Anna flopped down face down on Mikayla's couch. Meanwhile Mikayla hovered uncomfortably over her."Why are you just standing there?" Sit," Anna promoted."Right," Mikayla muttered, hurrying to obey. She perched on the edge of the seat, back straight and restless, before remembering that this was her home. She forced herself to relax into the chair."So what's up?" She prompted.Anna turned on her side so she could look at Mikayla. "You know what? I love you and hate you at the same time."Mikayla didn't say anything, letting her complete what she wanted to say first."You aren't even interested in him. You made that abundantly clear yet he still wouldn't even look at me. All he wanted to see was you, you, you.""I don't think that's--" Mikayla started to say.Anna cut her off. "Oh please, don't be humble, friend. You know it's true. I could barely get him to take his eyes off of you for a second.""But--"She scoffed. "I even gave him the best sexy smile. You know the one." She wen
"Antoine," she frowned at her patient. "Did you just chase away my bartender?"He smiled and pulled up an empty stool beside her. "I didn't do anything!" He was dressed in a simple flannel shirt and black pants. As usual, he looked good, very good.Several ladies around them were throwing him interested glances."Then why did he go scrambling away like a cat with its tail on fire?" She asked suspiciously. He'd practically run away and was now sticking to the other end of the bar "He saw a better man?" He offered with a shrug.Mikayla scoffed. "Right, Mr Arrogant." "I can't help it. It's in the french blood," he said, accentuating his french accent. "Plus, a man who can't stand his ground for you isn't good enough for you.""And I suppose you're the one who can stand his ground for me and therefore are good for me?" He grinned slowly and shrugged. Mikayla shook her head and laughed. "You know what? Your arrogance is not entirely annoying." "It's kind of sexy, isn't it?" he asked
Grrr! Grrr!Mikayla jumped up in her bed. Even before she was fully conscious, she felt her stomach heave. She flew off her bed.Mikayla bolted to her bathroom, yanked the toilet open and proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach into it through her mouth. After hurling for a good few minutes, she sat back on her knees, her head resting on the edge of the toilet seat. When she finally felt strong enough to move, she closed the toilet lid and flushed the toilet, slowly pulling herself up to sit on the lid.The force of moving her body alone had her head pounding vigorously. She dropped her head in her hands and shut her eyes. This was the worst case of hangover she'd dealt with in a long, long time.Why was she this hungover? She'd only had one drink, she remembered. The bartenders favorite. What was his name again? Bradley? Something like that. Did he slip something into her drink? It was unimaginable to think that she'd gotten drunk so fast and so thoroughly from just one c
"I'm so sorry I'm late," Mikayla apologized to Nurse Kim and Nurse Rachel as she rushed in. Even though she was barely ten to fifteen minutes late, at the end of the day, she felt so awful about it. "It's not a bad thing to be late once in a while, Dr Wall," Nurse Kim said."Yes, it'll make the other doctors feel a little better," Rachel added."Better in what way?" She asked as she shrugged on her coat. Nurse Kim gave Rachel a warning look. Mikayla caught the look. "Let her talk," she chastened."Well..." she shuffled from foot to foot. "The other doctors sometimes feel that you're a bit...robotic. You make them feel bad with how well you do everything.""I have to, I'm the boss," she said incredulously."Dr Anna is also the boss but she is more...flexible," Rachel said.Mikayla scoffed then laughed. "I guess it's a fun dad vs strict mum kind of situation then." "It doesn't bother you?" Rachel asked with surprise.She shurgged. "I had a similar reputation in medical school, and h
By the time Mikayla and Cael walked in, the dinner party was in full swing. Almost every face that was supposed to be there was already there when they entered, and more.There were people she didn't recognize and some that she knew only faintly.He must have invited some more people. "Who are all these people?" She asked."Potential investors," he whispered back.Wow, she thought. And she was filled with gratitude. "Thank you.""You're welcome. But I have no choice. I have to support your work. I told you that you look most beautiful when you're working. So I plan to give you more work."She laughed and shook her head. This man! When the attendees spotted Cael and Mikayla, they cheered.She leaned over to Cael. "Don't tell me you have been keeping these good people waiting all this while because you were waiting for me.""Of course, I have," he whispered back. "I'm only here for you.""Then you didn't have to drag the rest of them into it.""You wouldn't have come if I didn't," he p
Just like that night at the fundraiser, Mikayla stepped into the night with Cael at her side. Just like that night, her heart thudded in her chest.Just like that night, she followed him anyway and without question.But this time, he held her hand like it belonged to him. This time, he smiled down at her the entire time like she was the best thing around. This time, he led her to a set of stairs around the side of the building and they went up the stairs.It opened onto an open-air roof with a matching set of white chairs and a small circular table. A flower vase with pretty pink flowers sat in the middle of the small table. Around the roof, little pots of flowers and plants decorated the floor. Overhead, the stars twinkled in the night sky. Twinkling little lights were sprung overhead from pole to pole."Wow, this is beautiful," Mikayla gushed. "Did you prepare this for me?""Unfortunately not. It is the restaurant's property. But I did choose this place for the dinner event wi
With each step he took, Cael's feet felt more and more like lead. He didn't want to leave. His whole body strained to go back to her. He knew that if he looked down, he would see his little compass facing south, straining to get back to her.But he'd meant it when he said he wanted their next time to be special so he would drag himself away on his ass if he had to. There was no way he could go back into the party right now without shocking his guests. He chuckled.So he stood outside for a bit, letting the cold air wash over him until he returned to normal. Once he looked down to confirm that he was appropriate, he re-entered the restaurant. A few people had left but quite a number still remained, probably waiting for him to officially end the event.Cael marched to the front. The musicians slowed down the song and ended it when they spotted him, allowing him to speak. He raised his voice and began his speech."I'll like to say a big thank you to everyone for coming around today. I
Mikayla watched Cael disappear down the stairs but she was too stunned to say or do anything about it.Everything had happened so fast. One second they were making out like no tomorrow, the next second, he was gone.Her body hadn't caught on the change of pace. Her body still drummed with waves of desire. She wrapped her hands around her body and shuddered. Wow! She muttered. The feeling was insane.She'd come a long way from the High School prude that she was called. She certainly wasn't a virgin. She'd dated some, slept around some since college. Never, ever had she felt the way she felt with Cael.After sleeping with him that first time, the intensity of their attraction should have reduced but it seemed like it only increased. In those moments that her lips were locked with his and his hand roamed her body, it felt like she was on fire.All thoughts vanished from her mind. All the reasons why she should stay away from him vanished. The only thought in her mind was that she wan
Mikayla watched as the maid diligently turned the pot of soup. "I think you should add some more water," she directed."Yes, ma'am," the girl said and went to grab a cup of water from the tap."Mummy! Mummy!" Mikayla looked down at the kid pulling frantically on her cloth. "What is it, Abe?" She asked."Can I turn the soup too?" He asked, giving her a big smile. His adorable face made her smile. She shook her head. He knew exactly what he was doing! The boy was too aware of his own good looks. He thought it could help him get away with anything and get anything he wanted."No, Abe. You can't and you know it," she said."But mummm! I'm a big boy now. I'm seven years old," he argued.He'd only turned seven three days ago and already they'd heard that fact at least a million times. It came up in every argument including when it was his bedtime, when he needed to eat his vegetables and just any other time he could squeeze the argument into."Seven is too young to play around the sto
Mikayla looked at herself in the full length mirror and smiled. 'You look very beautiful,' she thought to herself. 'And I'm so proud of you.'She'd come a very long way from the scared little girl who lived everyday in fear of people finding out her true identity.Now, she was a strong, beautiful woman with a thriving career and an amazing boyfriend.And today, she would be celebrating another incredible milestone in her career at a beautiful ball.What more could a person ask for? Mikayla's heart was filled with gratitude."What's up? Are you ready," Anna asked from behind her, coming to stand with her.Mikayla looked at her friend in the mirror. "Yes, I'm ready. You look incredible." Anna wore a long velvet dress with dramatically big sleeves. "Thank you! You look wonderful too," she answered.Mikayla nodded, turning back and forth as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Yes, I do," she said."Oh," Anna's eyes widened. "That is the first time I've ever heard you acknowledge that
"Hello?" Mikayla said tiredly into the phone. "What's up?" "Hi, love," Cael's voice said over the speaker."Oh, hi, Cael! Sorry, I didn't look at the screen when I picked the call!" She was barely keeping her eyes open so she'd simply swiped without looking.Cael chuckled. "That tired, Hun? Well, you're about to come wide awake. I have good news."Mikayla perked up immediately. "Really?" She said, sitting up. "What is it?""Remember that call I got at your house?" He asked."Yes," Mikayla answered. How could she forget? She'd found herself thinking about it from time to time. He'd managed to distract her that night but she'd been wondering about it since then. Especially because Cael seemed to be in a perpetual good mood since the call. He walked around the house whistling. She'd even caught him smiling to himself a few times. The horror!"Well, you remember that meeting we had withr Marcus a while back about expanding the hospital?""How could I forget?" she said."Well, I got
Mikayla stood in front of the door to her beloved home. It'd been two weeks since she last stepped here. During those two weeks, she was staying with Cael at his mansion. She'd finally summoned the courage to come back and pack up Abe's stuff.She took a deep breath and turned the key. Suddenly there was a revving sound behind her. Mikayla turned around to see Cael's cars pulling into her driveway. "What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise."I couldn't let you face this alone. I'm here to help," he answered, walking up to her.She smiled. "But you didn't tell me you were coming! We spoke about me coming here this morning."He smiled back. "I wanted to surprise you," he said. "Are you ready to go in?"Mikayla nodded. "I was just psyching myself up to go in when I heard your car pull in. I guess I just have to rip the band-aid off and get it over with."He nodded. "I'll help you." He opened the door and entered first. Mikayla followed behind him.She looked around her house.
"Good morning, boss," Nurse Rachel called cheerfully to Mikayla as she came into work that morning."Morning," Mikayla answered quietly and headed into her office.Rachel caught Kim's eyes and raised a brow in a silent question. "What now?"Nurse Kim shook her head and nodded towards the office. "Go do your job," she said.Rachel sighed and went after Mikayla. She met her putting on her coat. "Dr Wall, is everything okay?"Mikayla gave her a tight smile. "Everything is fine, thank you."Rachel raised a brow. Obliviously everything was not fine. But she didn't press the issue. She decided to ask a different question."And how is Abe doing this morning? We've missed him a lot! The night shift nurses were shocked to hear that he'd been discharged. They made me swear to ask you to bring him in one of these days do they can say hello."A lump developed in Mikayla's throat. She swallowed thickly. Her eyes watered. She turned away from Rachel so she wouldn't see. "Abe is no longer with me
After Cael handed Abe over to Michelle, Mikayla fell into a pool of grief. She sat listlessly on the floor for what could have been minutes, hours or seconds. She was completely unaware of Armani's gentle presence, rocking her gently. At some point, Armani left to go home and still she didn't notice.When Cael decided that she'd been on the floor long enough, he picked her up to take her to the bedroom. At that moment, something inside of her snapped. With a snarl, Mikayla launched herself at Cael and began pounding at him.He fell on his butt in surprise. She pounded him with every ounce of strength in her body. She hit every inch of skin she could reach, growling like a wounded animal with each punch. There was so much pent up fury in her head with no exit route. So she pounded it out.Cael took the beating like a champ. He sat rock still and waited for her to finish, pinning her with those black, glittering hawk-like eyes. "How could you! How could you!" Mikayla snarled in
Michelle stood in Cael's doorway, clad in an expensive designer coat that barely reached halfway to her thighs.She also spotted glittering silver shoes that probably cost more than Mikayla's phone!"What the hell are you doing here?" Mikayla exclaimed.Cael heard the sound of her voice and came running to the door, Abe in his arms. "Mum!" Abe squealed as soon as he saw her and reached for her."My sweet boy!" She cooed, taking him from Cael. "Did you miss me? I missed you a lot.""I asked you a question," Mikayla repeated through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you doing here?""Is that any way to talk to your mother?" Michelle chastened and walked into the house, almost shouldering past them. She headed straight to the living room as if the place belonged to her."Do you know how difficult it was to find you?" She demanded, oblivious to the shock and discomfort of the rest of them. She sat comfortably. "I went by your house and there was no one there. It didn't seem like anyo
Armani pressed the doorbell again. The sound caused Mikayla to jump. She self-consciously ran her hand over her hair and body, making sure everything was in place. Armani often had that effect on her. She was always so beautiful, well put together and chic. She made Mikayla feel like a slob.She opened the door and smiled nervously at Armani. "Hi.""Hello," Armani said. "Can I come in?"It strick Mikayla as odd that she was asking her if she could come in. From what she knew, Armnai frequented Cael's house as often as she wanted. They were that close. So why did she feel the need to ask her?"Yes, of course," she answered and stepped back for her.Armani walked in and stood waiting. Mikayla blinked. "Erm...this way." She shut the door and led Armani to the living room. "Cael is asleep right now but I can wake him up if you want..." Armani smiled and shook her head. She sat down. "Don't bother. I didn't come to see him anyway. I came to see you."Mikayla sat down slowly. "To see
Mikayla was embarrassed!She was in the middle of a small crowd that had gathered in front of the hospital to see Abe off. In three days, he'd managed to become the hospital sweetheart. Every time she went to see him in his room, she met at least three hospital staff at a time fawning over him.Meanwhile, Abe basked in the attention he was getting in the hospital. The little celebrity had been showered with so many gifts that there was hardly space left in his room. So much so that he kicked off a fuss when she told him he would be going home today. At least his new friends had come out to bid him goodbye!Right now, he was in the arms of one of the nurses while the other crowded around him. They were waiting for Cael to pull the car around. Sweet Cael! He's been on ground these past three days, taking care of Mikayla and Abe simultaneously.It was Cael who'd brought her change of clothes each day. It was Cael who'd ordered food for her and made sure everything was fine while