The CEO’ s second choice novel Chapter 18

　　Elena

　　I take off my heels as soon as I enter the villa and breathe a sigh of relief. My heart still felt heavy, but I could not allow it to hold me down any longer. As much as I hated it, I was essentially a married woman now and needed to act as such even if my husband did not.

　　“Ah, Mrs Dumont, you are home. Are you hungry?” Ilse asks me as I enter the kitchen area, but I shake my head. “I just came from brunch with a few friends, Ilse. I’ll be fine for a while. Do we have headache tablets? I am not feeling too well and would like to go have a lay down for a little while.” I said and I could see the worried frown that creased her brows.

　　I absolutely adored Ilse, she was like a mother to me in a strange home. She showed me the love and affection I had never received from my own mother. The warmth that matched the villa.

　　“Oh, dearie. I will get you something that’s non-drowsy. Go to your room and I will have it brought right up to you.” She says gently and offers me a warm smile which I had to return. I wrap my arms around her, “Thank you, Ilse.” I say, then saunter up to my bedroom.

　　Living with Sebastian had not been as bad as I originally thought it would be. He didn’t bother me and I stayed out of his way. But living past one another was taking its toll on me… I have to admit that I craved affection and conversation. From having Eliana and Nicholas around all day, to suddenly having no one. Ilse was kind and spoke to me, but it wasn’t the same. I felt isolated here. This villa was like a mansion when you had no one to talk to.

　　There was a knock on my door and I told whoever it was to enter; it was one of the helpers in the villa with a sealed paracetamol tablet and some orange juice. I thank her and she leaves with a fake smile plastered on her face. This made me chuckle. She was the girl that had a huge crush on Sebastian and tried to be nice to me, but her facial expressions gave her away.

　　Swallowing the pill, I lay down on my heavenly bed. This thing always made me drift off into the most peaceful sleep, although this time I think the reason for my drowsiness was this pill. I forgot to mention to Ilse that just a little bit of ‘non-drowsy’ paracetamol made me sleepy. I had such a low tolerance for everything, that even a glass of champagne made me tipsy.

　　Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep,

　　***

　　My sleep was plagued by Nicholas’ kind face, our memories spent together all spilling into one canvas.

　　“Elena…” I hear him call my name, but the voice did not match his kind face. The Nicholas I knew had a soothing and sweet voice, whereas this Nicholas’ voice was husky and dripped sex appeal.

　　“Elena…” I hear it again and force my eyes open this time, only to see the face of Sebastian staring down at me with a worried frown on his face. “Elena, are you alright?” He asks me and I try to sit up, but he pushes me back onto the bed.

　　“Hey,...” was all I got out before flopping back down on the bed. I was really struggling to keep my eyes open. “What did you give her?!” I heard Sebastian ask someone and realized that we were not alone. “It was only a non-drowsy paracetamol tablet, sir!” Ilse replies with a concerned voice.

　　“Are you sure about that? She seems to be quite intoxicated.” Sebastian says as he touches my forehead, causing me to eventually open my eyes.

　　“I have a low tolerance for medication, Sebastian. I forgot to inform Ilse of this. I only needed something to take the migraine away.” I say, slowly sitting up and taking in the scene in my bedroom.

　　Ilse was standing at the foot of my bed and Sebastian was sitting next to me; he looked absolutely worried. I frown at his expression, “I am fine, I promise. Why do you all look so anxious?”

　　Sebastian moves closer to me, “Elena, it is 8 pm, you have been asleep for over 6 hours since you got home. I started to get worried when you did not come down for our dinner arrangement but did not want to barge into your room again. So I asked Ilse to enter, and we found you completely passed out and unresponsive.”

　　This bit of news is what wakes me up, but I sit up a bit too quickly and fall forward into Sebastian’s arms. “Easy there,” he says as he slowly eases me back down onto the bed but I slowly shake my head, “No, I need to get some air,” I say and try to get up again but I feel completely helpless. He nods, then picks me up and carries me downstairs. “Sebastian!” I cry out, finally realizing what he was doing, but feeling too weak to fight him.

　　“I am taking you to the conservatory,”

　　The conservatory was on the other side of the villa, “You can put me down, Sebastian, I am not an invalid!” I cried out, but he refused to and was now carrying me through the villa.

　　“Sebastian!”

　　“Elena, for the love of God, will you let me do this?! There is no way you would be able to walk without passing out. Just let me do this for you.” He says while looking straight ahead. All I could do is sigh in exasperation and accept defeat. “Fine,” I mutter and start pouting.