She was still studying acting skills. She sometimes would stop her work and sneak away to watch online acting classes whenever she could. But right now, for some reason, she just needed to hide here and take this shitty job, holding back her acting dream for a while.
She waited in her room, wondering when Zoey or Lily would show up and tell her that she had been fired, and she felt devastated as she really liked Lily.
But none of them ever showed up.
Thea was a bit confused, and she put down her phone.
Were they both not at home right now?
If they were both not at home, then Cody must be left alone without someone taking care of him.
Zoey said that man couldn’t be left alone without an assistant.
Thea was thinking for a while if a proud man like Cody Bradley would choke back his pride and call her for help or rather choose to stay in his wheelchair unattended.
The more Thea thought about it, the more nervous she got.
In the end, she was getting so scared that she felt an intense need to go upstairs and check out that bastard.
Thea got out of the room, and she found in horror that it was already pretty dark now.
How many hours did she spend in her room? Is Cody Bradley still alright?
Thea went upstairs without a second thought and found out the door of Cody’s room was ajar.
He must have tried to get out of the door. Why didn’t he call her? This stubborn bastard.
The light in Cody’s room was dim when Thea pushed open the door. She squinted and saw Cody’s silhouette in his wheelchair.
Cody’s head was lolling to the side of his shoulder.
Thea gasped softly and approached him immediately, “Cody… Cody? Are you alright?”
Cody mumbled something. Thea only realized at that moment that he was just sleeping.
Had he rather fallen asleep in his wheelchair than call her for help?
Thea sighed, her shoulders slumping.
And then, Cody winced a little. It looked like he was not having the sweetest dream at this moment.
“No!!!” The man suddenly cried with his beautiful eyes shut, “No! Go away!”
“Mr. Bradley?! Are you okay?” Thea asked as she held Cody’s hand. The poor man looked extremely pale under the moonlight, and he was sweating.
“Cody! Wake up!” Thea shook his body a bit, and Cody’s eyes snapped open. His pale eyes were wild and full of horror.
Whatever he just dreamt of, he clearly had woken from it.
“You… You’re fine now,” Thea pushed some damp hair away from his handsome face.
Cody’s lips parted, but he didn’t make any sound. Instead, he was panting heavily as if he had just run a thousand miles.
“You… You’re okay right now?” Thea asked carefully. She wanted to pull away, but Cody’s grip was as tight as iron. She couldn’t stealthily pull back, nor couldn’t pull away rudely.
Thea had no choice but to let him hold her hand. He probably needed warmth from someone.
“No…” Cody mouthed.
“Were you having a nightmare?” Thea asked carefully, trying to ease the tension between them.
Cody gradually sobered and nodded.
“Do you want me to turn on the light for you?” She sounded concerned.
“That will be good. Do it.” Cody’s voice was raspy and thick. He only noticed that he was holding Thea’s hand after he was fully sobered. Thea probably saw it wrong, or the handsome man really blushed a bit under the moonlight. Either way, Cody finally let go of his grip. Thea smiled and went over to the wall, turning on the light.
Cody raised a hand and covered his eyes after the lightning in the room was on.
“You know… I’m not fired yet. You could have at least called me to put you in bed when you were tired,” Thea said as she pulled the blinds close, “What were you so afraid of? You just dozed off in this wheelchair, and it seemed you’re having a bad nightmare that even made you shiver.”
Cody put down his hand and revealed his beautiful eyes again, “I considered calling you but remembering what happened earlier, I’d rather sleep alone than be molested.”
Thea was taken aback after hearing his response.
“Are you really gonna use that against me from now on?” Thea snorted as she fluffed the pillow, “You know you have to pay me double to get that treatment, right? You should feel lucky.”
Cody’s eyes followed her as she walked over to maneuver his wheelchair, “I’m sorry for my bad remarks earlier and those bad words that I spilled, making you embarrassed.”
Thea’s hands faltered.
Did Cody Bradley just apologize to her? She was speechless and stared at him blankly.
“I was not like this before the accident occurred and tied me in this wheelchair. I just…” Cody tailed off, “I used to have possibilities. But now, everything is totally shattered, and this stupid wheelchair looks like a prison for me.”
Cody Bradley, the firstborn of Linford Bradley, the future successor of the Bradley business empire with a brain of a genius totally ruined. He would have accomplished so much if it were not for that mission.
Everyone would get grumpy if he went through what this man did.
“Well… What can I say? Apology accepted since you paid me generously,” Thea said, “I accepted your apology because of money, not because you’re a decent man who owned up to what he did.”
“Okay.” Cody grinned, “Of course.”
Thea adjusted his wheelchair so she could roll him onto the bed.
The process was pretty exhausting.
“Okay,” Thea stood before him, arms akimbo as she stared at Cody, “Want a cup of water?”
“That will be nice,” Cody smiled at her, “Just don’t spit in it.”
“I will try not to,” Thea grinned back.
She thought this man was such an overbearing and tyrant boss earlier. But he was not that bad after all.
****
They got a visitor the next day. A young man called Thomas Watson came to meet Cody. Thomas’s eyes lingered on Thea for a long while before he went upstairs to meet Cody in the study room.
Thea wondered why this man was paying special attention to her.
She couldn’t think of any answers, so she gave up.