Taming The Wild CEO novel Chapter 80

“I know you do not trust me, Javier,” said Aimee once Nurse Jo had left. She was sitting on the sofa with her hands clasped on her lap while Javier was sitting on the chair next to Ella’s bed. “And I do not blame you after what has happened between us but you should know that this is work. I would never implicate anyone’s life or health.” When he did not say anything and still kept his eyes on Ella, she continued talking, “It has been ten years. You should forgive and forget about it. I have lost count of how many times I said that I was sorry. It was a careless mistake. I should not have done it. If that did not happen, perhaps—” she took a pause and let out a sorrowful sigh, “perhaps you and I are still together. Maybe we are even married and have one or two kids.”

Without even looking at her, he muttered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear, “Stop talking.”

Yet Aimee continued with her chatter as if she had not heard him. “We probably would live in your parents’ place, that huge mansion, and have our kids running around the garden.” She smiled in a daze.

“I do not fucking care.” This time he turned his head and gave her a hard look. “I am not going to bring back the past but you should stop daydreaming as well. We broke up and we will never get back together. Get that into your head.” He turned to Ella and held her hand. “Although I may forgive people or move on from what had happened, I will never forget. Once my good opinion is lost, it is lost forever.”

“I was just telling you how sorry I am,” said Aimee with a small sigh. “If what happened back then did not happen, we could have been together and very happy.”

“Well, it did actually happen and whatever your reason is, I still do not care.” He looked at Ella who was still unconscious, lying there on the bed and looking so peaceful. The doctor’s words from earlier came back to his mind. They had lost their baby. What would he tell her when she wake up? Would he have the heart to tell her at all? He closed his eyes briefly and drew a long, deep breath.

“You really do love her, huh?” There was a bit of sadness in Aimee’s voice.

When she thought that he would not reply to her question, he did. “More than my own life.”

“That much,” she whispered quietly. And at that moment, Aimee could not help but regretting the past and wishing she would be in Ella’s shoes right now. All these years, she had regretted getting to bed with Javier’s older brother, Piers. It would forever be one of the things she regretted in her life. She should not have flirted with Piers or tried to get his attention every damn time. What was worse was she should have known that when Piers invited her into Javier’s bedroom it had been a setup. She should have known better than to fall into that trap willingly. The fact that Piers had immediately dumped her after they had gotten caught by Javier did not make it any easy either. Until this day, she would forever remember what that man had said to her, ‘Now my silly young brother knows what you truly are, now he knows that throwing away his future for you would never be worth it. Clean yourself up and leave. You have served your purpose here.’

Aimee bit her lips and closed her eyes. If only one day she could meet Piers again, she would not hesitate to put her hands around his neck and choke him to death. She could be less caring about the fact that she was a nurse and she was supposed to save lives and not take it. Her hatred ran deep even after ten long years.

* * *

There was a slight knock on the door followed by the door swinging open to reveal two handsome men walking hand in hand. Damon and Tanner.

“Hey, we came as soon as we got your text,” said Damon as he rushed towards the bed. His eyes locked on Ella and there was sadness mixed with worries in his eyes. He then turned to Javier. “How is she?”

“She is still unconscious. The doctor said that they will continue to monitor her. And about the baby—our baby—” he could not bring himself to talk about their baby. He could not bring himself to talk about the worst case scenario. He simply could not.

Damon and Tanner shared a look then Tanner patted Javier’s back. “Do not worry, man. Ella is going to be alright.”

“Here,” said Damon as he handed a plastic bag filled with takeout Chinese foods.

Tanner pointed at the plastic bag and said, “Damon thought you probably forgot to grab something to eat so we bought some takeout for you. We were not sure what you like so we got you some Kung Pao chicken, Buddha’s delight, crispy spring rolls, and Ella’s favorite: steamed dumplings.”

“Correct.” Javier put the steamed dumpling into his mouth then chewed the food before proceeded to drink its soup. He still recalled the first time Ella had introduced him to Chinese takeouts. Never in his thirty one years of life had he eaten any takeouts before. His food was either cooked by a professional chef or his mother. Since his Great Uncle Albert had died due to food poisoning, no one in his family was allowed to eat recklessly. Although once their grandfather had passed away, Cedric and Tiffany had stopped being so strict on their kids.

He smiled. There were so many new things in his life that he experienced because of Ella. She had turned his boring, monotone life into something more colorful and fun. And the thought of losing her was just too painful. He wished they had more time. He wished he had not been too prideful and wasted four years. If only he had been more persistent and worked harder at being a good man for her, they could have dated for a long while. Perhaps they could have gotten married by now.

“It was my fault,” he whispered quietly to no one but himself.

Damon had heard it and took a seat beside him. “Hey.” He put his hand on Javier’s upper arm and gave a gentle squeeze. “It was no one’s fault. No one could predict the future.”

Javier tore his gaze from the steamed dumplings and locked his eyes with Ella’s best friend. “It was my fault. I was the one who was dumb enough to think that I was doing her a favor by searching for her father. I was the one who did not tell her beforehand that we were going to meet her father. We are partners. I was supposed to be open with her. I was supposed to tell her everything instead of keeping things behind her back. So excuse me if I said that it was my own fucking fault!”

Neither Damon nor Tanner said anything for the next five minutes. In the end, Tanner broke the silence by putting his hand on Javier’s shoulder and said, “Blaming yourself will not change or fix anything. But being strong and staying by her side might.”

* * *

Dear Gentle Readers, what do you think of Aimee Sonata? Can she be redeemed? This author has yet to write the story about Piers (current title: Taming The Wild Artist) thus unsure whether Piers should be with another woman or with Aimee instead. Decision, decision.