THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 37: My Wife Is Back

Shawn, who has always been imposing and domineering, now looked meek and gentle as if he couldn’t hurt a fly.

His current state drew out a burst of laughter from Stefffan. ’Who would have imagined that "The Shawn Hudson," the most eligible bachelor of Baltimore, would be reduced to such a vulnerable state in this life? Life indeed is full of surprises,’ he concluded within himself.

Shawn’s nostrils flared as he glared at Steffan, he couldn’t believe Steffan would find something funny to laugh about at such a time as this. "Why the heck are you laughing?" He demanded in a weak voice.

Steffan drew a chair closer to the couch and sat opposite Shawn, making an effort to control the laughter still bobbling in his chest.

"Please can I have a cup of coffee? He beckoned to Johnson who couldn’t make sense of why Dr Steffan was laughing so hard and was standing with an awkward expression by the side.

"Give me a minute Doc," Johnson took this as a cue to give them some privacy, excused himself from the office and went out to make arrangements for the coffee.

"How do you feel now?" Steffan managed to ask Shawn after suppressing his laughter into a smile.

Shawn ignored his question and adjusted himself to a sitting position. "Are you done?" He retorted after some time.

"You can’t blame me my friend, anyone can take advantage of you now and I couldn’t resist it when I was presented with such a rare opportunity."

There was a knock on the door and the secretary came in with a cup of coffee that Johnson had instructed her to send to Dr Steffan.

"Here’s your coffee, doctor," she bent and handed the coffee to Steffan.

"Thank you sweetheart. Steffan was still in a good mood and gave the secretary a playful wink, which earned him a pretty blush from the secretary.

You can’t go about flirting with my staff in my presence. Shawn berated the moment the secretary exited the office.

I wasn’t flirting with her. I just wanted to make her comfortable. But I get your point. As long as I do it behind your back, it’s Ok, right?

"What you do with yourself is none of my business, just ensure you don’t break her heart. I wouldn’t want another emotional wreck added to the queue." Shawn replied in a deadpan voice.

"Are you finally agreeing that you are an emotional wreck? Now tell me, do you feel better?"

"I’m not dying yet." Although Shawn’s voice was still weak and lacked his usual dominant tone, it still had a note of sarcasm in it.

Steffan shook his head at his stubborn friend. "Can that be counted as, you’re fine?"

"What do you think?" Shawn inquired with a slight tilt to his head.

"With the current energy you have to quibble with me, I think you are fine for now."

"But guy, you need to confront whatever triggers your attacks squarely, because there is nothing much I, or anyone at that, can do to help you if you keep bottling up so much." His former playfulness was now replaced by a serious expression.

"Like you already know, your case is psychological and until you are able to get past the shadow in your heart, this will keep reoccurring. Or do you want to spend the rest of your life this way?"

Steffan sympathized deeply with his friend, but he is the only one who can help himself come out of whatever is holding him down.

"Don’t you think I’ve been trying to do so?" Shawn sighed. "Just when I thought my life was finally back on track and finally broken free of the cage I’ve been trapped in for years, everything had to crash again."

"What do you mean?" Steffan frowned.

"My wife is back."

Steffan was so shocked that he jumped out of his seat.

"What... What did you say?

"You heard me, Steffan."

Steffan stood up and went to the couch where Shawn was still seated and placed the back of his palm on Shawn’s forehead.

"You obviously don’t have a fever. Or has your brain been affected eventually by your recent attacks?"

"Stop being so melodramatic, I’m in my right mind."

"Who wouldn’t be, how can you say that your wife is back out of the blues? Have dead people started returning back to life?"

A deep scowl formed on Shawn’s face as he emphasized, "I’m serious Steffan, I know this is difficult to believe, but she’s back and I’m not hallucinating. She miraculously survived the plane crash. I was shocked to my bones myself when I first saw her last month."

"Wait, let me guess. The Kathleen you guys have been referring to is your wife right?"

"Mm hmm."

"It all makes sense now." Steffan mumbled while continuously nodding his head.

He thought of something then asked, "Then why did you unexpectedly have a crisis today? Was it not because you couldn’t accept her death that you got like this in the first place? Now that she’s back and alive, shouldn’t you be ecstatic?"

"That’s what I also thought when I first saw her, but she has changed so much. She has grown so distant from me and doesn’t want anything to do with me again. I don’t know what to do.., " his voice trailed off and he stared into the distance.

"Did you meet her today?"

"Yeah."

"When was that? Because you’ve been with me at the hospital for the most part of today. Was it before you came to the hospital?"

"You wouldn’t believe this but, I met her at the hospital. She was probably there to see someone, because she doesn’t look sick herself."

"Did you have any interactions with her?"

"Mm hmm."

Steffan put two and two together and arrived at a conclusion. "Based on your current state, I presume it didn’t go well."

"Why do you ask if you already know?"

"I needed to be sure."

"Now that you know, what do you intend to do?" Shawn snapped.

"We will see how we can bring her in. Because she is a major piece in this puzzle."

"I wouldn’t advise that for now."

"Why do you say so? if she truly loved you before like you claimed, she will be moved to help even if she doesn’t want to when she knows about what you’ve been battling.

"No, we can’t let her know." Shawn’s objection was so fast that Steffan shot him a queer look.