Chapter Seven – Whisked Away To His House

Andrea’s POV 

I felt relaxed, rested, and much better! The soft bed I was lying on didn’t seem mine! Where was I? I remembered falling unconscious in the office! After that, everything was hazy. I had no memory of anything whatsoever. 

Immediately I opened my eyes with a start as a feeling of dread clutched at my heart. I looked around the tastefully done-up room. Where was I? This wasn’t my room or Cromwell Mansion! With its neutral shades of beige, it looked more like a man’s bedroom. My heart constricted with fright. I dreaded accepting the obvious. Did Zion bring me over to his house? After all, he was the only one present near me when I lost consciousness. 

No, I had to escape. I didn’t want to stay here a second longer to confront him. My head swooned as I tried to get up. It was a futile effort, and I fell back on the bed. I knew I was burning with a fever, but I had to leave. If I stayed here, I would go crazy. 

I made repeated attempts at getting up on my feet. At last, I stood straight and looked around for my bag. I couldn’t leave my laptop bag here. It contained all my important documents that shouldn’t fall into the enemy’s hands. 

“Are you planning to escape?” Zion’s booming voice echoed from the door, startling me totally. 

“I need to go home, Zion. Thanks for everything.” I couldn’t look at him. Embarrassed that he had to see this vulnerable side of me, I hobbled towards the door. “Can you give me my laptop bag?” 

“It should be in the car. Lie down and rest, Andrea. You aren’t going anywhere.” He came towards me, but I wasn’t in the mood to take orders from him. He had lost all his rights over me. 

“Can I get my bag? I need to leave. Everyone will be worried at home.” He snickered as if I was bluffing him. 

“Everyone, or Adrian in particular? There have been five missed calls from him already!” I gaped at him for a split second before looking for my phone. I didn’t have it with me. Then how did he know Adrian had called me? 

“Oh! Adrian called me! But how did you know about it?” He looked furious as he pulled my phone out of his pocket and handed it over to me. 

“See for yourself. I wonder how many you have lined up at the same time. Don’t you tire of them?” I ignored his rantings, taking the phone and staring at the five missed calls from my baby boy. It was already 10 o’clock and he would be missing me so badly. 

I immediately called him. The twins shared a phone to call me during emergencies. It was a precautionary measure since I had to leave them and go to work.

“I don’t believe this. Are you planning to call your hook-up right in front of me?” Zion gritted out, making me cringe at his thinking. The number was saved as Adrian and Zion might have seen the caller ID and formed his own opinions.

Zayden accepted the call, to my immense relief. “Zayden, give the phone to Adrian. Is he okay? Why did you call me?” 

Zion scoffed and walked out of the room, but I turned a blind eye to him. 

“Addy has a fever, Mom. That’s why I was calling you.”

“Oh, so have I. Maybe I’ll come down when I’m feeling well. Don’t panic, go to sleep, all of you. I have the duplicate keys to the house. Can you inform Grandpa Vincent?” 

“Yes, mom. Take care, please.” I didn’t want to bother Grandpa since he had problems driving in the night. At his age, I didn’t want him to get worked up. My head swooned, and I sat down in the nearest chair to wait for my laptop bag. Wasn’t Zion taking ages to get it? 

I closed my eyes and waited in vain. My body was killing me, yet there was no sign of Zion. Maybe I would have to leave without it. I got up on my wobbly feet and walked towards the door. The moment I was out, I realized there wasn’t anyone around! 

Where was Zion? Annoyance gripped my heart as I staggered from room to room to look for him. If it wasn’t for my laptop, I would have left already. How could someone be so irresponsible? Who asked him to bring me here? The security guard would have sent me home, anyway. 

As I approached the deck outside, I overheard him talking agitatedly on the phone. “No, I’m not returning to Athens. You wanted the business, right? Let’s see you manage it for a change.”

Who was he talking to? Maybe his ex-wife! I realized how little I knew about him, despite being acquainted with him for years. He was the only one of Knox’s friends who hardly came down to LA. In fact, he missed all their get-together at Escapades! It was strange that Zion never took me to his parents’ home in Athens. I only met him at his bachelor pad a few times. 

He had always been a recluse, a mystery to me. Maybe the urge to know more about him made me accept his job offer at ZC Architects and go to Athens with him. It was the worst mistake of my life as it destroyed my life forever! 

However, only one good thing came out of it. That was my children! They taught me what unconditional love was all about. They taught me to be a mom, a loving mom. It was something I didn’t have in my life.

My mom, Annette Cromwell, was a well-known socialite not carved for marriage and children. My dad, Kevin Cromwell, was an alcoholic and a wanderlust! Their marriage had been a mismatch, and Knox and I had to pay the price. They created a toxic environment at home with their violent outbursts. If Grandpa Vincent and Kathy hadn’t been there for us, we would have landed in a rehabilitation center already. 

Both of us had trust issues since childhood. We had very negative thoughts about relationships! Yet seeing Knox find his match in Danielle, I wanted to explore my feelings for Zion. Now I realized how wrong I was in my assumptions. Zion and I could never be together! 

He hated me! The low opinion he had of me broke my faith in relationships. The little hope I had after seeing Knox and Danielle’s happily-ever-after crumbled to dust. I now knew there was no such thing for me. I was happy with my children!

“Stop it, right now, Delia! You have everything you need, money, properties, and the business. I don’t think you need me!” Zion’s agitated growl brought me back to reality. Somehow, I didn’t want to face him anymore, especially not when he was so mad. Maybe I would send someone later to get my laptop and bag. The need to flee was now upmost in my mind. 

“Where are you off to, Andrea?” came his booming voice the moment I reached the door. I closed my eyes to suck in a deep breath. I needed to remain calm. 

‘Don’t panic, Andrea!’ urged my inner mind. 

Slowly, I turned around to face him. He looked furious with clenched jaws and hands fisted to control his temper. Maybe he would flare up anytime. What had I done now to trigger such a reaction? My head felt dizzy, yet I tried hard to focus on him. 

“Please give me my laptop. I have to go home.” He strode towards me in a fit of rage, while I stepped backward until my back hit the door. 

He stopped inches away from me, glaring at me all the while. “Home or to Adrian?” 

“He’s sick, please.” I couldn’t tell him more. What if he snatched my little ones away from me? Anything was possible for Zion Concorde. He was heartless! 

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning menacingly close. “So are you. Is he more important than yourself? I really don’t believe this!” I watched him tremble with jealousy. Yet I couldn’t tell him the truth. 

Adrian was my four-year-old baby boy. I had formed him with my blood, carried him in my womb for nine months, and went through hell to give birth to him. He and Zayden were more precious to me than anything else in the entire world. I could willingly die to save them. They were my babies! 

“He’s priceless! I love him.” Zion lost his composure and grabbed my throat, pinning me to the door. 

 “I swear I would have killed you if you weren’t sick. So, do you love every guy you sleep with? When you carry your heart on your sleeves, why can’t you give me what I want? You’ll live like a queen in return for moving in with me! Sounds interesting?” He released me and watched me with a victorious look in his eyes. Did he really think I would give in?

I glared back at him with hatred. At that moment, I wanted to wipe the smug look of victory from his face. I gave in to my wish. 

Without a word, I raised my hand and planted a tight, resounding slap across his face. He staggered from the brunt of the hit while I opened the door and ran out as fast as my legs could carry me.