The Contract

Chapter 70-The Allergy

"How long are you going to keep blaming yourself, Rosa?" I asked her gently. "It wasn’t your fault. You had no idea I was allergic to nuts."

"I should have asked," she replied, her voice tinged with guilt.

I sighed and reached for her hands. "All you did was take care of the house while I was away. You cooked for me and treated me like your own. If anything, I’m grateful—more than you know."

Her lips curved into a faint smile. "How are you feeling now?"

"A lot better. I’m sure I could leave the hospital today," I said confidently.

"So you can go drown yourself in work again?" she teased.

I chuckled softly, but before I could respond, a knock at the door drew both of our attention. Hillary walked in with her usual grace.

"Hillary."

"Good day, Rosa," Hillary greeted, a polite smile on her face.

"It seems like you no longer have plans of returning to London," Rosa quipped.

Hillary chuckled lightly. "I’m here for business, remember?"

"Of course you are," Rosa said, her tone betraying her doubt.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at their banter. Rosa glanced at me. "I’ll leave you to rest, Pearl. Don’t talk her ears off," she warned Hillary before leaving the room.

Hillary pulled up a chair beside me. "How are you now?" she asked, her eyes searching mine.

"Just like I’ve told everyone else, I’m fine now," I said with a small smile.

"Last night didn’t look fine," she countered, her voice a mixture of concern and jest. "I honestly thought you’d died. I mean, I made you that dress for dinner, not for your deathbed."

I chuckled, leaning back against the pillows. "It was just a freak accident with the nuts."

"I hate allergies," she muttered with a shake of her head.

"What about the convention today?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I had Kourtney go in my place—much to her objection. But she had to. Bethany’s holding down the office, and with the Baxters' wedding tomorrow, we can’t afford to waste any time."

"Your health comes first," she said firmly. "I could always help out at the office, you know."

"Thank you, but I’ll be out of here soon," I assured her.

"Where’s Travis, anyway? The knight in shining armor? Thanks to his quick thinking, you got here on time before any complications," she said with a knowing smile.

I gave her a half-hearted one in return.

"Okay, I’ve got to make sure Veronica’s dress is in perfect order and ready to be delivered," she said, rising to her feet.

"Please do," I replied with a nod.

"Get some rest," she said as she walked out.

Once the door clicked shut, I exhaled deeply and fell back against the bed. The clock on the wall caught my eye—it was past 11 a.m.

As everyone knows by now, I had an allergic reaction last night because of the nuts in the dinner. Either that, or I would have died from the anger boiling inside me.

I don’t even want to think about last night. I just want to get out of this damn bed and back to work.

It wasn’t that serious, but my family blew it out of proportion—as they always do—and now, here I am, stuck in a hospital bed.