HIS SWEET REVENGE

Bryan’s POV

“Camilla”, I yell, the moment I enter the mansion, taking long strides towards the kitchen after Landon took my briefcase away from me.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

There is no one in the living room as I walk past it to the kitchen. I was restless throughout the day, thinking about what Emily said and my desire to come home and talk to Camilla.

I want to know everything. I want to know if Helena was hiding the fact that she is aware of my affair with Emily. Knowing this thought of mine isn’t true will assure me that Helena died without knowing. Even if I didn’t ask for her forgiveness, it would be better if she had no idea about it.

“Camilla?” I shout again at the top of my voice. Before I can enter the kitchen, she rushes out with the white apron above her neck region.

She has a shocked expression on her face and I know it is because of how I shouted her name. Immediately after rounding up my last meeting, I left the office in a hurry. I couldn’t wait to get home to see Camilla.

“Boss?” She furrows her brows in confusion, wiping her wet hands with the napkin in her hand and with her mouth open.

I stop in my tracks and stand with arms akimbo, exhaling deeply and shaking my head to calm my nerves. My anger won’t solve anything. I just need to be calm to ask her the questions I want to ask.

I pace the place without responding to her greeting. After a while, I ask her to follow me with a sigh as I walk back to the living room.

I can hear the sound of her feet as she trudges behind me in a hurry. She must be damn curious to know what is happening and why I am this upset.

I sit on the couch as she stands in front of me.

“Boss, is everything ok?” She asks me, unable to contain her curiosity and worry.

I shake my head. “Camilla, I have some questions to ask you and I want you to be honest with me, ok?” I peer at her.

She nods, urging me to go on.

I puff out air once again, getting my nerves settled. “Few days before Helena’s death, did she meet with Emily?”

Her face turns aghast and a frown touches her lips. She is quiet as worry skates all over her face. I keep watching intensely, trying to figure out what it is she hasn’t told me for many years now.

A flash of fear crosses her face and it disappears almost immediately.

Shock runs through me and I brace myself up to hear her out as a deep sigh escapes her mouth.

“Boss…” She stops mid-way.

“Talk”, I command in impatience. I keep staring at her, waiting for her to say something that will prove my suspicion wrong but she isn’t saying anything.

Her hands tremble beside her. “Boss, she did.”

“She did?” My eyes bulge open in surprise and disbelief.

“Emily came here two days before she died.”

“Really?” Disappointment fills me up as I fear the unknown. I have been dreading this but here it is, the reality of it all is glaring at me wickedly in the face.

I adjust in my seat and ask. “Do you know what they talked about?” She is silent. “Did Emily leave her in anger or she left happily? Please, talk to me, Camilla.”

I want to tell her how crazy and eager I am to know what happened that day.

“I was walking past her room when I heard Helena’s shout. I became curious and I sort of eavesdropped”, she looks down. “I know I am not supposed to do that but I did.”

“What else did you hear?” I demand, quickly.

“Emily told her something which made her scream. When I listened carefully, about rushing into the room to know if all was well, I heard her telling ma’am that she had sex with you.”

“What?!” I explain and stand up abruptly. I have been waiting, just waiting for her to spill and tell me what I have been wanting to hear. I shiver as a small cold runs down my spine.

My body shakes with anger and my hands become sweaty. I begin to sweat profusely despite the chilly atmosphere. Anger fills me up and I clench my fist.

Emily told Helena about our little secret yet she threatened me with it each time. Emily betrayed me. And I doubt if Helena would ever forgive me.

I blink severally as reality comes crashing into me. I roar in pain and dart forward to walk past the confused and worried-looking Camilla.

“Boss?!” she screams but I am gone.

****

Celine’s POV

I ran out as soon as Camilla told me what had happened.

She said Bryan is destroying things in his room and without asking her, I race to the staircase. I am taking the stairs two at a time with a pounding heart, scared of what Bryan will do to himself.

I don’t know what happened but I am sure it Is bad. The ten months I spent here was not full of drama like the six weeks I have been here.

I have never heard Bryan scream like this before and he has never had any cause to throw things in his room.

I have a feeling it has to do with his nightmares and Helena. He hasn’t recovered from her death yet which has created an indelible gap in his heart. He hasn’t recovered from the hurt and it has made him so cold and cruel. He needs to be healed.

Since the nightmares are bad, I think Bryan needs a therapist again.

Without noticing Camilla right behind me, I pull the door open with an unknown force in me and race into his bedroom. The moment I open the door, I stop in my tracks with shock, and Camilla bumps into me from behind.

I stand with my mouth agape, watching Bryan’s disarranged room and how he is throwing things away.

The sofa is upside down, the bedsheets are off, the nightstand is far away from its usual position, the blinds are off and his shirt is ruined with blood.

He is standing in front of the dresser facing the broken mirror. Before I can say anything, he drives his fist into it again with a yell.

I scream and facepalm myself, breathing heavily and watching in disbelief. Silence falls as he turns to face Camilla and me by the doorway.

He is staring blankly with sweats all over him. His angry stare pierces the person behind me and I know instantly that he is mad at Camilla.

Why? What happened?

I can’t turn back to ask Camilla because my gaze is now fixed upon his bleeding fist. I am scared of approaching him, I feel he is not going to allow me to treat him.

“Boss?” Camilla cries with her hands clasping her mouth. I am about to summon up the courage to take a step further into the room and try to calm him down when he howls loudly and kicks the empty bottle of wine in front of him away.

Camilla and I scream and I run towards him. Before I can touch him, I realize I can’t do anything to help him without the first aid kit.

I twirl back abruptly like someone who has stepped on hot coals and hurry back to the kitchen. There is a drawer occupying a first aid kit there and I drag it open, remove the box and rush back to the room.

“Get out!” I hear Bryan shout at Camilla when I am closeby. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

What didn’t Camilla tell him? What is happening? What can this be about for Bryan to be this upset?

Camilla squats and cries in regrets. I slow down as she rises and walks past me without sparing me a glance.

With doubts, I walk into Bryan’s room and lock the door. He ignores me and walks to the bed. I move slowly towards him but he is neither raising his head nor is he looking at me.

When I am close, I drop the box and squat in front of him. I take hold of his bleeding right hand and begin to attend to it.

I pour a few drops of alcohol on it to remove the few pieces of broken pieces of the glasses in his fist as he wince in pain with his eyes shut.

After that I clean it up to stop the bleeding, careful not to hurt him.

Afterwards, I apply the antibiotic ointment to soothe the pain before wrapping a loosely gauze bandage on it.

When I am done, I am surprised that I did everything within a few minutes because I was scared he would get mad at me too and ask me out before I am done treating him. Surprisingly, he was silent all through. All he did at intervals was wince, bringing tears to my eyes.

Tearing my gaze away from him, I take out the pain relief pills and stretch them to him.

“I will go get the water,” I say rising.

“Don’t bother”, his horse voice mutters for the first time in twenty minutes that I have been here.

I am wondering why he is asking me not to bother and thinking he won’t take the pills but I am shock to see him throw the two pills in his mouth and gulp it down his throat.

My eyes widen but I am quick to recover from the shock. I stand straight and help him with his feet when he tries to lay in the bed. He is seriously injured and I hope he gets a good night’s rest.

He lays comfortably in the bed without a shirt, looking lost as he stares ahead of him calmly. He didn’t look this way a few minutes ago.

He was looking like an animal ready to devour his prey but right now, he looks vulnerable and weak.

He looks pained and hurt. He looks betrayed and battered. Lastly, he looks beaten.

Remembering that he needs to eat, I say. “Should I get you dinner?” You should eat…”

“No, I am fine”, he replies without staring at me. I gulp nervously. If he isn’t in this shape, I would have rejoiced in my mind that Bryan is civil and calm with me for the first time. But I can’t. I hate to see him this way.

He closes his eyes when he takes his hand up abruptly, wincing and groaning in pain.

“Let me help you”, I rush to help him. I take hold of the hand and put it on his side as he turns to the other side of the bed, probably trying to hide his helplessness from me.

I stand watching his back, when I can’t take it anymore as I feel my uprising tears, I turn away from him with something in mind. I need to see Camilla and ask what the problem is and why Bryan is aggressive tonight.

After that, I will think everything through and come back to watch Bryan. He is too broken to have a nightmare today. I will make sure I am beside him and watch him throughout the night.

If he becomes restless, I will be able to hurry to make him his soothing drink.

Hot chocolate drink.

With that in mind, I walk out, slamming the door shut quietly behind me and wiping my tears before they can trail down my face in succession.