Downstairs, the housekeeper dialed up Joshua's number. He'd given her his private line to keep him posted on how Allison was doing.
"Hello, Mr. Fisher. It's the housekeeper looking after Ms. Allison. She's been in a bit of a funk since yesterday. Not sure what's up, but she skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning. When I checked on her just now, she looked pretty pale with those dark circles like she hasn’t had a wink of sleep."
Joshua paused, his voice rough and filled with concern. "Try to get her to eat something."
"I've cooked up all of her favorites. She just mentioned she'd be down after a shower." The housekeeper hesitated, then added, "She really doesn't look well. Are you coming over to see her?"
Joshua's lips tightened, his voice tinged with fatigue. "No, someone’s picking her up to bring her home today."
"Oh, alright then."
...
After showering, Allison made her way downstairs. The housekeeper set the food on the table, "Ms. Allison, these are all your favorites. You haven't eaten since last night and this morning; you must be starving. Please have some."
"Thank you." Allison replied, her voice lacking energy, her eyes heavy from lack of sleep, her head pounding.
"Well, I'll go tidy up the kitchen then."
Allison glanced at the table full of steaming, delicious food but couldn’t muster an appetite. She sipped a little soup and checked her phone for messages—still nothing from Joshua.
The housekeeper had mentioned that Joshua wanted to be kept in the loop about her and to report any issues right away.
So, he must know how she’s doing, right? Why hasn’t he reached out? Has he really stopped caring?
Allison lowered her gaze, feeling a bitter sting in her eyes.
...
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