“By the way, how are things going with your company? You can request me for the CEO position since I’m a jobless genius for now. I won’t break your heart,” Ilyas’s voice pulls me out of my burning thoughts.
I turn to him. “You can join from tomorrow.”
He laughs. “I didn’t know you were waiting for me to open my mouth.”
“I’m serious. Antonio has been asking me to give him retirement. Without him, I don’t have anyone to manage things from the front. Leave for London as soon as you can, meet Antonio, and he’ll update you on everything. Then start working from Miami. Soon we’ll shift the headquarters to Naples, and then I’ll also come out in public. For now, I’m good in the shadows.”
“That sounds like a good plan, but shouldn’t you be wary about giving a thief such a good position?”
I smirk. “It’s not easy to steal from me. Besides, I know you’re smarter than that. Even if you sold my whole company, you wouldn’t get the amount you could make working with me.”
He chuckles. “That’s true.”
“Join as soon as you can. That bastard has done huge damage. It’ll take more than three months, even with both of us working, to revert all of it.”
Antonio came here two weeks ago to see Elowen after I told him about her condition. That’s when he told me everything that happened. After I kidnapped Wen, Hunter, as Salvario, spoke to Antonio and fed him that fake story. Like everyone else, Antoniobelieved it. Soon after, he took over my position and started working.
That’s when Antonio’s doubts began. His decisions weren’t like mine, and he made several reckless choices that led to major losses. But just like Elowen, Antonio only had suspicions with nothing solid to support them, so he eventually pushed those thoughts aside.
“Alright, I’ll leave for London tomorrow,” Ilyas says.
I hum in agreement.
The only good thing that happened to me because of Chris is that I found a brother.
Chapter 44
Elowen
I pick the lace, wine-colored lingerie and slowly make my way to the bathroom, using the wall for support.Bruno and Rosie walk beside me. Even though I’m much steadier now and the chances of me falling are slim, my babies won’t take that risk. I tried walking on my own two weeks ago and ended up falling. They saw it happen, and since then, they haven’t left me alone for even a moment. Salvario is no different. He watches over me just as closely.
Right now he’s busy seeing off Logan, I mean Ilyas, who was here the whole day and is just now leaving after dinner. It’ll take some time for me to start calling him by his real name. Even though he’s allowed me to keep calling him Logan, I want to get used to calling him Ilyas, because that’s who he is. Not Logan Blackwood. Just like Hunter was never Hunter and was always Salvario. Whenever I recall that, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Two months of mental torture, all for nothing.
I sigh, telling myself to forget the bad things, and close the bathroom door with my trembling hand. I carefully place my lingerie on the cloth stand and then start my battle with my clothes.
Actions like pushing are easy for me, since my arms help my hands with force, so it’s easy to remove my shorts and panties compared to the almost impossible task of removing my T-shirt and bra. I can’t manage force in pulling something or working with grip. I can hold things, but the shaky grip makes it useless for anything after.
I try to pull my T-shirt up. I manage a little before it drops again, but I don’t stop. My physiotherapist said I will never lose until I stop. I know she doesn’t mean I have to keep pushing myself beyond my limits all at once, but I want to put her motivational words to use now.
I’ve decided to bathe and get ready for bed on my own. I won’t take Salvario’s help today. I actually have something else in mind, hence the outfit for tonight is the hot-as-hell lingerie.
I pull my T-shirt up again and again until, in about ten minutes, I manage to take it off completely. My hands are shaking so hard I’m frustrated and flushed. I clench my weak fists, but it doesn’t reduce the shaking one bit.
It’s okay, Wen. You removed the T-shirt. That’s an achievement.I swallow the rising lump in my throat. It might be an achievement, but not even close to what I want to achieve.
I start to pull my bra up, but I can’t even manage to move my fingers under the elastic by lifting it just enough to slip them under. I keep trying. My nails scratch over my skin, but the force is so little it doesn’t even manage to redden it. Frustrated tears prick my eyes.
The door behind me gets knocked before it opens, and Salvario enters. His brows pinch together as soon as he looks at my face.
He closes the door and immediately comes to me, cupping my face in his hands and wiping away the moisture beneath my eyes with his thumbs. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I grumble. My voice has become recognizable, but not close to my original one.
“It doesn’t look like nothing to me.” He tries to coax me, wiping new tears before they can fall.
“I just wanted to bathe on m-my own,” I mutter, my chin and lower lip trembling. I bite my lip. “I guess that was too m-much to wish for.”
I know I’m being unreasonable. I don’t live in a magical world where I’ll get whatever I wish for, and this one was an impractical wish.
