Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
A t first, I didn’t recognise the woman standing in front of me. She looked so different compared to the last time I had seen her, with her face bare and hair loose, wearing black sneakers and a simple long shirt dress which skimmed over a baby bump I hadn’t noticed last time. Her identity didn’t reveal itself to me until she smiled, dimples forming in her cheeks. The same dimples I had seen in pictures online. The longer I stared at her, the more certain I became. She was Ruby—Veronica Ling—and she was even more beautiful like this than she had been on the night I saw her with Neil. I was in awe.
“You must be Amelia Cross,” she said. Her voice was warm and serene.
I nodded, still dumbfounded by her surprise appearance.
“I’m a friend of Neil’s.” Her eyes flicked to the room behind me. “Is he here?”
So, she was here to see Neil. A risky move given Neil thought Daniel might be having us watched. Even her talking to me was dangerous enough. I took a cursory glance both ways down the corridor. “Sorry,” I said, after confirming we were alone. “He’s still working. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, and this is my room, not his.”
Veronica’s radiant smile did not dull. “I see. Then sorry to bother you.”
“I can let him know you came by.”
“Thank you. I’ll just—agh!” She brought a hand to her belly, her face twisted in discomfort.
A surge of panic coursed through me as I relived the moment I found Christine in the bathroom stall, keeled over in pain. “Are you okay?”
“I’m—” She sucked in a gasp of air. “I think I need to sit down for a minute.”
Without hesitation, I cast aside my lingering worries to offer my aid. “Please, come in and take a seat. I’ll get you a glass of water.”
“So kind. Thank you.”
I ushered Veronica into my room and to the desk chair. As she settled, I poured her a glass of water, my mind racing with concern both for Veronica and the potential consequences of her unexpected visit. But in that moment, all that mattered was tending to her needs. I handed her the glass of water, and she took a sip. I perched on the edge of the bed, watching her closely, ready to offer my support at any moment.
“Thank you, Amelia,” she said, her voice filled with genuine appreciation. “I didn’t expect to run into you, but I’m glad I did.”
“I wasn’t expecting you, either.”
She studied me. “You know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yes. Neil told me… well, only because I worked it out on my own.”
I noticed her eyes flit to Neil’s shirt lying on my bed, and I blushed, knowing what she was thinking.
“You must be getting along well with him,” she said, a smile returning to her lips.
“That’s, uh, it’s not like that, I swear. It’s a long story.”
“Don’t worry. I believe you. Neil is a good man. Whatever happens, I just want him to be happy.”
The fact that Veronica and Neil used to be engaged sprang to the forefront of my mind, and I felt a twinge of jealousy. I could never measure up to Veronica’s level of success, wealth, and beauty. If those were the standards required to attract Neil’s attention, I felt foolish for my silly little crush on him. But despite my insecurities, I felt no animosity towards Veronica. She was too lovely.
“He told me you used to be a couple,” I said, testing the waters, wondering how much information I could glean about their relationship.
“Yes.” She had a wistful look in her eyes. “That was ages ago.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you break up? Sorry, I know that’s a personal question. You don’t have to answer.”
“My brother didn’t like the idea of us getting married, for one thing, but that’s not the main reason. We weren’t compatible. It’s as simple as that.”
I looked at her baby bump, then at her hand, which was bereft of a wedding or engagement ring. “Did you meet someone else?”
She smiled, patting her stomach. “Yes. But that’s not public knowledge. Nor is my pregnancy. I’m very private about all that.”
“I understand. It must be tough for a woman in your position.”
She nodded. “I keep business and my personal life separate, and that’s the way I intend to keep it.”
She finished her last sip of water. I retrieved the empty glass from her. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes. I don’t know what that pain was, but it’s gone now. Thank you so much for allowing me into your room.”
“You’re welcome. Sorry you didn’t get to see Neil.”
“I should have known he would be busy. Never mind.”
“You could come back later, but I’m not sure if he’ll be up to much when he gets back. He was very sick this morning.”
“Oh dear. Promise you’ll look after him for me.”
Her playful remark renewed the sting of embarrassment on my cheeks. “I will.”
Veronica struggled to get out of the seat. I came to her aid, lending her my arm.
“Thank you,” she said.
I showed her the way to the door.
“Goodbye, Amelia. I’m glad I got to meet you.”
“Me too.”
She offered one last angelic smile as we parted. I found it hard to believe she was related to a snake like Daniel Ling.
Our meeting had been so engaging that I had forgotten all about my food order until the next knock on the door. This time, I didn’t neglect to check the peephole.
With Neil’s folded shirt in my hands, I mustered the courage to walk to his hotel room. The shirt was a pretext. My true intention was to check in on him and see how he was doing now he had returned.
Standing outside Neil’s door, I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was okay for me to drop by unannounced like this. My brain taunted me with memories of sharing a bed with him, whipping up a frenzy of butterflies in my stomach and giving me second thoughts. With a deep breath, I dismissed my doubts and readied my fist to knock, but before my knuckles reached the door, it swung open to reveal Neil standing before me, looking half surprised, half amused. “Amelia, what are you doing here?”
He was still dressed in business attire, but without the jacket, and with his collar undone and his sleeves rolled up. I was so captivated by his presence that I forgot to answer his question.
“Is that my shirt?”
I snapped to my senses and held the shirt out to him. “Yes. You left it in my room.”
“Ah. Thank you.” He took it from me, his fingers brushing against mine, making my skin prickle.
I gathered myself, focusing on the purpose of my visit. “How are you feeling?”
“Yes, much better, though I think an early night is in order.”
“I’m sure that’s for the best. Were you about to go somewhere?”
“Just to grab something to eat.” Neil scrutinised me, his arms folded. “Is there something you want to discuss?”
His prompt reminded me of the other reason I came. I had to tell him about Veronica. “Yes. There is. It’s about—” I stopped myself. I looked up and down the corridor, making sure we were alone. “I had a visitor this afternoon. Did you know?”
Neil jolted in response, then his demeanour turned serious. “Let’s talk inside.”
His room was just like mine but with a slightly different layout, and he was less tidy with his belongings than I was, his work spread out on his desk, and his suitcase lying open on his bed. He closed the door, put the shirt aside, and without inviting me to sit down, he got straight to the point. “Who came to your room? Don’t tell me Daniel sent someone after you.”
I shook my head. “Nothing like that. Actually, it was Ruby.”
Neil’s face twisted into an expression which betrayed an even deeper shock. “What?”
“She was looking for you.”
“That’s strange. I haven’t heard anything from her. Are you sure it was her?”
“Yes. Though she looked a bit different to the last time I saw her. She was pregnant. I recognised her dimples—they’re quite distinctive.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked if you were at the hotel. I told her you were still working, then she suddenly got a stomach cramp. She looked uncomfortable, so I invited her inside to sit for a minute. I was worried about her.”
Neil digested all of this. “Hmm… Did she say anything else while she was with you?”
“We just got talking. Chitchat. Nothing deep.”
“Can you be more specific? What exactly did you talk about?”
I shuffled my feet. “Well, uh… you , mainly.” My voice faltered. “She saw your shirt in my room, and I think she got the wrong idea.”
If my face wasn’t red before, it was now.
Neil let out a long, audible sigh and said nothing.
“She recovered from her pain, and she left. Do you think it wasn’t her?”
“No, it sounds like her, and it will be easy enough for me to verify. I wonder what she’s playing at.” Neil rubbed his temples.
“Is it strange she came to see you without any notice?”
“Yes, but I don’t believe that’s what happened. I think she came to see you .”
I gaped. “You mean she tricked me?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I think.”
I flashed back to Veronica clutching her stomach and the strain on her face. Had that been an act? Did she just want me to invite her inside so she could speak with me? Surely not…
“But why would she want to see me? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“She must have wanted to check you out for some reason. I will be questioning her about this, mark my words. I told her I didn’t want you dragged into this any more than you already have been, and she turns up here in broad daylight, without an ounce of consideration for your safety. What was she thinking?” Neil clenched his fists, a deep scowl marring his already stern face.
I tried to placate him. “I’m sure she had her reasons.”
He grunted in response, a sound I felt deep in my bones.
I changed the subject, feeling like the thick tension in the room might break me if I didn’t. “I better leave you to get your dinner. It’s getting late.”
Neil glanced at his watch. “So it is. What about you? Have you eaten?”
“Yes. I had an early dinner.”
“What did you have?”
“Noodles from room service. I didn’t want to leave the hotel after what you said.”
Neil grimaced. “Perhaps my warning was excessive. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Better safe than sorry, I guess.”
Silence descended between us. It looked like Neil was trying to gather words to say something, but in the meantime, my heart was thrumming so hard I was certain he could hear it. I needed to leave before it gave me away. “I’ll just… get going then.”
“Milly.”
There it was again—my nickname. He used it more frequently these days, but I still noticed whenever he did.
I faced him front on. “Yes?”
“I didn’t get to thank you properly. For today. For your input at the meeting. You were…” He swallowed. “Very classy.”
Classy? He thinks I’m classy?
I couldn’t hold back the smile bursting onto my face. “That means a lot coming from you.”
Neil’s composure wavered, his eyes flitting away before meeting mine once more. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” His formality did little to mask something boiling under the surface.
I nodded. “Good night, Neil.”
“Good night.”
I left him with one final, lingering gaze, trying to analyse if he felt the same things I felt, but I couldn’t get a read on him.