Tom's POV

TOM POV

Tom pulled out his phone as he walked out of the hospital. He had 6 missed calls and 5 new urgent emails, but he wouldn't let that bother him.

He’d missed his morning meeting with a powerful potential partner, and he had no way to explain why unless he wanted to publicly admit his wife was in an asylum.

He’d meant to see Chloe after work. They were finally going to have a baby. He wanted to take her out of the hospital and see if being at home helped. But when he mentioned this to April, April informed him that Chloe had decided she was getting an abortion today.

Tom was livid. He'd lost all concept of time and seemed to forget anyone or anything else existed.

He'd expanded his family's company into a multi-billion-dollar international corporation so he could care for and protect his wife and family. He wouldn't let this very same company be the reason he lost them.

“April,” He called as he approached the car. She got out of the back seat and smiled sweetly at him. She held a binder in front of her, always ready for whatever Tom might need next. She'd been a surprisingly good employee. Her dedication was hard to find. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

She looked confused – a clever mask she’d mastered. After a moment of pretend consideration, she said, “This morning I told you Mrs. Hayden wanted her procedure done. I handed you the document to review and sign.”

“You didn’t tell me her procedure was an abortion.” He smacked his hand on the top of the car as he glared at her, “I agreed to a paternity test.”

“Mr. Hayden, I apologize for the misunderstanding,” she kept her voice expertly professional with just a hint of deliberate fear and concern, “you never told me what the test was, only that she was pregnant. Also, a paternity test isn’t a procedure.”

Tom wouldn’t look at her. He couldn’t stand still as anger surged through his body. His hands trembled. He couldn't even his breathing.

He'd barely stopped it. A few moments later....

“2 years,” he mumbled then shouted, “TWO YEARS!! She still isn’t any better! What the hell are they doing in there?”

“Mental health is difficult. It’s likely she’ll never truly heal.” April sighed.

“Impossible. She was fine,” his voice was low again but rushed and breathless, “I knew her for 7 years and she was always fine.”

“Maybe there were always signs, and we just missed them.”

“She’s getting worse. The woman I married would never – never – try to kill her own child. She wanted a family.” His voice cracked at the last part.

This was her chance, April knew it. But she didn’t know exactly how to subtly convince Tom that Chloe’s child wasn’t his without being too obvious.

“We don’t know what it’s like in there for her. I mean, just yesterday, wasn’t she kissing another patient? Maybe she only wants a baby that she can raise with a proper father.” April tried.

“You’re right,” Tom gasped. “Her problem isn’t just insanity, it’s jealousy.”

“What?” April’s voice slipped from the sudden jump, but he was too distracted to notice.

“Being in there is making her worse. I need to bring her back out. Then I can watch her and take care of our baby.”

“What if the baby isn’t yours?” April blurted out. The sweetness was gone from her voice.

He hesitated but shook his head and got into the car, “I don’t care.”

“You don’t care.” She got in beside him. She fought her voice to stay in character, “Mr. Hayden, millions of women – loyal women – would line up to be your woman. Why would you choose to be with one who’s unfaithful?”

“Back to the office,” he instructed the driver. As he began replying to emails on his phone, he said,  “She’d never cheat on me. She loves me too much.”

“She wanted to abort your child!”

“It was for my attention. She knew I’d stop it.”

April was starting to consider maybe she should send Tom to the asylum. April had ordered an abortion in Tom’s name; April had arranged for Dr. Kyle to visit the hospital asap; April had done everything, and Chloe had simply lain there being useless.

Why was Tom still so infatuated?!

Why was he making up excuses for her?

At this point, she’d have an easier time seducing him as a nurse than as his assistant. But then again, his family would never tolerate him being institutionalized, especially not now that they were in a new demographic.

April switched her strategy. Crossing and uncrossing her legs anxiously. Tugging at her own sleeves. Shifting until she was certain it would catch Tom’s attention and annoy him. She pulled her face into a pained, nervous expression and held it until Tom finally spoke.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Me?” She tried to hide her face from him, but let her voice whimper and choke, “I’m fidgeting, I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you. I don’t want to bother you.”

He put his phone down and let his annoyance echo through his voice, “you know I hate mind games. Just tell me what you’re doing.”

She sucked in a deep breath and sighed deeply, “please don’t fire me, Mr. Hayden.”

“I’m not going to fire you. My mom would get mad at me if I did,” he joked, picking up the binder from her lap and flipping through it for what he needed to continue his emails.

She bit her lip, glancing at him anxiously before adding, “Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Is what safe?”

“You said it yourself. Chloe is getting worse.  What if she comes out, and she sees me, and…”

Tom let his eyes roll back, and he slammed the binder shut hard enough that April genuinely jumped. The surprise on her face, just for a moment, was an honest reaction.

“Chloe won’t see you.” Tom said.

“She knows I’m your assistant. Besides, I come to your house, I—”

“You can stop coming to my house when she returns.”

“Wouldn’t that lead to a delay in progress?”

“Hardly. We have technology.”

“Some of our competitors are software geniuses. What if they hack into our system—?”

“What would you have me do, April? She’s my wife, she’s carrying my child. I’m not letting anything happen to her, and I won’t risk anymore misunderstandings that might threaten my child’s life.” He snapped.

“Would you fire me if I refused to sign a letter of forgiveness?” April asked bashfully, her voice more serious. When Tom met her eyes, she looked down bashfully, “she caused me to almost lose my foot. I had burns—”

“Alright, enough,” Tom groaned, “what do you want?”

“Excuse me?”

“What do I have to do to make you feel better? So you can sign the letter of forgiveness.”

April put her face in her hands and began to sob. She did this because she knew Tom would look away, which he did, and it gave her time to reshape her face.

She’d already signed the letter of forgiveness. Two months after she was originally institutionalized, in exchange for a position as his personal assistant, she’d signed one to free Chloe. It had been Tom who sent her back on his own.

April had no real power anymore.

But apparently Tom had forgotten that part. Or maybe, in his mind, he still thought it was Chloe’s fault she was in there. That she’d truly gone mad.

April composed herself enough to whimper and say, “maybe…. Maybe all I need is exposure therapy.” He looked at her curiously, “Maybe… I’ve made a monster of her in my memory. I know this might sound crazy, but when she returns…. Can I stay with you two?”

“Stay with us?”

“I think… yes. That’s the best choice,” she feigned strengthening her artificially fragile voice, “because it will allow me to see her again in a safer environment. So I don’t have to be scared she might be coming for me—”

“She wouldn’t be coming for you.” Tom said.

“Fear does crazy things to the mind,” she said. He nodded slowly, “but if she did do something…. aggressive towards me, at least it would be at home. Not a big scene like last time. No one would need to know; we could keep it private. Our own little secret. And for you it would be helpful because you could work from home more. I can help you at home and in the office. And rent has gotten so expensive recently, I might have to move anyway.”

“Hmm,” he thought to himself.

“We can hire a nurse for her. Maybe one of her favourites from the asylum.” April continued.

“What do you think?” Tom asked Hendrix Smith, his driver. Hendrix had started working after Chloe left, April was fairly confident he’d be on her side. He often made jokes about April being the Real Mrs. Hayden. She was thankful Tom was asking him.

Hendrix looked in the rearview mirror at April who nodded once with a soft smile. Then he said, “I think it’s a great idea. When will Mrs. Hayden return? Maybe Ms. Sunday should move in a couple days before Mrs. Hayden returns, so there’s no chaos when she returns.”

“That’s a great idea” April beamed.

“Hmm,” Tom thought to himself, “I’ll think about it.”