Page 20

Was it making me feel bad? Yes, of course!
I can’t believe he didn’t say a thing to me the whole week! He could have recalled what he said to me that day while he was intoxicated, but it wasn’t a huge issue. I wasn’t judging him.
I had to phone Kena and seek aid since I had no other choice.
I phoned him from my workplace and said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Vivian! How’s it going?”
“I am fine, Kena. I hope I didn’t bother you,” I murmured in a hushed voice.
“Of course not! What happened?”
I said, “Jaxon… he’s not talking to me.”
“Okay, do you know why?”
I told him everything that occurred that day. When I was done, he let out a big sigh and said, “I understand, Vivian. If you want him to talk to you, you have to make him. He won’t start a conversation on his own. Just go bother him, trouble him, and make him talk.”
“I’ll try, but what he said that day wasn’t a big deal, Kena. And when I told him I cared about him later, he looked scared, like he was afraid of something.”
“I can’t say anything, Vivian, because if Jaxon finds out about this, our friendship will be even worse than it already is.”
“Do you know why?”
“I do. I’ve known him since the day we were born. He’s just scared…”
“Why are you afraid?”
“Bye, Vivian.”
“But—” I couldn’t finish my statement because he hung up the phone.
Why won’t anyone just tell me the truth? I put my hands on my head.
Jona came in through the door and sat down in the chair next to my desk.
“What happened now?”
I took my head out of my hands and made a pout, and tears started to gather in the corners of my eyes.
I’m an extremely emotional person.
Jona came next to me in a flash, holding me while I sat.
“I still can’t find him, Jona,” I said, as a single tear fell down my face.
Jona swiftly wiped away that tear, and I sniffed and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.
Jona perched on the desk and looked at me with interest.
“I don’t want to talk to him,” I said, folding my hands. I saw that Jona was smiling a little.
“You think it’s funny?” I yelled.
He shook his head and said, “Nope. The funny thing is that my best friend is really falling for someone.”
I kept saying in my brain, “No, I’m not falling for him.”
“Stop being silly! I’m not falling for Jaxon.”
He laughed and replied, “I never said Jaxon’s name. I just said, someone.”
Damn it!
“Go away!” I shouted, my cheeks getting hot.
He laughed even harder as he got up from the desk. He added with a dreamy look in his eye, “Vivian is falling in love…”
“I don’t want to fall in love with him!”
“Don’t plan who you’ll fall in love with. Let your heart decide, not your mind.”
“Stop those love ideas right now!”
“They’re true, believe it or not. And I know more about love than you do.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “You can’t even get a girlfriend.”
“Vivian, you’re changing the subject.”
I grinned and said, “Oh, am I?”
But then I discovered something and hit him in the arms. I whispered-shouted, “You idiot! His office is right next to mine. What if he heard us talking?!”
“Don’t worry. I saw him leave work for a reason.”
“Thank God!” I said with relief.
After a few seconds of stillness, Jona said, “Should we go out for lunch or something tomorrow?”
“Sorry, Jona, but I have to take care of something important.”
He frowned and made a pout to make it look more dramatic. I grabbed his cheeks and said, “Get yourself a girlfriend, bro.” He was really sweet.
And his frown got even deeper, which made me giggle.
Mr. Jaxon Dante was ready to leave the home in the middle of the day, but I had other intentions.
“Jaxon?” I yelled as I ran down the stairs and reached him just as he was about to answer the door.
He didn’t talk to me, but this time he had to.
“Jaxon, listen,” I whispered as I grabbed his arms. He already looked angry.
I stood in front of him and blocked the door. “Why are you ignoring me?”
Not paying attention.
“What did I do?”
He turned his head away from me so I couldn’t see him.
“Come on, Jaxon! Stop acting like a kid. You say I’m acting like a kid, but right now, you are acting like one.”
When he didn’t answer, I said, “Okay… I’m sorry. I don’t even know why you’re mad at me, but I’m sorry. Just stop ignoring me, or else I’ll keep bothering you for the rest of your life until you beg me to leave you, and I won’t leave you.”
His eyes sparkled with laughter. Maybe my acting is working.
Finally, he murmured, “I’m getting late,” and gently moved me away from the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked, but he wouldn’t respond.
When I saw him head towards the garage without looking at me, I whimpered, “Aargh!”
I believed he was talking to me!
I felt he wanted me to bother him right away, and he asked me to do so.
I hurriedly grabbed the keys to my car and started the motor of my Aston Martin before I started to pursue him.
But I lost him as he rounded the corner.
I pulled over to the side of the road and contacted his driver. “Do you know where Jaxon is going right now?”
“He has to be going to the…hospital.”
“Hospital? Why? Just tell me where the hospital is.”
I started driving towards the address his driver gave me. It was a place for people with cancer to get care. I think the Dante Industry constructed it, and that’s what I recall.
I spotted Jaxon’s car parked at the hospital as soon as I got there. He got out of his car just after I parked mine.
He had a bundle of balloons in one hand and a bag that seemed full of toys and candy in the other. That was quite strange.
When I got out of the car and hurried up to him, he looked surprised to see me.
“What are you doing here?” he said between clenched teeth.
“I can ask you the same thing.”
“Vivian, come back!”
“Look, we’re in public, and if someone sees us fighting in the street, just think about how bad your reputation will be.”
He clenched his teeth and grumbled under his breath as he started to move inside. I stepped next to him.
I inquired, “Who are these balloons for?” when we got into the lift.
“Someone.”
I elbowed him in the chest and said, “Don’t be a jerk. Tell me!”
He scowled at me for a moment, then his expression softened. He cleared his throat and looked forward. “You will see.”
The lift dinged, and we got out. I followed him to a ward that I soon learned was for kids with cancer.
The ward’s walls were adorned with bright cartoons, and my heart hurt when I saw perhaps 10 to 12 kids there.
When we pushed open the glass door, everyone turned to look at us and shouted, “Jaxon is here!”
And in a flash, Jaxon was on the floor, and all the kids ran up to him and hugged him in a big group.
He has been here before.
It was the first time in my life that I saw him grin, not just a little smile or a smirk, but a big smile with his lovely teeth showing. He seemed younger, happier, and more carefree. His grin was so lovely and sweet that it made my heart melt.
The image in front of me made my heart feel even better. Jaxon gave everyone a few balloons along with the presents and candy he bought.
A big smile sprang to my face without me wanting it to.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dante,” a nurse suddenly said next to me.