KIRAI immediately noticed that I had a horrible headache. My temples were throbbing with pain, so I kept my eyes tightly shut. I was lost. What happened?The crash’s recollection slowly returned to me. At a four-way intersection, I was turning when a car crashed into my jeep out of nowhere. My headache was getting worse when I thought back to the collision.I told myself I was in a vehicle crash. I also recalled my motives for coming back to London. What an awful pain! I just can not leave things like that between me and...The hospital must be where I was. I did not feel as though I was in a hospital. The bed was incredibly comfortable. The bed might have been more comfortable than the one I usually slept at home. Oh my God, Maddie was at home...My thoughts flew to her and how worried she would be along with the nanny. Also Alana.Trying to cast a wider vision, I peered around. That ached, strangely enough. My face stung as I squeezed it up and they covered it in something, either
GABRIELI was standing in the hospital corridor, unsure of what to do. All I wanted to do was return to the room and apologize once more, repeating my apologies until I was positive she would believe me. She had been unconscious for the previous ten hours and had a sad appearance. She wasn’t in a coma; the doctors had informed me rather, the physical impact had left her body completely in a trauma. Trauma that I had brought upon her. Once more, I experienced a searing surge of humiliation that was quickly followed by resentment toward me. Could not believe I almost killed her. I inhaled deeply just to steady my heart beat. I got myself into this situation out of anger.I saw the fear in her eyes and I would never forgive myself for that. She was willing not to sue me, but she probably said that in a moment of anger. Or to show me she wasn’t as helpless as she seemed. My God, at what point our lives drifted so far apart?I suddenly felt the urgent need to get out and drive away. Then
GABRIELThe blood froze in my veins. I tried to breathe in but a heavy weight was pressing on my chest. I heard it very well. The little girl said mommy.She was still talking, but I was so shocked that I wasn’t able to get a word out. I simply hung up and realized my hand was shaking on the phone. If this was a dream, maybe it was time for someone to pinch me and wake me up.“Mr. Bates, are you leaving?” asked the nurse coming in to check on Kira.“Yes...” “Is everything all right, sir?” she insisted, but all I had to do was get out of here. “Everything is fine, thank you. Just tell Miss Reed that everything has been taken care of. Once you discharge her, she can go home” “I will do that, sir. Have a nice day and take care of yourself Mr. Bates!” I didn’t answer him back, just walked out of the ward and didn’t stop until I got to John’s car. The little girl’s words still echoed in my head. John saw me completely transformed.“Something wrong, man?” Maybe it was neither the time
KIRA“It was the biggest mistake of my life, Alana. I shouldn’t have come here for him. I realized it wasn’t worth it. Thank you for coming to take me. My car is a wreck. Can you imagine? He could have killed me. And what’s he doing? He’s just paying for my hospitalization. How cynical!” I snarled, snatching what little I had in the ward. I had called Alana before I fell asleep and asked her to come and get me as soon as possible. “You know I’ve always had a reservation about Gabriel Bates. But now that you’re coming back, you should know that things aren’t so good at the company. So Gabriel did you a favor by paying your hospital bill,” Alana said, taking the bag in her hand.“What do you mean things aren’t so good?” “Well, I really didn’t want to be the one to give you more bad news, but you know we’re down on the number of customers. It’s been going well for the last five years. Something’s going on, Kira. You’ll have to see the reports. It doesn’t look good at all,” said my fri
KIRAI had a hunch that something big was about to happen this morning.My hand hesitated as I reached for the shirt I had intended to put on today while still in my underwear. Something about it seemed off. I bit my lower lip as I searched for my jeans, then took a step back and paused for a while. Something was definitely off. I had lost the company I had worked so hard for. So many sleepless nights getting it up and running. So many days away from my daughter. I wanted to scream with anger and pain in my heart. But then I thought no jeans. Especially not today. I also moved close to my new job and left Glasgow for good. Oh well, not that new. It was also not my old apartment. As over the years I had saved up some money, I decided to give Maddie something more comfortable. So I bought a house on the banks of the Thames with an enormous yard, porch and a second floor. It was a dream. I looked at the time and went through my closet before deciding on a short skirt and a cute shir
GABRIELI thought about Kira the entire weekend. I knew it hurt her to see me with Lilliana at Jubilee, but life went on. Or at least for me, it was. But who was I kidding? I could see her struggling to keep me away. And I wasn’t doing a very good job either. I had all weekend to put Kira deep into oblivion. But how could two days heal me?I pretended to pay attention during reports and feedback sessions at a few meetings on Monday morning while I waited to leave my office and take the elevator down to the third floor. She no longer had an office near me. It was not a punishment or something; it was just my way of keeping her away. But it seemed I just couldn’t stay away. I wouldn’t normally do anything like this, but I needed to see her. She was already seated at her desk when I stepped on their floor. Her bright red blouse hugged her breasts, and her chocolate hair fell to her shoulders.“Kira?” “Yes, Mr. Bates!” she answered, and her politeness struck me like a sledgehammer. “
KIRAI became aware of the warm late afternoon as I made my way back to my apartment. We were in for a magnificent evening as spring came to its end. I took it more slowly as I made my way to my destination, observing people enjoying the scenery. London might be a beautiful place in the spring. London might be a beautiful place in the spring. My daughter was playing with Mrs. Crane on the steps outside our flat and she was really enjoying herself. “Hello, honey!” I called Maddie with a smile.“Hello, mommy!”I took a seat on the steps and admired the trees and passing families. Two lovers walked by holding hands and looking only at each other. I observed them, took note of how involved they appeared to be in each other’s discussion, how the woman laughed and how the man’s eyes lingered on her face. I longingly wondered what happened to that feeling, since I knew what it was like to be that deeply in love. Why wasn’t love able to endure? Why did it seem as though it was continually
GABRIELI didn’t really care anymore that I was showing up everywhere with Lilliana, my secretary. Just like I didn’t care that last night I had picked the exact restaurant where Kira and Alana were. I rarely ate there, but somehow I felt the need to do all this in front of her. I could see the pain and disgust on her face at the same time. And today they invited us to a big party in honor of my childhood friend Jasper. The celebration was a social gathering. Our families have been acquainted for a long time. This was a party hosted by his parents to welcome him back to London after a brief absence. Jasper had reportedly gone to rehab in Scotland, but that was not how his family regarded his needed break. They talked about him traveling a lot. I learned from my mother that Jasper’s parents wanted him to rejoin the family business.I started missing my mum the moment I thought about her. Maybe it was time to call her and ask if we could get together for a few days.“How long must we