As early as 7am, the following day, Victor had arrived home. He hurried into the mansion and Genevieve was coming down the stairs.
"Oh, s-Victor". She wanted to make the mistake of referring to him as her son again but she quickly corrected herself.
"It's so nice to have you back. Your wife has been treating us like trash since the day you left and punishing us. She doesn't even care about how we are living…". As she spoke Victor paid little or no attention to her. He kept running up the stairs while Genevieve ran behind him.
Once he got to his and Zyra's room, he flung the door open and ran to her on the bed. She was shivering and sweating under the blanket. The fever had spread through her body. Her eyes were still shut. Victor could feel the heat from her body through the blanket. He placed his palm on her neck gently to check her temperature.
As she felt his touch, she struggled to turn around and open her eyes. She was happy to see her husband but she couldn't even voice it because she was too weak.
"I'm sorry I failed you". He spoke emotionally as he held onto her shivering palm. Her temperature was burning hot. She tried to shake her head to assure Victor that he didn't fail her but her body didn't let her.
"The doctor is on his way, he'll be here soon, let me get you water and ask Joey to make you broth". He spoke, looking over to the bedside table, but the jug wasn't there. She had accidentally knocked it over last night as she struggled to have a drink and it shattered to the ground. The glass pieces were still lying on the floor.
He stood up from the bed where he had sat beside her and turned to leave. Genevieve stood there like a statue.
"You were busy complaining about how my wife doesn't care about you guys right? Did you care about her?". Victor was pissed that the woman was still in his presence.
Genevieve stood mute staring into thin air as Victor walked past her to get his wife water.
Before long, the doctor had arrived to check on her. He ran a few tests, administered drugs, and diet plans before leaving her to rest, promising to send a nurse. Zyra slept almost throughout the day, and Victor sat by her side not removing his eyes from her even once. He held her palm like one holding onto treasure, his hands gentle and firm. Indeed, he was holding on to treasure- Zyra, his treasure, he could never replace.
He shut the doors and gave orders to the staff that no one could come in except the nurse and Joey. He didn't want any disturbance around her while she slept.
As she struggled to keep her eyes open, Victor pushed away her damp strands of hair from her face so he could look clearly at his wife.
"You shouldn't stare at me. I look terrible". She managed to speak in low whispers but Victor picked every word.
Staring into her eyes, he spoke.
"There has never been a time, Mrs Hale isn't beautiful in my eyes". His fingers continued to run through her hair as he sat by her on the bed, resting his back against the bed frame. The fierce and ever-feared Mr Hale was so calm and gentle around his wife, the only person who gets to see this part of him.
She smiled at the words.
"You should be saving your business".
"To hell with the business. I'm exactly where I should be, every other thing can wait".
She looked disheartened, silently blaming herself for making him leave his work to tend to her.
"Here, look what I got you". He picked up a small bouquet of water lilies, lying on the table beside them, and handed it to her.
She smiled as she took in the scent of the lilies, it was her favorite flower. Her mom used to always place one in her hair whenever they went to the river together as a kid, and since then, she's had a liking for it.
"Thanks my love". She spoke while playing with the petals of the flower.
Victor picked out a single flower from the bouquet and placed it by the side of her ears. He gave her gentle kisses on her cheeks and on her forehead.
"You don't know how very special you are to me, my love. I'd give up my whole empire, the whole world, and even my life to make sure you're fine. I can't function without you Zy. You're my all and I'll fight the world to keep you". He spoke every word deep from his heart, and as he spoke, they sent messages directly to her own heart.
Tears welled up in her eyes she didn't know how she had become so lucky to have Victor as hers forever. As the teardrop dared to roll down her cheek, Victor's thumb gracefully wiped it off.
"Don't cry, my love. You're mine today, tomorrow, and forever. I'll always be this close and even closer as we grow old together".
Zyra struggled to sit up, and he was swift, moving his arm to guard her. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest, her favourite spot and her safe space. The couple remained in each other's arms until the nurse arrived with Joey following behind her, a bowl of steaming hot soup in her hand.
After having the soup and taking her medication for the night with the help of the nurse, he held her close and read to her on her request until she fell asleep. Victor promised to be by her while she slept and still be by her when she woke up and he kept to his words.
By morning, Victor woke up feeling pains in his neck because of the position he had slept in, but that was the list of his problems. His wife's fever had not gone down and he was not himself.
He had woken up with the wrong form of silence, not the soft hush that follows a long night, but the silence of things left undone. His phone buzzed, calls, texts, emails, and whatnot, but he wasn't shaken by that. His wife was his only priority right now.
He stepped out of his room, rage clearly embroidered on his face. Joey walked up to him and greeted him. Without even replying to her greetings first, he ordered.
"Inform the kitchen. I don't want anything served except clear broth and warm towels. Get them to my room now".
"Y-Yes sir".
"Where is the nurse?".
"She hasn't arrived yet, sir".
Victor looked at his watch and back at Joey his eyes darker.
"Tell her she's fired. Call the doctor and tell him to get me another nurse, one accountable and punctual in the next 15 minutes".
"Yes sir". Joey trembled in fear she had never seen her boss this vicious in a long time. But whenever it was matters involving his wife and her safety he was a whole different person.
Victor walked out of Joey's presence, and she immediately ran to carry out the job her boss had sent her.
Genevieve had overheard Victor speaking to Joey.
"So are we all going to eat that stale food because she's sick? I'm going to talk to Victor".
"Mom". Hazel quickly held her mother back. "Do you want to get yourself killed? Did you look closely at Mr Hale just now? He could snap the neck of anyone who gets on his nerves today".
"Aunty Hazel is right, I think, if we want to have something else for breakfast, we'd better make it ourselves". Sofie supports Hazel.
Genevieve thought for a while and decided not to speak to Victor. That was the best decision she had made in her entire life.