“I want you to be happy Ella.I’ll do anything I can to make this right for you, to help you recover.”
“It’s not that I’m running away from you, Zee.If you order me to stay and go home, I will.I love you.But right now…” She hiccuped and shook her head, trying to find the words.
“I’ve felt so not like myself for the last while and I don’t know why.I love my life but…” This sounded like she was a whiny wife and she hated that.
Ella knew how fortunate they were, how much they had.
“Nevermind.”
“No, my girl, don’t just push down your own needs.Is that part of it?Tell me.”
Hearing Zee say it, with that cool steely authoritative cemented it in her mind.
“In part.Maybe I’ve just gotten stuck in a rut or in my comfort zone.You and our girls, my friends, everyone I see around me is out there chasing something and I’m content not to but that doesn’t mean that I don’t need…”
She couldn’t make it any clearer than that and the sentence hung there between them in the air.
“Right now, you don’t want to go home.We can get a hotel room.Or you can stay with Helena and Oliver?”The love in his voice pulled her apart.
“It’s okay, Zee.”
“Ella.”He brushed a gentle kiss against her lips, and she didn’t pull away.
He stood and brushed off his pants and sat down next to her on the bench, pulling her next to him.
“You surprised me when you said you didn’t want to go home.I reacted instead of listening to you.The amount of times you have put up with me going away?I think I can handle a night.”
“Only a night?”Ella dragged her fingers through his silver-grey hair.
“It’s a start.And I know you might be mad at me, dear heart, and I’m just going to have to accept that.We’re going to work through it though, together.”
“Why are you so sure?”Ella whispered with tears in her voice.
“Because I know you.And I know us.I know what we are capable of together.And without you, there is no us and I refuse to live with that possibility.We’ll do whatever necessary to patch us up.”
“Master, I love you.”
“I love you, dear heart.Now tell me, where do you want to spend the night?”
“Since you asked,” Ella said, a small smirk on her lips.“I want to go visit Nora.”
“Vancouver Island, it is,” Zee took out his phone.“And I know who can get you there right away.”
***
It helps to have billionaire friends and Ella was so grateful for Xander Montague’s generosity.Still reeling from the hospital stay, and the ordeal, she was happy to just go where she was told.
Zee hugged her hard and gave her a long, passionate kiss before he helped her on helicopter.
“I love you, Ella.I’m going to see you soon.”
“Love you, Zee.”Ella pressed her palm against his scraggly beard and her heart lurched but as hard as it was, she turned away from him and got on that helicopter.
After a quick trip, she landed on Vancouver Island and Nora was there to pick her up.
“Ella!You don’t have to say a thing unless you want to.We will talk more in the hot tub with a glass of wine.What a horrible thing you’ve endured.Let me take care of you.”Her friend wrapped her in a hug, her short blonde hair framing her big brown eyes filled with concern.
“Thank you, Nora.”
