At five in the afternoon, Max finally returned to the room. With a sour look and a wheezing breath, he stared at the door that separated him from his wife.
“Has she finished the task or has she run off with another man?” the man guessed as he had been blinded by jealousy. Roughly, he opened the door.
A second later, his eyes widened. There was only a sheet of paper on the table and a small bag at its corner. The roar of the man’s breath automatically grew wilder.
“She dared to disobey my orders?”
Wasting no time, Max sped into the next room.
“If she’s really there, don’t expect me to apologize.”
Suddenly, Sebastian came out of the room carrying a bag. When he saw the CEO, his eyebrows arched high.
“What’s the matter, Max? Is there something urgent we need to discuss?” the secretary asked with a flat blink.
“Are you going home already?” the man inquired with the suspicious furrowed brow.
“Yes, my work is done. What’s wrong?”
Max was pensive. After racking his brains for a moment, he shook his head with a stiff jaw. “No, nothing. See you tomorrow.”
Just as he was about to turn around, Sebastian’s question stopped him in his tracks. “How is Gabriella? Has her eyesight improved?”
“Eyesight?” Max curled his brows in confusion.
“Don’t you know? There’s a small cut on her eyebrow. She accidentally hit the table this morning.”
The CEO’s heart suddenly raced. “Gabriella hurt?” he thought with a faint sigh.
A second later, Max rushed back into the room, leaving Sebastian with a confused look.
“What really happened between them?” the secretary muttered while tilting his head before shrugging shoulders. After expelling his curiosity, he stepped into the elevator, ignoring the CEO who was about to run.
“Where is she now?” Max muttered as he stormed Gabriella’s desk.
When he was about to reach for the woman’s bag, his heart suddenly stopped. His eyes caught the person he searched for, lying on the floor between the legs of the table and sofa.
“G-Gabriella?”
Without wasting a second, Max lifted the woman into his arms. With lips trembling violently, the man repeated the call. “Gabriella?”
Max stroked the pale cheek. However, he got no response. The cold body remained motionless.
“Damn!”
In an instant, Max had picked up his wife and carried her to the cupboard. After kicking a lever, the secret door opened. Without hesitation, the man laid Gabriella down on the bed that had not been occupied for a long time.
“Why do you always fall unconscious and make me anxious?” the CEO muttered as he stroked the sweat-drenched hair.
After calling the doctor, Max sat beside his wife. There was no more anger in his eyes, only worry and confusion.
“What’s wrong with you?” the man whispered while touching Gabriella’s face. “Be patient, Doctor Raul will be here soon.”
Carefully, Max squeezed the cold fingers that had stopped shaking. Every now and then, he could feel a small jolt. However, the eyeball he had been waiting for was nowhere to be seen.
***
“Is this girl following your diet, sir?” the doctor inquired after examining the patient.
Max nodded immediately. “Our food menu is always the same,” he explained without being asked.
“Including drinking tea after lunch and dinner?”
“Yes. What’s the matter, Doc?”
The man with a little gray hair immediately exhaled. “From now on, this girl should reduce her tea consumption. It’s not good for people with anemia.”
Max’s eyes spontaneously opened wide. “Gabriella has anemia?”
“I suspect this girl is on her period. Because of that, her body was weaker to the point of falling unconscious.”
The CEO’s eyeballs almost popped out. “Does this have anything to do with birth control pills?” he asked, no longer hiding his confusion.
“The birth control pill can actually reduce bleeding and the risk of anemia. I doubt this girl drank it.”
Max’s eyelids blinked harder. “So, she didn’t take the pills this morning?” the man thought in regret.
A bland sigh was released accompanied by a bowing of the head. For a moment, Max was too busy with his own thoughts to pay attention to Raul’s suspicious gaze.
“Who is this girl, Sir? Why is she in your office?” The doctor’s gaze began to spin. “In your secret room?” he continued affirming.
Max was forced to remain silent. He realized that the old man had sniffed the truth.
“But, whoever this girl is, you have nothing to worry about. She’ll be fine. Just make sure she takes blood-builder supplement.”
The CEO nodded stiffly. “Thank you, Doc.”
“One more thing. I hope you don’t mind to accept my suggestion. Don’t lie to your own feelings. If you really care about someone, don’t hold it back.”
A small twitch suddenly raised Max’s eyebrows and a stiff smile hung over his face. “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
Suddenly, the old man put his hand on the CEO’s shoulder. “I have known you since you were a child. It’ not a secret that you like to hide feelings.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” Max said flatly.
The doctor suddenly laughed a little.
“Including your concern for this girl?” Raul inquired, raising an eyebrow. The young man in front of him was unable to answer.
“I’ve never heard you panic before. This girl must mean a lot to you.”
After patting Max on the shoulder like a father to his son, Raul added warmth to his eyes.
“Take good care of this girl. That way, your heart won’t feel heavy.”
As the doctor left, Max gave Gabriella a disheveled look. “I care about her?”
After pondering for a moment, the man shook his head in disapproval. “This woman doesn’t deserve my attention. Isn’t she planning to leave me?”
While trying to believe that unproven assumption, Max went to his wife’s table. “I should focus on work. There’s no use worrying about that woman.”
However, when he was about to sit down, he froze. There was bloodstain on the chair.
“She’s really on the period?”
After a blink, Max ruffled his hair and grimaced. “Why does she always bother me?”
Along with a sigh of resignation, the man grabbed his cell phone and called someone. There was something more urgent to do.
***
As soon as she opened her eyes, Gabriella immediately frowned and moved her hands to block the light. It was then, she discovered that a plaster had stuck to his brow.
“Hmm?”
When the woman opened her eyes wider, a greater shock came from the nightgown on her body.
“What happened?”
Gabriella sat up. That’s when, she found something lining his pants. In a flash, the woman shifted and checked the sheets.
As expected, the dried red stains occupied her previous position. Spontaneous embarrassment flushed both of her cheeks.
“Tsk, why am I bothering him again?” She regretted while biting lip.
When the woman came out of the small room, her eyes immediately fell on Max. The casually dressed man was busy at the mockup table. With hesitant steps, Gabriella approached her husband.
“Did you change my clothes?” the woman asked in an unstable voice.
Max only glanced over briefly, before returning his focus to the newly built mockup. “Stupid question,” he said coldly.
Gabriella’s brows instantly furrowed, while her hands gripped each other tighter.
“Did I faint again?” she asked in a smaller voice.
Sarcastic voice immediately answered the pleasantries. “Super stupid question.”
The woman lowered her head and wet her dry throat. “Thank you.”
Max’s hand finally moved. After taking a deep breath, the man gave an annoyed look.
“After troubling me, you’re grateful instead of apologizing?”
Gabriella blinked in confusion. After racking her brain for a moment, her tongue spit out the word again, “Sorry.”
Instead of responding, Max went back to taking care of the mockup.
“What are you doing?” Gabriella asked, still trying to defuse the tension.
“Finishing someone’s bad work. Thanks to her, I had to work overtime to catch up with the deadline.”
The woman’s guilt automatically doubled. “Is there anything I can help?” she asked, reaching for the marker.
Suddenly, Max banged on the table and pointed his index finger.
“Get your hands off this job! Don’t let your tremors ruin the perfection I’ve built.”
Cold sweat immediately rolled down the back of the woman’s neck. After swiftly putting down the marker, she stepped back and out of the way. Her face had turned pale again with shortened breath.
“Max must be really mad at me,” Gabriella thought as she headed into the small room. Her chin twitched holding back the inner urge.
As soon as she touched the bed again, tears immediately fell. The sobs began to sound low. Wasn’t she used to being yelled at by Max? But, why did her heart ache so much?
“I know I’m incompetent. But why does he blame my tremor? I don’t want my hands to shake like this either.”
Gabriella dried her temples which, a second later, were wet again.
“Why should I apologize? I only tried to fulfill his orders. If I had just ventured out looking for food, I wouldn’t have passed out.”
No pillows to cuddle, the woman was only able to hug herself, trying to stop the tears that were flowing non-stop.
“I really miss Snowy,” Gabriella thought before choking on the suffocating sadness.
Suddenly, something soft hit her back. The woman reflexively turned around. Right at that time, she found her favorite teddy bounced off and landed at her husband’s feet.
Trying not to care, Gabriella laid back on her side, facing the cupboard. However, Max picked up Snowy and threw him again.
“Hey, are you stupid? Why are you lying here? You should eat so you don’t faint again. How long are you going to burden me like this?”
Gabriella’s breath suddenly became shorter. With all her might, she tried to keep it from turning into sobs. Unfortunately, the heat in the lungs was too excruciating. As a result, her entire body began to vibrate following the tremble of her heart.
Watching his wife sobbing, Max’s fierce look suddenly faded. He could no longer force his ego to continue punishing the woman’s unfaithfulness. After all, Gabriella was too fragile.
“Why are you crying? Stop! Food is waiting for you on the table,” Max said in a hanging tone. He wanted to sound firm, but didn’t have the heart to add pressure.
Instead of answering, Gabriella continued to wipe her tears and tried to ignore her husband’s words. The more she heard, the deeper hole in her heart was. So, it’s better for her to keep silent.