He stepped closer, trying to bridge the negligible distance between them. "...Will you comfort me?"
Valerie stumbled back when he tilted his head toward her. Her hand instinctively pressed against his sculpted chest, feeling his abs.
She immediately snatched it back. "H-Hospital! I'll take you to a hospital."
He hummed like he was considering it, his eyes lingering between her deep cleavage and pouty lips.
She immediately covered it with her hand.
He looked up at her blushing face, avoiding his gaze, and smirked again. "Forget it then."
Letting her go, he turned for the closet, but she caught his sleeve, hesitantly this time. "...Ar-Are you going to a hospital? Should I come with you?"
Azrael glanced at her two fingers pinching his sleeve cautiously from three feet away. She quickly let go, burned by the intensity of his gaze.
He turned around. "I'm going to work."
"You just came back from work. You're injured, but you're going back?" she asked in disbelief.
Taking a deep breath, he took off his shirt.
She quickly averted her eyes as he put on another black shirt from the spare closet.
"I have to. The dropped stock values these days are making some dusty assholes twitch on the board." His voice was dry as he adjusted his cufflinks.
He checked his watch, clicking his tongue. "I'll see you once it's sorted."
She was momentarily too stunned by his dirty language to react.
Coming to her senses, she hurriedly rushed after him only to collide with a blur of small limbs.
The impact sent Little Roe tumbling backward onto his bottom.
"Baby!"
His tiny lips wobbled, his eyes turning misty before silent tears fell.
Valerie scooped him up at once.
Her little baby buried his face into her shoulder, soaking her blouse with silent tears. Her hand stroked circles down his back.
By the time Little Roe's tears had subsided into soft sniffles, Azrael had long since left.
In the end, she decided to text him.
The rest of her evening was spent trying to get anything out of her uncle, but Azrael had brainwashed him with God-knows-what. He refused to say a word except that she had nothing to worry about.
Despite what everyone kept telling her, she felt she would soon have a lot to worry about.
...
Across the city, the boardroom was suffocatingly cold.
For four straight hours, Azrael had tolerated numbers, projections, objections, and the thinly veiled attempts of certain board members to leverage the sudden market fluctuations caused by his broken engagement and merger with the White Corporation.
Azrael remained seated till the last executive left.
Loosening his tie, he reached into his pocket for his phone. Scrolling through the messages, his eyes landed on a particular name.
[Did you go to the hospital?]
[When are you coming home? You need to rest more.]
For several long moments, he stared at the seemingly simple words.
Home...?
When had he last been home in his pristine mansion?
His thumb hovered over the screen when Luka entered the meeting room with a stack of files.
"Sir, these need urgent approval."
"Send them to my office."
He slipped the phone back into his pocket, getting back to work.
....
Neither Azrael nor a reply came back the following week.
At first, Valerie thought of calling, but she didn't need to be told what he was up to. Her new husband was everywhere in the news and on social media, going around Hawthorne Corporation subsidiaries.
She felt so bad for him that she had Valentina send him three meals a day.
Her aunt and uncle sent all their stuff the next day. She spent days sorting through it and finally converting a guest room into her mini studio.
Instead of storing her treasured art collection of her favorite artist like she had at Uncle and Auntie's place, she put all of it on display.
Very soon, the whole place had their warm traces everywhere.
.....
Every afternoon before lunch, Valerie would pack a small basket with snacks, and they would head to the bounce house.
She had been meaning to finalize a kindergarten for him soon. She had spent the morning scrolling through different options, but eventually decided she would discuss it with her family over the weekend.
Valerie crouched beside the basket, carefully loading foam darts into the toy gun.
"I'm gonna count to ten. After that, I will hunt. I don't care whether you've taken cover or not!" she warned.
Little Roe nodded like a serious soldier, running into the bounce house with his tiny dart gun.
"One… Two..."
The pair went on playing, unaware of the eyes watching them.