CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: The Fall and The Fury

ADELE'S POV

Muffled noises. Blinding lights. Fire. It was everywhere. In my room, I was drowning in smoke. It wasn't real, yet it felt real.

My eyes burned and I coughed violently. I flung the window open, head out, gasping. My eyes darted around. The jump was too far down.

Flames licked at my nightdress and I yelped. I climbed out the window and stood on tiptoes on the window pane. It cracked under my weight.

I panicked and turned, and I saw it. A figure with no face. Rushing towards me, arms outstretched.

It shoved me off the window and I hung weightless in the air for a second, then I fell.

I tried to scream, but no sound escaped my throat.

All of a sudden it was dark. Fear crept up my spine. I'm trapped here. Trapped forever.

And then I heard his voice, pulling me back. My Julian.

******

Adele's eyes fluttered open like a fragile moth’s wings.

The steady beep of machines serenaded her. She tried to sit up and grimaced as a wave of pain and nausea swept over her.

Everything hurt. Her head throbbed and breathing felt like a painful chore.

Her eyes adjusted to the room's ambience. The ward smelled of strong antiseptic. Adele's stomach churned.

The door slid open and Julian snuck in quietly, teddy bear in hand, trying not to wake her.

“Julian?” Her throat felt raw.

“Adele? Oh thank God!” He rushed to her side and took her hand, kissing it softly, scared that he might break her. His eyes told tales of sleepless nights.

A tear escaped his eye and he wiped it away quickly, hoping Adele didn't notice.

“What happened? Why am I here?” Adele's confusion set in and she tried to sit up again. Pain stabbed at her sides.

“Shhhh! Just rest, baby. You're safe now”

“How did this happen?” Tears stung her eyes and her mind raced. Did she hurt herself again?

Julian stroked her knuckles gently, trying to ground her with touch alone.

“It was an accident, Ads. You fell.”

Her eyes widened and brimmed with tears. Julian felt a pang of guilt. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything just yet.

A nurse pushed the door open gently and smiled sweetly at Adele. Her uniform crinkled as she leaned over to check Adele's temperature and body for any swelling.

A man in a white coat walked in and his cologne filled the air. His coat did nothing to hide his voluminous belly which jiggled as he stopped at the foot of the bed.

“How are we feeling, Mrs Hawthorne?”

Adele blinked and shook her head. Julian's fingers intertwined with hers and held on tight. Adele felt warmer. Safer.

“I would say I'm okay, but my body begs to differ”

The doctor chuckled mildly. Julian didn't break a smile, neither did Adele.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“You're a lucky one, Mrs Hawthorne. Dare I say your guardian angel watched over you”

“Doesn't feel like it,” Adele muttered.

“Trust me ma'am, falling down a staircase of that length could have rendered you paralyzed, or dead. Someone was watching over you that night”

Adele froze. Her head throbbed in protest and tiny needles shot through her chest.

It was the sleepwalking again…

“... concussion, four bruised ribs, a dislocated ankle and knee. Trust me when I say that this is the best case scenario. You need to be more careful”

“But I wasn't —” Adele protested but stopped herself.

She couldn't bring herself to admit that she was the cause of her own problems. Or was she? An eerie feeling washed over her.

“Ads?” Julian squeezed her hand softly.

“I'm fine.” She bit her inner cheek and stayed quiet.

“Is there something you're not telling us, ma'am?” The doctor prodded.

Julian narrowed his eyes at Adele. He still didn't know what happened, but he had some theories of his own. If Adele didn't say something, he would.

“Actually, she's been—” Adele squeezed his hand tight, and he paused and leaned in close to her. Adele shook her head–a silent plea.

Julian's eyes held protest, but he backed down. It wasn't his story to tell, after all.

“Would you prefer to speak to me in private, Mrs Hawthorne?” The doctor shifted on his feet and eyed Julian warily.

“No, I'm fine. Seriously” Adele waved him off.

“How long does she have to stay here for?” Julian asked, stroking a loose strand and tucking it behind Adele's ear.

“We just have to run a few more tests to finally cancel out internal bleeding, but other than that, she's good to go. Not good, but you know what I mean.” He faced Adele.

“Keep that head dry and stay out of trouble, Mrs Hawthorne. I'm glad you made it. The nurse will be here in a minute to prepare you for the scan”

The door closed behind him. Julian paced the room like a guard dog. The heavy set of his shoulder was a tell sign of high stress.

“Why didn't you tell him about sleepwalking?.”

“The teddy.” Adele muttered, ignoring his question.

Julian's eyes fell on the fluffy dark red teddy bear resting on the hospital table. His brows furrowed in a frown.

“What about it?”

“I hate teddy bears”

******

JULIAN'S POV

That's it. I won't stand by and watch her die.

My arms tightened around the cold steel as I wheeled her into the elevator, flanked on either side by my security detail.

She muttered drowsily as the elevator buttons were pressed and I crouched down, straining my ears to hear her.

She drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain meds prescribed by the doctor knocked her clean out. I touched two fingers to her neck, feeling her clammy skin for a pulse. I feared that her bandage was wound too tightly around her head.

Fear crawled through me at the thought of losing her again. The doctor said she was lucky, but that scared me even more. I could have lost her. She would have been gone before she was ever truly mine.

I bristled with impatience and steeled myself as the elevator dinged.

We stepped out and I wheeled her towards the huge glass doors–then I saw it.

Flashing cameras. Reporters and paparazzi milling around in the cold, watching. Waiting.

Dread and anger built up inside me. How did they find us?

I wheeled Adele around, backing the horde.

Someone whispered something inaudible, and several eyes turned to feast on us.

“We need another exit “ my voice was tense and trite with anger.

The detail on my right nodded and marched off to the receptionist. She hesitated and frowned at me before gesticulating. He came back.

“Right this way”

I followed him through a dimly lit room labelled ‘Janitors Only’.

The air stank of bleach and vomit and something pungent.

I didn't want Adele breathing this in.

The exit door spilled into a dark alleyway. We moved in silence as the car came around.

I pulled the backdoor open just as I heard a click. Then another click.

I whipped around and there they were, running toward us. I couldn't get Adele into the car fast enough.

The hospital security rushed to hold them back, but it was futile. The cameras clicked away furiously. I couldn't let them see Adele like that. She'll never forgive me.

I used my body to block their view of her as much as I could, keeping my back to the cameras.

“Mr Hawthorne, is it true that you pushed your wife down the stairs?” A voice called out.

The hairs on my neck stood on end. How could they assume such a thing? Why would I hurt any woman? Adele was the last person I ever intended to hurt.

‘Relax, Julian. It's all speculation. Don't let them get to you‘ My inner voice whispered, desperately trying to calm my nerves.

I bent down and cautiously lifted Adele in my arms.

The cameras clicked away furiously as I set her down in the backseat.

Thankfully, her eyes stayed closed through the noise. Her fingers tightened around my wrist and my breath caught. I waited until her grip loosened before pulling away and closing the door.

The noise around me doubled, with reporters frantically screaming questions that landed like arrows in my back.

“Mr Hawthorne, is it true that your ex wife is now living with you?”

“Mr Hawthorne! A statement please!”

“Mr Hawthorne, is it true that you will be removed from your position as CEO of Hawthorne Global Holdings?”

“Mr Hawthorne…”

My brain filtered out the noise and I hopped into the passenger seat.

“Drive!” I ordered, trying not to let my frustration come to the surface.

My thoughts stumbled over each other.

How did they know all that? We're they spying on us?

No. That'll be impossible.

They must have a source.

I'll find that rat, and when I do, I just might commit my first murder.