C9 Entangles

"Miss Kennedy, in my office now!"

Ashton ordered through the telephone and Thea practically ran to her boss's office.

"Yes, Mr Ryder, you sent for me?" She said immediately. She stood before him. He raised his head from the paper he was holding in his hands.

"What says the time, Miss Kennedy?" He asked.

"I'm afraid I don't have a watch with me sir," she said.

Relaxing back on his chair at her words, he said, "How is it possible that my own private secretary doesn't even have a watch to call her own."

"Well, I had one before but it stopped working a long time ago and I didn't have the time to get it done," she told me.

"Not that I care about your watch replacement, Miss Kennedy, but you always need to give me my coffee. I usually send

Miss Weston, but she has a lot of work at hand. Besides, it's your responsibility, isn't it?"

"Yes sir, I'll go get your coffee," she said without hesitation.

Her eyes lingered on him longer than intended. He raised a brow at her in curiosity. It was then she recollected herself and found her way out of the office, leaving him to continue flipping through his documents.

After some time, he found himself glaring at where she formally stood in thoughts. It was getting harder for him every day to keep himself away from her, but he had to do it for his sake and probably his mother's.

---

"Get me a glass of water dear," the young maid started off to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Mrs. Ryder crossed her right leg over the other.

"Is my husband home yet?" She asked another servant who stood besides her.

"He returned home late last night, ma'am, and left early this morning." She raised a brow in surprise before blinking it away to accept the glass of water presented to her.

"And did he have something to eat while he was home?" The other maid shook her head. Mrs Ryder waved her hands, dismissing the two maids and they scurried off. She twirled the cup in her hand gently before standing and walking to the window wallowing in her thoughts.

Folding her hands, she watched the environment silently.

---

"When will you see your mother again, Thea? She's been asking for you non-stop."

Thea sighed. "I will see her again, doctor."

"Could you give me a specific date you'll come so she can be at ease?" He said.

"Em...tell her I'll be there by weekend," she swallowed.

"Weekend? Are you sure you'll be here? The last thing you'll want to do is make her feel disappointed."

"I will be there, doctor," she said.

"That's great, but there's something I want to discuss with you."

She asked, "Well what is it, doctor?"

"It's about your mother. Her health isn't improving, unfortunately. It's deteriorating Thea." The doctor said to her.

She gasped involuntarily. "What are you trying to say, doctor, can-can you make me understand better?"

He sighed. "Your mother will not be able to make it. It's cancer we are talking about and her condition isn't minor anymore."

Thea paled instantly and he continued. "We just need to prepare for the worse but she shouldn't know about it at all, she's already been through enough."

Thea nodded frantically in agreement. "Okay," she said with the little courage she could muster.

"That'll be all, goodbye Thea." He said before hanging up.

She held the phone to her chest tightly. Everyone was slowly disappearing from her life. What crime had she committed to deserve this loneliness?

She turned on the tap of the restroom to splash water on her face, calming herself. Her eyes were already red and swollen with tears. She blinked them away, trying her best to compose herself. She walked out of the restroom after making sure that her appearance was almost normal.

---

Thea opened the door with the cup of coffee in her hands. Shutting the door behind her, she made a turn to walk further. As least she tried to, because one minute she was standing upright and the next, she found herself crashing into the floor with the cup of coffee spilling all over her.

"Thea!" Ashton didn't know when he left whatever file he was holding on his table and hurriedly went to her.

"My goodness, I'm so sorry," she said. "I don't know what's wrong with me today. I'm sorry I'll clean this up." She told him, her voice failing to look as bold as she planned it to be.

He stilled for sometime then said, "Look at me Thea," she shook her head.

"Look at me, Miss Kennedy!" She stopped picking up the pieces of the broken cup immediately. She looked at him and staring back at him were red and fluffy eyes.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He was the one person that promised himself never to see her in tears. What could have caused this distress? His hands itched to caress her face but he decided against it. "Thea are you alright?" He tried.

She continued picking the fractions without hesitation. "I'm fine, don't worry about me, I wasn't concentrating, I'm sorry."

He said, "Thea, I know you are not fine,"

"Just leave me- ouch!" She flinched as she was pricked with a glass. He slowly squatted at her level and took her hands in his to get a proper look. She let him hold her absent-mindedly, remembering the feeling of his hands on hers.

He sighed. "You are always clumsy when you are worried," he told her.

He took his handkerchief from his inner pocket and held it to her bleeding hand after ensuring that there were no particles lingering there.

"I'm-"

"Be quiet," he simply said. Her eyes darted at him immediately, watching as he wrapped the piece of cloth around her fingers. Soon, his eyes met hers and stayed there. Her eyes mirrored her feelings of longing as she stared into his.

He always knew this look and it took him a lot to not mirror the same. In the end, he had learned to never show what he felt, unlike her. He didn't even think they would meet again. After the circumstances that they parted ways, the last thing he knew was whether they would meet again.

Staring at her, he felt she was suffering a lot more than he expected. She looked thinner than before, her once red lips were now a little pale. He wondered if she even ate well.

"Thea-" she quickly snatched her hands from his grip. Clearing her throat, she went back to finish gathering the broken pieces. Putting them together, she held the pieces together on the unbroken side of the cup and stood. He stood along with her slowly and watched as she slipped out of his presence in a hurry.