Caroline was getting discharged the next morning. Except for the headache and dizziness which came once in a while, and the little pain from her lower abdomen where the c-section was performed, she felt physically fine. But she was far from fine, emotionally. Was she ever going to get over the loss of her pregnancy? It was as though she came here complete, but she was leaving empty. It was all her fault. She allowed her anger to drive her to make foolish decisions. She'd taken a taxi when Isaac was there to take her home safely. How could she have been so foolish? Now her unborn child was paying for her mistake. She wiped a teardrop from her cheek.
The four days she spent here were not the best of days, but Uncle George and Aunt Emni had done everything they could to make sure she was as comfortable as she could be during her stay. They put her in a private ward which was far more expensive than the place where regular patients were kept. They paid for her c-section and bought all the expensive drugs the doctor prescribed. Caroline couldn't be more thankful. When she became successful in the future, she'll surely make sure she showered them with money, love and every good thing she could give them. But why wait when she could start thanking them now?
She turned to Aunt Emni who was seated on the chair beside her bed. Aunt Emni was engrossed in the movie they were seeing: Till Death Do Us Part. Caroline had seen the movie twice before, which explained why she wasn't fully concentrating. They'd reached the point where the main character died and just as Caroline predicted, aunt Emni started sobbing. Aunt Emni was very emotional. She always cried during movies. Caroline smiled. She knew the death was faked, but she wouldn't want to give aunt Emni any spoilers. Aunt Emni's confused look when the main character was shown again was priceless. Caroline burst into laughter. She stopped when she felt a slight headache.
"Aunt Emni, you need to stop being so emotional about movies." She smiled. "They aren't real life."
"I know." Aunt Emni laughed. "I just get so attached to the characters."
Aunt Emni's phone rang. Caroline's attention was back on the movie while Aunt Emni answered her call.
"Hey... How're you, Isaac?"
At the mention of Isaac's name, Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She turned to Aunt Emni who was now smiling, clearly happy about the call.
"Yes. I'm with her... She's far better than when you last saw her. She's getting discharged tomorrow morning." Aunt Emni smiled at Caroline. Caroline was giving her a questioning look.
"We're just watching a movie." Aunt Emni said. "Of course. You can come over. It'll be nice to have you."
Which Isaac was Aunt Emni was speaking to? Last Caroline checked, aunt Emni didn't know Isaac Luke. Caroline hadn't introduced him to her during the period he'd been dropping her off because she wasn't ready for the unnecessary questions her aunt and uncle were bound to ask. Maybe Aunt Emni knew another Isaac. But which other Isaac knew that much about her even to the point of knowing she was in the hospital?
"Okay... Till you come... Bye." Aunt Emni smiled as she ended the call.
"Who was that?" Caroline asked before she could even drop the phone.
"Oh. That was Isaac, your boss." Aunt Emni smiled. "He's such a nice young man, Isn't he?"
"How do you know my boss?" Caroline couldn't hide her surprise.
"Lois introduced him some days ago. He's so responsible." Aunt Emni smiled. "I mean, it's very rare to find bosses who care about their employees as much as Isaac does. Do you know how many times he's called to check up on you since your accident?"
"Aunt Emni, did you just invite him over?"
"Yes. Isn't that okay with you?" She looked worried.
"It's not," Caroline whispered.
"Why?" Aunt Emni looked surprised.
"Nothing." How could she explain to her that she was running away from him because she was falling for him? Aunt Emni wouldn't understand. "It's nothing. He can come over." Caroline sighed.
"Just so you know, your boss cares about you. He's such a good man."
"Okay." Caroline forced a smile. Why was everyone telling her Isaac cared about her? First, Lois; now, aunt Emni.
Aunt Emni continued watching the movie, leaving Caroline alone to bother about Isaac's coming. She couldn't let him see her in this state. She stealthily ran her fingers through her scattered hair and slowly used her blanket to wipe her oily face. She was careful not to let aunt Emni notice what she was doing. She wished there was a mirror around. But wait. Why did she care? She didn't understand herself. Wasn't she supposed to be pushing Isaac away? Why was she then trying to look as beautiful as she could be when he came?
It wasn't up to thirty minutes when the movie ended and Isaac arrived. Caroline would recognize the sound of his footsteps and his masculine scent anywhere. She was trying her best not to look at him as he walked to the bed where she lay.
"Good evening, ma." He greeted Aunt Emni.
"Welcome, Isaac." Aunt Emni stood to hug him.
"Hey, Caroline." He smiled at her.
"Hi." Caroline's voice came out in a higher pitch than usual. Was that how noticeable her uneasiness was? She looked away in embarrassment.
"You just came at the right time, Isaac." Aunt Emni picked up her bag. "I was just about leaving."
Caroline looked at Aunt Emni in surprise. This couldn't be happening. Aunt Emni couldn't leave her and Isaac alone together.
"I thought you were going to stay with me until tomorrow morning." Caroline tried to make her stay.
"Come on, Caroline." Aunt Emni smiled. "I have to prepare your uncle's dinner, remember? And I have to go to work early tomorrow morning."
"Right." How could she have forgotten? These things were too obvious to be forgotten. It must've been an effect of the concussion.
"Have fun, girl." Aunt Emni kissed Caroline's forehead and turned to Isaac. "Please take care of her."
"I will." Isaac smiled. "Thank you, ma."
Caroline couldn't have felt more uneasy after aunt Emni left. Why did the room seem smaller?
"How're you feeling?" Isaac sat on the chair beside Caroline's bed.
"I'm fine." She was looking everywhere but at him.
"I brought you some fruits."
Caroline noticed the black cellophane bag he'd been holding. He brought out a basket of apples from the bag and placed them on the bedside table.
"Thank you." Caroline forced a smile and looked away.
For some time, nobody said anything, they just sat there in awkward silence, until Isaac cleared his throat.
"I know you must hate me for what I did. I don't blame you for that. I understand I screwed up big time but I just need you to know how sorry I am. I shouldn't have kissed you. I had no right to."
Caroline studied him. He'd just carved out his sideburns. They were beautiful. He was wearing a white shirt. White was one of Caroline's favorite colors. She loved seeing it on men because it gave them a kind of heavenly glow. It gave Isaac that same glow with his thick brows and caramel skin. Isaac was a beautiful man.
"You don't know how guilty I feel." Isaac interrupted her thoughts. He'd been apologizing to her while she was admiring him. How unserious could she be? She mentally facepalmed herself. But did he just say he felt guilty or she hadn't heard him?
"You feel guilty?" She asked.
"You don't know how much." He sighed.
"Why?"
"Your accident, Caroline, the loss of the pregnancy. It's all my fault." Isaac looked depressed. "Every day, I wake up remembering that I put you in this position, I have to live with the fact that I caused you this amount of pain."
"How?" Caroline was very confused.
"If I didn't annoy you that night, wouldn't you have waited for me to drop you home? I'm the reason you had to board that taxi, now look at what happened. I'm so sorry."
"No." She couldn't believe Isaac was blaming himself for her loss. It wasn't his fault. "You're not the cause of my accident. If anyone is to take the blame, it's me because I was careless."
"I just... I just wish I had acted differently." Isaac sighed. "None of this would have happened."
"Isaac, please don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
"Yeah, but I can blame myself for hurting you. Caroline, I wish you could open up my heart and see my intentions. I never intended to hurt you." His sincerity was visible in his eyes.
"Then why?" Caroline said softly. "Why did you kiss me?" It was high time she found out what Isaac wanted from her. Did he just want to use her to satisfy his cravings or did he want more?
Isaac looked taken aback by her question.
"Please be honest with me," Caroline said.
He had just opened his mouth to answer when Caroline's phone rang.
Caroline groaned inwardly. Why did this person have to call at such a moment? She checked the caller ID. The name she saw brought her joy. Michelle, her cousin. She hadn't heard from her in months. "Sorry, I have to take this." She said in an apologetic tone.
Isaac nodded.
"Hey, Michelle?"
"Caroline." Michelle's voice was raspy. "I'm sorry I'm just calling you now. I'm just finding out about your accident. Mum is just telling me now. She said she wanted to wait until I was done with the test I wrote today. Can you imagine?"
"It's fine, Michelle."
"No, it's not." Michelle sobbed. "You were involved in an accident and admitted to the hospital and I wasn't aware. That's not nice at all."
"Your mom didn't want to distract you from studying from your test."
"You're right. How're you feeling though?"
"I'm fine. I'm getting discharged tomorrow." Caroline grinned.
"I know you're getting discharged tomorrow. Mom told me. I'm talking about the miscarriage. Are you happy about it?"
"Well, when I discovered I was pregnant, I considered abortion at first but I knew I just couldn't because that would be murder. So, I kept the pregnancy, but as I kept it, I grew so attached to it, I had a lot of plans for that baby." Caroline smiled sadly. "But what has happened has happened. I guess I'm moving on."
"This is so sad." Michelle sighed. "But, maybe God did it for a purpose. Maybe He didn't want you to bear the burden of being a mother at such a young age."
"No." Caroline couldn't agree with that. "Michelle, tragedies don't come from God. Remember the Bible says He is the Father of light and there's no darkness in him. God didn't send this accident my way, the devil did. I believe the devil succeeded because of my lack of sensitivity to God's caution. And it could be that my prayerlessness didn't give God legal grounds to avert the accident. But hey, God spared my life and I couldn't be more grateful." Caroline noticed Isaac intently listening to her as she spoke.
"You're right, Caroline. Your understanding of God amazes me." Michelle laughed. "I'm just glad God saved you."
"Me too." Caroline smiled. "So, how was your test today?"
"It was so easy. I'm so sure I'm acing it."
"That's my sisturr." They both laughed. "Thanks for Calling, Michelle. I missed hearing your voice."
"Yours too." Michelle laughed. "I can't wait to come back home so we could have some fun together."
"Me too." Caroline sighed. "I miss you so much, Michelle."
"Me too, Caroline. I love you."
"Love you too." Caroline smiled.
"See you when I come home."
"I can't wait." Caroline grinned.
"Me too." Michelle laughed. "Bye dearie."
"Bye." Caroline smiled as Michelle ended the call.
"You have a sister?" Isaac looked surprised. "I thought you were an only child."
"I am." Caroline smiled. "That was Aunt Emni's daughter."
"Oh, okay." Isaac nodded.
"So, back to our conversation." Caroline smiled. "You were going to tell me why you kissed me."
"Yeah. I was." Isaac seemed uneasy as he cracked his knuckles. "I didn't think I'd be telling you this here and now, but I guess I just have to be honest with you."
Caroline nodded.
"I like you, Caroline." Isaac was looking right into her eyes. Caroline had never seen him look more serious. "Like very much."
Caroline's joy came in a surge. Isaac Luke liked her. She felt on top of the world. He'd picked her over all the top models that wanted him. This was unbelievable. As she thought more about all the beautiful models who flocked around him, her insecurities began to creep in. What if his feelings were not strong enough? What if they faded away quickly? What if he broke her heart? What someone more beautiful stole him from her? She wouldn't be able to bear it.
Isaac was still looking at her, waiting for her to say something. But what could she say? She couldn't bring herself to tell him she liked him too. She didn't even know if she did. She glanced at the wall clock opposite her. It was 9:30 pm.
"It's nine-thirty." She said. "Don't you think you need to go home and rest?"
Isaac's mouth fell open in shock, but he quickly regained composure. She was disappointed in herself. He'd just confessed his feelings to her and of all the replies she could give him, it was that?
"I want to stay with you," Isaac said. "I know you want company. I heard you telling your aunt to stay the night."
"You have work tomorrow."
"I can reschedule some things. It's not a problem."
This was exactly what Caroline wasn't comfortable with. Isaac had been rescheduling things since she got admitted here. He came the first day she got here. Even though her vision had been blurred and she had been very dizzy, Caroline could still remember he'd come. He also came the second day. Although Caroline hadn't seen him that day because she had been sleeping, Lois had told her he came and she showed her the fruit juice he'd brought her. He would have come yesterday, the third day if Lois hadn't made up an excuse for her. And today, the fourth day, he came. The Isaac Caroline knew was one very busy man, and with the way he'd been rescheduling things just to come, see her. The company could be affected negatively. That was just what Caroline didn't want.
"I'm fine now." She said. "You don't have to keep rescheduling things just to come and see me."
Isaac looked very hurt. "You know, if you don't like the idea of my coming to see you, I think you should just tell me point-blank instead of coming up with excuses."
"Okay." Isaac misunderstood her, but it was better to use this misunderstanding to benefit him and save his company. "I don't like the idea of you coming to see me." Caroline looked him in the eye as she spoke.
Isaac's eyes widened in shock. She had never seen him look so hurt. He gulped. "Okay." He stood. "If that is what you want, then so be it." When he turned to walk away, it took everything Caroline had, not to call him back. She'd hurt his feelings, but she did it for his good. With watery eyes, she watched him walk out the door and when he had shut the door behind him, she buried her head in her pillow and sobbed.