A Naive Bride for the Sophisticated CEO

Chapter 37: Ten missed calls

Fred got home and carried Amelia out of the car and into the house in a bridal style.

He stared at her face until he laid her on the neatly laid bed in his guest room.

“Hmm… why is it so hot?…” She moaned and turned on her side.

Fred placed her bag on the lamp stand and hurried into the bathroom to get a wet towel for her.

He soaked the white towel he kept in the bathroom with water and walked to where she laid again.

He made her lay on her back again and began to mop her face carefully with the towel. As he cleaned her body, she smiled widely occasionally.

Fred giggled at the slightest reaction she gave. ‘Why is she so cute?’

He was done with her face, and he slowly moved down to her hand. He picked up her right hand and cleaned it.

He couldn’t help but gaze at her body. It was so smooth and beautiful.

He looked away from her hand and down her leg, he saw a scar on her left leg and furrowed his brows.

“What happened to you here?” He asked in a whisper and ran his finger on the scar softly.

Amelia reacted to his touch and moved her leg away from him. She turned on her side and kept sleeping.

Fred sighed and withdrew his hand totally from her body. He stood up and walked back to the bathroom to wash the towel.

When he was done, he stepped out and took one last look at Amelia. He was about to leave the room when Amelia’s phone began to ring.

The sound of her phone made Amelia cringe. She blocked her ears with her hands uncomfortably.

Fred noticed how uncomfortable she was, and he wanted to put off the phone with immediate effect. But how was he going to search in a ladies’ purse for her phone?

He hesitated at first, but when the phone began to ring again, he reached inside her bag and pulled it out.

He looked at the caller and saw it was Mr. James that was calling.

‘What does he want from her this time? Hadn’t he done enough?’

He put her phone in a silent mood and put it in her bag again. He looked at her and walked out of the room afterward.

‘You are not alone anymore, Amelia. I’ll take good care of you. I promise.’

*

After James was tired from calling Amelia, he put a call across to his mother again.

“Mom, she isn’t at home. Where the f**k did she go? It’s very late.”

“I don’t know, James. You are to blame, not me.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. You and her didn’t give me the chance to explain who Madison was before you judged me.”

“You can’t still blame us! We know the kind of person you are. If you two are nothing, why did you hold her hand and smile at her like that?”

“Because she is my friend, Mom.”

“You, James? Can you even have a normal friendship with women? Especially the curvy ones? Listen to me, Amelia needed the slightest compliment from you. She changed her hair, wore a dress she isn’t very comfortable in, wore heels that she had to learn to carry, all because she wanted to please you. I can’t blame her for leaving after you held another woman like that.”

“But.. but I didn’t ask her to do any of that, did I?”

“Oh please, James. Shut up, okay? I’m as mad as you as she is. Even though you claim Madison isn’t with you. You had a chance to make things clear, not make it worse! You didn’t even run after her. I’m very mad at you.”

“Mom, C’mon…”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. Just keep praying nothing bad happens to her tonight. I’ll never forgive you for it.”

Helen hung up the call before James could reply. He grabbed his hair in anger and slammed himself into the couch.

“Where the f**k are you, Amelia? What are you thinking!”

He dialed her number for the tenth time, and he still didn’t get any response.

“Fine! Suit yourself. It’s not like I care anyways.”

He walked to the kitchen and picked up a bottle of cold water from the fridge. He walked back to the living room and sat on the couch, sipping the water slowly.

***

Amelia opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Her head began to bang seriously, and she grabbed it in pain.

“Arrrgh… why does it hurt so much?”

She took a minute to adjust to the pain in her head before looking around. She knitted her brows as she figured out that she wasn’t in a familiar place.

“Where am I?”

She lifted the duvet from her body and stared between her legs. Everything seemed normal and this gave her a little relief.

She looked around the room and yanked the duvet off her body. She moved to the edge of the bed and sat up, still holding her head with one of her hands.

Her eyes fell on her bag, and she hurriedly pulled it to herself. She dipped her hand inside her bag and pulled out her phone.

She first saw what the time was on the screen and her eyes broadened.

“9:03!“

She looked away from the time and saw she had ten missed calls from Mr. James.

“Mr. James!”

She sprang to her feet and ran to the door. Though her head was hurting, she didn’t care at this point. She began to worry about James.

‘Why would he call me ten times? What’s going on? Does he need me at the office?’

She ran out of the room and down the staircase she found. She got closer to the main door when Fred walked out of the kitchen and saw her.

“Hey, Amelia.”

Amelia looked back and saw Fred behind her. He was carrying a tray in his hand and he had an apron on.

“Fred… Oh, Fred.”

Fred chuckled and placed the tray on the dining table. He rushed back to her and stood in front of her.

“How are you feeling? Does your head hurt?”

He placed his palm on her forehead to check her temperature. She shook her head and smiled faintly.

“Thank you for bringing me to your house, Fred. I was too drunk to drive home.” Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

He smiled and bounced his head. “I know, Amelia. I was with you throughout, so I know. Are you leaving already? I made scrambled eggs and coffee already.”

He pointed to the table, and Amelia exhaled.

“Thank you so much for your kindness, Fred, but I have to leave now. It’s 9am already. I’ll be late for work.”

Fred creased his eyebrows and let out a little laugh, making Amelia narrow her eyes.

“What? What’s funny?”

“It's the weekend, Amelia. There is no work today, okay?”

‘Weekend? That means Mr. James isn’t at work. So why did he call me ten times?’ She reminisced.

“Please eat what I have made for you before you leave. I would be so hurt if you didn't eat it.”

Fred pouted, hoping she was going to stay back and hand breakfast with him.

“But… Mr. James. I think he is worried about me. He called me ten times last night. I’m scared that he is pissed at me already.”

Fred shook his head and heaved a sigh. He held her hand and began to pull her to the dining table carefully.

“James hurt you last night, didn’t he?” He asked, and she bounced her head.

“So why are you so worried about him? You should take care of yourself first. Put yourself first. If you get home, I bet you would have to start preparing breakfast. Eat some eggs, even if it’s little.”

Amelia looked at the tray and at the food he had prepared. They did look very enticing.

“Okay, I’ll eat a little. Not because I’m hungry, but because I don’t want you to do it in vain.”

Fred smiled widely and nodded. He moved the chair back so that she could sit, and he sat next to her. She began to eat, and Fred watched her do so.

Amelia raised her head and caught him staring at her. She smiled faintly and looked at her meal.

“Thank you for last night, Fred. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I can’t imagine what could have happened, if it was someone else that took me home yesterday.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Amelia. It is what a friend would do, right?” He smiled.

She raised her head and looked at him again. It felt so nice to hear him call her ‘friend’.

She bounced her head and dropped the fork she was using to eat.

“I think I have had enough, I need to go home now. Thank you for the meal,” She said and stood up.

Fred nodded and stood up too. She took a gulp from the coffee and they both headed to the door.

“Remember you can tell me anything, Amelia. I’ll be here to listen.”

“Thank you.” She responded with a smile and walked to her car. Fred waited at the door and watched her.

She opened her door and threw her bag inside the car. She took one last look at Fred and waved at him.

He waved back and kept waving until she was out of the compound.

*

James opened his eyes to realize he fell asleep on the couch, waiting for Amelia to return. He looked around and found out she was yet to come back.

‘I am so stupid to have waited for her. What was I thinking in the first place?’

He stood up from the couch and began to walk to the stairs when he heard the door open. He stood and looked back to see Amelia walk in.

He frowned and walked up to her without hesitation.

“Where the hell have you been since last night?! Why didn’t you come home? Didn’t you know I called you several times?!” He smacked.

Amelia clenched her jaws and raised her eyes to look at him.

“Why are you so pissed? Were you worried about me?” She asked in a cool tone.

James raised his eyebrows and scoffed. “Don’t think highly of yourself, woman,” He muttered.

“If you didn’t worry about me, then you don’t have to know where I was and who I was with throughout the night,” She responded and walked away.