There had not been much to glean from what Elsie had said, but she knew that the entire incident had something to do with Kris and probably Gemma as well.
She felt uneasy as she returned to Tony’s suite and upon entering, she saw that he was eating his meal with one hand.
Although he was injured and seated on the bedside while spooning mouthfuls of food with one hand, he looked graceful nonetheless.
Myra felt the knot in her stomach untangle at the sight of him doing so. She sauntered over and took the spoon and the bowl from him before she brought a mouthful of porridge to his thin lips.
Tony raised his brow at her action. “I thought I was supposed to eat it on my own.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “At the speed you’re eating, the porridge would be cold by the time you manage to finish it.”
He flashed the barest hint of a smile as he mused, “You never mean what you say, Myra. I know you care about me. You don’t have to come up with an excuse just so you can run back here and feed me, you know.”
A blushing Myra unceremoniously shoved a spoonful of porridge into his mouth and snapped, “Shut up and eat your porridge.”
A low chuckle escaped Tony and a glint of amusement flashed in his obsidian eyes.
After they were done with the meal, they decided to take a late evening stroll. It was inevitable that they had to pass Gemma’s suite in order to get to the elevators and as they took in the burly bodyguards stationed outside her room, they could also hear her manic screams from behind the door. It sounded as though she was on the phone as she demanded to be released from the room, but it was clear that her request had been met with harsh rejection.
Seeing that Myra’s expression had grown grim, Tony reached out to clasp her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
They entered one of the elevators and pressed the button for the first floor. The elevator made several stops along the way and as people came and went, she took care to shield him, afraid that someone could jostle against or bump into the cast on his arm.
He only smiled at her defensive stance and tightened his grip on her hand.
For all the time they had spent together, it seemed as though they had never once taken a stroll with their hands intertwined. They made their way to the hospital gardens and treated the evening walk as light exercise. She clearly enjoyed herself, judging from the smile on her face that remained in place throughout the entire stroll.
Occasionally, a few passers-by would notice them and observe their obvious chemistry with admiration and envy. Myra had never thought that her relationship with Tony would come so naturally and there was a synergy between them that was akin to that of an old married couple, although they had only been dating for less than half a year.
When she abruptly came to a stop, she rose on her tiptoes. Under the man’s quizzical gaze, she reached up to pull him down by the nape and placed a kiss on his cheek. Then, she blushed as she looked away from him.
Tony’s eyes brightened at her gesture as he teased, “Did you do that on purpose?”
He had no qualms about saying such things in public.
Upon hearing that, Myra felt her heart begin to race and she began to chide herself for acting like a lovesick idiot. It was no wonder that she found herself subjected to his merciless teasing all the time.
She was about to march forward when Tony intentionally tripped her. He caught her by the waist just as she stumbled before he bent down to press his lips against her pink ones.
Myra’s eyes widened momentarily as she met the endless ocean that was his dark gaze. She could see the warmth and the fierce love he had for her in his eyes.
Before long, her eyes fluttered close as she melted into the kiss, which felt unbelievably perfect in all its tenderness and passion.
When they finally parted from one another, Myra was left breathless and Tony was panting slightly as well. He pressed his forehead to hers, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. His gaze darkened with sentiments as he stared into her eyes and he could no longer repress his urge. As he dipped his head to kiss her once more, he nibbled on her lips before he released her.
“Tony,” she murmured in protest after she finally remembered where they were and what they had done. Her blush crept all the way down to her neck as she stomped her foot. She wanted to push him away, but her legs went limp from the kiss and she had to lean onto him for support.
A chuckle sounded in the back of Tony’s throat and Myra could feel his warm breath stirring the top of her head. An unexpected warmth seized her as she nuzzled into his chest and pretended as though no one else could see her.
As they stood embracing in the garden, it was like they were in their own pink little bubble.
…
While this was happening, two women were staring at the happy couple with disgruntled and hostile looks in their eyes.
Hayley was leaning against the window in the nurse station, which was tucked away on the fourth floor of the hospital. She had been scribbling notes on the medical record in her left hand, but her eyes were no longer focused on the charts and details on the record. Instead, she was staring at the scene in the gardens and her clear gaze darkened with jealousy.
She had seen Tony and Myra’s outward display of affection. She never thought that a man as cold and curt as him could be so gentle. To be cared for and loved by him would surely be a woman’s dream come true, wouldn’t it?
Then, her eyes fell on the woman in his arms. Upon seeing that it was Myra, she seethed.
No matter how Hayley looked at it, there was nothing about Myra that was attractive enough to warrant the affection of a fine specimen like Tony.
The girl was pleasant-looking, but certainly not as pretty as Hayley was and there were plenty of women out there whose figures were more attractive than hers. Furthermore, there was nothing formidable about Myra’s family background or her capabilities as well. With all those in mind, Hayley couldn’t help but wonder what it was about Myra that made her so alluring to men.
As she dwelled grimly in these thoughts, her pretty face twisted into a grimace and the light faded from her eyes.
Meanwhile, the other woman who had spotted Tony and Myra’s garden rendezvous was Gemma.
She had received a video clip in her inbox shortly after Kris had left her room. Clicking on it, she saw that it was footage taken from the day she had lost control and crashed into Tony. It was a recording of their exchange in the basement parking lot, but it was cut off right before the scene where she was shown entering her car.
While there was no audio, the clip had obviously been edited to focus on Tony as he strangled her. The fear and helplessness were clearly reflected in her eyes as he choked the air out of her.
Having seen the video, Gemma wanted to rush out of her room, but no one in her family had allowed her to leave despite all her demanding phone calls. They had asked her to calm down, promising her that she could return to Bradfort City to tie up whatever loose ends she had after her surgery abroad. But, I don’t want to leave the city! Why should I be the one to be banished?
She knew that the dust would settle as soon as she was out of the city. Myra would have married Tony and they would have a baby together. There was little point for her to return to Bradfort City by then, let alone come up with ways for her to sideline that wretched woman.
After throwing yet another manic tantrum in the ward, she realized that all her efforts were futile. With her spirits sanded down to nothing, she made her way to the window and looked down at the hospital gardens, only to see Tony and Myra losing themselves in a passionate kiss.
They looked so entranced that even Gemma could feel the lingering warmth and love between them and she wasn’t even anywhere close to the gardens.
Feeling as though an axe had sliced her heart into half, she pressed her hand against her chest and for a moment, she thought she would die from the heartache.
