The CEO’s Second Choice

Sebastian

With bated breath, I wait until the door opens. As soon as the doctor walked out, his eyes fell on me and a grim look crossed his face.

No. Please no! I step back, thinking the worst possible thing… Was she gone?

He walks towards me and folds his hands in front of him. “Mr Dumont?” He asks, and I nod. “I am Dr Harris and I oversaw the surgery on your wife… she was in an incredibly terrible crash that could have been fatal, were it not for the type of vehicle she was in and the fact that your driver swerved in time. She has multiple broken ribs that just missed her internal organs, the force of impact crushed her legs and will require multiple surgeries and physio to correct them. She is also severely concussed and we fear some damage has occurred. We have done an MRI on her and are currently awaiting her results. The next 48 hours will be crucial, Mr Dumont. We are hoping she does not slip into a coma in that time, but rest assured, she is under the best care here.” Dr Harris tells me but all I got from that was that my Elena was alive!

“Thank you, doctor, I appreciate it.” I say, eternally thankful for saving my wife. “And my child? How is he?” I ask, needing to know if both my kin are safe. When a smile crosses his face, my heart soared. “Your baby is safe and in good health. We have placed him in an incubation chamber in her private ward. Would you like to see them?” He asks and I swear I could have hugged him right there! He saved the loves of my life, and I was not eternally in his debt. I chastise myself at this sliver of hope because Elena was not out of the woods yet, but clung to the fact that she was still here. He leads me one room over and opens the door.

My heart breaks at the sight before me; Elena with tubes coming out of her, her legs raised in plaster and her fire… gone. A tear slips down my cheek as I take her in and slowly walk towards her. My Elena, my little daisy and the love of my life. I lift her hand in mine and kiss it, noting how warm she felt when it reached my lips. “Elena…” I breathed out, sobbing as I held her hand. How could this happen? I made sure everything was safe, made sure no harm could possibly come to her, and yet she was almost ripped from my grasp.

“Would you like to see your son, Mr Dumont?” Dr Harris asks me as if he needed to. Then I realised what he had said, “Son?” I ask him and he nods with a smile. He gestures with his arm and I followed him towards the far end of the room where a nurse was overseeing the incubation chamber.

Elena described this feeling, the love at first sight, but I never experienced it as she had. I must be honest. But now… The moment my eyes fell on my child, everything else fell away. He was perfect! Absolutely beautiful! Elena and I had made this precious being, and I swear I would have fallen to my feet and thanked God that he was safe. I wished I could hold him close to me right now, but Dr Harris mentions that he is also under observation, unfortunately, as he was born a few weeks early. They did not want to risk anything at this point.

“You can stay for as long as you wish, Mr Dumont, as this wing belongs to your family. I am only a button push away.” Dr Harris says before he leaves and I thank him again for what he has done.

I breathed out a pent up sigh as more tears fell. My kin was safe for now, and it made me the happiest man in the world. I snap a pic of my son and send it to Isaac and Elijah and inform them of Elena’s condition, something which Isaac was grateful for, but Elijah was curiously silent. Hm. Dialling his number, he answered on the second ring. “Got her,” was all he said before I found myself sprinting out of the hospital room.

Anabelle Thompson, you will pay for this if it’s the last thing I do.

I stationed two bodyguards outside Elena’s room and asked them to allow no one except Dr Harris and a nurse inside until I arrive, then I leave for Elijah’s place. He had Anabelle with him and I have never wanted to strike a woman as much as I did now. She attempted to kill Elena, even going as far as removing her Epi-Pens from her car and bag. What did Elena ever do to her that she hated her this much? I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

I arrive at Elijah’s mansion half an hour later and pull out my cell phone. “I’m here,” I say and the gates swing open, allowing me access. A few minutes later, I walked into his mansion and made my way to his wine cellar, where he was currently keeping Anabelle prisoner. As soon as my eyes fell on her, a wave of anger overcame me and I saw red. “Easy, mate,” Elijah says and pulls me back because I was heading straight for her. Her terrified eyes regarded me with fear, and her bottom lip trembled.

“Sebastian? Why am I here? How is Elena?” She asks, but as soon as my wife’s name left her mouth, I lunged at her. “Don’t you DARE speak her name!” I exclaim and push her up against the opposite wall. “We know about the cupcake you gave her, Anabelle so do NOT act like you give a damn now,” Elijah says as he comes up behind us and I see Anabelle blanched at his words. Looking visibly nervous, Anabelle tries to feign ignorance. “Cupcake? I don’t know what you’re talking abou-”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Stop lying!” I exclaim and punch the wall next to her face out of frustration and anger. This girl… if she did not come clean now, I would not be responsible for my actions. I bring my hands up to her throat and squeeze. “Tell me why you want Elena dead,” I say through gritted teeth and see the terror in her eyes as I tightened my grip around her neck. She shakes her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sputters out. “I love Elena!”

“Bullshit!” Elijah’s frustrated voice came from where he stood. He was getting just as impatient with this woman as I was. If he thought I was intimidating when angry, she has not seen Elijah in his element. “Tell us why you want Elena dead, Anabelle, and we might just let you live.” He finishes and her eyes widen at his threat. I must admit that I am quite surprised at his choice of words as well, but knowing Elijah, he meant every word. Did I forget to mention that the mother of his child has disappeared?

Anabelle looks at me with pleading eyes, “Please, Sebastian!” She continues to sputter and beg, bringing me that much closer to the edge. She was slowly turning blue, so I let go of her and pushed her hard against the wall. “Enough!” I exclaim and run my fingers through my hair in frustration. This was going absolutely nowhere. Elena needed me and yet I was here attempting retribution. So I turn my back to her and walk to Elijah as she continues to cough. “Why…?” she mumbles finally, and I slowly turn around to face her. Her head was down and she was shaking her head. “Why is it always Elena?!”

She pulls at her hair and shakes her head, dropping to the floor. “Nicholas, you, the professors at uni all besotted with the perfect Elena! Why doesn’t anybody ever choose me?! What is wrong with me?!” Anabelle wailed and continued to pull at her hair. Ah. So this was it. Jealousy was the driving force behind her actions. Isaac had suspected as much, so did Elijah, but this girl clearly did not know Elena as well as she thought she did. My wife never thought of herself as beautiful or perfect. There were days when I had to force her to get out of bed while her depression got her down and her anxiety made her feel as if she wasn’t good enough. Some days turned into weeks, especially after the Nicholas incident.

“So you would drive a car into my wife out of jealousy?” I ask her slowly, but then she looks at me with a confused frown. “What? I dunno what you’re talking about.” She says with a puzzled tone, “I only gave her the peanut cupcake this morning.”

I looked at Elijah and wondered if I should trust her word. “No, Elena is currently fighting for her life at London Bridge Private because someone drove into her with deadly intent. We believe that person was you or hired by you.” I explain but she continues to shake her head. “No! That wasn’t me!” She repeats over and over, making my head spin. I sigh and stride out of the room. When I reach the front door, I send Elijah a text saying that we would be heading back to the hospital and to do with Anabelle as he pleased.

I needed to be with my wife and son right now, and not surrounded by trash.