The Broken Tale

To you

           Layla smiled over at him. His blue eyes shut and his head laid on her bedside with her hand still in his. He looked a little...less exhausted. Layla knew it must have been the first few hours of sleep he must have gotten in days.
"He finally gave out?"
Layla turned her head a little too quickly, completely forgetting of the fractured until a shot of pain blew up from her neck to the top of her head.
"Are you okay?" Chanel asked.
"Y-yeah." Layla groaned.
"Do move too fast, Layla, your body's badly hurt. It needs time to heal."
"How do you feel, Layla?" Cameron asked in a whisper.
       The once seemingly untouchable woman was in a wheel chair. No diamond jewelry, no expensive designer dresses, no flawless make up, no professionally styled hair. It was a little odd to see Chanel like that. She looked... more human. It was weird to see her as a human and not just a billionaire. Layla took in Chanel in her natural skin. She was beautiful and her face radiated of tenderness. She looked very different from the powerful and seductive woman. She wondered if knowing how to keep the balance between her fragile tender facade and powerful demeanor was the key to how Chanel was so irresistible.
"Much better." Layla answered with a sleepy smile. 
Cameron grinned, "You look better."
"I just talked to your doctor. Damn, Layla, I'm jealous! You're doing so well and it's only the first day of your recovery." Chanel explained excitedly.
Layla sighed, "And you? How are you doing?"
Chanel shrugged, her smile never disappearing.
"It's just one bullet, it won't kill me." She replied jokingly.
Layla stared at her in disbelief. Was that not the woman who had just lost her baby? Why was she not yelling at her? Why was she so nice to Layla whose problems caused her baby's death?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chanel asked lightly.
"Why?" Layla asked slowly.
"What?"
"Why are you so nice to me? Your baby died because of me."
Chanel shook her head with a smile, "Layla, it was Ali's fault not yours. Plus these things are bound to happen to an agent."
"Mister Valdez, I don't even know how to apologize." Layla said apologetically, "I don't think there's anything I can do to show how horrible I feel for this."
Cameron smiled politely, "Don't worry about it, Layla, none of this was your fault."
"He's right, Laili, I didn't even know I was pregnant."
Layla shook her head, "I'm so sorry. I wish it were me who died not-"
"Please, Layla." Chanel interrupted firmly, "Look, Laili. You're a mother and I'm sure you know how much it hurts when just a hair on your child's head is plucked out. But still, if I had to choose then I'd choose three living breathing people over an unborn baby whether the baby's mine or not. Three people who've seen the sunlight will miss the world much more than a baby who doesn't even have a heartbeat yet."
        As an entrepreneur and a politician, Layla knew she should not have been surprised that Chanel could take the situation so coldly in a professional perspective. But it was still very odd and even a little confusing to see a mother so unaffected by her baby's death.
"I know this is really personal but I can't stop thinking of it." Layla said nervously.
"Shoot."
"Will this effect anything if you were want to have another baby?"
"Nope, I'm totally fine. I can have as many as I want as long as someone's performance won't slow down."
She shot Cameron a playfully devious smirk.
"The bullet missed her uterus." Cameron added.
       But looking into Chanel's eyes, it was more than clear from her red eyes that she had been crying. The way she avoided the topic as much as she could spoke volumes about how she was only putting on a professional mask and that she had only learned to be good at hiding her emotions away and plastering a professional smile on. It was not obvious at all but only someone like Layla herself who had hidden her own emotions away for years that could have the smallest chance of spotting the pain in Chanel's eyes.
"Layla, I hope you don't mind but we have to go back to Sydney." Chanel said.
"Why?"
"There's an event we have to attend in two days." Chanel answered.
"You just took a bullet to the stomach and had a miscarriage, can't you cancel or sit that one out?" Layla asked.
"No, I can't. The event's a big step for one my companies and I can't be the head of the company without being there to take the big step first with them."
"Are you sure that's safe?"
"Don't worry, Layla, it's just one bullet. Two days is more than enough for me to get my ass back on track." Chanel answered, "You'll be allowed to fly back to the States if you want in around two weeks or so."
Layla breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God, I thought I'd have to stay here for months."
Chanel laughed, "Don't think you can go jumping around once you get back though. You still have to recover."
"I just want to get back."
"Anyway, before I get back there's an update I think you should know."
"What update?" Brian yawned.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Chanel replied enthusiastically.
"Morning."
"Anyway, about the updates. Ali's been taken to the hospital for his injuries but he immediately called for someone the moment he woke up."
"Yeah?" Brian asked, leaning over in anticipation.
"Let's say you're set for life." Chanel announced excitedly, "Ali resigned Elmar Corprations to you."
"What?" Layla screamed.
She shouted too loud and fell back into the pillow in grinding pain. Brian bolted up to his feet and seemed ready to call a doctor but Layla stopped him.
Chanel laughed, "Congratulations, new millionaire."
"What do you mean he resigned?" Layla asked once she calmed down a little.
"He signed everything over to you." Chanel explained.
"Me?"
Chanel nodded.
"No, no, no. He can't do that, Chanel, please do something."
Chanel pursed her lips, "Well, he kind of already signed the papers already."
"And a little too enthusiastically if you ask me." Cameron added with crossed arms.
"No, no, no. I can't take that."
"Why?" Chanel asked.
She shook her head, "I can't spend a cent of that. I can't touch that bastard's money."
Chanel chewed her lip, nodding slowly.
"What do you think, Brian?" Chanel asked.
He shrugged, "This honestly isn't any of my business, Chanel. He left the money to Layla, not to me."
"I don't want his money." Layla repeated sternly.
Chanel sighed, "It's fifty million dollars, Layla, maybe you should think of it a bit more."
"Yeah, I mean I know nothing can make up for what he did to you but maybe the money can save you any future problems." Cameron agreed.
"No. I don't need to think of anything." Layla replied, "Accepting his money to me is like forgiving him."
"Well if that's the case then maybe we can give it to an organization or a few charities." Chanel suggested.
"Maybe she should think of it more." Cameron said.
Chanel shook her head, "If you want to, Layla, then you can but in this case I don't think you want to."
"I don't."
Cameron shook his head in slight disappointment, "If you say so."
"I know it sounds stupid to you but that's only because none of you will get it." Layla mumbled in frustration.
"You don't want his money because you don't want to be a victim who's getting compensated for. You don't want to be a victim nor a winner. All you want is to have a normal life without cameras and the media chasing you and naming you as a victim. His money is a reminder of him and you think accepting it is forgiving him for what he did." Chanel said with a big degree of confidence.
She knew she was right.
She knew she was reading her right through and through like an open book.
"You don't have to take anything you don't want to." Brian reassured softly.
"Yeah. There are so many people you can help with fifty million." Chanel added.
Layla shook her head, "I already know what I want to do with it."
Chanel raised an eyebrow. She waited for her to speak with curious intrigue in her eyes.
"Look, Chanel, I know you're the last person on Earth who needs the money and I know it can't make up for anything you've done for us but...it'll just clear my conscious."
"Layla, I'm sorry but I can't do that. Many people can see much more good from that money than me. Plus, now that Ali's in prison then Brian's out of a job and you need to recover. You need money."
"If Ali's going to prison then the company has no CEO." Brian cut in, "If no one wants the money then we can hand it out to different organizations. Chanel can take over as head of the company that way whatever money comes out of it will be your hard work."
"And what about you?" Chanel asked.
"If you don't fire me, Mrs.Valdez, then I can keep my position in the company and keep on working like normal."
Chanel nodded slowly, considering the idea.
"Amore, don't you think your blade is a little too full?" Cameron asked his wife.
"His headquarters are in Baghdad?" Chanel asked.
"No, they're in LA and his main extracts are Saudi Arabia."
"I thought they were in Basra."
"He has them all over the Middle East from what I know."
"I'm not sure to be honest." Chanel said hesitatingly, "The Middle East isn't somewhere I want to get close to."
"How come?"
"Preferences, I suppose."
"But it'd be something new? A chance to expand your empire to somewhere you haven't touched yet?"
"I mean Miller Corprations has been operating in Dubai for a few years now but aside from that I don't think I've done much more there."
"So? What do you say?" Layla asked impatiently.
Pause.
A long pause.
Finally Chanel sighed, "Okay. But on one condition."
"Condition?" Brian asked.
"You won't work for six months. Until Layla's healed, you can stay in one of my LA homes and I'll fund the nannies, servants and whatever else you want until then. You can go back to work once Layla's better."
"Cha-" Layla protested.
"That's the deal, Laili." Chanel interrupted with a smirk, "And if you think I'll let business deals to any way except mine then you're in for quite a challenge."
Layla smiled. She was more than ready to put any mention of Ali to bed as soon as possible.
"Then I think we have a deal, Mrs.Valdez."