"Then that's a pity!" he answered, without the slightest trace of remorse. “But try to see where I'm coming from. My father came with a very beautiful woman whom he did not fully know but then he was able to entrust his whole life. Not only that, he came from a very distant place, in another country and my father agreed to watch over and take care of him until he was completely healed. In fact, there are enough nurses qualified to take care of him in this country. So, tell me, if we reverse our situation, won't you at least doubt it?”
"No." she replied warmly. “Before I jump to unworthy conclusions or before I judge her professionalism. I will ask this stranger to show me her profile and if I am not satisfied with the information she provided, I will call her previous employers to verify if the documents she presented are true.”
“Well, there is no need for many explanations. Your point is well taken and that being the case, I am ready to put aside my speculation and let’s stop talking about this and let’s just enjoy this very fine champagne. I picked it up from my father’s cellar. It's embarrassing if we just spoil it.”
She plunked her glass on the table so abruptly that its contents surged over the rim with an indignation that almost matched her own. “If you think I’m about to share a drink with you, or we can eat together, think again! I would rather be hungry.”
She stood up, acting quickly to leave, but she had only taken two steps towards the door before he caught up with her and slammed it closed with the flat of his hand. "I regret that, because I am worried about my father's condition, I have offended you," he said calmly. "Trust me, I take no pleasure in having done so."
"Really?" She shot it with an evil look. “You could have fooled me. I'm not used to being treated like a criminal.”
He shrugged. "If I insulted you, I apologize, but I'd better make a mistake in being careful."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"That my father was previously targeted by people only interested in taking advantage of him."
"He may not trust other people very easily if he feels safer in his relationship with you."
"Possibly not, but ours has never been a typical father and son relationship."
“I understand what you mean, but I suggest the time’s come for you to bury your differences and stop butting heads. All he needs is your concern.”
"I'm not here right now, if I don't care."
"Would you die if you told him that?"
An accented sound released him from the suppressed laughter. "No, but he might be shocked when he hears me say that and could be the cause of his death."
What is between these two that they remain apart from each other, she wondered. Do you two know how painful it is to wait so long but it’s too late to say to each other “I love you?” because I know. Often even though I don’t want to remember, I’ve witnessed the grief and regret that tears families apart because time ran out on them before they could have said the things they should have said.”
He looked out the window at the other end of the room in the garden with the strange plants in bloom. “We’re not other people,” he said.
"You are not immortal either." She hesitated, conflicted once again as to just how much she could say, then decided to go ahead and reveal what she knew, because she wasn’t sure if she would be able to survive if she didn’t do that.
“Look, Chris, your father will definitely kill me for what I’m going to tell you, but your father isn't just fighting because of his broken hips. His heart is not in good condition either.”
“I’m not surprised. He got that because of a few years of smoking and hard living, but no matter what his doctor said he still wasn’t able to change his habit. He’s a stubborn old goat.”
She knew that thing was true. Rocco left Vancouver General at his own discretion even though it was against the doctors’ advice and insisted that he wanted to fly back to the Philippines, simply because he didn’t want to be constantly monitored by nursing staff. ‘They don’t let a man breathe,’ he complained, when Lara spoke to him to stop him from traveling. ‘I’ll come out with a cold corpse if I stay here any longer.’
“Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Chris. You know what this family’s problem is? You are both stubborn.”
He swung round and watched her from the other side of the vast room; a critical look that seemed like a sharp arrow to pierce her. He probed too deeply beneath the surface. Saw things she was not yet ready to accept to herself. "Perhaps before you start leaping to unwarranted conclusions," he said, approaching her like a hunter preparing to kill a captive, "you should also hear my side of the story."
"You're not my patient, just your father," she said, she backed away and she was almost out of breath at the determined gleam in his eye.
“But isn’t modern medicine all about the holistic approach — curing the spirit in order to heal the body, and whatnot? And isn't that what you've been fighting for since you came here?”
"I suppose so, yes."
“How are you going to do that, if you can only solve half? Beyond this point, what will you lose if you let me fill that vacancy?”
'My soul, and everything I am,' she thought, full of intense concern unless she could remove herself from the shroud of attraction that gave her the fear that might envelop her being, human destiny, by Christian Imperial would take control of her life, and possibly never to regain it again. Although she may run away like a frightened rabbit straying from his habitat like exploiting Rocco. So, she stood her ground, put aside the wrong thoughts from her thoughts and said with deceptive calm, "Absolutely nothing."
"Really?" he leaned over her, the voice dropping another half octave and latched his fingers around her wrist. "Then why do you seem so scared?"
She swallowed and ran her tongue over her dry lip. “I’m not,” she said.
He wrapped his arms around Lara as she stood at the kitchen sink and pressed his lips against her bare shoulder.“Good morning.” She smiled as she turned around in his arms.“Good morning. I don’t like waking up and you’re not in bed.” He brushed his lips against hers.“I wanted to get the muffins in the oven before you woke up.”“Banana nut?”“Of course.” She grinned.“Then you’re forgiven. Listen, do you hear that?”“Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”“Exactly. Blissful silence. We need to enjoy it before the kids come up. What time will they be here?”“Soon, I think.”“Is Helen bringing Lance?”“I think so. I’m not sure though.”“I feel like I need to have a talk with that boy.”“Leave him alone, Chris. He’s
Raising highly intelligent children was rewarding as well as exhausting. Harry demanded a lot of their attention and needed to be mentally stimulated at all times. At a year old, he was already saying more words than the average child. Chris was sitting behind his desk when his office door opened, and Lara walked in holding Harry. “What a nice surprise.” He grinned as he got up. “Hi, princess.” He hugged and kissed her before he kissed Lara and took his son from her arms. “Hi, handsome.” He tickled him. “Daddy,” He smiled. “What are you doing here, sweetheart?” “I need you to watch him. The babysitter called and has the flu. Harold is with Aida. I have my doctor’s appointment. I will bring Helen with me.” “I have a meeting in fifteen minutes.” “And? Do you want me to cancel my doctor’s appointment?” “You know what, I’ll just bring him to my meeting.” “Good idea.” She smiled. “I love you. Just bring him h
As she lay there, she thought about how there was no way she could be pregnant again. No possible way. There was only one way to find out. She ran to the store and picked up a test. It was so silly that she was even doing this. She had a virus. Or maybe something else was going on. Pregnant? No. Impossible.She went into the bathroom, peed on the stick and waited. She laughed at herself for even thinking it. Once the test showed she wasn’t pregnant, she’d call her general doctor and get in for a checkup and some tests. The timer on her phone went off so she picked up the stick and stared at the two pink lines staring back at her. Her heart started racing, and she felt like she was going to pass out. Splashing some cold water on her face, she leaned over the counter and stared at herself in the mirror. How the hell she was going to tell her husband who had a vasectomy that she was pregnant again?“We need to talk,” she said as she grabbed his han
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked Chris as she put her shoes on. “We’re going to be just fine. Go enjoy your day and don’t worry about us. Aida is here, I can ask help from her. Today is all about you relaxing.” He kissed her forehead. “I don’t know what time I’ll be home.” “You take as long as you want. We’re going to have so much fun today, aren’t we, baby?” Chris spoke to Harry as he held him in his arms. After giving him a kiss on the lips, she gave Helen and Harry a kiss and stepped into the elevator. The moment she stepped outside the building, she threw her hands up in the air. Freedom was hers for a day, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. But as she was on her way to the spa, she felt this tremendous feeling of guilt wash over her. She shouldn’t be doing this. She need to be home with her kids. She was gone ten minutes and she already missed them terribly. This wasn’t a good idea and she needed to go back home.
Life with a newborn had been tough for the past couple of weeks. They sleep deprived and Harry was feeding every hour and refusing to sleep. Lara started pumping into bottles so Chris could relieve her every now and again. Especially in the middle of the night so she could get some rest.Chris worked from home the past couple of weeks so he could be there for Lara and the baby. But now it was time for him to get back into the office. He tried to hire a baby nurse to help Lara out while he was gone, but Lara wouldn’t hear of it. He kept the number close by just in case she changed her mind.“I have to go now, sweetheart. I’m sorry.” He kissed her lips as she stood in the kitchen holding Harry.“Don’t be sorry. We’ll be fine.”“I’m going to miss you and our children so much.”“Darling, I know you’re secretly excited about getting out. You can’t fool me.”
They had not made love, even when her first trimester had officially ended two weeks ago. His patience despite his obvious arousal every night when they went to sleep had forever cemented Lara’s trust and appreciation for this amazing man—her husband.She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.Chris stood beside the bed wearing a pair of white silk pajama bottoms.“White?” she asked with a smile, even though her own lace peignoir was the color of fresh snow.He put his arms out. “Come here, my wife.”She went to him, straight into his arms. He held her there for the longest time, saying nothing. Doing nothing.Except looking into her eyes, his that dark brown that meant his emotions were close to the surface. Finally, he said, “Thank you.”“For what?”“For being mine. For putting up with me. For falling in love with me and not walking away with my baby. Fo