“So, Miss Arnold. Why did you run home yesterday? I want the real reason, not that lie you made up earlier.” Tony said. Lily’s eyes widened at his question.
“W-what are you talking about, Sir?” She stammered and lowered her head. She couldn’t let him see her face as it would immediately give her away.
“Don’t be scared, Miss Arnold. I mean no harm. You are my staff, and I am only trying to ensure you’re alright.” Tony assured her when he saw her fidget.
“Now, Miss Arnold. What happened yesterday?” He asked again.
If it were another staff, Tony wouldn’t have bothered. The affairs of his employees outside the office didn’t concern him, and he had no right to ask, but this was Lily. He couldn’t brush off what he saw, and if anything happened to Lily, he would blame himself. So, he needed to know why she was so disturbed.
“I already told you, Sir. I had a call from my mother. I had to rush home and attend to her.” She sighed and hoped he would let her go.
But Tony shut his eyes, shook his head, and stood from his seat to meet her. He closed their distance and lifted her face, using his hand to hold her chin. He stared into Lily’s large blue eyes and felt himself getting lost in them. But, it wasn’t only the beauty in them he noticed. He saw fear and sadness in them also.
“Didn’t you say it was a friend you saw yesterday, Miss Arnold? How did that become your mother all of a sudden?” He asked calmly, and Lily immediately bit her lips and tried lowering her head, but Tony held it up and made her look at him.
“There’s a reason you’re lying, Miss Arnold? Please tell me. I have a feeling that you are hiding something big from me, and I am hoping it’s not what I think.” He said with worry evident in his eyes.
Something in Lily wanted to open up to him. She tried to tell him all about her abusive relationship, but she couldn’t. She was too embarrassed to admit it, and she didn’t want to get into trouble with Louis. If he ever found out that she told someone about their relationship, he would hit her.
So, Lily shook her head and stepped back. “Why does it matter to you, Sir? My life doesn’t and shouldn’t concern you!” She raised her voice to scare him, but Tony saw through her.
“It matters to me, Lily. You are my employee, so I have every right!” He shot back.
Of course, he had no right. He would use every means to get the information out of her.
“No! I can’t. Please leave me alone, Sir. Being my boss doesn’t give you that right. It is my personal life, and it only concerns me. I will diligently do my work, so you don’t have to worry. I’ll take my leave now.” She said and ran out of his office before he could stop her.
“Something isn’t right,” Tony whispered as he returned to his seat. Her running away only confirmed his doubts. She was hiding something from him.
Seeing how she was willing to raise her voice at her boss because of that secret, it was probably something big or shameful.
Lily spent the rest of the day avoiding Tony. Even when she had been asked to deliver a few documents to him from Dr Lorey, she immediately had to devise an excuse.
Her night shift went by smoothly, and Tony was out of sight. It was almost as though he had gone home.
Around 8 am, her shift came to an end. Lily walked to a mirror and almost screamed when she saw her appearance. Her hair was disheveled from how much she had run her hands through them. There were eye bags around her eyes, and her skin was pale.
“You can’t complain, Lily. This is the job you wanted.” She told herself and sighed tiredly. She went to the nurse’s bathroom and freshened up as she prepared to head home.
As she came out of the bathroom, her phone rang, and when she checked who the caller was, her heart skipped.
“Why is he calling so early?” She sighed and switched off her phone, deciding to call him when she was in a taxi. She was sure he would flip if he found out that she was at the hospital, so she decided that it would be better to call him when she was in a taxi. That way, she’d be able to tell him that she was on her way.
But, as she grabbed her bag to head home, one of the nurses stopped her.
“Lily, there’s someone here to see you.” The nurse said, and Lily’s brows creased.
“Huh? This early?” She replied, wondering who it was. The nurse shook her head and chuckled.
“I was about to say the same thing. It must be something urgent. Why don’t you go take a look?” The nurse suggested and walked away.
Still racking her brain for who it might be, Lily walked to the hospital reception to meet this visitor. As she neared the waiting area, she saw a familiar figure pacing around restlessly. She squinted her eyes, finding it hard to know as she wasn’t wearing her glasses, but as she walked closer, she finally saw who it was, and her breath immediately seized.
“Louis?” She called out softly with fear written all over her face, and he turned around to face her. “What are you doing here?” She asked as she approached him. The last thing she wanted was drama at the hospital.
“Can’t I visit my girlfriend’s place of work?” He replied and grabbed her arm. “You said your morning shift ends at 7 am. This is already past 8, Lily. Why are you still here?” She could feel his anger brooding, and she knew that if she didn’t act fast, he would cause a scene at the hospital.
“Not here, Louis. Please.” She begged, looking around to be sure that none of the nurses who knew her were watching. “Can we have this conversation at home? Please. This is my place of work. I could get fired if you cause a scene here.” She pleaded and tried to pull her hand from his hold, but Louis tightened his hold on her.
“Why? Is there someone you’re avoiding? Are you pretending to be single? Is that why you don’t want anyone to see your boyfriend, Lily?” He accused from nowhere, and Lily sighed heavily.
“Where did you even get that from, Louis? Where is that coming from? Please, let’s go home. I was already about to leave.” She said and tried to walk away as she realized he would keep talking if she didn’t do something.
“Don’t even think about it.” He warned as he noticed she wanted to walk away, but Lily waited until he wasn’t so focused on her hand before walking away, moving as fast as her legs could.
“Don’t fucking walk away from me, Bitch!” She heard Louis yell from where he stood, drawing attention to himself. She walked faster until she left the building, but as she was about to call a taxi, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to a corner.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” His question was followed by a slap that pushed Lily to the ground.
“Why do you always make me do this, Lily?! Why?! Why don’t you ever listen until I hit you?! Are you a fucking animal? Even animals do not have to be hit to listen!” He screamed. Thankfully, there weren’t many people in the corner he had pulled her to, so Lily didn’t have to worry about him causing a scene.
“Let’s just go home first, Louis. Please. I had a long night and needed to sleep. I do not have the energy for all of this.” Lily cried from the floor, begging him with her hands.
She wasn’t crying because of his slap. No. She was already used to that. It was her predicament that made her cry. She was tired of constantly being beaten by a man who claimed to love her. She was tired of having to lie to everyone because Louis was an evil man who could kill her if he ever found out that she was trying to leave him.
“You know what? You’re not coming home today. Since you’d rather stay at this goddamn hospital than come home and prepare breakfast, you fucking whore” He said, pulling her by her neck.
Lily continued to beg with tears in her eyes when she suddenly saw Louis fall to the ground from a force that was exerted on him.
“Get your fucking hands off her!”