Rebirth: Flirting with a Dangerous Billionaire

Should We Call It a Date?

"Let's talk about Sam". Her face is so close I can feel her warm breath. It should be exciting, but my heart is plummeting. I open the door and move away from her "inside". It was a command, not a suggestion. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when the driver extended his hand. She takes it, and with one last look, she steps out and follows me inside. I nod at the staff who greet us. They inform me that Eva and my father have yet to return. I dismiss them and close the heavy door. I can feel Mara behind me and turn to face her. She's almost vibrating with an expectant air. I disregard it as I breeze past her and up the stairs. "Cain, wait! You said we would talk? I followed you inside as you said." I pause with my back to her. It was probably better if she couldn't see my face. I momentarily considered telling her precisely who Sam was, but it was a gamble. She would either hate Sam or id awaken her obsession. Either way, she should not be thinking of him. "I need you to do something vital for me", I heard her sigh in response. I continued, "it will be hard, but if you don't, a lot of people could get hurt, including you." 

"Just say it." 

"Let this go and pretend you never heard that name." I hurry away before she can respond, but the shrill squeak of trainers on the hard floor pierce the silence, and I know she's in pursuit. Her tiny body is panting with exhaustion from following me. Still, she's gaining ground, and I remember she had taken to running. "Cain!" she sounded angry; it was thrilling. Until now, I had only ever seen her afraid. She had never chased me down like this. "Cain, you implied –" 

"I said to inside, as in go inside. I never promised I'd talk." She is still struggling to match my pace, so I walk faster. But when I hear a slap, I come to a dead stop. I strain to listen, but she's no longer with me, no breathing, no footsteps. Finally, my legs are moving before I have time to consider the worst, but as I turn the corner, I become paralysed. 

She is in a heap on the floor. I feel cold, like I'm outside in the snow wearing barely any clothing. So cold that my limbs are stiff and slightly numb. As soon as I notice she is breathing, my legs turn to jelly. I sink down beside her. I try to remember the first aid briefing Sloane made us sit through. I tap her firmly on both shoulders and call her name, there's no response. I frantically yelled for one of the staff. Someone had to be close by. I dial for assistance but become frustrated with the operator, who has endless questions and seems unwilling to help at all. Ultimately, I hand the phone over to a maid and cradle Mara's limp form in my arms. I flinch when I feel moisture, fearing she had cracked her head and was bleeding out. Then, I realised it was coming from me. She was covered in my tears. When had I begun crying? When the ambulance staff arrived, they forced me to let go. I had lost her again. The scene is so familiar as I climb into the back of the ambulance with Mara and try to find comfort in the thought that there was a lot less blood this time. 

She is rushed away from me when we arrive, and for once, I feel relieved at the separation, even I know I can't do anything for her right now. Already knowing the procedure, I take a seat, not long after my father and Eva come rushing in. "Cain! What happened? Where is she?" 

"She's being seen by the doctor. They think she feinted but wanted to admit her due to the recent head trauma." Eva held back tears and put her hand on my shoulder. "We should get you checked as well. Your pallid…almost grey." I shook her off. "I'm fine…I just…" 

"You don't have to explain, son. Finding her like that, well, it must have brought back bad memories." I felt as if my brain had been reduced to sludge but managed a small signal regardless. "How did you get here so quick?" Then I realised, of course, the staff would have called them. To my left, the door opened, and a young woman entered the room. Most likely based on the telltale scrubs, a medical student. She seemed nervous. "Are you Miss. Morgan's relatives?" 

"We are her parents. Call me Emmerson, my wife Eva and my eldest Cain," my father explains as he gestures toward me. She peeks at me and flushes lightly before looking back down at her notes, "Mara is experiencing a syncopal episode due to increased blood flow to the brain. In layman's terms, she fainted." She paused for a second. The silence prompted her to continue, "It could have been triggered by anxiety, intense emotional stress, sudden activity, hunger, alcohol or drugs. Would any of these apply?" They look at me collectively 

"She was chasing after me when she fell, and she's had a stressful day" I looked at my parents ", the first day back and everything." Eva sighed and sat down with her head in her hands. When I look up, the doctor is smiling at me. "Well, it's lucky you got her here as fast as you did. Usually, people wake up within a few minutes. Mara's in a prolonged state of unconsciousness. She may well have had a seizure without medical intervention."

"Will she wake up?" my voice was heavy and cracked as I spoke.

"She's already starting to wake up but is not yet ready for visitors." The last part was firmly directed at me as I stood up abruptly. I reluctantly sat down, and the doctor continued. "For the most part, the syncope seems unrelated to her head trauma, but id like to keep her in for a few days of observation just to be safe. I also want to monitor her just in case she has issues regulating her blood pressure. Going forward, she needs to avoid stress and take better care of herself. She's underweight, id also recommend a gradual build-up in exercise. Any questions?" Father and Eva continue to grill the doctor as I sit back and feel my heart rate slow. She was going to be okay. I had no option but to kill time until we could see her. But life goes on, and I soon found myself back at school with no intention of attending lessons or practice. Luckily, like most wealthier parents, the Morgan's have pumped plenty of donations into the school. Fortunately, this tended to make them more lenient with absence and performance. Naturally, Mara was excused on health grounds. Still, as her brother, my attendance was relaxed to enable me to properly support her recovery. 

Feeling more at ease than I have in weeks, I made my way toward the car when a familiar voice sounded behind me. "Cain! What's this about being excused from training? We have a match coming up!" Sloane, how could I have forgotten about him? Suddenly I was furious. "You! How dare you approach me after what you have done?" 

"Excuse me?" 

"I told you she wasn't ready for the truth, that she was unstable, but you couldn't help yourself, could you? Her attention feels too good. Well, now she's in hospital, and I'm not at training. You did this." He was standing with his mouth open in shock. I turn to leave, but he recovers in time. "Well…is she okay? I don't understand. She seemed fine like I was telling her about someone else?" 

"Just stay away from her! You, Sam, if I catch any of you near her, I'll..." there was an audience gathering around us. I can hear them whispering, the weight of their stares. I felt exposed. Is this how Mara had felt? I have never been so openly aggressive; I made sure I seemed like a popular, friendly guy. Across from me, Sloane looks confused and perhaps hurt? Both men and women flock to his side to offer comfort. It seems like I am the bully. Soon, he has amassed a small crowd. I use the opportunity to slip away. 

The next few days pass peacefully. Mara seems excited when I visit, so I see her every day. She hasn't mentioned Sam again. Instead, she asks questions about me. Asks me about my past what I want for the future. As we near the end of the week I realise that we have never spoken like this before. There was instant attraction, and of course, each of us knew the basic information about the other. But now I know that our understanding of each other was always superficial. I thought I was the one who understood her the most, but I saw her as my ideal rather than a person. Yet, here she was making an effort to see me, understand me. Things were changing, and I found myself considering a change. It might be time to let go of the past give her freedom. She might stay beside me without me having to control her. 

As I approach, her door is slightly ajar, our parents have resumed work, so I have come to take her home. I even brought flowers. No one should be visiting her right now. No, I just decided to relax and not be so controlling, right? My hand touches the door handle, but then I hear a familiar gravelly voice. 

"So, should we call it a date?" 

"Our first, I guess", Mara replied. I can see her smiling. She's holding flowers. I try to overlook the pain in my chest. What am I doing? I take my eyes off her for a few hours, and she's already flirting with other men. I'm a fool. Given any freedom at all, she will always betray me. I throw the flowers in a nearby bin and enter the room. "Sloane, I thought I warned you to stay away?"