AUTHORS POV
” You’ll be fine, some people survive cancer.” Sydney recited continuously as she sat next to Ashley, who was asleep.
Ashley’s test results revealed she had stage two cancer, which weakened her bones. The doctor advised Ashley to undergo palliative chemotherapy in the meantime and said there was an eighty percent chance she’d get paralyzed.
” It’s just a phase you’ll get out of it.”
Amaya walked into the ward, her eyes swollen from crying while Gabriel stopped by the door. They’d been in the hospital for almost three hours and no one had slept.
” You need to rest, ma’am; you look ashen,” Amaya advised in concern.
” No, I’ll stay here till my mother wakes up,” Sydney said stubbornly. The bags under her eyes were very clear now. Gabriel wondered if she had even had anything to eat throughout the day.
” She is right; you need to rest, Sydney,” Gabriel commented.
Sydney looked at him with eagle eyes. ” I’m not leaving here till she wakes up.”
Gabriel frowned at her. ” And you think she’ll be happy to know you didn’t sleep throughout the night because of her?”
She looked away. ” Don’t cajole me.”
Gabriel sighed and rubbed his temples tiredly. She wouldn’t listen to anyone. She doesn’t like being told what to do and he couldn’t deny that it got on his nerves.
Amaya looked between the both of them. It had just occurred to her that Sydney came to Arizona with a man that isn’t her husband. He couldn’t possibly be her friend, her husband didn’t like her having male friends. So, who was he and why did he go through all this to help them?
” I think he’s right, Madam Ashley has been concerned about you recently. She couldn’t sleep or eat properly after hearing about the scandal. If she wakes up and sees you this way, her condition might worsen.” Amaya said.
Sydney heaved a sigh and looked at Ashley. Her lips trembled as she placed a kiss on her mother’s forehead. She wouldn’t leave Arizona till she was sure Ashley was okay.
It just occurred to her that she didn’t tell Gavin about her leaving. He was the least important thing on her mind anyway. He wouldn’t even care if she left him.
Her heart bled; she had lost a lot of things, but she didn’t want to lose her mother. Not yet, not now. Gavin could switch places with her for all she cared.
Sydney gasped. No, no, I didn’t mean that. She couldn’t bear losing any of them.
As they walked out of the Hospital, Gabriel glanced at Sydney who seemed to be lost in thought.
” Blake owns a condo unit a few blocks down, you could rest in there for the night.” Gabriel offered.
She didn’t even realize how tired she was, she could sleep on the streets right now.
Gabriel saw her opening her mouth to speak and chirped in. ” You won’t find a hotel nearby, and there’s no ride at this hour to get to the hotel.”
She forced a smile. ” I know, I just wanted to say thank you for everything. I’m sorry I went overboard.”
” It’s fine.” He replied. They grew silent for a while before Sydney spoke.
” What you did for my mother was very kind. I wish I could repay the favor- and please let me, you’ve done a lot.”
She didn’t like feeling subjected to anyone. Look at where it had gotten her mother and sister. She didn’t condone what Anita did to Ashley but she was happy Anita decided to take a stand for herself.
She was shocked by Anita’s confession. All this while, she’d been thinking her sister was the quintessence of scrupulous.
She’d been thinking so much about her sister that she didn’t realize she had reached the condominium till Gabriel told her to step into the elevator.
” Do you come here often with Blake? He seems to give you the keys to most of his possessions.” Sydney presumed.
Gabriel unlocked the unit door and pushed it open. ” I’ve been here only once. We go a long way as friends. He finds me trustworthy enough to leave his things with me.” Clearly.
Sydney looked around the condominium. Not bad for the son of Alfred Patel. He has the same style as his father.
” Blake brings a lot of women here to stay. You can change into one of their clothes.” Gabriel said as they stepped into a room.
He pointed at the chifforobe, and she nodded in response.
” Do you do after-midnight snaking? You look like you haven’t had anything to eat for a while.” He inquired wholesomely.
She waved him off quickly. ” I’m fine, I’m not hungry.” That was a fat lie. Her stomach had been grumbling since she stepped into the Country club.
Well, it’s been a very long day. To think she heard so much bad news in just a day.
” I’ll take that as a yes. The neighbors are homely; I could ask for some bread and make Nutella.”
” Gabriel you don’t have to worry.”
” I told you, I’m not worrying. Take a shower, I’ll bring the food to you when it’s ready.” He didn’t wait for her response before leaving.
Sydney released a defeated breath and took the band holding her into a ponytail, off. She spent a long time in the shower. She almost moaned when the water touched her skin.
She hoped Sofia read Ethan and Emily to sleep. They’d be so down when they heard about Ashley’s alignment. She was their only grandmother and she treated them like her own child.
Sydney changed into a red nightgown; she made sure she put on undergarments even though she hated sleeping with them on. Even if Gavin didn’t respect her as a wife, she respected him and couldn’t let another man have something to imagine about her body.
Gabriel returned with a plate of Nutella. He watched her as she devoured the food. Her hair constantly got into her mouth and he smiled as she struggled to get it out.
She turned to him and asked, ” Aren’t you going to eat?”
” I ate mine in the kitchen.” He lied. He had a limited supply of bread, and she looked like she was starving, so he had to give it to her.
He took the empty plate and greeted her goodnight before leaving.
As he dried the plate with a dish towel, his phone rang. He dried his hand and took out his phone.
” Any news?” He asked immediately he answered the call.
” Yes, she boarded my taxi to some guy’s house. They seemed to be lovers, I think she called him Aa- Aaron.”
” And did you get anything important on camera?” Gabriel grew impatient.
” No, yet, but I implanted a chip in her room. She seems to be giving him the cold shoulder, nothing is happening yet.”
Gabriel’s jaw clenched, and he ended the call.
_______
Sydney couldn’t sleep without knowing whether Ethan and Emily were fine. They hadn’t been in the best mood when she left.
But Sofia wouldn’t be asleep; the girl had done enough for her. Sydney shook off the thought and decided to call Sofia.
When she turned on her phone, she saw thirty-five missed calls and ten messages from Gavin.
Her body felt hot instantly. Maybe he called when she was on the jet. She put aside her fear and called him back.
He answered at the second ring.
No one said anything. She was too afraid to say a word to him.
” Hello, Syd are you there?” Gavin asked calmly.
She could tell he was drunk.” Yes.”
Silence.
“Um… Where are you?”
” Arizona.”
His voice raised slightly, ” Alone?”
” You have no right to know that.”
And there was the storm. ” Sydney, who the f**k are you with, and how dare you take my kids with you!”
” I didn’t-”
” G*d knows if I catch that guy you ran off with, I’ll beat the shit out of him.”
Sydney’s mouth hung open. ” Oh, now you feel bad when the table turns on you.”
” Don’t you dare turn the blame to me-”
Sydney cut in savagely, ” That’s because you did everything wrong! If you think I’d be as stupid as you to commit infidelity then f**k you. I didn’t run off with the kids; they are with Sofia. I had to be in Arizona, and I’m not ready to leave them in your hands.”
” Why the hell didn’t you tell me this earlier!” he goaded.
” Oh, because you were too busy f**king my best friend. I won’t be back soon and don’t you dare take my kids away from Sofia.” She ended the call.
She was tired of being the one who got bullied. She had no obligation to any man. Right now, only her, her kids, and her mother mattered to her. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a divorce.
Not until she’d make him regret ever cheating on her.