𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘿𝙪𝙤 ; 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙗𝙮 [ BOOK 2 ]

TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR; WANDERING HANDS

They say that behind every successful man is a strong woman who held it all together, but no matter her strength, Caroline wasn't sure whether or not she'd be able to revive her husband from the depths of his own warped mind that had swept him under its surface, drowning him in daily depression. 

In a world of endemic sickness, where cruelty is the cause and love the antidote, the patients declare themselves doctors and seal the fate of the world. Thomas Shelby was beyond curable, that much was for certain. But, one one cold night, she promised that no matter, she'd kiss his wounds tenderly and hold him close, for she couldn't save him when she needed to be saved too.

Thomas was sick, perhaps more ill than she was. It seemed to be impossible to be trapped within your own head, shackled to chains with every dreary thought, but when she looked into his eyes, she swore she saw the silhouette of the man she fell in love with, tied and bound by tears. But, he had a reason to get up every morning, the very similar to Caroline's; their children.

She strode into the meeting room like a lioness on the prowl - hungry for revenge - craving the metallic twang of enemy blood. Whilst the grey vapour escaped her lips from a brief draw of a cigarette, her narrow eyes glared at Linda from behind her black framed sunglasses. Throughout the course of two years, she despised the woman all the more. Some saint she was, Caroline snorted to herself before she sat down beside Polly.

"The countryside air has done you the world of good." Polly smirked. "You've put more meat on those skinny bones of yours."

Caroline returned the jest, a playful shimmer in her eye as she slid the sunglasses off her face and onto the table. "And you look much younger now that you're getting more meat between your bones."

Arthur took Linda's throat clear of approval as his cue to speak. "Yesterday, as you all know, there was a fucking terrible - there was a terrible disaster. Hmm? It wasn't just for us, it was for the whole world. Happened in New York, that's where it happened, and it slowly spread to London."

Caroline locked eyes with Ada, both women sighing in boredom as Arthur continued. "And then to, er, fucking Hong Kong, hmm? Whole thing - whole thing went up. Well, actually, the whole thing went down, but - we wasn't the only ones hurt by this. Whole world was hurt."

"Get to the fucking point, Arthur." Caroline sneered impatiently. "I don't have all day."

Polly agreed. "Shouldn't we just wait for Thomas?"

Linda folded her arms and replied with distaste. "Polly, Arthur's now the chairman of the board."

Leon, an adviser, intervened reluctantly. "Er, mister Chairman, perhaps while we wait for Thomas, I might lighten the gloom and express - as a relatively new member of this company - what a pleasure it is to be in a boardroom that has so many females in it, and all females who are both sharp-witted and decorative."

"Yeah, well, we're a very modern company, mister Greene."

"Indeed." Leon smiled to Arthur.

Caroline wickedly grinned to Linda. "Although there are some among us to cling to their old-fashioned values."

Suddenly, the door slammed open to reveal Thomas who hastily walked in. With her tongue pressed between her lips, Caroline examined her husband as he took his seat beside her. Then, underneath the table, he slid his hand up her thigh and squeezed tightly - committing to one of the rules they established to maintain a passionate romance; affection.