Chapter 5 Come Back

CHRISTIAN

Christian didn't follow them because he knew Tyler would cry again and wouldn't let Sheena leave. He busied himself at work but found himself zoning out often.

He had been feeling empty for more than five years. He was in love with Sofia Anderson but she was James Anderson's girlfriend and they got married. He always knew Sofia could never be his. Since then, his life always felt empty.

When Sheena blamed him for something he didn't do intentionally, it hit him hard. But he had gotten used to these feelings of angst, guilt, loneliness and lack of love in his life. He had been drowning himself in work to avoid thinking about his life.

He had already moved on from Sofia, but the feeling of loneliness hit him hard today when he watched Sheena and Tyler walking away from him.

He was so distracted that by afternoon, he decided he couldn't work anymore and took a break until the next morning. He couldn't stay inside his room alone.

The loneliness which had always welcomed him with open arms, was haunting him today.

He changed into a casual black shirt and black jeans before walking out of the hotel room. He walked for some time and arrived at the Tower Bridge.

While watching people, the river and birds, he suddenly remembered something and dialled James' number.

"Hello Christian," James answered in a gloomy voice.

"Hello. Why are you sounding so low? What happened to Aunt Everley?" Christian asked.

James sighed and answered,

"Blood cancer, 4th stage. Just a few months ago, she was enjoying vacation with Dad and Sofia's parents. I still can't believe the reports." His voice choked and Christian's eyebrows shot up.

"What? So sorry. When did this happen?"

"She hasn't been feeling well for a few weeks. She had lost so much weight and I and Sofia have been asking her to come to the hospital with us for a check up but she was so adamant. Just a few days ago, Dad said she had been getting bruises every day and that alerted us. The next day when we were at the mansion to take her to the hospital, she was running a high fever.

So this time she didn't object and we went for a check-up. Now this is the result. The doctor said she doesn't have much time left. They can delay it by chemotherapy but can't stop it."

"What about bone marrow transplant?" Christian asked.

"I am ready to donate if it matches but the doctor said he can't guarantee that her body will accept it. There is a 50-50 percent chance of survival and Mom refused to to do it. She says she doesn't want me to go through the pain, which is just absurd. She is in more pain. Then she says she wants to get Sheena married before she dies. So she is not ready for the transplant until Sheena gets married."

Christian's heart skipped a beat, hearing about Sheena's marriage but he again ignored it.

James asked him how he knew about it and Christian told him everything that had happened in 3 days.

They ended the call and he dialled Cyrus' number while his heart was in turmoil.

"Yes, bro!" Cyrus answered.

"Where are you?" Christian asked immediately.

"I am in London! Sorry bro! I needed a vacation."

"What? Why? I am not at home. You should handle everything in my absence. Did you forget that you are the CEO? How can you go on a vacation?" Christian sounded annoyed.

"I am managing everything from here too. Don't worry."

"Why are you here? And if you are here, then why didn't you meet me?"

"I was thinking about meeting you tomorrow, okay? Now please calm down. Everything is fine."

"Are you dating someone here and planning to dump later?"

Cyrus laughed loudly and answered,

"Oh come on, bro! I don't date. I do one-night stands and my women know this. So don't worry."

Rage was building up inside Christian and he ended the call before he could explode on Cyrus. He punched the railing and was about to throw his phone away but stopped at the last minute.

"Why is he in contact with Sheena? What are they doing? I hope you are not treating Sheena like your other women or I'll forget that you are my younger brother," he muttered under his breath with gritted teeth and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

He watched the sunset from the tower bridge and took a taxi to his mansion where the orphanage was relocated temporarily.

SHEENA

As soon as Sheena entered the lift, Tyler tugged her hand.

"Yes, baby! Do you want something?" she asked sweetly and he replied,

"Chischen!"

Sheena let out a long sigh and picked him up in her arms.

"Don't you like me?"

"Yes. I like you," he replied in a cute voice.

"Then come stay at my house. Christian is a stranger for me, baby. And do you know that we shouldn't talk to strangers?" she asked and he nodded but his face dropped.

"Don't be sad, baby. He doesn't live here. He lives very far away and has to go to his Mommy and Daddy. But I live here. So you have to stay with me," she explained to him patiently and he stared at her with a sad face but stayed quiet.

Sheena went directly to the cafe with Tyler after leaving the Blue Diamond Hotel.

"Hey, Shaila! Finally. I was waiting for all the juicy details," a brunette with freckles on her cheekbones exclaimed and her eyes went to Tyler.

"What?" Sheena asked with a frown.

"Oh please. Don't play dumb with me. I saw that man. Wow! What a sexy man. He is literally a Greek god and you stayed with him for 2 days and 3 nights. Don't tell me nothing happened. I never saw you going on dates, let alone getting laid. I am sure your body must be craving for it," she kept talking and Sheena's face morphed into confusion to a disgusting look.

"Shut up Rose! I was there for this little angel and no, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Okay!"

Rose was super disappointed knowing that Sheena didn't get laid with the hot Greek god but Sheena distracted her with Tyler. She told her everything that had happened that evening.

After everything settled down and Tyler slept in the afternoon, she sat in her office, thinking about her Mom's condition and her request.

Her phone's ringing got her out of her trance and she saw James' caller ID flashing on the screen.

"Yes, James!"

"What did you think about coming home? Are you going to ignore Mom's request even in this situation?"

"James. I don't want to. I am so worried for her but please understand. I don...."

"Just shut up Sheena. Shut up. Since when you have become this self-centred? Everyone has been tolerating your behaviour for five years. Everyone is trying to understand your situation and we let you be on your own to help you heal. It's been five fucking years. How much more time do you need? Don't your family matter anything to you?

You keep expecting everyone to understand you. But do you ever try to understand others? Now that Mom might not be with us anymore in a few months, you still don't care about her feelings and wishes. Then how can you expect us to care about your feelings?"

"James!" she tried to say something but her brother cut her off.

"No! Listen to me. You are coming back before the end of this week and that's final. We have been accommodating your whims for far too long. Now it's your turn and it's my order. If you don't come this week, I'll go and bring you with me forcefully. And you know very well I can find you within an hour if I want to, wherever you are. This time, even Sofia won't be able to stop me. So don't try to be smart. See you at home." James ended the call and Sheena put the phone down loudly, waking Tyler up from sleep.

Sheena ran her fingers through her hair and took a few calming breaths before taking Tyler in her arms and left for Christian's mansion.

"Sorry baby! I startled you. I think you have to stay at the orphanage now. I won't be here anymore," she whispered to him while her eyes watered but Tyler didn't hear as he was in half asleep state.

............

At Christian's Mansion

"Good evening, Mr Adams," Agatha greeted Christian cheerfully.

He smiled and greeted her back.

"I was just walking around so thought I should check here. How is everyone settling?" he asked as he took a seat on a chair opposite her in the mansion's study.

"Everything is perfect. We can't thank you enough for this help. Kids are loving your mansion.The police have permitted us to start reconstruction now."

"Okay. That's good. I'll ask my secretary to coordinate and we'll start construction in 2 days."

"Thank you, Mr Adams. You are an angel."

He smiled and shook his head.

"It's nothing. Our company keeps aside a huge sum for charity every year. So I am not doing anything out of the box or out of my pocket."

They were talking when the sound of clicking heels fell on their ears. Christian turned his head to the door and saw Sheena walking in with Tyler.

"Chischen!" Tyler shouted excitedly and wriggled in her arms to get down.

She let him down and Tyler rushed to Christian, who got up and met him midway before picking him up in the air. Tyler giggled and both of them looked happy with each other.

Sheena took a seat on the other chair beside Christian's and Christian too came back to sit with Tyler on his lap.

Agatha had a wide smile on her lips as she imagined a happy family in the three of them.

But she kept quiet and turned her attention to Sheena.

"It's good that you are here. You are managing our finances, so I think you should handle the donation money that he is giving us for the orphanage reconstruction." Sheena's face fell and Christian noticed it.

"Sorry Agatha. I won't be able to work here anymore."

"Why? What happened? Do you need money? We can give you some salary if you need. It won't be much but we can manage something," Agatha was talking fast as she was panicked by the news.

"No! That's not the reason. Actually, I have to leave London and go home. I am not planning to stay there forever but it's uncertain how much time I'll have to stay there. My Mom is not well and she wants to see me," Sheena said and Agatha's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh dear! I am so sorry. It's okay. If you decide to come back ever, then we are always available for you. Okay?"

"Sure. Thank you. But right now I am worried about Tyler. He'll have to stay here from now on. He shouldn't get too attached to me."

Tyler heard Sheena and his face fell. Suddenly he started crying loudly. Everyone got busy in pacifying him but he wasn't ready to listen.

Christian and Sheena took him outside to calm him down. While walking around the garden, Tyler vomited everything he had in lunch, over Christian's shirt.

Sheena put her hands over her mouth in shock while Christian didn't seem to bother at all.

"I don't think he'll stay here without you or me," Christian said while Sheena was trying to wipe his shirt with a napkin.

They were sitting on a bench in the garden while Tyler was drinking water.

Sheena was lost in deep thought when Christian asked,

"What are you thinking?"

She took a glance at his face before looking down to clean his shirt. He held her hand and she looked at him.

"Leave it. I'll do it later. Tell me what are you thinking," Christian asked.

"I don't know what to do. I could have adopted him but I can't reveal my identity to anyone. No one should know who I am or they can be in danger," she replied and their eyes met.

They stared at each other and felt a pull. Christian had a sudden urge to kiss her but he restrained himself. They averted their eyes, ignoring their feelings.

"I can adopt him," Christian blurted out.