Chapter 9 Distinguished Doctor dress down

Turning off the hot water he let the cold water beat firmly against his body. After the initial shock, he continued his shower and forced his mind to review the facts he'd need to present in tomorrow's board meeting.

As he dressed, his mind wandered back to the curve of her body when she had lain on her side as she watched him dress. With her small waist and ample hip, the view made him consider getting to work late. The only blight of that morning had been the look of hurt on her face when he suggested that she hurry up or risk the boys being late for school.

On reflection, it hadn't been a suggestion; he'd been brusque with her, more than necessary. His phone flashing on her dresser drew his attention away from his musings. Snapping his cufflink into place he picked up the phone.

It was the alarm he'd set to remind himself for picking her up. Tucking his shirt into his khaki trousers and pocketing his phone, he searched for his watch. Spotting it as he headed towards the bed to pick up his clothes from the day before, he made a mental note to remember it on his way out.

His phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket. His wife's face flashed on the screen as it lit up. 'What would she need the day she's supposed to check out?' he wondered.

Throwing his clothes into the laundry basket and picking up his watch Troy answered his phone.

"Hello, Gorgeous! How's my favourite pregnant woman today?" His voice was cheerful despite his stomach twisting as he held his breath hoping she was excited to be coming home to him, today.

His ears met silence and the distant sound of sobbing and sniffling. Panic surged through his body, and he raced out of his bedroom and towards the staircase. After what seemed like ages, a male voice spoke on the other end.

"Mr. Tinovenga, how soon can you get to St. Anne's? This is Doctor Kugara speaking."

"I'm heading out of the front door now. What's wrong? Will she be able to come home today? Why is she crying?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me. That depends entirely on you. We'll have to discuss that once you arrive. See you shortly." The line went dead.

Troy had already activated the alarm, unlocked his waiting car, and remotely opened the gate. As he pulled out the gate & onto the road, he saw the gardener and house help eye each other and shrug through his rearview mirror.

*****

Greeting the nurse & staff who had come to know him, Troy took the elevator as his mind narrowed down what could have possibly reduced his wife to tears. Walking out of the elevator as soon as it would allow him to leave its confines Troy headed straight for her room. The doctor could wait.

Troy walked into his wife's hospital room excited that he'd be able to take her home and pamper her for a few hours as well as surprise the boys with her return home. Things were on the mend.

For now, he wouldn't over-analyse what he had spent the night reading in his wife's diary or how close he was to losing his wife. He had expected to find her dressed and ready to go home, what he didn't expect was to find her hooked up to machines and visibly drugged up.

The smile fell from his face as he took in that she had two nurses hovering over her and the hurt in her eyes was trained directly at him.

"Angel, what's the matter? Are you okay? Is the baby, okay?" He sat down in the armchair and held her hand.

'You've broken my heart, Troy. The doctor is trying to fix it but they all look at me as if I have death by the hand. I'm never going to be whole again and it's all your fault,' Evelyn wanted to scream.

Instead, she smiled, "Oh, the doctor is just being silly. I had a brief episode earlier this morning and he got scared. I just need more rest love." She patted his hand.

Troy frowned, if the doctor hadn't called him, he would've said his wife was lying. The nurses were staring at her as if she had grown another head. 'What the hell was going on?'

Eve turned to face the wall that looked away from the door. She remembered that weekend. She'd been officially dating Troy in an exclusive relationship for 5 months when he'd taken the Friday after his birthday off.

She'd hoped to spend the day with him but every time she had called him, she'd heard the network's pre-recorded message telling her that the number she had dialled was unavailable. Her heart sat uncomfortably in her chest as she heard the same message over and over.

She remembered checking her phone just before midnight the Friday and seeing that she'd called him over 30 times. Eve's heart constricted, while she had been concerned about his safety, he'd been fucking her, that evil woman with the perfect nails!

Eve had always known he had a bit of a soft spot for her but to still be intimate with her and to not use protection when he was already having unprotected sexual intercourse with his official girlfriend was, was-she choked on a sob and wiped her tears away quickly.

She didn't care that Troy hadn't left. This was just too damned painful to hold in until he was gone. She screamed as the pain wrenched her heart from her chest.

Her mind played images of that woman with perfect nails on top of Troy nude. Her mind played the sounds of her husband moaning the other woman's name over and over as he grabbed her hips as they matched his rhythm. A hand touched her shoulder, and Eve flinched.

How could he touch her all these years and pretend that everything was okay? Damn it, she'd told herself that she would never be the woman who turned a blind eye while her man cheated.

She knew that in everything that that woman had said the bulk of it was true. Truth, like a well-constructed lie, always had a way of ringing true.

Troy looked at the nurses for assistance as they watched him and his wife as if watching a soap opera. An order was barked from behind him, and the nurses scampered for needles. One nurse held Eve's hand as another injected something into the IV tube.

"Mr. Tinovenga." A hand gripped his shoulder firmly pulling him out of his wife's hospital room. Jerking to a stop just outside the room Troy turned around to face his wife's doctor.

He noted with irritation that the man had gotten a haircut recently and looked every inch the distinguished doctor. The fact that his grip on Troy's shoulder was firm and there was a hint of muscle beneath the doctor's lab coat irked Troy further.

"Doctor, we'll talk–," Troy began.

"Now," the doctor cut Troy off sharply, his tone equally quiet. "Your wife does a good job of keeping your indiscretions to herself. My nurses, however, are more than happy to stretch a tale and spread it."