Chapter Two

"I am not going home with this man. He is not my husband! I am not his wife! There must have been a mix-up somewhere", Kendall yelled hysterically. She couldn't bear the thought of going home with a man who wished for her death.

David simply ignored her and continued his conversation with the doctor. 

"Are you sure she is mentally stable? She keeps saying these crazy things about not being my wife."

"Yes, she is. The X-rays show that everything is intact. There are no injuries in her brain or any such thing. She is probably just recovering from the shock of the tragic incident.".

"Can you hear that? I am not crazy. Can you all now let me out of here and stop speaking about me like I'm not in the room?".

 She was beginning to get frustrated from the silent treatment she was receiving from them. They were treating her like a mentally ill person. She didn't like that.

"I'll be back soon to check in on her progress. Have a nice night," the doctor said, heading for the door.

The silence that followed the doctor's exit was deafening. Both parties just stared at each other, saying nothing. All of a sudden, Kendall began to struggle to sit up. She winced as she was hit by a wave of pain. 

"Are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm getting up from this god-forsaken bed!"

"Why?!"

"Because I'm trying to escape", she replied sarcastically.

"I think I preferred it when you couldn't speak", he mumbled, striding closer to her bedside in an attempt to help her. 

"I think we have both established that you would have preferred that I died in the explosion ", she snapped back. "Now don't you dare touch me."

She dodged his outstretched hand, wriggling and wiggling to find the perfect position that would enable her to get on her feet. Every move she made was accompanied by a pain-induced wince. As she placed her legs on the floor and attempted to push her weight up from the bed, her body caved and she landed on the bed with her butt. She felt a strain on one of her numerous stitches but she suppressed a cry, refusing to look helpless before him.

David simply watched her as she struggled, his eyes twinkling with amusement at her failure to stand on her feet. 

"Where are you going to?"

"I just want to pee, goddammit!"

"Let me help you, then". 

"I can help my…"

Her voice trailed as he lifted her into his arms without another word. Her muscles reflexively tensed as she wondered how things got this crazy. How did she go from being just a mere assistant to being in the arms of her boss?

"Relax!" he commanded.

She found herself melting into his embrace at the sound of his authoritative voice. She hadn't realized how much she missed this feeling, the feeling of being cared for. She had always had to be strong for herself and her sister. So much so that she didn't have the luxury of relying on another person for any form of help. She felt the strong muscles of his arms and chest tense around her as he cocooned her while heading to the restroom and for the first time in years, she felt feminine. Not having to be strong but just relying on another person for help. It felt great even though she knew that it was just for a fleeting moment. 

Her Cinderella moment was abruptly brought to an end when he began to help her to her feet in front of the toilet seat. She was now standing between his hard masculine chest and the toilet seat and she felt her hormones swooning at the closeness. She took in the expensive aroma of his cologne as she remained in that position, closing her eyes. 

When she opened her eyes, she found a confused David staring her down. 

"Your cologne. It's nice", she said rather ridiculously.

He rolled his eyes. "Narcissistic much, Stacy."

"What?"

"You just wanted to point out your good taste. Point taken", he said rather irritatedly. 

Kendall felt her mouth fall open. Stacy must have gifted him the perfume so he thought that that was why she complimented it. She just couldn't do right by him, could she?

"Can we get started with why we are here?" David said, jolting her out of her thoughts.

She nodded as she said, "Excuse me."

He didn't move from the spot he was standing.

"You can't watch me pee!" she protested.

One of his perfectly arched eyebrows puckered up as if to ask why not.

"That's an invasion of my privacy!"

"Privacy?" he said the word like it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his life.

"Please. Go." 

"I'm not going nowhere, woman. I'm going to watch you do your thing and ensure you get back to your bed safely." He said with a tone of finality. "This wouldn't be the first time anyway".

The last sentence sent a blush up her neck to her cheeks. Under less embarrassing circumstances, that sentence would have fed her fantasies of him. But today, it made her face turn a bright red color.

She sighed and conceded defeat. She raised her hospital dress and sat down on the toilet seat under the intense gaze of her boss.

When she was done, he helped her up and once again carried her to her bed silently. 

"I would head home now to get you some supplies. If you need anything, call a nurse" he said as he pointed at a bedside telephone.

She nodded. Not like she could argue with his strict alpha male tone of voice. 

"Good".

He walked out of the room without any other word being said, leaving her to her thoughts. And indeed she was drowned in them.

What had just happened? Her boss just watched her do the number one. She couldn't shake off the heavy blanket of embarrassment that rested upon her. 

"Instead of sitting here and sulking, I should be thinking of a plan to get out of this hospital without him", she said aloud, snapping herself back to reality.

"Not so fast, Kendall. You are his wife now!"

A sudden deep threatening voice interrupted her monologue. She immediately jumped into a sitting position as a male figure with a baseball hat and dark sunglasses walked right through the ajar door and clicked it locked with its key.

"Who are you and what do you know about me?" she asked, trembling with fear.

The man let out a rather dramatic laugh before replying, "Everything. I know everything about you".

Her uneasiness grew and she immediately reached for the bedside telephone. Unfortunately, the mystery man had quicker reflexes. He hit her hand off the telephone as he hovered closer to her.

"Who are you?!"

He laughed again. A theatric evil laughter. He seemed to be genuinely having fun terrifying her. 

"What do you want from me?" She shouted as loudly as she could in a bid to call the attention of anyone close by who could save her from the imminent danger she was in.

In an instant, he slapped his hand over her mouth in a rather hurtful manner. Bringing his face closer to her, he said strictly, "Trust me, you would rather cooperate with me than try to be smart".

At this point, she was too afraid to move a muscle. He pulled his sunglasses and hat off revealing his full face that was initially hidden under the disguise. She gasped, fear gripping her insides as she recognized the familiar face. 

The one person she had hoped to never see again was right here in her hospital ward, threatening her.

At that moment a pair of feet was heard loudly thumping its way toward her door. She kept her fingers crossed as she hoped for a savior. 

The man immediately made for the window and, sliding it open as quickly as he could, he left her with words that haunted her for days.

"Don't you dare go back on our deal if you value your sister's life".