She couldn’t do it.Reyona couldn’t believe there would be a day when something as easy as breathing would become a problem for her.Just as she had no idea that something as second nature as driving would become impossible for her.She soon found out how much her body could work against her will after she got behind the wheel that evening.She knew she had to go to the hospital.And that was the intention as she left the restaurant and all its discoveries behind.But then every single turn of the steering wheel robbed her of her breath, and she was soon breathing heavily and sweating profusely too.The company was closer to the restaurant, so she headed towards it, hoping she wouldn’t pass out while on the highway.She managed to get to the company and thought of calling Samantha after all.She dismissed the thought even before it formed.Her employees had closed for the day, and the night lights were coming on as she drove into the parking lot.One of the security men saw her sittin
Reyona requested that she should be discharged.Though polite, the doctor denied her request.Yes, he understood the urgency of what she had to go do.Yes, he knew her and he believed that she wouldn’t endanger her health in any way.But the fact remained that she still needed to be taken care of.They were still awaiting her results too.Reyona had not wanted to use her personal doctor, who was known to Maxwell, to prevent the situation where the man might be inconvenienced by questioning later.Though she had Andrea’s number too, she had not called her for the same reason.Andrea was even closer to Maxwell than she was to her.But as she looked at the courteous yet resolute face of the doctor, she supposed she should have just called a doctor in after all.After gathering her strength and being sure that she could speak without the breathy quality that kept threading her voice as a result of tiredness, she faced the doctor.“I have something that I need to go do urgently. No, it can
She had barely settled into her chair when she heard the sound of his car downstairs.Of course, it could have been anyone passing by, but somehow she just knew that was his Mustang.It was what he had driven the day they went out with the kids.Reyona berated herself for even noticing something like that.Just as she stemmed the lancing pain that had nothing to do with the wounds on her body.She adjusted the neckline of her shirt to be certain her neck bruises were well covered.By the time he knocked at her door, her props were in place.Just as her mask.“Yes, come in,” she called calmly and managed to look surprised as he came in.“Hi, what are you doing here?” she said with a smile.He went around to her seat and Reyona lifted her cheek as he leaned forward to kiss her.He gave her a look as he changed the angle of his head and kissed her on the cheek instead of the lips he had been aiming for.She smiled at him and gestured at one of the chairs in front of her as she looked bac
Maxwell stopped in his stride and turned to her with a furrowed brow as he responded. “Susan? No, nothing at all. I know as much as you do. My men are still on it though, just as they are looking for him as well.”“Oh, okay,” Reyona answered easily.“Why are you suddenly asking that?” he asked as he approached her desk again.“Oh, you know. I just think that Allysyn’s birthday is tomorrow, and yes, we got her presents and all, but I think I know what she would have wanted the most tomorrow.”“What?”“To have her parents around to celebrate it with her, of course. She would have been so delighted. Erm, her mom just disappeared without leaving anything behind? I mean maybe she left a note, or she did something. Anything at all that we can read meaning to?”Maxwell inclined his head as he said “No, nothing at all. I heard they just couldn’t find her one morning.”“So, she did nothing? Nothing at all? Just disappeared?”“No, nothing…” he narrowed his gaze in thought as he asked, “Why do I
“You know what happens to people who lie to me. Right, Maxie?”“Uhn?” Maxwell murmured incomprehensibly as he rubbed his hands on his face and sat up in bed.The voice registered as silence greeted his incoherent mumble.The phone ring had woken him from a troubled sleep he had only fallen into a few minutes ago.Maxwell removed the phone from his ear to look at the unrecognised number again.In his subconsciousness, he had automatically picked the call thinking it was Reyona.It would teach him to look closely at caller ID before picking up calls, drowsy state or not.Why was he calling him so early in the morning?Maxwell looked at the time on the phone and saw that it was 4: 37am.“Don,” he stated more than asked. The silence on the other end made him realise that Donald-turned-Serena, Aka Don, was waiting for a response to his first question. “Yeah, I know that,” Maxwell answered, as he instantly became fully awake.“Where is your step-sister, Maxie?” Maxwell got even more confu
She couldn’t sleep.It didn’t matter how many times they tried to convince her that she needed to.“Please try to get some sleep” the doctor had said. “Consider your recovery and your condition.”Her condition! Ha!She was certain of it.Reyona was sure that there had been a mistake somewhere.There must have been a mistake with the samples, and they had handed her the wrong result.Yes, she could see her name on the result, and the doctor could sound as confident as he wanted for all she cared.They were wrong, and she was sure they would come in anytime soon to prove her right.Despite the doctor’s seeming conviction, Reyona had told them to do the blood HCG test.Everyone knew that urine tests are not so reliable, right?She turned over again on the bed and wished the damned pain in her back would ease up enough for her to get down from the bed and pace as she wanted to.But that would mean she was anxious, wouldn’t it?It would mean she actually believed what they said.But she di
She did not want to accept it.She was not supposed to accept it.Yet the evidence was clear.As the gynaecologist explained how it was possible for even the most foolproof birth control to have a loophole, Reyona simply nodded and stared.Her mind was racing with a thousand and one thoughts.“It is very rare…”Pregnant. She was pregnant.“...1 out of 100…”She will be a mother. Somebody's mother.“Ma'am. Are you with me?”Reyona looked at the woman staring at her in inquiry.She saw Dr. Romano was looking at her with his typical passive face.Tears glistened in her eyes as she looked over at the concerned-looking Killian.“You will be late for your exam,” she said simply.Killian smiled and said “I live nearby. I can still get home in time for it.”“Then you need to go then,” Reyona said.“You are not thinking of leaving again, are you?” Nurse Killian asked with a smile, reminding her of what she had said earlier.Reyona cradled her hand against her stomach and said “No, I am not. Th
“Make sure that no one goes in there” “Yes, sir” his head of security answered instantly.Maxwell saw the guard that had hit the curb hard when the van drove out.What was the idiot doing standing there when he should be getting checked?“You are hurt,” Maxwell stated tersely.The man looked at him, then looked at the security head as he said “No, sir. I am fine.” “Is that so?” Maxwell said as he moved closer to him and punched him in the right shoulder.The man howled in pain and immediately stood upright again with a stoic look even as sweat popped on his forehead.Idiot. “I don’t want to see your face out here when I get back,” Maxwell said sternly.The man’s eyes widened. “Sir, please. I promise to do better. I…”“What is wrong with you, man? Go get yourself checked now, or you can forget your job anyway.”Maxwell looked at his head of security.The man, who still looked slightly embarrassed that the men had gotten past them, nodded and said “Noted, sir.”Maxwell headed towards