Billionaire, I Am Not Your Wife! novel Chapter 19

Memories Past

Chapter 17: Memories Past

Sedona’s POV

The pre-medications that I was subjected to by my nurse made me drowsy and slightly nauseous, but it was bearable. I wasn’t going to puke my guts anytime soon.

Then came the chemotherapy itself, dripping slowly through my IV. I watched the poison entering my body -because that’s what it was, really, it was poison that was designed to kill the cancer cells but that would also kill healthy cells in the process.

“How long does this take?” I asked the nurse, who was adjusting the speed on the drip.

“This first session will be about four hours approximately. You might feel okay during the infusion, but the side effects usually hit later, which might either be tonight or tomorrow. Make sure you stay hydrated and don’t hesitate to use the anti-nausea medication we’re prescribing. It helps wonders, so you wont feel too horrible.”

Four hours. That was an awful lot of time, that I would do nothing but to wait. Making myself comfortable, I settled back against the pillows, suddenly exhausted despite having done nothing all day.

Cameron pulled his chair closer and opened his laptop, as he typed something on it before he spoke.

“I’m going to work while you rest. If you need anything, just say so.”

But I didn’t want to rest. I didn’t want to close my eyes and face the darkness, I didn’t even want to think about the cancel cells in my body or the dark thoughts about people unfortunate to die from it, it was only going to make me more depressed.

“Tell me about Seattle,” I said instead, desperately hoping that Cameron wont be able to see the real reason why I wanted to know. “Tell me what I’ve missed.”

Cameron looked up from his laptop, surprised at the question. He clearly wasn’t expecting it. Then his expression softened. “Where do I start?”

“Anywhere. Everything. I want to know everything.”

So he told me. About the company itself and what it had done and accomplished in my absence. Preston Enterprises had expanded into new markets, and had started seeling three new different materials that we weren’t selling before, expanding more. It had also acquired three smaller firms, and was now valued at over two billion dollars. About our parents-Mom had taken up painting and was actually good at it, although she preferred drawing figure stick when it came to her family, which was a source of amusement; Dad had finally agreed to reduce his hours at the office and was talking about retirement and going on a lot of trips around the world to see it.

“They talk about you all the time,” Cameron said quietly. “Mom converted your old room into a studio, but she couldn’t bring herself to change anything else. Your tennis trophies are still on the shelves. Your posters are still on the walls. It’s like a shrine to the daughter who disappeared.”

Guilt twisted in my stomach hearing this. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for putting them through that.”

“They never blamed you really. They just want you home.” He paused. “I called them, by the were in the endoscopy. Told them what happened.”

“We’re going to keep you overnight for observation,” Dr. Okafor said when she came to check on me.

“Sometimes patients have delayed reactions to their first chemo session. Their bodies have a delayed reaction to it, for us to make sure that you are in good hands, I would suggest you stay here tonight. Better to have you here where we can monitor you closely.”

Cameron immediately called the hotel to extend our stay, then called his assistant to reschedule the private jet, that was waiting for us. Cameron was always fixing things, always taking care of details! couldn’t handle myself.

“You should go back to the hotel,” I told him around nine o’clock. “Get some sleep. You/fook exhausted.”

“I’m staying.” His tone left no room for argument.

“Cam-”

“I’m. Staying.” He grabbed a pillow and blanket from the nurse’s station and settled into the uncomfortable-looking chair beside my bed. “Try to sleep, Sedona. You need rest.”

I wanted to argue, but I was so tired. The emotional exhaustion of the past few days combined with the physical trauma that I had gotten from almost choking on my blood to starting chemotherapy was starting to drain me, leaving me wrung out and unable to put up a fight.

I closed my eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep, dimly aware of Cameron’s presence beside me, standing guard like he’d promised, refusing to let me face this darkness alone.