Billionaire's Revenge (29 page)

“I will have some clothes sent over for you...take as long as you need”
Sara
nodd
ed,
murmuring a thanks as without another
word he
spun around
and moved back down the corridor, something so deep
inside
Sara tearing that he
had
left her when she needed him most.
 
Pulling herself together she
pasted on as bright a smile as possible, standing t
aller as she
moved back into the room, Carly’s relie
ved look making the pain dull just a little.

The whole evening she
sat by Carly’s bedside, the small girl waking several times as the pain in her stomach
become too much for her,
Sara soothing the child who
would cling to her hand until sleep would finally take her
once more.  She did not care what a strange sight she made, her hair now falling around her naked shoulders, her elegant cocktail dress now creased.  She
slep
t fitfully on the uncomfortable hi
gh winged chair which
had
been brought in by some kindly nurses
. 
Sara
was
glad even for it
,
as they
apologised that they
had
nothing else to offer her.  She
was
thankful also that the nurses
brought her tea, their
friendly smiling faces welcome,
after the coldness which
seemed to fall on Darius as he
left.

That their relationship was over she was in no doubt.  His need to get away from the hospital
-
away from her
-
testament
to that, she having to fight the te
ars which threatened each and every time she thought of him.  Was this not what she
wanted?
Had
she not needed to get away for her and Carly’s sake?  Time and again the answer
“
yes
”
would
stick in her throat while her heart cried
“
no
”
.

As the grey half-light
heralded morning, Sara
rose
, stiffly moving her aching muscles as she
unwound herself from her curled up
position
on the chair.  The dress was a mess, its once
exquisite
flowing material now crinkled and sticking up and out at odd angles.  Moving to the window she
peered at the clock on the wall, sighing softly
-
6:00 already.  In an hour they would be down to take Carly to surgery, her stomach flipping at the thought of he
r
beloved Carly undertaking such an operation, fear and concern filling her.  She knew that it was
routine
, but it was Carly...
her little girl.
 
With a gentle smile on her face she
looked over at the child asleep on the bed, her features so serious, her small
heart-
shaped mouth set mutinously,
brows drawn in a frown,
Sara’s heart filling with the love she felt for the little girl.

The movement from the door
made Sara jump, smiling warmly seeing
Rachel
st
anding
with a large bag in her hand.   Motioning the other woman in
,
she
looked at her with t
he surprise she felt
.

“Rachel?
How...what?
”
the questions falling over themselves as she
whispered in confusion.
 
Rachel
g
ave
a small chuckle
,
her eyes falling onto the small child still sleeping in the bed, a gentle compassionate look entering her
features
. 
“How is she
?
Darius phoned and told me that you were here with the little girl you are adopting”
,
her
voice kindly, Sara feeling the slamming awareness of his name
.
 
“H...He did?
”
she
managed gently,
Rachel
nodding
.

“He
had
me up at four this m
orning”
,
waving
away the
apologetic
words that
rose
to Sara’s mouth
. 
“No...
Its
fine
”
,
her gaze once more returning to the bed
.
 
“I was around at some warehouses I know...they are open super early, so it was no problem. 
I think I got everything on his list”
,
handing over the large overnight bag, gently patting Sara’s arm
.
 
“If you need anything else...anything...I promise it is no bother, just ring me”

Sara nodded as she
once again thanked her,
Rachel
slowly and silently once more backing out of the room, giving her a final wave as she
disappeared out of sight.
 
Opening the bag, she
g
ave
a smile seeing the jeans, t-shirt and trainers, sighing with pleasure at the small silk bag full of toiletries.  Delving deeper she
dr
ew
out small bright pink pyjamas decorated with images of
princesses and nightdresses also, smiling at the expensive and wonderful items, her eyes once more looking at the small girl on the bed, wearing pyjamas which had
seen better days
,
thankful that Darius
included items for Carly on his list.

Delving further
,
she
f
elt the small happy tear rise to her eye as she
pulled out a large teddy bear, one of the softest she
had
ever felt, her lips curling into a large grin as she
quietly moved over to
place the bear on the bed beside Carly so that it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up.  An assortment of books and toys completed the contents of the bag, and Sara
placed them on the nightstand
,
brightening the austere room instantly.

Sh
e
hoped that there would have been some word from Darius...a note,
a
card, but there was nothing, the happiness she felt from the many gifts marred by his silence.
  He
had
left for Italy with a last kindly act...and silence for her, Sara feeling the pain o
f knowing that he must have nothing but contempt for her.  She wished that she could tell him how she felt...how she loved him...but it was too late for that.  With a heavy heart she wondered if he would even look her up when he did eventually return fro
m Italy.

The stirring of the little girl on the bed as she
woke
pulled her thoughts back as Sara
moved over to sit on the chair
.
 
“Good morning sleepyhead”
,
she
chuckled softly as Carly’s eyes
flutter
ed
open, a sweet smile on her lips as she
saw
Sara so close.  As she
moved
,
her hands
touched the bear, her eyes flying to it as she
gave
an excited squeal
. 
“Look
...
look Sara...I got a
teddy bear”
,
her small features becoming momentarily so serious
. 
“I told you I was brave”
 
Sara nodded as the child
pulled the bear against herself, hugging it lovingly
before holding it out for her to see
.

“You are the bravest little girl I know”
,
Sara
stated somberly as Carly
giggled
,
pulling it to herself once more
. 
“His name is
Teddy
”
,
she
declared, as Sara
held back the laugh, nodding seriously
in agreement
. 
“The best name ever”
,
she
declared, delighting the little girl.

The entrance of the nurse
, so jovial and kindly
saw
all the nerves return once more as they
prepared Carly for surgery.  She
had
been allowed to walk as far as the theatre with the little girl, holding her
hand
,
ignoring the looks of those they passed as she still wore
the clothes of the previous evening.  With a final kiss on her small cheek and a promise to look after Tedd
y, Sara
returned to the room, the nurses allowing her to use the bathroom to shower and change
, Sara gaining some relief from feeling clean once more
.

Two hours later she
looked in the room
,
breathing a sigh of relie
f that the surgery
had
gone to plan.  She
was
told that the little girl would be kept in
post-
op until she
woke
,
normally
about four hours, giving her time to get some breakfast before returning to
Carly’s
ward to wait for her return.

At midday she
frowned as Beth
,
the
manager
of the children’s home Carly had
been assigned to appeared, anger filling
Sara
, before confusion
,
seeing the woman beside her.  The senior social worker, Janice, a kindly and fair woman,
looked warily at Sara, Be
th looking malevolently smug.
 
“How is Carly?”
Janis was the first to talk, smiling softly at the nervous-looking Sara.
 
“She is fine...the operation went well”
,
she
responded, her eyes
searching
,
moving
to Beth, her voice angry
. 
“She should have seen a
d
octor earlier”

Beth glar
ed
back, her tone snippy
,
“I made sure that she was seen”
,
her mouth curling into a snarl, Sara biting her tongue not to lash out at the woman.
 
“Sara...I am sorry but we have to talk
”
Janice
moved
over to stand closer to her.
 
“
Please understand that this has been taken out of my hands...but we have found a couple who want to adopt Carly”
 
Sara
felt her legs start to shake, her knees weakening as she put out a hand to the wall to steady herself, her eyes staring in stunned shock.

“N...no...
y
...
you can’t.  Three months.  I have a court order stating that I have three months to get everything in place...things have just been crazy”
,
her voice pleading as she
stared at
Janice
.  The older woman
looked uncomfortable
, her
features softening
. 
“
As I said,
it
was taken out of my hands
.  
I am sorry Sara
, I
really am
”
At
this Beth
stepped forward, her face full of malevolent pleasure
.
 
“Carly needs a reliable stable home.  You have
had
over seven weeks to get your life in order Sara, and you ar
e no further forward now than you were then”
,
her voice dripp
ed
with barely contained hatred
. 
“You still have no home, no job
”
Sara’s
eyes flicked between the two women “I have a job.  I start at the Garelli Corporation tomorrow”