Chapter 22:
Zack's POV:
After reading the text of the investigator, I thought of the things that might lead Nadia to go to Chicago, maybe she was visiting her mother, or she was just going to see Col or Dillon, or she had an important meeting which included the company. But then why was she so tensed on her first call?
Realizing that sitting in the car aimlessly, wasn't going to lead me anywhere, I parked the car then headed to the building, since I had to pack few spare outfits, I didn't know how many days I was staying after all, and I had to be ready for everything.
Instead of finding Collen at the door as usual, I found another guy, who stood up as soon as he saw me entering. I wondered what happened to Collen so I asked the new guy immediately "Where's Collen?"
"His mother is sick so he's off to take care of her, meanwhile, I'm here to fill his position until he returns" The guy brushed his hand on his shirt to clean the sauce of the Pizza he was eating and offered me his hand to shake "I'm Daniel, you can call me Dan"
"Nice to meet you" I shook his hand back "I want Collen's phone number, do you have it?"
"No but I can get it"
"Thanks, I need it in twenty minutes" I smiled at him before entering the elevator.
Collen was a really nice man and I wanted to make sure that he had everything he needed in this rough time, even if it meant that I'd be paying all of his mother's bills. I knew how much losing a mother was hard so I didn't want him to be in my position. He'd be devastated.
Nadia was nowhere to be found as I entered the apartment, so I headed directly to my room to pack my bag. I packed essentials only because we weren't staying long there and I didn't want to make Nadia suspect anything by holding a big suitcase; just a sport bag was more than enough.
I lifted the bag that I packed, opened the room's door and was about to step out when I saw Nadia stepping out of her room as well; she seemed surprised at first but her eyes landed on the bag I was holding, and I could've sworn that I saw her flinching slightly.
She kept staring at the bag for few seconds before she looked up to meet my gaze; her hair was up in a messy bun, as her face was natural without any makeup on; damn, she was really beautiful and I was fighting the urge to run to her and have her in my arms, she was so tempting!
'Why does our relationship have to be complicated? Why can't I claim my wife like other couples?' I wondered but then again my inner voice had to step in and bring me back to reality 'because you haven't met like normal couple do'
As if she heard my thoughts, she started walking toward me but stopped when she was an arm's length away. A stray of hair fell on the side of her face, she tugged it behind her ear and kept fidgeting with her hem of her shirt nervously.
"Where are you going?" She asked, eyeing the bag.
"I am taking some spare clothes to the penthouse" I lied, hoping she would buy my lie "Why are you asking?"
"Well" My question caught her off guard so she began to mutter and blabber "In case your grandma came to visit"
"But won't you be at Chicago?" I raised my eyebrows at her.
"Yeah, and you have to cover me up"
"And why would I do that?" I questioned her.
"Because I've spent an entire week lying to cover you up" She answered me, smugly, putting her hands on her hips.
"But have I asked you to do that?"
"I felt like I had to" She replied, looking deeply in my eyes "I'll make sure, the new guy won't tell your grandma that none of us hasn't stepped by"
"Do whatever suits you" I stated, acting like I was bored and uninterested "Take care"
I looked at Nadia one more time before I took my way out of the apartment, and stepped inside the elevator, scolding myself for acting so cold toward her, she'd think that we went back to the start. As soon as I reached the lobby, Dan stood up and hurried toward me with a piece of paper in hand.
"Sir, I have Collen's phone number" He handed to paper "May I help you with something else?"
"Can you please order a cab for me?" I smiled at him and carried on walking toward the door when he nodded his head and told me that the cab would be there in tow minutes "Have a calm night"
As I started walking out of the building, I dialed Collen's phone number and waited for him to answer. In the third ring, he finally replied with a surprisingly drained voice, which was something unusual for him since he was always full of energy and life.
"Hello?"
"Hi Collen, I'm Zack Collins" I introduced myself since he didn't seem to recognize me when I said hi.
"Oh, how are you Sir?" He asked hurriedly.
"Call me Zack, I'm doing fine, what about you?" I said as I climbed in the Taxi that pulled in front of me "To the airport" I told the driver.
"You can say that I'm good" He answered me, immediately.
"Well, I've heard about your mother and I called to ask if you need anything" I offered.
"It won't be necessary, Mrs. Collins already helped with that"
"Grandma?"
"No, I'm talking about you wife sir, she called four days ago and insisted that she would take care of my mother"Â He suddenly started chuckling "She even threatened to hunt me if I didn't accept her help"
"I didn't know she talked to you"
"She asked me to keep it between the two of us" He added "So please don't tell her that I told you"
Before I had the opportunity to answer him, Â I heard a female's voice beside him, maybe it was a nurse, so I shrugged off and said my goodbyes and wishes for the recovery of his mother, and of course offered my help one more time.
The second I hanged up, I started thinking of what he said about Nadia, and I couldn't help but wondering 'How could I mistake her for so many years, what was wrong in my mind? How could she be so good and pure?' I wanted to know because I seriously felt like I didn't deserve her at all.
I kept thinking about Nadia until I was pulled out of my train of thoughts when the Taxi driver indicated that I reached the airport so I payed him then stepped out of the car; I looked at my wrist's watch and sighed since I had more than forty minutes to spare.
I went to check in first, because I wanted to have some sleep in the private jet, I was drained and tired, and I knew that once I land in Chicago I wouldn't have any sleep even if I wanted to, I would just keep my eyes open until I discover the truth.
Once I was on the jet, I sat on the comfy seat beside the window, and called Sarah because I didn't like the way she was looking at Nadia and I, in the kitchen; she was already suspicious that things weren't right a week ago when she barged in my house after Anna left.
Flashback:
I was drained by time I reached the penthouse from the apartment, all I wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep. Nevertheless, I couldn't do so because as soon as I stepped inside and was about to head to the bedroom, the intercom started beeping.
'Who would bombard me at this time?' I thought as I walked back to the door and opened it.
Sarah was standing on the doorstep, her hands on her hips, glaring at me. And I knew that I was in deep shit because Sarah always glared at me whenever I did something wrong or really messed up. God help me...
"I know that something is wrong, so start talking, I'm listening"
'What should I tell her now?' I stepped aside and ushered her-in, thinking of a way out.
"Haha, what's wrong?" I raised my eyebrows at her, skeptically "What do you think happened, Sherlock Holmes?"
"Well, to start with, where's your wife?" She crossed her arms to her chest.
"I told you that she's staying with her grandpa" I opened the door wide open for her, and gestured at her to step in.
"And why didn't you go with her?" She walked to the lounging area, and I followed her.
"Because she said she needed some time alone with him" I pointed at her to sit down "Would you like to have something to drink?"
"No need to, but I seriously think that something happened because you only stay here" She threw her arms in the air exaggeratedly "When you feel unhappy or when you're done of everything"
"Honestly" I sat beside her "There's nothing wrong"
"I'll find out myself when you bring her for dinner" She stood up and glared at me "And you better not be lying to brush me off"
"Don't worry" I pinched her nose, mischievously.
End of Flashback
"Hello?"
"Sorry for bothering you at this time" I stated "But I just wanted to thank you for tonight's dinner, it was delicious"
"Ah, although it ended quickly"
"Well, Nadia had some missing papers so she worked on them then slept, we're heading to Chicago tomorrow morning therefore she needs to have some rest" I explained before she even asked me to.
"Ah then god be with you, have some rest too, you still have the gala next week"
'Right, the Gala, I forgot about it' I thought to myself 'I wish we refused to host it'
"Yeah, goodbye and have sweet dreams" I told her before hanging up.
I turned my phone off, laid my head back and closed my eyes, welcoming darkness that greeted me immediately, not even waiting for the plane to depart. I wanted to rest even for couple hours, they'd be sufficient.
I felt someone poking my upper arm, bringing me out of my daze, back to reality. The hostess was smiling at me, telling me that we already landed on Chicago; therefore, I unfastened my seat belt, lifted my phone and bag and hurried out of the private jet.
The moment I stepped out of the jet, I was welcomed with a man in a black suit, James, he was a a chauffeur and a bodyguard from grandpa's hotel there in Chicago. He took my bag and leaded me one of the company's cars.
"Mrs. Collins will be here in an hour, would you like to have something meanwhile?" He opened the car's door for me.
"A cup of Cappuccino would be amazing" I climbed in the car.
"I'll be right back" He closed the door for me, and started walking towards a near cafeteria.
I turned on my phone and started a small research on the Mathews's companies. Apparently, Mr. Mathews owned hotels in ten different countries, most of them in Europe and Asia, he was known by his classy five stars restaurant and Fabric companies, along with other small businesses.
As I was looking, the name of Mr. Mathews was attached with his son's, Daniel and his wife, and a picture of Nadia's mother, Cecilia, appeared. The page talked about Daniel Mathews' work and how his wife took over it after he died. She was running both, her father's fortune and Daniel's as well in Chicago, leaving her daughter under her grandpa's care as some tabloids mentioned.
I was going to look for what Daniel was working on in order to get an idea about Cecilia, when James tapped on my window, holding a cup of Cappuccino and donuts. I nodded at him in approval and accepted what he got for me.
By time I drank my Cappuccino and donuts, James  informed me that Nadia's jet landed earlier than expected and that we were ready to start moving; however, I told him that I wasn't going anywhere before I spot her first.
Before I even finished my sentence, I spotted Nadia walking out of  airport. She looked beautiful, with her hair up in a ponytail, wearing black leggings, a black dress that reached below her thighs, a black leather jacket with black high heeled boots. Damn she was stunning.
She strode to a waiting cab, confidently and headed off immediately. James started the engine and soon enough he was on the road following her, making sure to keep a small between us, since the last we wanted being caught off guard by the cab's driver.
It was kind of late so the roads were empty, and the only thing that stopped us was the red lights. Throughout the ride, I tried to predict where we were going but I failed miserably because Chicago wasn't my favorite place in the world, and the streets were unfamiliar.
I was pulled out of my train of thoughts when the car came to a stop in front of a hospital. 'What was she doing in a hospital? Was she sick? If the answer is yes, why did she come all the way to Chicago to visit a doctor?' I started rubbing my neck, trying to come up with convenient answers to my questions.
As soon as Nadia climbed out of the cab and stepped inside the hospital, I opened the car's door and strode after her; she headed to the receptionist first, who was talking on the phone; Nadia waited for her to end her call, impatiently tapping her foot on the ground until the other women gave Nadia her full attention, and Nadia started asking her questions.
Before the receptionist could answer Nadia, Col suddenly appeared out of nowhere, he poked Nadia's shoulder and when she turned her head and saw him standing there, she straightened her back and tensed a little bit but she didn't hug him or greet him like she used to before, she just nodded her head at him, as if he was a stranger.
She's still mad at him!
They both started running to the emergency services then stopped on a double door with "Surgery room" written on it and a red light, signaling that no one was allowed to enter to the room. Nadia sat on one of the seats and Col sat beside her.
'What's happening there?' I seriously wanted to know and my curiosity grew bigger and bigger with every second that passed by "Who was in that surgery room? And why is it affecting Nadia that much?'
Forty five minutes passed and still, no one came out of the surgery room; the atmosphere became heavy and I could tell that Nadia was literally about to pass out since she kept squeezing the hem of her dress until her knuckles turned white.
"Sir, I thought that a cup of coffee would help you" He offered me a cup of a brain washing coffee, which smelled like heaven, but he was holding two others.
"Why did you bring three?" I raised my eyebrows at him, questioningly.
"Mrs. Collins and her friend, seem stressed out so I thought of buying coffee for them as well" He answered me, blankly.
"You thought well, can you ask a nurse to take the cups for them, please?" I asked him.
James asked a nurse who was passing by to take the cups without telling Nadia who sent them. I remained well hidden from afar, studying Nadia's reaction when the nurse offered them the cups. Col thanked the nurse and drank immediately, whereas Nadia seemed suspicious about it and looked left and right, but at the end, she just shrugged off and took a sip of the coffee, closing her eyes briefly the moment the hot liquid touched her tongue.
James said that he would be waiting for me in the lobby while I remained still in my place. The door of the surgery room burst open and a doctor and two nurses came out of it, looking like they had seen a ghost.
Nadia stood up and hurried toward him, and I suddenly wanted to be right there beside her when the news are out, reassure her thing were going to be fine if the news were bad, and most importantly, show her that she wasn't alone and that she had someone to rely on when things are tough.
I couldn't hear what the doctor was saying but from the look he had on his face and the way he shook his head, I knew that things were way far from being fine. Nadia took two steps back then suddenly collapsed on the ground, almost hitting the head on the chair.
I didn't care if I was going to blow my cover or not, all I cared about was to make sure that Nadia was totally fine, therefore I ran toward her, totally chocking Col with my presence there. However, he was the least of my worries.
"Nadia, are you okay?" I caressed her forehead, trying to bring her back to consciousness.
"What are you doing here?" Col snapped at me out of a sudden.
"Do you think it's the right time for this?" I shot back at him, angrily.
"Sir, we need to take her to the checkup room" The nurse told me, putting her thumb on Nadia's wrist to check her heartbeat then she gestured at the chart behind me "Let's put her on it, try not to shake her head"
"Okay"
I lifted Nadia carefully and slowly, making sure not to jerk her around as the nurse has mentioned. We took to the checkup room which was on the same floor fortunately, and Col and I stayed rooted in our places until the nurse turned and looked at us "You need to leave the room"
"But I don't want to" Col retorted immediately, gaining a sharp look from the nurse.
"Unless you're her husband, you can't stay, I can't examine her in front of you" She was obviously trying to calm herself.
"I can stay then" I suddenly stated, making Col glare at me "I'm her husband"
"Come on then" She gestured at Col to leave the room.
The moment Col left, the nurse took Nadia's leather jacket, and started taking her dress off. I felt uneasy to look at her body while she was unconscious so I just turned my head and focused on anything beside her, until the nurse said something about low blood pressure. That's when I realized that Nadia was wearing a blue patient's robe.
"Her blood pressure is low" The nurse spoke calmly "Don't worry I took care of her, I'll be right back, she should be awake soon"
I sat on the bed beside Nadia, and took her hand in mine, she was weak and so fragile but yet managed to stay beautiful, like a gorgeous butterfly.'What happened out there? Why did it affect her that much? And most importantly, who was in that surgery room'
I was in deep thoughts when the nurse came back again after five minutes, and examined Nadia again. And a brilliant idea came to my mind, I would just ask the nurse about the one who was in the surgery room.
"How's she?" I questioned the nurse.
"Her blood pressure is back to normal again" She smiled genuinely at me.
"I was kind of late but may I know how the surgery went?" I tried my best to look worried.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Jack's heart stopped on the surgery table, we did our best but we couldn't save him" The nurse answered me, sweetly then she left the room again after telling me that Nadia would be awake in a matter of minutes.
'Jack?' Who's he?' I questioned myself as curiosity took control of me 'Why does this name seem familiar?'
*****
/* I know that you'll probably hate me after this but I want your curiosity to grow as big as Zack's*/
/*I really hope you like this chapter, although it doesn't contain a lot of dialogues*/
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/*Thank you*/
/*The next chapter will be published next Friday March 24th*/