CHAPTER TWO: THE DAY OUR WORLD SHATTERED

Flashback 

She had been dressed for work in a pencil skirt, silk blouse, and heels.

Hayden let out a whistle of appreciation. “Goddamn, who is the lucky man that managed to bag this?" He had murmured as he grabbed and squeezed her ass.

She giggled, playfully hitting his groping hands away. "Behave; I have to get to work on time today."

He growled and pulled her into his arms. Voice thick and raspy with heat. “You know I love it when you dress up all powerful, sexy businesswoman." He leaned in and bit her earlobe, then sucked it gently. "All this elegance… and you’re mine to unwrap.”

Her knees wobbled, and her clit throbbed in response. Before she could say anything, he had spun her around, hiked her skirt up, and lifted her onto the foyer drawer table, making her gasp in surprise.

His hands pulled down her panties in one smooth motion, and then he was on his knees, devouring her. “Myla...” he groaned into her folds. “… always so wet for me.”

She grabbed the edge of the table, trembling as she held her thighs open, and his tongue flicked and then sucked hard on her clit before teasing her entrance with slow strokes of his tongue. Then he plunged two fingers into her, curled them, and slammed into her spot as he simultaneously sucked her clit hard.

She let out a whimper as orgasm tore through her, fast and sharp, leaving her gasping and shaking.

He moaned and continued sucking on her clit like he was sucking the sweetest nectar, absorbing every spasm and slick. When she calmed down a little, she reached into the drawer, pulled out wipes, cleaned her up gently, stood her back on her feet, and then pulled her panties up.

 

He gave her a deep kiss, allowing her to taste herself on his tongue as he smoothed her clothes down like nothing had happened.

He released her lips and smiled down at her dazed face. "Have a nice day at work." He said softly.

Then he gave her one last soft smooch, smacked her ass playfully, and walked away whistling casually.

She was at work for four hours when her personal phone on her desk rang.

She stared at the unknown number on the screen. Then picked it up slowly. "Hello?"

“Is this Mrs. Oakley?” A serious male voice asked.

Her chest tightened with unease. “Yes... Who’s this?”

“This is Officer Barnes with the Lexton Police. Do you know a Mr. Hayden Oakley?”

Myla straightened her spine, her voice dropping. “Yes... I’m his wife. Is everything alright?”

The officer said grimly, “Ma’am, I need you to come down to Mercycrest General Hospital immediately. Your husband was just brought in. He was involved in a severe motor accident.”

Everything inside her froze.

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“Ma’am?”

“I—” she blinked. “I’m on my way.”

She ended the call, her heartbeat thundering as she grabbed her purse and ran, barefoot, forgetting her shoes, out of her office.

Her receptionist looked up, alarmed, as Myla sped past her, her face pale. "Ma'am... is everything alri..."

But Myla was already out in the hallway, running down the stairwell. Ignoring the calls behind her. She burst out of the building doors, unlocked her car, and slid behind the wheel with shaking hands.

She couldn’t think or breathe.

Her chest heaved in panic as the car peeled out of the parking lot. “God, please…” she whispered over and over, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “God, please… I can't lose him,” she pleaded desperately to whatever deity could hear her tears, blinding her.

The hospital came into view, and she screeched into the parking lot and jumped out, not bothering to close the car door.

Inside, the front desk nurse looked up as Myla ran in, her face frantic.

“I'm here...” she gasped. “...for Hayden Oakley... they... they said he was just brought in from an accident.”

The nurse’s eyes widened slightly in recognition, then sympathy flashed behind them. She nodded as she checked the computer in front of her.

“Yes, ma’am, but he’s currently still in surgery. It might take a while.”

“A while?” Myla choked. “Will he be okay?”

Before the nurse could answer, a voice said softly, “Mrs. Oakley?”

She turned sharply.

Two uniformed officers approached her, their eyes soft with serious faces.

She rushed to them. “Y... yes, I’m Myla Oakley. That’s me. Is he... what happened?”

They guided her gently to a nearby chair.

She sat down slowly, trembling.

One officer crouched to her level. Your husband was in a hit-and-run. It was... bad, ma’am.”

Myla’s body went cold, and her trembling intensified.

“Eyewitnesses said he stopped to buy flowers from a roadside vendor when a car at high speed hit him. Unfortunately, the vendor didn't make it, but by some miracle, your husband survived. The emergency team was shocked when they discovered he was still alive."

She looked at them numbly, tears falling freely now.

“We don’t know the full extent yet,” the second officer added. “But he’s in critical condition."

They proceeded to ask her the standard questions.

She answered all of them in a daze.

As they started to leave, one officer paused and turned back to her. “If you have someone you can call to wait with you,” he said gently, “you should.”

Her hands trembled as she picked up her phone. Only two people came to mind. Her husband's best friends.

She called Beck.

He answered after two rings. “Myla?”

Sobs racked her body as she blubbered out. “Hayden… accident… hospital. I don’t know what to do... they said he’s in bad shape...”

“Where are you?” His voice snapped into action.

“Mercycrest General,” she sobbed.

“Hold on, we’re coming.”

An hour passed that felt like months. She sat in that chair, her body numb and mind blank. It was like everything around her was muted.

Then she saw two men walk up to the front desk, one tall and muscular, the other tall but with a slimmer build.

The nurse pointed her out to them, and they came straight to her.

They sat on either side of her, and Beck stroked her hair gently. “How are you holding up?” he asked in a low, soft voice.

Jared gently wiped the tears from her face with his handkerchief. She broke down, sobbing as the dam in her broke.

They pulled her into their arms, surrounding her with their warmth, their scent, and their strength, anchoring her.

She didn't know when she cried herself to sleep, but she woke up to her head on Beck's lap, his hand stroking her hair, while her legs were on Jared's.

They waited for ten long hours before the doctor came to them, looking tired and worn out.

“The surgery lasted for eight hours. I'm glad to say it was successful,” he said. “But…”

They looked at him apprehensively.

“He had extensive spinal damage, a shattered vertebra, and internal bleeding. We almost lost him on the table when he flatlined, but we were able to get him back."

Myla covered her mouth as another sob escaped her.

“There is swelling in his brain. He’s in a coma. We don’t know when or if he’ll wake up. We’ll keep him in the ICU until further notice.”

Jared’s jaw clenched. “What’s the prognosis?”

The doctor hesitated. Then, honestly, not too good. What I am most concerned about is the spine injury and what side effects it would have, but we will know better when the swelling in the brain goes down."

Beck let out a sharp breath and rubbed Myla’s back.

The doctor added, “But… he’s a strong and healthy young man. Don’t lose hope.”

Then he left.

Jared touched her shaking shoulders, his voice steady like a calm in the storm. “Hayden’s a stubborn man; he’ll come back to us." His voice broke a little; he paused, clearing it before he continued. "And you know him; he's too damn headstrong to let an ordinary car accident take him away from you.”

Beck nodded in agreement, but beneath the faux calm on their faces, Myla could see the cold fear in their eyes.

-------

A soft voice pulled her out of her memory. “Myla?”

She blinked, looking around.

The SUV had stopped, and Hayden was looking at her with concerned blue eyes.

“You okay?” he asked gently. “You looked like you were about to cry.”

She sniffed, opened her purse, and pulled out a tissue. “I’m fine. Just… grateful you’re still here with me.” She said as she carefully dabbed her eyes.

Hayden's eye softened, and he reached for her... then stopped himself.

Then he cleared his throat, the cold mask sliding back into place. “Gather yourself. We’ve arrived.”

The rear doors opened, the ramp lowered, and he rolled out.

Myla sat there for a second, her heart aching. "For a moment there, he almost touched her."

She took a deep breath, stepped out of the car, and looked up at the sleek glass skyscraper belonging to her husband in front of her.

Oakley Corporation International.

Today, she would see Beck and Jared face-to-face for the first time since that night.

She wasn’t sure if she was more afraid of seeing them again… or more desperate to.