Listing shares

Chapter 114

Blaine woke up quite late the next morning, and to his surprise his mother was in the room, declaring she was there to help him change his bandages.

He knew she was trying to apologize for her actions and get on his good side again, but that was the last thing on his mind now. 

He had done a lot of thinking last night, and he realized he had to help Ariel. 

That was the only way to keep their son safe. 

Although, for Olivia's sake, he could not physically hurt Ophelia for what she had done, there were many ways he could help Ariel.

First was keeping an eye on Ophelia so they would never be caught off guard again by her plans. 

And maybe while doing that they could get some damning evidence on her.

“If you like her, you should still go for her,” he heard his mother say.

Blaine was startled as he turned to look at his mother. “What did you say?”

She smiled as she fixed the bandage over his injury and leaned away to take her gloves off. “You like her? Get her.”

“Why do you think I like her? We were never in a relationship,” he said, irritated that she would talk to him like he was a teenage boy who did not know what to do about his love interest. 

Besides, Ariel was not his love interest.

“You have never looked at your wife the way you looked at her at that hospital.” His mother said quietly, gathering all the bloodied items she had used to change his bandage.“And I remember how obsessed you were over that wife of yours.”

Blaine turned to look at her now, this woman who only ever said a few words but had been driven by anxiety her whole life. 

If she was so observant while he was blinded by his obsession, why had she not seen through Ophelia?

He turned and stood up from the bed, feeling hypocritical. 

She had expressed that she did not like Ophelia clearly enough, but he had plussed it up to the usual. Few women liked their daughter-in-law at first sight.

“I’ll go get ready for the office now,” he said, walking towards the bathroom. 

“Good luck today,” She said, and he turned to see her straightening up with the first aid kit. 

He frowned. She knew. 

How come he was always the last to know things around here?

He went into the bathroom and by the time he was out, he was running behind, so he had to eat in the car again today. 

He would spend the whole day with his daughter when he got back, since he had barely seen her in a few days.

He smiled as he thought about the day his children would finally get to meet each other, and what it would feel like. 

Well, he had to convince Ariel to let him meet his son first, or else this would remain a pipe dream.

When they arrived at Mõshon, it was clear that there was an event. 

Although no one said things like this till an official announcement was made, he knew that the word must have gone round, if not why had most of the stockholders shown up.

But he did not feel any excitement, could not feel any excitement because Ariel definitely had a plan up her sleeve with this, and he did not know what it was.

Nothing made him more uncomfortable than ignorance. 

Ethan met him at the door and said it was good to see him on his feet so soon, and he looked well.

He gave Ethan a look, and then shook his head with an easy chuckle. 

“Do you have to do that with me too?” he asked, and the man smiled tightly.

Blaine laughed now and felt a little ache. That stopped him, so he just smiled. 

But he did not mind flattery either. If Ethan told the truth, he would have to say how he looked like hell, and Blaine did not want to hear that. 

Especially with Sullivan looking immaculate as he spoke with some directors on a couch at one of the edges of the entrance lobby. 

The man looked positively pink in good health, while if Blaine remembered his image he had seen in the mirror that morning clearly, he was almost pale and looked like death in comparison. 

He looked around, after noticing he had not seen Ariel anywhere around. 

Usually, she and Sullivan would be joined at the hips. 

Now he was feeling even more suspicious. She was punctual and, except for the time she was at the hospital, she did not miss normal workdays, talk more about an important one like this.

He rode up to the executive floor with Ethan and headed to the boardroom so he could settle in and get some work done before the meeting began.

But when he walked in, he saw Ariel bending over her laptop on the table, her P.A. leaning down beside her as they seemed to be working on something.

His heart stopped and picked up again at the sight of her. 

She was a vision. 

Now that his wrong judgement of her no longer clouded his mind, he was beginning to really see her again. How he had seen her all those days two years ago. 

She had all her hair up in a bun, but two curls had managed to slip out of her brown hair.

She finally sensed that someone was in the room, and she looked up. 

Her beautiful emerald eyes smiled at him, although her lips did not move. She nodded at him and looked away again.

He quickly caught himself and looked around to see if the P.As had been watching him, but Ariel’s was still bent over the laptop, and Ethan was working on his feet.

Blaine sighed and took a seat. 

His mother knew what she was talking about after all. 

He could not be caught staring at her like this, the scandal would be huge. And God alone knows what Ophelia would do.

It just disconcerted him to have Ariel not be antagonistic towards him anymore. 

It reminded him of how they were at that brief encounter before all this started. 

The boardroom soon began to fill up, and he watched Ariel get up to nod at everyone as they walked in and took their seats.

Her skin looked perfect in the blue A-shaped blazer she had on that flattered those rare, perfectly curved hips she had, showed her legs and a distractingly open cleavage line that deepened down her chest, but still managed to show nothing of her breasts.

He blinked and looked away. 

What was wrong with him today? 

If the woman had the faintest idea of what was going on in his mind, she would put distance between them again and he could kiss the possibility of seeing his son anytime soon, goodbye.