40. The King of the World
The King of the World
Electra
“ H e’s an arrogant egomaniac,” Zoe claimed when I told her what happened with Bastian, stirring her coffee with a small spoon. “And he’s tied to the bed, unable to command the world to abide by his orders. I’m surprised he didn’t explode sooner.”
“He didn’t explode,” I objected, frowning. The strawberry cheesecake, which looked delicious a few seconds ago, turned to ash in my mouth. “He just doesn’t see that we all went through hell and that some of us are still stuck there.”
I looked out the window at the busy street, shaking my head with annoyance. “Andreas is barely sleeping, you’re hunting a ghost, Peter and Derek bust their asses off so everything goes smoothly, and all he says is, ‘ It’s frustrating to lie in bed.’ What the actual fuck?”
“Ellie,” Zoe sighed, pouring us a glass of water. “He doesn’t see your perspective, but I’m pretty sure you don’t see his, too.”
“What that’s supposed to mean?” I glowered, leaning closer over the table. She was the only person I told about this, and I needed another opinion. The last thing I wanted was to fight with Bastian and his stubbornness.
“He feels inefficient, useless, maybe incompetent to care for you properly,” she started, and I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that. He was the king of the world.
” She cast me a knowing look, shrugging.
“Imagine ruling from your pedestal one day, and the next, you’re defeated by a deer. That sucks.”
“He’s still the king,” I declared with certainty, scowling at her for her remarks. It couldn’t be true.
“Yes, but he doesn’t feel that way,” she pointed out, silencing her ringing phone after quickly checking the number blinking on the screen. “And you changed too, Ellie. You’re not the same person as you were before the accident.”
“He made me this,” I muttered, playing with the napkin just to occupy my fingers. “His wife, the public figure, the queen of the empire.”
“That’s one side of the coin.” She connected her hands on the table, watching me closely. “Since when are you checking if Andreas is sleeping at night? Or if Peter is playing a good boy? Are you their babysitter or what?”
“Oh, shut up!” I groaned, not in the mood to talk about them.
“Just saying.” She raised her arms in a surrendering gesture. “You’re different.”
“I won’t apologize for having friends,” I mumbled, throwing my scarf and phone into my purse.
“You don’t need to.” She placed her hand on top of mine, stopping my frantic movements. “Just be patient. You love each other, right?”
I nodded, stifling a sob. I felt terrible for being so selfish and not seeing what Bastian was going through. It would’ve never crossed my mind if Zoe hadn’t pointed it out. “Then you’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”
“Thanks,” I whispered, standing. She quickly drank her steamy coffee and followed me out.
“I burned my tongue because of you,” I heard her complaining behind me, but I didn’t react. My attention was directed elsewhere, to the person who caused my sleepless nights. Sarah Pearson had just exited her expensive crimson-red Chevrolet, staring back at me as if she saw a ghost.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Thorn,” she greeted eventually, her every word soaked with arrogance and disgust. Yet she didn’t move an inch.
There was about three feet of free space between us, and I found myself wondering if jumping on her and pulling her hair out would be inappropriate.
Surely, we would make the headlines in every major newspaper for another month or two.
“It would be much better without meeting you,” I retorted in the same tone she used, and a cocky smirk appeared on her face.
The heavy makeup with red lips made her look older, and the dress didn’t compliment her body shape.
She looked tired despite trying to persuade people otherwise.
I had a feeling things hadn’t gone as smoothly as she had planned, and my heart fluttered in my chest with satisfaction.
This bitch deserved everything that karma and Andreas had in store for her.
“Well, get used to it.” Her lips twitched into something that could be interpreted as a smile, but I didn’t have such a wild imagination. Her caricature demeanor was creepy. “I’m working for Cleos now. I am sure you’re familiar with them.”
She winked at me, stepping closer, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “They are as determined as me to ruin your precious husband.”
She stopped right in front of me, staring directly into my eyes, and I had to gather all my strength and self-control not to punch her in the middle of that nasty, colorful face.
“I would leave as soon as possible if I were you. I can’t guarantee you won’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“Thank you for your advice, Sarah,” I said calmly, squeezing the handle on my purse so hard my knuckles turned white. “But I’m a big girl, and I know how to take care of myself.”
“Good luck, then,” she scoffed, and I lifted an eyebrow at her. She provoked me, but I couldn’t let her drag me into her foolish game. I was too clever for it. However…
“I don’t need luck to kick your skinny ass, bitch,” I snapped, loud enough for her to hear me but quiet enough not to make a public scene because I noticed a few reporters standing by and watching us.
“One wrong move, and you’re done,” I warned in a deadly serious voice, pinning her to the ground with my stern glare. “You’ll be hiding in a sewer to avoid me or any member of my family.” I moved towards her, raising my index finger. She flinched, her eyes widening.
“You’ll be cleaning public bathrooms to repay your debt because you accused my husband of something he never did. And then you’ll be begging people to have mercy on you when you won’t be able to pay your rent because you can’t find a decent job.”
A wide fake smile stretched across my face, and I patted her shoulder, seeing from the corner of my eye two cameras were photographing us.
“I’ll wait for your mistake, Sarah, and then strike.
And I guarantee with you—you won’t see me coming until it’s too late.
” I retracted my hand from her shoulder, grinning at her like a happy little girl who had just gotten a new doll.
“Take care and enjoy your life while you still have some pleasure in it.”
Without waiting for a response from her, I walked past her frozen frame to my car, sitting in the back seat.
Zoe joined me after a few seconds, staring at me as if I had grown another head.
Daniel pushed the gas pedal and turned on the radio, not paying attention to us. He knew where we were heading.
“What?” I asked when my best friend didn’t stop shooting me worried glances.
“You just threatened a woman on the sidewalk,” she replied, furrowing her eyebrows.
“And? Will you arrest me for it?” I turned to her, not at all interested in the lecture. That moment felt too good to be ruined by my friend’s concerns.
“Electra, you can’t run around threatening to ruin people’s lives,” Zoe stated, shaking her head like I was some lunatic. “She can file a complaint or even sue you for this.”
“She can try,” I remarked, fishing my phone out of my purse. Andreas would get a headache, but I had to tell him. Just in case Sarah did something.
“What has gotten into you, girl?” Zoe stared at me in apparent disbelief, and I sighed exasperatedly. She acted like I was always a good girl who followed the rules. And maybe I was, but that time was over. I was done playing nice to people who wanted to destroy my happiness and hurt my family .
“That bitch fabricated total bullshit and accused my husband of the things he never even thought of,” I snarled, trembling with anger. “She then waited and struck when he was the most vulnerable, unable to defend himself.”
Taking a few moments to gather my thoughts and calm down, I stared out the window, pretending to be engrossed in a monument we were passing.
Zoe’s eyes burned holes into the side of my head, yet she remained silent like she expected me to continue.
So, I gave her the reason behind my words to Sarah.
“She attacked the wrong man, you know?” I whispered, inhaling a steady breath.
“She attacked the man I love the most, which was a mistake. I will crush her for this. Bastian gave me power, and I will smash her like an annoying bug.” I looked at Zoe’s perplexed expression, noticing the shock swirling in her irises.
“She won’t ever get away with this. I’ll make sure of it. ”
“I feel like I don’t know you,” Zoe whispered after minutes of silence, but I wasn’t surprised by her reaction.
I didn’t know myself, and the emotions swirled inside me like a tornado whenever I thought about Sarah wanting to eradicate Bastian and everything he worked for. I couldn’t let that happen.
“You were right. I changed,” I admitted, reading the text that just came through, and I smiled. Instead of scolding me, Andreas praised me for showing Sarah her future. At least I could be sure he would be on my side. He was dead set on making her suffer.
The rest of the ride went in silence. Zoe glanced outside, and I played with my phone, occasionally replying to text messages. Nothing serious happened in the companies or with Bastian’s case, but I still felt the heavy boulder in my stomach.
I wanted that entire situation to disappear so I could focus on my husband and marriage.
With Bastian back in the land of living, there was a lot of work ahead of us.
I believed we could make a great team and solve our differences in a way we would be happy, but it required a lot of effort and tolerance from both of us.
We couldn’t be distracted by intrigues and machinations.
Releasing a deep breath and disturbing the flow of my thoughts, I realized we were close to the hospital.
Zoe had a meeting with Rosalind, so I let her in the car in my place, and I hurried to Bastian because his physiotherapy would start at any minute.
However, when I walked into the room, he wasn’t there, and the nurse told me he left to exercise an hour ago.
I left my purse in his room and strode down the hall to the spacious gym.
He was there with his trainer, standing between two bars he held for support, and tears welled in my eyes when I saw him slowly taking small steps towards the end.
He improved daily, but the doctor said his legs would need more time to recover.
Yet here he was, beating the odds with his stubbornness and determination.
Quickly, I took off my heels and ran to him, stopping at the end of the bars. He was sweaty and panting, but when he noticed me, a smile crept on his lips.
“You’ll have me home by the end of this week,” he stated, grunting when he took another step towards me. I stretched my arm in his direction.
“At least twenty-five percent of your magnificence,” I replied, winking at him when he flashed me an annoyed glance. The doctor next to him chuckled, and I smiled as well. I couldn’t be happier about his improvement.
“I’ll make it forty,” he claimed, exhaling deeply after another two petite steps, and I wiped a lone tear of joy that fell from my eye.
“Fifty, please,” I bargained, pursing my lips. “I won’t settle for less.”
“Deal, princess.” He stopped before me, breathing heavily, and sweat dripped down his temples. Without a second thought, I cupped his face with my palms and kissed him, almost knocking him off his feet.
“I’ll fall on you,” he chuckled against my lips, and I pecked his nose.
“You meant you’ll fall for me, right?” I wiggled my eyebrows playfully, probably shining like a Christmas tree.
“That happened a long time ago,” he whispered, leaning closer to steal another kiss. The doctor cleared his throat awkwardly, letting us know he was still there because we were in our tiny bubble, oblivious to the outside world.
I assisted Bastian in getting into his bed and served him food I brought because he constantly complained about the hospital menu. And while he ate and asked questions about my day, all my worries about our relationship evaporated into thin air .
I couldn’t live my life without him. And if helping him come back with all the fanfare and hype would make him feel happy and satisfied, I wouldn’t stop until he sits on his throne and rules again.
After all, he was the king of my world, no matter what.