Chapter 10
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Xavier’s sharp tone cut through the air, but Cecilia kept her voice steady. “Yes, I received the message,” she answered calmly, meeting his gaze without flinching. The tension between them was palpable, yet she refused to be rattled.
Xavier
“Then why aren’t you at the hospital?” Xavier clearly couldn’t understand her presence here. Glancing toward the private dining room, he demanded, “Who’s so important in there? Since when does anyone come before Gavin?”
Xavier wasn’t part of their school crowd. They only became pals when he stepped into the family business. Back then, he and Charles constantly teased each other about being the only ones without a childhood sweetheart.
Cecilia took care of Gavin’s every need, both at work and at home. For heirs like them, taking over the family business meant walking through a minefield of corporate politics. The constant after–hours networking wrecked Gavin’s health. His stomach troubles never let up.
That time he secured a project by drinking nonstop for three days until he vomited blood. Cecilia had driven over immediately, furious to the point of tears, screaming at him for neglecting his health. She had cried so uncontrollably that Gavin ended up comforting her instead.
Cecilia took over Gavin’s meals after that, keeping a close eye on his diet until his stomach got better. Even Xavier had to admit both he and Charles felt jealous. But recently, Gavin’s nonstop business meetings brought his stomach problems back.
The elevator arrived with a soft chime. “I’m heading to the hospital. Come with me. Gavin needs someone,” Xavier said as he stepped inside and pressed Bl. Cecilia silently pressed 1 instead. “Did you drive here yourself?” he asked, eyeing her unexpected choice.
“No.” Her eyes locked with his, steady and unyielding. “I’m not going to the hospital. I’m going home.” The finality in her voice left no room for argument.
The elevator dinged open at the first floor. Before Xavier could process her words, Cecilia was already leaving. He suddenly blocked the doorway. “Cecilia, I know you two are fighting, but you can’t be this unreasonable. Not now.”
Xavier couldn’t make sense of it. ‘Women always get like this after a while? Where is the sweet girl I knew? She’s gonna lose Gavin at this rate. His fingers tightened around the elevator door. “Get to the hospital now, or you’ll regret it.”
“That’s none of my business now.” Cecilia brushed past Xavier’s arm, walking off without another word. She didn’t even look back as she headed down the hall.
***
When Gavin walked out of the emergency room at 11 pm, Cecilia still hadn’t shown up. Stella had stayed with him the whole time, and Frank was the one who drove them home.
“Mr. Foster, the doctor said you shouldn’t take those pills on an empty stomach,” Stella said, already walking toward the kitchen. “Let me fix you something quick.” Though it was her first time in his place, she didn’t act like a guest at all.
She stepped into the kitchen and tied on an apron, moving through the space with an ease that seemed to ignore Cecilia’s lingering presence. “Now that I’m Mr. Foster’s personal secretary,” she mused to herself, “I’ll have plenty of chances to get closer. Maybe one day I’ll be the one calling this place home.”
Stella came upstairs with a bowl of steaming chicken soup. Gavin, his hair still damp from the shower, was slumped on the sofa. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of a familiar apron as someone appeared at the doorway.
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His head jerked up instinctively, expecting a face that never appeared. The hope died instantly, his face turning stony. “Stella,” his voice sliced through the silence, “ask first before touching anything here.”
Stella glanced down at the apron, puzzled. ‘Did he mean this?‘ Her fingers nervously twisted the fabric before she spoke. “Mr. Foster,” she said softly, “I only wanted to make sure you ate something before taking the pills. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“Alright, it’s very late. You should go home and rest.” Stella felt a pang of disappointment but couldn’t help waiting just a little
ment but longer. Then Gavin spoke again after a brief pause, his tone firm. “And make sure to put that apron back exactly where you found it.”
Stella stood frozen in the doorway, the bowl of soup still steaming faintly in her hands. She hadn’t even properly stepped into the room, let alone made any impression. That brief moment with the apron said it all. She didn’t belong here.
Gavin didn’t know why it upset him so much. Seeing that apron, the one that used to be Cecilia’s, on someone else made his chest feel tight. He took a few small sips of the soup, barely tasting it, then quickly swallowed his pills with some water.
Frank stood quietly by the door, watching as Gavin’s eyes kept flicking to his dark phone screen. After a long moment, he cleared his throat. “Mr. Foster,” he asked carefully, “shall I get the car ready for you?”
A surge of anger rushed through Gavin. ‘Cecilia knew I was in the hospital. Why didn’t she come? Since when did she become this heartless? Is this her way of making me say sorry first?‘
Clenching his teeth against the pain in his gut, Gavin snapped at Frank, “Clear my schedule tomorrow. Send out notices that I’m ill and postponing all appointments.” He was determined to make Cecilia realize how serious his condition was, to let her regret her cold indifference.
*****
The bedroom sat silent in the dark. Gavin couldn’t fall asleep, perhaps affected by the pills. His arm automatically reached out, only to find cold sheets waiting. For the first time, he felt the bed was uncomfortably empty.
The pink bedding had been Cecilia’s choice. The two pillows were a silent reminder of their warmest nights together. Now only the color remained, her comforting scent long gone from the fabric.
Gavin shut his eyes, and Cecilia’s presence flooded back, her scent, her warmth, the way she fit perfectly against him. But when he opened his eyes, only cold emptiness remained. His breath hitched.
“Am I going mad?” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. He missed the weight of her head on his chest, the way her fingers traced circles on his skin. Most of all, he missed the quiet certainty that came with her love.
*****
By the next morning, word had spread through the company that Mr. Foster was too ill to come to work. Frank made sure the news reached exactly the right people, especially Cecilia’s team on the 17th floor.
Cecilia sat in the conference room, reviewing documents. After securing Mr. Hall’s approval for the collection loan yesterday, she was now putting the finishing touches on the exhibition checklist.
Cecilia checked every part of the venue setup carefully. The artifacts would be delivered in two days. “Security comes first for this exhibition,” she reminded the team. “And work with the press team on the event coverage. We’re in the final push for publicity now.”
After the meeting, Cecilia took the paperwork to the manager’s office. David looked through the pages and nodded. “Good
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progress on the exhibition setup,” he said. “But we’ll need Mr. Foster’s signature on these before we can start any promotion.”
“Got it. I’ll get Mr. Foster to sign these.” Cecilia refused to let this hold up the exhibition. But when she reached the CEO’s office with the papers, she was told Gavin was away with no clear return time. This wasn’t a problem yet. She still had enough time to wait.
****
The next day, the PR team kept pushing Cecilia for updates. Feeling the pressure, she went back to the CEO’s office for the third time that morning. Finally, Frank called Gavin. “Mr. Foster, Ms. Jordan has been asking for you. When are you coming back to the office?”
Gavin’s dark mood lightened immediately. He had stayed away on purpose, wanting to make Cecilia worry. And it was working. Just a little longer‘, he thought. ‘If I wait, she’ll come to me herself.
But Gavin heard himself say “I’ll be right there” before he could stop himself. As he spoke, his hands were already buttoning his shirt, moving quicker than he had intended. He didn’t even realize how much he had been looking forward to Cecilia coming to him first.
*****
Gavin quickened his pace as he entered the company building, though his stomach still ached. He reached the elevators, pressed the button and then waited. Before long, Frank hurried over, his expression tense. “Mr. Foster,” he said urgently, “the VIP elevator is stuck. Ms. Jordan and Ms. Yates are trapped inside!”
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