CHAPTER 011: THE SWELLING OF THE RING
789 Words
JADA
Dr. Renee Harris came back into the room with a bowl of ice water and medical shears.
The guest suite was quiet after Zayden calmed down. He had just tried to pull the diamond ring off my finger by force.
My hand sat in my lap, and the skin around my knuckle was already turning dark purple where he had dragged the metal.
“Keep it still, Jada,” Renee said. Her fingers were cool as she took my wrist to look at the damage. She pressed a wet cotton ball against the swollen joint. “The ring caused this swelling because you did not take it off after the fire. Your whole hand is inflamed right now.”
Zayden stood near the wardrobe with his arms crossed over his team hoodie. He looked smaller now, and his cheeks were red because he was embarrassed and angry. “She used to wear that ring every single day,” he said, looking away from his father. “She never complained about it before the accident.”
Renee did not look up from my hand, but her voice was cold. “It does not matter what she did before, Mr. Wallace. You do not have permission to grab an injured woman.”
I looked at Renee with real gratitude. It was the first time someone had defended me today without treating me like an object.
Zayden’s jaw tightened. He looked at Horace, who was standing by the door in his dark shirt, completely still. Zayden hated when people corrected him, especially in front of his father.
“We're done here,” Zayden said. He walked toward the door, then stopped to stare at me with heat in his eyes. “When you remember everything, Jada, you’ll come back to me. You always did.”
I leaned back against the chair and kept my voice level.
“Maybe I will remember,” I said, looking right at him. “And maybe I’ll finally understand why I had to lose my memory to stop begging for you.”
Zayden stared at me for a moment, then turned around and walked out of the penthouse. The elevator doors closed behind him.
~
I sat on the edge of the large guest bed the next morning. My eyes burned because I had barely slept. I did not ask for any of this, and waking up in this penthouse made me annoyed before anyone even spoke to me.
I tied my new robe around my waist and walked into the kitchen.
Jordan was standing at the counter with a tablet and black coffee. He looked like he had already been awake for hours fixing problems.
Horace sat at the far end of the kitchen island. He was reading financial reports and looked completely relaxed. He just looked at the white gauze on my arm.
“You changed the dressing wrong,” he said.
I stopped by the counter and looked at him. “Good morning to you too.”
“It will scar if you keep wrapping it that tight,” he said, turning a page.
“I’ll add that to the list of things you think I’m doing badly,” I said, picking up a coffee cup.
Jordan lowered his coffee cup, looking between us like he was trying not to laugh.
Horace did not argue with me. He looked at Jordan. “Have the nurse come up after breakfast.”
“I did not agree to a nurse,” I said.
“You also didn't agree to smoke inhalation, Jada,” Horace said. “We are all trying to adjust.”
He was dry and hard to fight because he kept being useful in an annoying way.
I poured my coffee. Behind me, Jordan’s tablet hummed. He stepped back a little, but I could still hear him speak into his earpiece.
“Yes,” Jordan said. “Mr. Wallace authorized the purchase. The relocation stipends for the tenants should go through before noon. The repair crews can enter after the fire inspector signs off.”
I stopped with the coffee pot in my hand.
Horace did not look up from his papers.
Jordan realized too late that I had heard him. He looked at Horace for help, which made me angrier.
I set the pot down and turned around. “Purchase?”
Jordan stayed quiet.
I looked right at Horace. “What did you buy?”
He closed his folder and looked at me. “The building.”
I thought I heard him wrong. “What building?”
“Your apartment building,” he said.
The kitchen went completely quiet. I was too stunned to scream. “You bought the damaged unit?”
- Writer
