Unlocking my Boss’s Heart (Romance in Sweet Comedy #4)

27. Celia

Chapter twenty-seven

Celia

I woke up with a dry throat and a headache that could kill a bear. The fluorescent light overhead was too bright, hurting my eyes. I didn’t need to look around to know I was in a hospital. The air smelled of antiseptic, and the constant beeping of machines that monitored my vitals surrounded me. A dull ache throbbed in my elbow where an IV needle was inserted.

I sighed, grasping the bed rails to pull myself up.

Immediately, a hand covered mine. “Celia?”

My head snapped to the side, a move I instantly regretted as it made my head spin. I squinted and fell back on the pillows. “Anton? Could you turn off the lights?”

A chair squeaked as he stood and crossed the room to turn off the light switch. He returned to my side.

“Is that better?”

I opened my eyes hesitantly. The room was darkened enough to tolerate looking in his direction now. “Yes. Thank you.”

Outside the window, the sky was dark. I must not have been here for very long since it was still night. I looked back at Anton and noticed Maddison behind him, sitting in a chair in the far corner, watching us with wide eyes.

“How long have I been sleeping?” I croaked.

Anton held a cup with a straw in front of me, and I took a drink of the cool water.

“The entire day,” Maddison replied, coming to the bedside. “You went into anaphylactic shock after eating that tofu.”

“I did?!”

“You didn’t know you were allergic to soy?” Anton asked, surprised.

“I’ve never had soy anything. Dad doesn’t like it.”

“Well, neither does your body,” Anton said. He tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear, and my body instantly awakened to his touch.

“The doctors said you’d sleep a lot, and you did,” Maddison continued.

“What happened?”

“You were in pain and agitated when you arrived, and, well, you’ll see when you look in the mirror—and you were covered in hives. They had to give you an EpiPen shot and some medication to calm you down, and they’ve got you on fluids to rehydrate you.” She leaned down and hugged me. “I’m just glad to see you awake and breathing.”

I dropped my head back onto the pillow. “How can something that tasted so good cause so much pain? I guess I won’t be going back to the food truck for tofu, after all.”

“No you won’t.” Anton squeezed my hand. “I echo Maddison’s sentiment—it’s a big relief to have you awake.”

“Phew!” Maddison exclaimed. “Cel, do you think you’ll be okay with Anton if I leave?”

“Yeah,” I answered.

She came and kissed my cheek. “Thanks Hun, I have a long day tomorrow, ending with a rehearsal.” Then she looked at Anton. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Of course,” he answered.

She headed for the door.

Anton remained beside me the rest of the night. I wanted him to lie in bed with me and just hold me, I would love to sleep in his embrace. But I contented myself with him holding my hand. We chatted about the most random things. A doctor came in and told us that I would be going home in the morning but would still need a few more days to rest and regain my strength. Relief washed over me—I would be out of the hospital soon. I’d never been hospitalized before and hearing all that had unfolded, this event felt quite scary. Getting out of here couldn’t come soon enough.

When it was time for me to be discharged from the hospital the following day, I refused to ride to the exit in a wheelchair. When Maddison left me with Anton, I didn’t know he was so skilled. A little too skilled in his role of taking care of me. He ignored my opinions.

“Does it look like I can’t walk?” I narrowed my eyes at him as I packed up the things Maddison brought for me.

“You look beautiful. But you’re still weak, Celia.”

“Don’t try to sweeten me up with compliments that you know aren’t true. I saw my face in the mirror, and I’m all puffy….”

He reached for me, taking both my hands in his, stopping my task.

“Hey….” He searched my gaze, and I looked at him through still-swollen eyelids “You look beautiful. All the swelling will go down completely in a few days as the doctor said.”

I leaned my forehead on his chest. “Thank you for saying that. I feel like wearing large eyeglasses and a beanie hat so that no one will recognize me.”

He rested his chin above my head, and I could feel the movement of his mouth as he spoke. “You still can, though the puffiness is so much less than two days ago.”

I pushed off him, grabbed the tiny “Get Better” teddy bear he’d bought at the hospital gift shop, and stuffed it into my bag.

Anton stood looking out the window. Even dressed casually, he looked handsome and sophisticated. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that we were dating.

“About your swollen lips, though,” he said, turning to face me.

“What about them?”

“You know women pay a lot of money for their lips to look like that…” he said, barely holding back laughter.

I knew he was teasing me. I took the teddy bear from my bag and threw it at him. He caught it, laughing fully.

I laughed, too.

Anton was turning out to be the best at making me feel lighthearted in my less glamorous moments. And I’d almost been foolish enough to let him go. I mentally smacked myself, remembering how I was ready to throw in the towel just a few days ago.

There were still obstacles. When people found out I was dating the boss, the talks would be a huge challenge to overcome in such close proximity as the firm. I didn’t know how I would handle that, but it was worth it to have Anton. If the atmosphere in the office ended up being too uncomfortable for me to handle, I could always find a job at another law firm.

“I bet you’re still trying to think of a way to get out of using the wheelchair.” Anton tilted his head at me.

I chuckled, zipping up the bag. “You lost that bet; I plan on walking out of here. Two days in bed shouldn’t make me an invalid.”

“Let’s get out of here, then.” He grabbed my bag and lent me his arm for support. “Hold onto me, and if you’re unsteady on your feet, I’m carrying you to my car, no matter how much you protest.”

My mouth dropped open, and I burst out laughing. “I'll be fine.”

Once we stepped out, the sun was pleasantly warm against my skin compared to the cold inside the hospital. We were crossing the parking lot to reach Anton’s car when we heard an argument between a woman and a man. I didn’t give it any attention, but Anton abruptly stopped.

“That sounds like Reeva,” he muttered, displeased.

I craned my head to look to the far left of the parking lot where the voices were coming from, and sure enough, I recognized Reeva’s blonde profile exchanging words with a man in a white doctor's coat.

I tugged at Anton’s shirt so we could leave. He didn’t budged.

His eyebrows furrowed, he stiffened, and the muscle at his temple popped out as his jaw clenched. I knew to keep my peace.

“…and I didn't expect you to be so incompetent, so if you want to blame anyone, blame yourself!” Reeva was saying.

“Miss? Miss!” The man held his hand up to silence her, but she did not care. Their voices echoed.

Finally, Reeva fell silent, clutching her bag to her chest.

Even from where we stood, it was clear that the man was angry. Every breath made his chest heave with rage, and he held his hands clenched in fists at his sides. Yet, Reeva seemed to brush it off, as if there was nothing the doctor could do to her.

“This has gotten too close to home. I can assure you, if you don’t clean up this mess, I’m going to lose my job. And if I go down, I’ll bring you right along with me.”

Anton started walking, dragging me with him toward his car. “Let’s go.”

He was silent on the drive home.

I sat in the passenger seat, trying to form reassuring words that would ease some of his anger. It was clear he was reliving Reeva’s betrayal.

I took his hands and squeezed gently. “You’re a good man, Anton. It’s not your fault Reeva took advantage of that.”

His upper lip twitched, but he didn’t reply. He squeezed my fingers instead.

After he parked in front of Maddison’s building, he said, “Odd as it sounds, at one point, I had started to get used to the idea of being a father.”

“Were you?” I asked.

I thought from our earlier conversations that he was averse to getting married. Maybe he didn’t have the same ideals about being married before he had kids. The thought made me uncomfortable, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Yeah, I was. But co-parenting with Reeva would have been a nightmare. And I want to start a family with someone special. Someone like you.”

He took me in his arms, and my heart began to hammer.

What was he saying?

“Does this mean I’m special?” I asked, my voice a bit quaky.

“You’re more than special.”

I hesitated. “I thought you had a bad view of marriage and children and all that.”

He sighed. “I suppose I’ve got some explaining to do. You know about my parents’ marriage. You had me pegged that night in the rain. I realized I’ve been keeping myself from having a good relationship with someone because I was so afraid I would end up in a terrible marriage, like my parents’ was.”

“It doesn’t seem like that anymore,” I said softly.

“It’s not. They’re actually more in love now than they ever pretended to be back then.” He took a steadying breath. “The bottom line is, I want to move past all that. Will you help me, Celia?”

“What are you asking me, Anton?”

He lowered his head and touched his lips to mine ever so gently. “You’ve already done so much. You’ve been patient with me as I navigate this whole new world of being vulnerable. I know I can trust you. And I hope you can do the same with me. I’ve never been good at sharing my emotions.”

“I don’t think most guys are. And that’s okay. But I want to be someone you can trust, Anton. Like you said, we can take it slow and figure this thing out.”

This moment was pivotal, a turning point in our relationship. The stakes felt incredibly high, but for the first time, I wasn’t running away from them. A rush of warmth and tenderness swelled my heart. Anton trusting me enough to talk about his vulnerability opened our connection in a heart-melting way. A bond had just been established, and I wanted to keep it.