“Of course not,” Max argued irritably.
“Then, give me another option. How about a massage? Don’t you have sore shoulders?”
The CEO started rolling his eyes. After a few moments, he gave the polar teddy bear to Gabriella. “Now, keep your promise!”
In an instant, Gabriella’s eyes filled with tears. After gently caressing the teddy, she embraced it with eyes closed. A single tear flowed down as she let out a breath from arid throat.
“I really miss you,” she murmured, successfully touching Max’s heart.
“So, have I managed to treat your longing?” the man asked in a half whisper.
“Yes,” Gabriella sighed as she looked at the CEO with all her heart. “Thank you.”
As much as possible, Max kept his lips from curling up.
“Then, massage me now!”
“Yes,” the girl nodded, hugging Snowy tightly.
With happy steps, Gabriella followed the man back into the room. However, when she saw Max take off his shirt, the girl’s smile suddenly faded.
“Why did you take off your clothes?”
“Aren’t you going to massage me?”
“Yes, but … you don’t have to take your clothes off,” Gabriella said, turning her eyes toward the wall. She didn’t want to be hypnotized by the perfect carving on the CEO’s stomach.
“Don’t protest. Use a massage oil with a green bottle!”
Max had taken a prone position on the bed.
With an awkward gesture, Gabriella placed Snowy on the table and grabbed the bottle instead.
However, a few seconds passed, the girl still did not get on the bed.
“What takes you so long?” Max turned his head checking.
“I have a hard time opening this.”
It turned out that Gabriella was bending over the bottle. She couldn’t turn the cap.
“Here!” Max sat back down and held out his hand. “Are you sure you can massage? You can’t even open the bottle cap.”
“The oil must haven’t been used for a long time. That’s why the bottle is hard to open,” Gabriella muttered with pursed lips.
“If I’m not satisfied with your massage, you will have to accept the punishment,” the man added before handing the open bottle.
“Why? It’s unfair!”
“If you don’t want to be punished, do your job well.”
Pursing her lips, Gabriella climbed onto the bed. Then, she started massaging half-heartedly.
“Is your strength only that much?”
After one breath, the girl added the power.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“You are so fussy!” Gabriella grumbled irritably.
Max closed his mouth spontaneously at the aggravation of the masseuse.
“Okay, please continue! If I’m not satisfied, I’ll just give you punishment.”
Biting her lower lip, Gabriella gave a massage all over the man’s back.
“Done!” the girl exclaimed as her hands began to ache.
Suddenly, Max turned and thrust his arm toward the masseuse. “Continue!”
Gabriella was eager to refuse, but afraid of punishment. She had no choice but to obey.
“This man’s really heartless. Doesn’t he know that my hand hurts?” The girl could no longer smile. Her lips were pressed tightly to hide resentment.
When Gabriella finished massaging the left arm, the CEO extended his right arm, then continued to the legs.
When the massage ended, the girl’s hand couldn’t feel anything anymore.
“As it turns out, you have a talent for being a masseuse. Thank you,” Max said while wearing a t-shirt. He didn’t notice that Gabriella hung her head down from the tears.
Without saying a word, the girl got out of bed. She took Snowy and went into the bathroom. For several minutes, Gabriella stayed there.
“What has she been doing? Why doesn’t she come out yet?”
After guessing it, Max finally went to the bathroom.
When the man took a peek, his eyes spontaneously widened. The girl was curling up in the bathtub, hugging her teddy.
“She prefers sleeping in the bathroom than on the bed?”
Without making a sound, Max walked over to Gabriella.
When he was about to ask, the girl suddenly moved her hand to rub the eyes. Max’s steps froze and his breath caught.
“Why is he so bad? He said he wanted to make amends. But, why is he still torturing me?”
Listening to Gabriella complain to Snowy, Max’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t torture her,” he thought, not understanding.
Suddenly, the girl raised her very red hand before her eyes. As she tried to move the fingers, great vibration took the CEO by surprise.
“How can I join the competition like this? What do I do, Snowy? I can’t imagine what will happen to me when I become his wife.”
The CEO’s heart skipped a beat. Little did he know that Gabriella was secretly suffering because of him.
“He will be freer to torture me later.” The girl sounded desperate.
Max subconsciously let out a faint breath. His chest tightened up at Gabriella’s concern. After observing the girl for a moment, he finally shook his head and then straightened his back.
“What are you doing here?” Max’s voice was successful to stop the girl’s sobs.
Instead of answering, Gabriella closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. However, her trembling shoulders were unable to lie. She’s still crying.
When the man approached, the girl’s body automatically arched smaller. Now, it wasn’t just her hands that were in vibration, but her entire body.
“Are you sick?” Max asked, touching the shoulder of the girl who could no longer hold back her emotion.
“I’ve massaged you properly. Please don’t punish me! I’m going to sleep,” Gabriella replied in a heartbreaking voice.
“I won’t punish you. Now, go back to the room,” Max said in a soft tone although he was afraid that his concern would be heard.
“I want to stay here.”
“Are you sure?” the man asked, expecting the answer to be no. However, a few seconds he waited, the girl remained silent.
Realizing that Gabriella would prefer the bathtub to him, the man suddenly exhaled quickly. Without a word, he walked out and came back with a blanket and pillow.
“You want to sleep here, do it! But, if you get sick, don’t blame me!” Max exclaimed before dropping his luggage.
Without waiting for the girl’s response, the man walked out while scratching his head violently.
“What a strange girl,” he said to himself, “her presence just makes me uneasy.”
That night, Max couldn’t even close his eyes. Her heart and mind were on Gabriella.
“Tsk, this can’t be tolerated anymore,” he muttered before pushing his head into the pillow.
***
The next day, Max took Gabriella to a place. Even though she was suspicious, the girl didn’t have the courage to refuse. She could only calm herself by looking at the scenery outside the window.
As the car entered the hospital grounds, Gabriella was pensive.
“Is he willing to sell my organs?” she muttered unconsciously. The man beside her took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
“Prove your obedience to me! Go through the examination procedure without talking too much!”
“What examination?”
“Your hand.”
After glancing at Gabriella, Max got out of the car, leaving the girl with a thousand questions inside her brain.
“He wants to heal my hand? Can I trust him?” Gabriella thought doubtfully.
Seconds later, the door beside her opened wide. The CEO also reached out to help her out.
“Come on! The doctor is waiting.”
Even though she had hesitated, the girl finally took the hand and stepped out. There were so many things she wanted to ask, but they ended up settling in her mind. No wonder she looked depressed throughout the examination.
“This girl is suffering from psychogenic tremors which caused by anxiety disorders or panic attacks,” the doctor explained with fingers tapping on Gabriella’s medical report.
Max spontaneously raised his eyebrows. “Anxiety disorder?”
“Yes, it looks like she just experienced something that caused a lot of pressure within. It makes the brain release stress hormones and her hands vibrate.”
Max was silent for a moment. The guilt in his heart began to creep up in the chest.
“Then, how do I get rid of the tremor, Doc?”
“The key is the cause of stress experienced by patients. If the patient can handle the pressure and calm herself down, her hands will stop shaking. The last option if the patient is unable to get rid of the trauma is therapy. But, according to my observation, this girl doesn’t need it yet.”
“So, I have to make Gabriella overcome her fear?” Max murmured, digesting the doctor’s statement. “How long can this disease be cured, Doc?”
“Some have recovered within one year, six months, or even one month. It depends on each individual.”
“Can’t the tremors go away in one day?”
The doctor sighed. “Sorry, Mister. No one has ever recovered so quick. Even with therapy, the results are only visible after three or four sessions.”
The man no longer spoke. His brain was filled with guilt.
When he left the doctor’s office, his eyes were immediately fixed on the girl sitting in the waiting chair. Seeing the fingers that couldn’t stop trembling on the lap, Max’s heart suddenly gave a strange throb. There was a big hole that needed to be patched.
“Gabriella,” he called softly. The girl turned her head around with exasperation clearly visible on her face.
“How is the result?”
Max curled up the corners of his lips and tilted his head. “You are okay. The tremors will soon disappear.”
“Is it true?”
“Hm,” Max nodded before putting his hand in the trouser pocket. “Now, do you want to follow me to another place?”
“Where?”
“A place where I can keep my promise.”
Gabriella’s brow wrinkled, spontaneously conveyed an indignation. Even so, she still got up from the chair and nodded weakly.
When Max was no longer facing, a faint sigh escaped her mouth. “This man was clearly lying to me.”
“My hand sure won’t be healed,” Gabriella concluded without thinking about where he was taking her. The girl’s brain was too full of despair.