Ally wakes the next morning feeling worse than the day before. She waits for Benson to come around but he never does.Ronald comes to give her therapy but she cannot find the light heartedness to enjoy his banter today. She also cannot really joke back towards him. Ally’s heart feels heavy and it shows.After Ronald left, Gayle came to bring her food. She took a few bites but wasn’t really hungry enough to eat a whole meal. Gayle checks that Ally takes her medication and tells her what the events for the day are. Ally listens to everything that is available for her to do but she does not feel like leaving her room today. Gayle leaves eventually and Ally lays back down in her bed.Ally has no energy to take on the day. She spends most of the day laying in bed and waiting for Benson to come visit her. By late afternoon, Gayle comes back to check in on her.“Are you feeling sick?” Gayle asks Ally. She is worried. Ally turns around and looks at Gayle.“I am just tired.” Ally tells Gayle.
“What if you need to reach someone?” Ally asks Mike. She finds it hard to believe that there is not one single cell phone in this place.“You ask a nurse to contact your loved one.” Mike answers without hesitation.“You have got to be kidding me.” Ally mutters under her breath.“Why are you frustrated with this?” Mike asks Ally. He looks at her thoughtfully.“I just want to call my husband. I want to speak to him myself. I don’t want to ask someone else to call him because I want to do it myself.” Ally sulks out loud. Mike frowns a little and then slides to the edge of the bed.“Listen. You have to be very careful around here. They will not let you leave if you have a negative attitude.” Mike whispers to Ally. Ally immediately looks up at Mike. She knew something was going on here but she couldn’t talk to anyone about it.“Does it have something to do with the incessant smiling?” Ally asks Mike in the same hushed tone he used to talk to her. Mike does not answer. He only nods and keep
“Yes, that is my caregiver. Gayle.” Ally answers uncertainly. Gayle seems nice enough. Although Ally felt that she also smiled too much, she seemed to genuinely care.Mike raises his eyebrows and shakes his head slightly.“Why, what is wrong with Gayle?” Ally asks a little exasperated. Mike widens his eyes even further. Apparently, whatever this news is, it is only Ally that is unaware of the facts.“Gayle only looks after the wealthiest patients.” Mike whispers. “And I may as well tell you, that most of these patients, no, all of these patients are pretty damn wealthy.” Mike chuckles slightly. “You know how wealthy you have to be to be wealthy amongst the wealthy?” Mike asks. Ally cannot help but chuckle with him. She has no idea. She cannot remember ever being wealthy a day in her life.“Tell me.” Ally tells Mike.“Who is your husband?” Mike asks Ally.“Benson Ash.” Ally answers without hesitation. To her he is just a man. Apparently, he has a lot of wealth from the looks of it.“Wh
Ally quickly moves back to her room. She lays on her bed and waits for Gayle to check in again. She does not have to wait very long. Gayle checks in just before the sun starts to set. She brings snacks and something to drink.“Could you please call Benson. I want to see him.” Ally asks Gayle. She deliberately puts on an act of stubbornness, folding her arms across her chest, avoiding looking at the food that Gayle brought. Gayle looks at Ally and heaves a little sigh. She turns and leaves the room.About fifteen minutes later, Gayle comes back into the room. She comes to stand next to Ally’s bed and sees that she has not touched her food.“I have tried to get hold of Mr Ash. I have spoken to his secretary and she has confirmed that he is currently in a location that has no signal.” Gayle tells Ally. Ally keeps her arms crossed and her eyes nailed to the window. She refuses to look at Gayle.“Would you please try to eat something?” Gayle asks Ally. Ally refuses to answer and does not p
Ally starts eating the food that Gayle brought. Gayle is smart enough to have noticed that Ally would rather eat snack food than a cooked meal. Ally nibbles on the different items on her plate. She looks at Benson every so often. He still has the sadness in his eyes. Ally wishes she knew what makes this man so sad.“Where have you been?” Ally asks Benson.Benson looks at Ally for a minute. He then sits forward in the winged back chair and rests his elbows on his knees.“I had to fly to Canada to sort out a problem with one of our ventures.” Benson tells Ally.“Canada?” Ally asks before taking another bite.“Yeah.” Benson replies.“Did you come from Canada now?” Ally asks again. Benson seems tired and if that was the case, she can understand why he seems so weary.“Yes, I got the call from my receptionist when I exited the plane. We just landed when she reached me.” Benson says and rubs a hand over his face.Ally looks at him with wide eyes. She also suddenly lost her appetite.“I am s
Benson pulls up in front of their mansion. Four staff members are waiting for Ally and him to exit the car. An old man comes towards the car and opens the door where Ally is seated. Ally gets out of the car and steadies herself by holding onto the side of the car. The trip over here was long and being seated for such a long time has made her legs feel weak.Benson comes around the car and holds his arm out to Ally to take to help her walk towards the house. Ally smiles at Benson and takes his arm. For a moment she was afraid that he would tell her that she was not strong enough to leave the facility. She takes a deep breath and looks at the enormous building in front of her.The house is built with brown and black bricks. It has many trimmings on the outside that makes her think that the house is centuries old. Although it is very well kept, there are signs of aging and some of the features of the house indicates that it was built in a time where there was less convenience available.
Benson gets Ally settled in. She lays in bed in their beautiful room, looking at the young lady quickly trying to get everything into place so she could leave the room. Ally closes her eyes for a second and falls asleep instantly.The day has been tiring. Packing her things at the facility, the long drive over here, meeting all these new people. It does not seem like a lot but when you are recovering from something it could be tiring.Ally wakes when there is a soft knock on the door. Ronald stands in the doorway, smiling at Ally. For a second, Ally’s heart sinks. She was so sure she is out of the facility. She smiles a sad smile back at Ronald and then notice the room is different. Ally pushes herself up on her elbows and then into a seated position on the bed. She looks around the room quickly just to make sure she really is out of the facility. Ronald notice that Ally sighs a deep sigh of relief.“Thought you were back there?” Ronald asks her in a soft tone.“Yes, for a second I th
Benson shifts his gaze from Ally to Ronald. Ronald quickly stands up from the end of the bed.“What is going on here?” Benson asks. The tone of his voice heavy with disapproval.“I came to give Mrs Ash her physical therapy.” Ronald answers, looking questioning at Benson. Benson gives Ronald a cold hard stare.“Ronald also gave me physical therapy in the facility.” Ally tries to soothe the situation. Benson does not move his stare from Ronald.“It is inappropriate to see a married woman in her bedroom. There are many other rooms in the house where you could do your physical therapy. Also, it sounds more like a tea party than a session. If you cannot act in a professional manner, I will have you replaced.” Benson tells Ronald. Ronald looks Benson in the eyes while he is being berated. He simply nods and then turns to collect his bag. He turns to Ally just before he leaves the room and tells her goodbye.Benson leaves without looking over his shoulder. Ally cannot believe what just happe
Megan waits in her room most of the day. She looks up when she hears a soft knock on the door. Agatha stands in the doorway, waiting for her to acknowledge her. Megan stands up and takes a few steps towards Agatha.“Morning.” Megan tells her.“Good morning, Mrs Symons. The doctor is here to see you. Would you like to meet him in the downstairs room or should he come up here?” Agatha asks her. There is no emotion on Agatha’s face. She does not let it be known what she is thinking or feeling.“I will see him in the downstairs room. Thank you.” Megan tells her.Agatha nods and turns to go to the downstairs bedroom. Megan follows her in silence. Megan cannot ignore the pounding of her heart as she approaches the bedroom. She does not know how she will be able to get the doctor to keep her secrets. Agatha stops next to the open door and indicates with a gesture of her open hand for Megan to go in. Megan nods at Agatha and enters the room before Agatha pulls the door closed behind her.The
Eric wakes up the following morning. The first thought that crosses his mind, is that Ally has not been for a check up since she came back. He wonders how the baby is doing. When he found out she was pregnant, he was so excited to become a father. He could never share this excitement with her because she was not in a good place and when she was discharged from hospital, she was taken. Even when she came back, he couldn’t share his excitement with her. She was just not the same person anymore.Eric gets out of bed with effort. He will have to arrange someone to go see her at the house. He cannot trust her to go to an appointment. Eric takes a hot shower to force himself to wake up fully. He steps out refreshed and ready for the day. He gets dressed and ready for work. He smiles as he steps out of his hidden bedroom into his office. No commute today. He missed staying here. He lived here for a long time after he had a fallout with his father. He only moved back to the house after Ally w
After dealing with the staff member, Benson goes to Ally’s room. He unlocks the door and opens it slowly. He never knows exactly where she is. She may be behind the door. He enters to find her laying in bed. She has her back turned towards the door and is staring towards the window.Benson walks up to the bed and waits for her to acknowledge his presence. She does not.“Good afternoon, Ally” Benson tells her. She does not move or respond. He stares at her for a few more seconds. It irritates him that she treats him like this. If she only knew what he had to do to keep her alive after the stunt she pulled with Ronald. He was able to deal with Ronald, having him fired at the facility. He is not afraid that Ronald will ever come into her life again. He also got word that Doctor White was in on the plan and have dealt with her too. She will never be able to practice again in this country.“I would like to show you something.” Benson tells Ally. Ally lays in her bed. Not moving at all and
Benson sits at his desk in his home office. He watches the screen of his laptop. The security cameras he installed to keep an eye on Ally is displayed on the screen. He watches her lay in bed. She does not move around much. After he brought her home, he placed her in the same room Megan was in.She was distraught after Eric and Megan left the hotel, crying for days. She refused to eat and she spent most nights walking around in the room. Today, when her meals were taken to her, she ate some of it but not really enough to call it a healthy meal. If things go on like this, he will have to bring a doctor in to see her.Benson sees the screen of his mobile phone flashing on his desk. He takes the phone in his hand and reads the number on the screen.“Yes?” he answers. He waits a second before the person on the other side starts talking.“It’s Megan. We have a problem.” She tells him.“What is the problem?” Benson asks. He is a little tired of having problems. Nothing worked out the way it
Eric is furious. He cannot stand the way Ally does not care about anything. This selfish nature of hers is driving him up the walls. Eric looks at his desk, he already finished his work early this morning. There is nothing left for him to do in here. He refuses to go home and he cannot sit in this office all day with nothing to do. He cannot stand going back to Ally’s restaurant.Eric goes into his hidden bedroom and gets his chef jacket from his closet. He puts it on and takes the bandana from the pocket. Wrapping the bandana around his head to cover his hair, Eric heads out of his office towards his own restaurant kitchen. When he enters the kitchen there is a moment of quick silence. Eric walks straight to a young chef that is busy chopping vegetables. Her work is neat and her station is tidy. He holds his hand out to her.“May I?” Eric asks. The young chef looks at his hand and then at the knife in her own hand. She carefully hands him the knife she is holding. Eric nods and the y
Eric and Jane sort out most of the issues that Jane had within an hour. Jane looks a lot happier when Eric is done talking to her. He applies himself to sorting out the mess on Ally’s table. There are unpaid bills on her table. He looks through them and can now understand why some suppliers refused to deliver to the restaurant. Eric sorts out everything that needs attention. When he leaves the office, there is nothing left to do. Eric shakes his head as he enters the elevator. Ally could have sorted out most of these problems yesterday, if she had not laid on her sofa playing games.Eric stops by the kitchen to check on the mood. The kitchen staff is seemingly working harder than before. All the work surfaces are clean and the head chef is doing his rounds and making sure everyone is ready for tonight’s service. Eric is happy with the immediate change in personnel morale. It was a problem for him when he walked in here and saw all the doom and gloom in the world under one roof.Eric w
Eric walks into the dining area. He finds one of the waiters who are standing next to a wall with her hands behind her back. She stares out in front of her. Eric takes a stance beside her and stares in the direction she is staring in. There is nothing there.“Oh! Mr Symons!” the young girl exclaims when she realises that he is standing beside her.“Why are you so absentminded?” he asks the young girl.“I was just thinking how much everything has changed since I started working here.” The girl answers. She immediately regrets telling this to him when she realises that she is speaking to her boss’ husband. Why did she not think of this sooner?“How long have you been working here?” Eric asks in a soft tone. He has long since realised that when speaking to women, you cannot use your demanding voice. Except when you are in the kitchen. Those women expect you to speak in a strong demanding voice.“I have been here since the restaurant opened.” The girl tells him.“What is it that changed?”
Eric takes the number and dials it from his personal phone.“Good day, Mrs Johnson. This is Chef Symons. Your husband works in our restaurant.” Eric introduces himself. There is an immediate sense of panic from the woman on the other side.“Oh, no! Did something happen to him?” she asks quickly. Eric can hear the dread in her voice.“Not at all. Please do not worry. Your husband is fine.” Eric assures her as quickly as possible. He hears the sigh of relief over the phone. To Eric, this is a positive sign that this woman still loves this man. Eric is somewhat surprised that he is so invested in saving this relationship. Ally would do exactly this. Well, Ally that he married, would have done this.“Mrs Johnson, it has come to our attention that you and your husband has had a couple of difficult years. And to add to that, we have had an admin issue in our offices in the last few days that caused salaries to pay out late. I apologise for that inconvenience.” Eric tells her. He hears how s
Eric watches as all the staff members who have not received their salaries quickly take out their phones. Most of them receive their messages as they unlock their phones. The looks of relief on their faces gives Eric a sense of guilt. He did not know that these staff members were under so much pressure.Eric straightens his shoulders and claps his hands once to draw everyone’s attention.“Good morning chefs.” Eric says. He takes the stance he usually would in his own kitchen. His feet slightly apart and his hands behind his back. He looks at each of them, making eye contact.“Good morning, Chef!” they all greet in unison.“I apologise for any inconvenience regarding the late payment of your salaries. If you were affected negatively in any way, by paying penalties or anything of that sort, please report it to Mrs May. I will gladly compensate you for any of your losses.” Eric watches as some of the staff members start to smile with relief. There is always something that causes chaos wh