Chapter Two

I woke up a few days later only to realize that I was on the hospital bed, bruised in many places more than I can count.

Dad will always say, "You better die a Long than to live as a Steele." He almost got what he wanted.

"Thank God you are okay," I heard Emily's voice from behind with a loud thud; she dropped the bag she was holding and ran to hug me.

"Ouch," I cried out in pain.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry. Thank God you are fine," she said, drying the tears that formed in her eyes.

She informed the nurses that I was awake, and the doctor came around to run a check on me.

"She will be alright, no major concussion; she should be out of here in weeks."

"Thank you, doctor," she said as he walked out of the room.

"Did Jared come to see me?" I asked Emily.

"You should focus on your health first, honey, please," she begged, gently patting my hand.

I forced a smile; she kissed my forehead, smiling when Dad walked in.

"Mr. Caine, Mrs. Caine," Emilia greeted, faking a smile. Immediately she saw Dad, while my stepmom trailed behind him.

They didn't spare her a glance as their stern faces were all rested on me.

"Wait outside," Dad said to Emilia, eyes still glued on me.

I knew I was in so much trouble; my heart was racing, but I tried to keep calm.

"Dad, I......"

"Silence," he thundered, cutting me off. I quickly pursed my lips while I fixed my gaze on the ceiling.

"Samantha, have some shame! It's bad enough that you are frolicking around, but you're a part of the Long family now. What's this I hear about your husband trying to divorce you? What did you do?

Do you have any idea of the mess you've created today? The Long family has already begun necessary negotiations to bond with another family; you've made us lose face!" He barked at me.

His vituperative words were still a bit hard without fear. I clenched the sheets tighter, forcing myself to keep my emotions in check. I retorted coldly:

"Dad, my surname is Jewel, not Caine. Why should I care if the Caine family loses face?"

"Bastard! You're the one who caused all this mess, and you dare say it has nothing to do with you? Listen, go beg for forgiveness from Mr. Long now. Your priority should be saving your marriage! If not, I'll make sure you regret it!"

"Then go ahead, give it your best shot. I'll be waiting." I scowled.

With that, Dad stormed out of the hospital room, with his haughty shoulders.

A tear escaped my eyes, and my head throbbed with an unbearable pain.

Ever since my mother passed away, Dad has been living with the Caine family. He stopped caring about me long ago. He even forced me to marry Jared just to climb up the social ladder.

"Your father is right; you are also part of the Caine family," I heard my stepmom say, and that was when I remembered that the snake was still there.

"Spare me from your mockery. I have nothing to do with the Caine's. After my mother passed away, my father sent me to my grandma's place in Texas, and then he went off to marry you. Over these years, he never cared about me; my childhood was spent living with my grandma. Since my grandma passed away, I’ve been living on my own. In my heart, he's long dead." I spat out,

"Glad you feel that way because you have always been dead to me too," she smirked and walked off.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I cried till I couldn't cry anymore.

Emilia came running back to my side immediately after they left. I knew she heard everything that happened, but none of us brought it up till I dozed off.

* * * * * * *

The sound of laughter coming from outside the ward woke me up; I noticed Emilia wasn't by my side anymore.

After a while, she opened the door and headed towards me smiling.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You didn't tell me you knew the owner of the hospital?" she excitedly asked.

I stared at her confused, wondering what she was talking about, but before she could explain, the door was pulled open and two nurses walked in.

"Miss Jewel, we are transferring you to our VIP ward." One of the nurses said and started packing up my things.

"VIP?" I said, looking at Emilia, who seemed to be aware of what was happening. I tried telling them that I was comfortable in the shared room, but none of them was listening.

Within a couple of minutes, I was in a well-decorated room, all by myself. Thinking about Emilia's words, I haven't been to any social function with Jared; I was kind of worried anyone would even recognize me as his wife.

Besides, I was registered here under my surname and not his.

The door was pulled open, and I turned to see who it was.

He was tall and long-legged. His presence stood out, and his appearance had a sense of frivolity, yet it was wrapped around an air of noble and cold aloofness. It was so eye-catching that my eyes were held onto him instantly.

What is he doing here? He shouldn't be here?

"Hi, Mrs. Jewel," he smiled mischievously at me. Jared insists on referring to me as Mrs. Jewel and not Long.

I was taken aback by having him mention my name.

"How did you...?" I started asking but didn't finish the question as he pointed at the folder with my name on it, hanging on my bed.

"Are you stalking me?"

"You wish, now what happened? Did your husband find out you have been a bad girl?" he said, seductively biting his lower lip. His set of sharp eyes was unabashedly staring at me.

I was still trying to figure out how he knew I was married.

"Shit! Must have told him while I was drunk that night" I internally murmured.

"But how the fuck did he knew I was in here" I was still asking myself when the door pulled open and a nurse walked in.

"Mr. Millers," the nurse gasped slightly, bowing her head, scared to look him in the eyes.

I turned to him, but he smiled at me and turned to the nurse.

"You take good care of her," he said and stepped out immediately.

"Who is he?" I asked curiously.

"You don't know him; he is Kent Millers, the CEO of the Jewel Group."

"Jewel Group," I chanted, trying to figure out where I heard the name from.

"Shit," I exclaimed. Of course, I had heard Jared complain about the company a couple of times; they were his biggest competitor, or rather, bigger than Long Conglomerate.

"What a small world, to think the guy I had a one-night stand with happened to have such a huge background, the CEO of Jewel Group."