time frame.

"You must be joking," she mouthed angrily.

"Hey, I am sorry. But colds suck," she smiled.

"Indeed," she mouthed just as the phone rang.

"Tell him I am asleep and that his calls are disturbing me," she whispered as Alexis laughed.

"Hi, Marcel. No, she is alright. I just got an earful from her about how your calls are disrupting her sleep," she said as Nyasha gave her a murderous glare.

"You are so dead," she mouthed.

"She is alright, just threatening to kill me, even though I am the one giving her her medication," she said with a smirk. "Don't worry, I will take care of her for you," she said.

Over the next couple of days, Nyasha stayed at home after Marcel had threatened the guards to keep her indoors.

Feeling revived and fresh, Marcel simply wore a smirk as she yelled at him for not allowing her out of the house for even a stroll in the garden. He silenced her with a kiss and so much more.

---------

A few days later "Dinner with your parents is always entertaining," she said with a smile as they drove back home.

"It's funny, I have never seen both my parents so relaxed," he said with a smile. "I guess it's because of you," he added, taking her hand into his free one as she leaned back into her seat, closing her eyes.

Looking through the rear-view mirror, he saw Mario wide awake as he realized it was going to be a long night. Looking at Nyasha, he found her eyes open, but her expression was not in the least bit relaxed.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, but something is not right," she whispered, looking outside before checking on Mario, who gave her a wide grin.

"Marcel," she whispered. She looked ahead, seeing a man holding a gun standing before them just as the decoy car on their right was taken out swerving toward them.

Hitting the brakes, he took a hard turn away from the route they were using as the other decoy car followed them.

"Don't worry," he said, accelerating the vehicle further.

"Marcel," she said as ahead of them, another gunman appeared, blocking their way.

"It's going to be okay, love," he reassured her as he looked back to check on Mario, who was surprisingly relaxed.

Before a car could ram into them, he swerved out of the way allowing the decoy car to move ahead of them at the same time. Turning on the com, he heard the driver leading the way mention something about more gunmen before the car was taken out.

Hitting the breaks hard, the car swerved as he maintained some form of control over the vehicle. Making sure Mario was safe in his seat, she pressed the emergency button, which would enclose him in his car seat. Only a few knew how to open the pod. A distress signal was already being sent once the pod was activated, and she thanked her father for the idea.

"If anything happens to me, promise me this. You will take care of our son," she said as the sound of a bullet finally shuttering the thick glass came.

"I promise, only if you will do the same," he said with a smile before a large truck rammed into them, causing their car to turn over several times.