by Roxy Wilson
She raised an eyebrow. Was he feeling insecure? “I don’t juggle men at the same time. Asher is a friend, and Gage, my ex-fiancé…is in my past.”
“Good. So I’m the present. That’s the way I like it.” He smirked.
Layla wasn’t sure what she’d gotten herself into, but as he dropped her home, her heart pounded with excitement. Clint seemed like such a delightful man, and she enjoyed spending time with him. Only time would tell as to how things would progress, but for now, she felt happy.
When he got out of the car and opened the door for her, she wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. Her pulse picked up again, as she gazed into his eyes. He’d made his intentions pretty clear. Yet, she felt hesitant to take the next step forward. When his arms encircled her waist and he drew her forward, she didn’t protest.
Oh, yes!
She wanted this.
His lips were soft on hers, and the kiss, was slow and passionate. All thoughts melted from her mind as she allowed herself to be carried on the hot current of desire that lanced through her veins. Sensations swam through her nerves and she enjoyed the way his lips moved over hers. When his tongue licked her bottom lip, she opened her mouth and allowed him to deepen the kiss. Layla was taken aback by the depth of her feelings. She never wanted this moment to end and yet, she was scared about what would happen if it didn’t end.
When he finally stepped away, a wave of dizziness overtook her. The kiss, though too brief for her liking, was amazing.
He gazed into her eyes as if trying to figure out how she felt.
“I’ll see you around,” she managed to say.
Lifting her hand, he deposited a kiss on it. “Sooner than you think, Layla.”
When he left, she staggered upstairs and into her apartment. Her life was irrevocably changed after that kiss. For better or worse, he’d become a part of it—and from now on, there was no looking back.
Chapter Six
If someone is not treating you with love and respect, it is a gift if they walk away from you. If that person doesn’t walk away, you will surely endure many years of suffering with him or her. Walking away may hurt for a while, but your heart will eventually heal. Then you can choose what you really want. You will find that you don’t need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices. ~Don Miguel Ruiz
Two days after, Layla got the dreaded call from her doctor. Seeing his name flash on her phone screen, she felt a momentary jolt. Did he finally know what was wrong with her? “Hello, good morning.”
“Layla, we have some news.”
Good news? She didn’t think so. “What is it?”
“Your test results have come in, and we’ve identified the reason why your hair is falling out. You’ve got alopecia.
Layla’s heart thundered against her chest. “Alopecia?”
“Yes, it’s an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks your hair follicles.”
“Is it life-threatening?”
“Oh no, dear. Nothing like that. In most cases, the hair starts to grow back on its own within a year. However, in some cases, it doesn’t come back. We would like to start you on treatments, though. I would like you to come in as soon as possible and we’ll fix a regime for you.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. It was a ray of hope. Once the diagnosis was made, and something was being done about it, she would feel a lot better. Helplessness had been the worst feeling. “Sure, I will.”
“I’ll ask my secretary to give you a call and set up an appointment.”
“Thank you, doctor.” She hung up. Despite feeling disappointed to know that she did have some kind of a disease, it was also reassuring to know there was a treatment for it. At least now, she had hope.
She felt a strong urge to investigate the causes of and treatment available for her condition. She switched on her laptop, logged on to Google and typed in the word alopecia in the search box. She had every intention of being well-informed about the disease before her next doctor’s visit. What she learned about alopecia stunned her. She was just one of tens of millions of American women who suffered from the disease every year.
Every year?
Unbelievable.
In addition, just as she’d first suspected, she believed that her inability to deal with stress could be one of the mitigating factors that led to her hair loss. After all, she wasn’t on any medication, was in relatively good health and she couldn’t have inherited the condition from her maternal relatives. Her father and his relatives were still a mystery to her, though.
She was relieved to see that there were a number of coping strategies available to hair loss sufferers, and she fully intended to try at least one of them, for now. She pulled in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Tears welled up behind her eyes. This was one of the few times that she allowed herself to give vent to everything that’d been happening to her lately. Suddenly, she felt lighthearted and better about what she’d been going through. And to be honest, it also helped that Clint didn’t make her feel bad about her situation. By making her feel beautiful despite her problem, he burnt away the rejection she received from Gage and her own mother.
A sudden thought struck her. Were there any celebrities who suffered from alopecia? Layla leaned forward, as she typed in the question in the search box. She hit the enter button and waited for the results to load. She selected an article, with a click, and skimmed through it.
Wow! Quite a number of celebrities suffered from alopecia. Actress, Neve Campbell, cyclist Joanna Rowsell and fellow model, Naomi Campbell were just the few of them.
Feeling a lot more confident, she logged off, put her phone in her purse, and got ready for work. She silently vowed to do some more research about her condition when she got home. Of course, she would jot down those things that didn’t seem to clear to her, so she could seek some clarification from her doctor.
After bidding goodbye to her mother, she went to the studio where she was supposed to shoot for a commercial. On the way to work, she took out her phone and sent a text message to Asher. “Starting treatment soon for hair loss. Will talk about it at work. See you soon.”
There, now. She was moving forward already. Another woman might have been crushed to know she had some kind of disease, but Layla felt optimistic. Things would progress in the right direction. When she reached the studio, she pushed open the door and stepped through.
Not accustomed to seeing the place so dark, she blinked her eyes in confusion. Did she get the time wrong? Layla checked her watch. It was already eight in the morning. She was supposed to start makeup soon. The staff should have been here. Where were the studio employees?
Rather than waste her time, she hurried into the building and made her way to the back office. Abby, the studio manager, was probably inside. She would tell Layla what was going on. Maybe, they moved the shoot upstairs or something. Were they doing it on the roof? She stopped in midstride.
The man who stood in front of her was Bryan.
She put a hand on her heart. “You scared me. Thank God, you’re here. Where is everyone else?”
“I don’t know.” Bryan’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “In fact, I was about to call you. I heard that your engagement has been called off.”
She winced. Damn it! Had the news spread already? She hated to answer so many questions. “Yes, it has.”
“I’m sure you’re hurting right now.”
Her first thought was of Clint. He made her feel better. “Actually, I’m not.” She shrugged. “It’s a part of life. Don’t worry about me, Bryan. I’m fine.”
“Why don’t we go and have lunch together and you can tell me all about it?” He gripped her arm. “Asher and his crew haven’t come in. It’s damn unprofessional of them, if you ask me. We should cancel today’s shoot to teach them a lesson.”
She tried to yank free from his grip. “Don’t be silly. Something must have happened. Let me check with Asher.” She made a move to get her phone
from her handbag, but Bryan still hadn’t released her arm.
His grip tightened. “I’ll do it later. Why don’t we go to my place first? I’m sure you want to talk more about this. Gage was never good enough for you.” A sharp gleam showed in his eyes.
The nape of her neck tingled. A feeling of foreboding overwhelmed her. “I’m okay, Bryan.” Her breaths quickened but she fought hard stay calm and to keep her voice firm, confident. “Leave me, alone.”
“You’re an attractive woman. Even if you lose every hair on your body, I would still be attracted to you.” He pulled her as he marched towards the door. “Come on, let’s go.”
The faint fission of alarm was now a full blown avalanche of terror. “Bryan. What’s wrong with you? Let me go.”
“You’re such a hard ass, Layla. Nothing is ever good enough for you.” When he yanked her hard, she nearly fell over.
Layla screamed but he pinned a hand on her mouth and yanked her against his body. The thump of her heartbeat thrashed loudly in her ears and her blood grew cold. What did he plan to do? Was he going to force himself on her?
While she kicked and groaned, he dragged her into Abby’s room. Throwing her on the couch, he closed the door. “Now, you can’t get away.”
“What are you doing?”
“I should’ve done this a long time ago. Women like you don’t understand pretty words. You want a man to show you how it should be done.”
Was he actually planning to rape her? Had he gone mad? She lunged for the door.
He grabbed her waist and threw her on the couch once more.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Yes, I have. And you will too, when you see what I’ve got to show you.” He fiddled with the buttons of his shirt and shucked it off. “You’re going to have a great time, baby.”
She dug into her purse to get out the pepper spray but as soon as she pulled it out, he snatched it out of her hands. Layla wished she’d taken the time to learn self-defense. If she got out of this, it would be the first class she enrolled into. “I don’t want this, Bryan. Let me go right now.”
He leered at her. “I know what you really want.”
Layla screamed and screamed. She darted to the side and tried to pick up a chair, but it was too heavy. He’d lost his mind. If she didn’t do something, he would definitely rape her. Was she destined to end up like her mother? She couldn’t bear the atrocity of it. This wasn’t fair. She’d trusted this man, and he betrayed her in the worst possible way. Picking up the paperweight from Abby’s desk, she threw it at him but he dodged. It shattered against the wall. Layla ran towards the door, but he rammed into her with enough force to make her dizzy. She fell on the tiled floor and he leaned on top of her.
Grabbing her arms, he pinned her hard.
She kicked him in the groin.
With a groan, he let her go.
Heaving him off, she tried to make her way towards the door but he grabbed her hand. He stood and pushed her. She fell against the desk. Her thigh hit the table so hard that a scream of pain gushed from her lips. He fell on top of her. She was now pinned between his body and the desk. With one hand, he grabbed her wrist and with the other, he tried to yank off his trousers.
She hit him repeatedly on the head with her free hand. Layla tugged his hair hard enough to make his head shake but he refused to get off. She scratched his neck with her nails. Again and again, she screamed. Was this how it would end? Was he going to get his way with her? Could she do nothing to stop him?
Suddenly, his weight was dragged off her and he fell on the floor. “You bastard!” Asher shouted. Picking up the heavy chair, he held it over Bryan. “I’m going to kill you.”
“No, Asher, please. Don’t waste your time and energy on this fool.” She didn’t want her friend to go to jail for assaulting the guy. “Leave him.” Relief flooded through her when she realized she’d been saved just in time. If Asher didn’t come, this man would have violated her body. Layla kicked him while he lay cowering on the floor.
Asher lowered the chair. Putting his arm around Layla, he led her to the door. “I’m going to call the police.”
She picked up her purse. Her mother never reported the rape because she was scared of humiliation, but Layla was made of sterner stuff. “Let’s get out and do it. I can’t stand to see him.”
Outside, she dialed 911 and made her complaint. Asher put a chair under the door handle, so that Bryan couldn’t open it. “I got your message and was surprised that you didn’t know that the studio was closed for an emergency renovation of their fire alarm system. We canceled the shoot and informed Bryan. He was supposed to tell you.”
“He must have realized that it was the perfect opportunity to get me alone.” Layla shook her head as she pondered over the man’s diabolic nature. Did he really think that if he forced himself on her, she would remain quiet? Perhaps other women wouldn’t say anything and let bygones be bygones, but she didn’t want to give him another opportunity to do the same to someone else. If she didn’t hold him accountable, he would be free to do the same to someone who didn’t know about his true nature.
“When I got your message, I thought something must be wrong, since you didn’t know about the cancellation and rushed here to find out what was going on.”
She didn’t even want to think about what would have happened if he hadn’t turned up. “Thank you.”
When the police came, it took a lot of time and effort. Luckily, the evidence was right on hand. They bagged the skin that came out from under her fingernails. Bryan’s body was inspected for injury marks that she left on him. Asher gave his statement. It was a long process. The police offered to take her to the hospital, but she declined. More than her body, her spirit was hurt by Bryan’s actions. He was responsible for shaping her career. For years, she trusted him, and this is how he repaid her.
Once the formalities were all over and Bryan was taken to the police station, Asher offered to drop her home.
“I need to go to the hospital.”
“Why? Is everything okay?”
“I volunteer at the pediatric wing.” Layla felt the urge to be with the kids who needed her.
Asher dropped her off and she went inside. Charlotte was still in the ward. Layla spent her time playing with her. Later, she read to all the children. It was the best part of her day.
“Can we pretend to be princesses again?” demanded Charlotte.
“Sure, sweetheart.”
“Why don’t you be a princess, and I’ll be evil monster who locks you in a tower?”
Layla laughed at the girl’s description. The child sure had a creative imagination. “Alright, I’ll do it, but there’s no tower here.”
“We’ll pretend that the closet is the tower.”
“Closet?”
Charlotte pointed to a door that was opposite the nurse’s desk. “That closet. They keep supplies there.”
“I don’t think the nurse will like that.”
“We can ask her,” she said.
Layla held her hand. “Okay, let’s ask her.” Together, they marched to the nurse’s desk. Much to her surprise, Clint stood there. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she joked.
“Layla!” He kissed her on the cheek. “Hello, Charlotte.” He patted the child’s head. “Ready to go home? Your mom is coming to pick you up.”
Charlotte sighed as if that was the worst news she’d ever heard. “Do I have to? I like it here. Layla comes here and I won’t get to see her when I go home.”
Feeling touched, Layla bent to hug the girl. “I’ll ask your mom if I can come visit you.”
“But we were going to play princess, and I wanted to lock you in the closet.”
“What?” Clint stared at them, bemused. “Which closet?”
Layla explained the rules of their little game. “She wanted to find out if she can lock me in that tower.” She pointed at the closet.
Clint stared at the door. Striding over, he held it
open. “I don’t think there’s much space here and her mother must already be on her way.”
When he gazed into the closet, she saw an odd look on his face.
He marched inside.
Feeling a little surprised by his abrupt manner, she clutched the girl’s hand and led her back to the bed. “Listen, sweetheart, your mom will be here soon. Why don’t we play when I come to your house?” She convinced the girl to pack her belongings and wait for her mother while she went back to the desk. Layla opened the closet door.
Clint was inspecting a tube.
“What’s wrong?”
“These contain the old pieces that come from the machine at the treatment room.”
“But?”
He shook his head. “They’re supposed to be discarded properly and not strewn about in this haphazard manner.”
She didn’t know what to say, she still felt baffled by his behavior.
Putting down the tube, he strode out. “Let’s go.”
She followed him out of the ward. “What’s going on, Clint?”
“I’m just trying to figure out if everything is in order. There has to be another reason why my treatments are failing.”
Layla drew in a deep breath. “I’ve got to tell you something.” Now that he was a part of her life, she needed to update him. Layla definitely didn’t want him to find out things from the newspaper. She hoped that it didn’t come to that, as she didn’t want the gossip, but at the very least, she should inform him beforehand. Layla told him about Bryan’s attack.
He clasped her hand after hearing the tale. “Are you all right? You should’ve called me.”
“Asher was there and he helped me. Everything is fine, but I will have to look for a new manager now.”
He kissed her hand. “You’re a brave woman, Layla. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, thank you.” She felt touched by his concern. “I’m just going home now.”
“Can I drop you?”
“Okay, thanks.”
Together, they left the hospital. When she sat in his car, Layla felt safe, happy. She could see that he was still upset by the deaths of his patients and was conducting his own investigation.
