The past few days had been so busy for Carlton after he traveled for business with James, and it had been from meetings to conferences and to inaugurations that he was invited to. As a result of his schedule that had been packed so full, his frustration had multiplied with everything too, because Stacy had been unreachable. Neither she nor Nadia were home, the morning they stopped by their apartment before travelling. His mind was consumed by thoughts of Stacy and his heart was ladened with so much confusion that it clouded his thoughts. He had contacted WILLAND hospital about her whereabouts, and he was informed that she was on her yearly leave at the present moment and had not been coming to work. The response from them amplified his fear even more, and had him spiraling in a haze of oblivion. Questions constantly swirled in his mind like a storm, and he was not able to concentrate on things he did properly. ‘Had he done something wrong? Was she still mad that he missed th
Hudson had been waiting all evening at the huge café that was opposite Carlton's company, with so much determination to meet him once and for all this time. He was willing to meet him and talk about Stacy, because he felt whatever was wrong with her must have been attributed to their relationship. And even if it wasn't, he thought Carlton might have an idea about what was going or where she would be. As he waited too, his heart raced with anticipation and a sense of nostalgia that tugged at his heart, since it had been years since he had last seen his long-term friend. He wondered what they would talk about first, and what their first reaction would be if they met. The skies darkened by the minute that passed, but he didn't mind, as he stood relentlessly, hoping that he would come out of sight. Since he had no appointment with him and didn't have his phone number, getting to talk to him in an instant was going to be the hardest thing to do. However, his patience began to wear thin w
Oblivious to the fact that her phone had been ringing endlessly in the pocket of the coat she hung across the chair, Nadia seemed a little distant from the person who was talking to her across the table. It was Caleb, her colleague from the hospital, and she had agreed to go out on a date after they returned from their retreat which ended earlier than they had prepared for. Dressed in a stylish dress, she exuded an air of elegance and poise, with her eyes shining with anticipation as she looked forward to a relaxing evening away from the hospital and from her badgering thoughts. Thoughts of Liam and everything about him. Thoughts about the kiss she wished she never had, had taken over her mind the more and spread like a love virus in her head. “It was time to move on and make space for others in my life. It was time to forget him and live my life now,” Nadia told herself repeatedly, as she stood in front of her dresser earlier that day, and got ready for the date. She thought of h
Nadia urged the driver of the cab she had flagged down the road to drive faster, her eyes constantly darting at the wristwatch that was clasped around her wrist. It was already several minutes past the time she agreed to meet Carlton, because she had lost track of time as she also met Liam's mother a little earlier. Upon arriving at the front of the rooftop café she had agreed to meet Carlton for a discussion, she slowed on her steps, straightened the crease out of her cloth, and wiped the beads of sweat that had pooled at the corners of her race before stepping inside. Elegantly she sauntered into the deluxe space, and was ushered to her table when she mentioned whose name her reservation was under. She was quite surprised when she saw two men waiting for her at the table, and she was not sure whether she knew the other person who was sitting beside Carlton. He seemed a little familiar though. “Sorry, I'm late,” A modest grin appeared on her lips as she apologized, with her eyes b
To Nadia, all was going to be fine, and she would definitely get over it soon. Why wouldn't she? What could go wrong? She had been doing better all these days and would continue to do well. She was going to be enjoying her life, meeting new people, dating, and loving herself better than she had ever done, so why wouldn't she be alright? However, she realized she couldn't. Because the moment she heard those side talks from everyone around her as she sauntered past them, she knew she had not gotten past it. How could she have missed it? She never bothered to know the date because it would hurt her more to see the truth. She had no idea it was so close already. So close that reality harshed upon her. “Guys, have you heard? Doctor Liam is the only son of Wilson Austin, the owner of this hospital!” One of the young nurses with curly hair came rushing with the piece of information she heard about where she was coming from. “What?! Doctor Liam is the hospital owner's son? Where did
Liam had been restless all night, his heart beating fast, and his thoughts racing hard because of the last call he had with Nadia, before the phone suddenly went off after she called him the previous night. And ever since then, her phone had been switched off no matter how many times he called. His family and Evelyn's family were all in Paris for the pre-wedding yacht party, and it was going to last till the next day with their closest family and friends, after which all of them would fly back to California in the evening to prepare for the main wedding that would take place. However, he had not been able to pick up any other person's calls, or get dressed for the yacht party since it was the morning of the next day already, hoping that she would call him back if she realized that he had been trying to call her several times. Unable to hold the anxiety in his heart any longer, he waited till the next morning, and phoned an investigator who was a friend of his to go and check up on
Carlton sat across from Liam on the private plane they were taking to Chicago, trying Nadia's number countless times about how far they had gone in the investigation of where Stacy had been traced to. “Her number is not going through,” he informed Hudson, whose demeanor was still slightly indifferent to him because of how pissed he still was. “She is probably busy at work. We can go without her and inform her of whatever happens there,” Hudson replied under his breath, not believing that he couldn't take a cue of what could be the possible reason for Nadia not picking up her calls. “Alright then,” Carlton slouched back on the seat after he informed the pilot to get the plane ready for takeoff, feeling so uncomfortable with the deep silence that was floating in the air. The tension between them had lessened a bit more than the day Hudson first heard about the relationship he had with his sister for all those years, but he was still uncomfortable saying a word around him to prevent
“Marilyn. What hospital is the child in?! We will bring her here now and have her treated,” Carlton hollered angrily on the phone, as he received the call from the most obnoxious person in his life, after she had tried calling him incessantly, sending text messages and even emails concerning Daisy's state of health.“Why are you being difficult?! This is about your fucking child here. Ten million dollars is nothing to you!” she retorted, cursing as loudly as she could. Through all her efforts to speak to him, she was asking him for money to complete the child's outstanding medical bills and further surgery. Because of his futile investigation of the possible places Stacy might be, and if she had traveled out of the city, he had been so frustrated all day. “She is not my….” Carlton's eyes compulsively shot to the left and right to see if anyone was watching, before continuing his discussion, “Child!” He hurled under his breath. Her calling him aggravated his anger even more, and he