The silence in the foyer was suffocating.
I stood there in Hansel's oversized shirt while he held up his pants in one hand. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. If someone didn't say something, I was going to lose my mind.
Finally, Hansel broke the spell.
"Mina," he said, looking at someone behind Caleb. "When did you arrive?"
I followed his gaze to the woman who had come to stand beside Caleb now, smiling tightly. She was dressed in the flawless, polished way familiar with girlfriends, and she was so beautiful.
Her gaze flicked to me, and I nearly fell from the stern glare she directed at me. I shifted uncomfortably, tugging at the edges of the shirt I had on.
For a second, I wondered if she was Hansel's girlfriend. The way her eyes travelled over me, making me self-conscious of my messy hair, my semi-naked state, not to mention the obvious fact that something had happened between us, but that wasn't important right now.
"I arrived a while ago," Mina started saying without taking her eyes off me. "This is Caleb Moore, the actor from Dex Entertainment," she gestured toward Caleb. "Don't you remember? You asked me to bring him to the house this morning for the contract discussion."
"Oh!" Hansel nodded. "I'd totally forgotten about that." He sounded unfazed and almost bored. "Get him settled in the living room. I'll join him shortly."
Mina's jaw tightened, but she nodded. "Of course, Mr Ward."
Before she could move, Hansel reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me to stand next to him.
I tried to pull away. "What are you—"
"Relax," he murmured at me, tightening his grip. As I looked up, I saw Caleb staring at our joined hands, a dark expression crossing his face.
"Actually," Caleb said, turning to Mina. "Could you give me a minute?" Then he turned to Hansel. "I'd like a word with Naya first. Privately."
Hansel's brow arched. "You know each other?"
"Yes," Caleb nodded without hesitation. "She's family."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him. "Ex," I said coldly. "Ex-fiancé, to be exact, and there's nothing for us to talk about."
I snatched the pants from where they'd been draped over Hansel's other arm and tried to pull away, but his grip remained locked around mine.
"Let me go," I said through gritted teeth.
"Not until you put on actual clothes." His tone was flat as he regarded me. "You're not running through my property half-naked."
"I don't have time for this, Mr Ward!" I said with a sigh. "Just give me the pants and I'll make it work."
"Make time, Ms Rivers." He replied woodenly.
Our eyes met, and his eyes were dark and unreadable, plus there was something underneath his smothering gaze that made my stomach flip.
And he must have felt it too. Whatever this insane pull between us was. He hated it just as much as I did.
"Naya." Caleb took a step towards me. "Just five minutes. I need to—"
"Explain what?" I finally yanked my hand free from Hansel's grip. "How you left me a few minutes before we walked down the altar and married my stepsister? How you forgot everything I sacrificed for you and threw it away?"
Mina's eyes widened, and she leaned forward slightly, drinking in every word.
"You know it wasn't like that," Caleb said in an exasperated tone.
"Really? Then what was it like?" My voice rose. "Because from where I'm standing, you're a coward who couldn't even break up with me like a man. You had to wait until the wedding day."
"I've told you several times. Isabella is dying—"
"And I am living!" I screeched as tears filled my eyes. "But that didn't matter to you, did it?"
Another round of silence filled the foyer. Hansel's expression hadn't changed, and his eyes were fixated on me.
"Naya," Caleb sighed. "I never wanted to hurt you. I was only trying to do the right thing."
"The right thing would have been choosing me." My voice dropped to a whisper. "After everything I sacrificed for you and gave up, that was the least I expected from you in return."
His face crumpled. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm so—" his yes travelled over me again. Over Hansel's shirt hanging off my frame, and my bare legs showing underneath. "Did you sleep with him?"
The question hung in the air.
"That's none of your business," I said.
"Yes, it is! We're basically still engaged to each other. I told you, my marriage with Isabella is only temporary, and now I find you at another man's house, wearing his clothes, looking like—"
"Looking like what?" Hansel interrupted him. "I don't know what is giving you the impression, Mr Moore, that you can speak carelessly before me."
Caleb's eyes shifted to Hansel. "I'm just saying—"
"You're saying nothing." Hansel stepped forward. "You're a guest in my home discussing a business contract on behalf of your agency, that's all. What Ms Rivers does or doesn't do is none of your concern. Not anymore."
"She's still my fiancée—" Caleb started insisting.
"She's nothing to you. You made that choice four days ago."
Mina cleared her throat and turned to Hansel. "Mr Ward, perhaps we should give them space to squash their issue."
"No need." I turned and walked towards the stairs "I'm leaving."
"Naya, wait!" Caleb called out to me, but I ignored him and continued walking.
My mother was dying or probably already dead, and I was standing here arguing with my ex-fiance. I reached the bedroom where I'd woken up and slipped into the pants Hansel had given me.
It was a woman's pant, no doubt, but it still had that woodsy, masculine scent that made my head spin, and I hated it. I hated how he made me feel things when I should be thinking about nothing except my mother.
I heard footsteps in the hallway before the door pushed open, and Hansel came in. He was holding a sheet of paper and a pen.
"Sign this," he said, stretching his hand towards me.
"What's that?" I asked, eyeing the paper suspiciously.
"An undertaking that you'll come back," he said flatly.
"Of course, I would be back. Where else would I run to? If you're worried about your clothes…"
"If you think I'm going to let the person who nearly murdered me roam around, then you're mistaken. Sign the document or else I'll detain you here until the police come."
I rolled my eyes and snatched the paper from him, scribbling my name on the side where I am supposed to sign.
~~~
Twenty-five minutes later, I burst through the hospital door breathless from running.
I paused for a minute, trying to draw in as much breath as I could manage. I discovered too late that I didn't have money for a cab. I didn't even remember to bring my purse when I was leaving Hansel's. It was halfway to the hospital that I realized I couldn't pay.
The cab man had pulled over and kicked me out, calling me unprintable names. So, I'd walked the rest of the way, ignoring the way people had stared at me like I was crazy.
Regardless, here I was.
I ran straight to the ICU unit, to where my mom should be, but when I arrived, the bed was empty. The room that was once filled with beeping machines was quiet. There were no IVS, and the monitors were off.
My heart resumed its pounding as I stumbled out of the room. Maybe they moved her.
I rushed down the hallway to the hallway and straight to my mother's room for three years—room 304.
But when I got there, the door to the room was ajar, and it was empty. The sheets on the bed had been folded and placed on it; the room smelled of disinfectant.
They must have moved her. Yes. That made sense. They'd moved her to a regular ward.
I rushed down the hallway to the women's ward and began checking every room, going from bed to bed.
"Excuse me, have you seen Stephanie Rivers? Dark hair? She's in a coma?" I stopped to ask a few people in the wards, but all I got were blank stares and head shakes. A few people looked at me with pity.
I covered the entire female ward, but there was no sign of my mother. My chest felt tight. It was as if a scream was lodged in my chest but refused to come out.
The premonition that something had happened to her had doubled by this time and was making me shake.
No! I shook my head, pushing the negative thoughts aside. I ran back to the Nurses' station, trying not to show panic.
"Excuse me!" I called out to the nurse at the computer. "I'm looking for my mother. Stephanie Rivers. She was in the ICU four days ago, and she's been in a coma for three years. She has dark hair, brown eyes, and is forty-eight years old…" I trailed off, clamping down hard on my lips to stop myself from crying. "Please, where is she?"
Just as the nurse opened her mouth to talk, a voice called from behind.
"Ms Rivers?"
I spun around.