Chapter 27

Carla closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting the urge to throw her fluffy slippers at him. She opened her eyes few seconds later and gave him a tight smile.

" Thanks for today, we'll see tomorrow " She said

He shook his head " No no, I don't want to see you in the office tomorrow, just stay home and do whatever you have to do. Some packing maybe, we're getting married soon you know "

Her nostrils flared " I'm not moving into your place until we get married just so you know "

He laughed " I didn't ask you to move in with me Carla, I only suggested you to start packing just in case you have lots of things to pack "

She calmed down a bit at that and nodded once " Okay, I'll see you later then " She waved a little and turned back to go into her home but his voice stopped her.

" Take care Bella, hmmm? " He said in a very soft, velvet tone that Carla wouldn't have heard if she had moved some more steps away.

She felt a pinge of disappointment coursed through her. Well, what had she been thinking? Had she expected him to hug and kissed her good night or what? She shook her head at the thought and looked back with a hint of smile on her lips.

" Good night " She said softly too.

He smiled back " Sleep tight, Carla "

He mouthed something else she couldn't quite comprehend and zoomed off before she could stop him and asked. She tilted her head to one side, trying to figure out what he had said but unfortunately, she couldn't come up with any reasonable meaning. She made up her mind to ask him later. Carla went to bed that night hugging the image of him close.

Two days later, she had just finished the stuff that would prove difficult later when she finally moved in with Liam, and she slumped down on the couch to take some rest when her phone rang. She picked it quickly, thinking it was Liam who called. He hadn't spoken to her for the past two days or came looking for her. She knew it made no sense as he could be busy but still, she couldn't help but get pissed off with him. Didn't he care about her at all? She had been asking herself this question for the last two days.

Her hopes deflated when she saw it was her Mom calling. She took some deep breaths and smiled in a bid to put more enthusiasm into her voice.

" Hi Mom! " She greeted cheerfully

But she frowned when the voice on the other end spoke, it wasn't her mother, she knew right away.

" Hi Carla, this is Adele, a friend of your Mom " The voice identified herself.

Carla's frown deepened, why had Adele called with her mom's phone? What had happened?

" Hello Adele, how have you been? Mom, is she okay? " Carla asked anxiously.

" I hope she is Carla, I really hope she gets better soon " Adele replied sadly.

Carla started to panic " Why? What's wrong? Talk to me please " She asked frantically.

" Listen Carla, your Mom has been in the sick bed for a while now and it's not getting any better, so I decided to call you because I thought she needed to see her daughter " Adele ended her words with a sniff which made Carla wondered if she was crying. Now she knew why her mother had sounded so indifferent when she had told her about her upcoming marriage.

" Okay Adele, I'll come to Houston right away, I'm not sure I'd arrive before nightfall though. Please look after her till I arrive, okay? " Carla pleaded with the old widow.

" Of course, take care honey, I hope you arrive here safely " Adele said softly.

" Sure, now I have to go pack some things, okay? "

" Okay darling, bye for now " Adele replied and ended the call.

Carla called Jenny and told her the news. Jenny wished Georgia a fast recovery and offered to look after her place for her. Carla thanked her and hung up. Now she contemplated calling Liam. He had to know, right? Before she could change her mind, she dialed his number quickly and waited impatiently for him to pick up. She was on the verge of hanging up when he spoke from his end.

" Hey Bella " He sounded somewhat happy.

She rolled her eyes at the name he had grown used to calling her " Hi "

" How are you? " He asked

She rolled her eyes again, why was he asking how she was when he didn't seem to care about her well being? She asked herself.

" I'm cool thanks " She answered anyway.

" Great, is there anything you need? " He asked again

" Nope, I'm just calling to tell you I would be traveling to Houston, Mom is sick and I need to go see her " She said quietly.

" Oh, sorry about that, when are you leaving? Do you want me to go with you? " He asked, sounding really sorry and eager to please her which was unlike him. Carla was confused by the new change of attitude.

" It's fine, I'll go alone, just thought of informing you, that's all " She replied

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again " Okay, when are you leaving? "

Carla sighed " I'm leaving as soon as I'm done packing "

" Oh really? Are you sure you're going to make it there before nightfall? " Liam asked slowly and Carla guessed he was frowning.

" I don't know, that's not even the big problem, I don't know how I'm gonna book a flight now, it's too late I think " She said thoughtfully and a frown was etched across her eyebrows.

" Flight? That's shouldn't be a problem, will you go in my jet? " He offered.

Carla's mouth fell open in surprise " You'd allow me to go in your jet? Whoa! I know you're rich, but damnit, I didn't know you're this influential "

" It comes with the bag " He said smugly and she could feel him smiling.

" Huh? " She asked with a frown.

" Nevermind, so what will it be? Will you accept my offer, future wife? " He asked in the same smug tone.

She rolled her eyes " No "

" No?! " He shrieked " Why?! The offer sounds real good and tempting so why on earth would you reject the offer? "

She shrugged, even though he couldn't see her " It would be pretty boring to me, I'll be alone in the huge jet. That's loneliness, Liam "

" Oh " He said quietly, quite taken aback by her reply.

" Your life has been pretty boring, no? Now I understand being rich has its own sad side, I'm sorry " She said quietly, already feeling sorry for him that he had to be in such a lonely life even if he was rich.

" It's fine " He said hoarsely, all the teasing tone in his voice gone. Both of them went quiet, occupied with their own thoughts until he spoke up again.

" So what will it be, Bella? Shall I perform my magic as Liam Blake? " He said smugly.

Carla frowned, knowing he was up to something " And what would that be? " She asked warily.

" I'd make sure you get your desired flight in minutes of course, I'm more than capable of doing that you know " He drawled.

" Really? You can do it? Well I guess it's true, you're Liam Blake after all " She mused.

" Of course! So whatcha say, milady? Shall I perform my magic while you wait for more minutes? " He asked with a smirk.

Carla took a deep breath and agreed to go on with it, there was nothing to lose after all " Okay, I'll take you up on your offer, I have nothing to lose anyway " She ended her words with a shrug.

" Besides, " She continued " It would pave way for me if everyone knew the great Liam Blake has got my back " She laughed humorlessly.

" Yeah baby, you can use me all you want, and correction? You're getting married to this great man soon " He said happily.

She rolled her eyes " Oh quit bluffing, I know you're great "

" Now now, go take a seat and relax while I pave the way for you " He sounded pleased with himself.

" You sure are something in the world of the high class, aren't you? " She muttered.

" Yeah, that I am " He replied and she could almost hear him rub his palms together in pleasure.

" It would do you more good if you were more humble " Carla snorted.

" Aye aye milady, your servant will be back soon " He said in a mocking way and Carla laughed heartily, finding it funny. He hung up a second later and she went to put some necessary things into place for her departure.

Then she waited for him patiently and five minutes later, her phone and she picked it eagerly.

" Hey " She greeted softly.

" All done, future Mrs Carla Blake, you're good to go! " He said excitedly.

" Whoa! You're really cool! Thank you so much! " Carla exclaimed, surprised at how swift he had pulled some strings just so he could make her comfortable.

" Yeah I know I'm cool, are you done packing up? " He asked, waving away her gratitude naturally.

She rolled her eyes, she was doing that a lot lately " Yeah I am, I just need to get my butt to the airport now. Send me the details, will you? " She asked in a very sweet voice.

" Oh the details, yeah... I already sent someone to your place, he has everything with him and he's going to drive you to the airport, you should see him in the next two minutes or... " His sentence trailed off as he checked his wristwatch, or so she guessed. At the same time, there was a knock on her door and he snapped his thumb and middle finger together, as though he had been waiting for it. He had been listening in on the background so he heard the knock too.

" There! That's him " He said lightly.

Carla was dumbfounded by the extent of his kindness, and for the third time, she felt she made the right choice by getting married to him even if they had no feelings for each other. They could do with the chemistry attraction between them.

" Awwnn Liam! Thank you! Thank you! " She said happily, almost on the verge of tears.

" Heyy, are you crying? " He asked nervously, wondering if he had managed to upset her when all he wanted to do was to make her happy.

She shook her head quickly, though he couldn't see her " No no! I'm not, I'm just so glad right now "

" Oh " He heaved a sigh of relief

" Just go answer the door, hmmn? Steve likes to do his work so accurate and he doesn't like to be kept waiting " He said teasingly.

" Oh oh! I almost forgot about him " She said and jumped off the couch, moving to the door.

She listened to the sound of his laughter as she got the door opened. A bulky man stood there, Carla could see his eyebrows were etched in a small frown. She immediately knew it was Steve. He really didn't like to be kept waiting, just like Liam said.

" Hello ma'am " He greeted politely

" Hello " She answered with a small smile

My boss.... " Steve started to speak but Carla cut him off.

" I know, Steve. Come on in " She smiled and opened the door wider for him and he preceded her inside.

Within some minutes, he had put everything in the car and stood, waiting by the passenger door which was opened. He was waiting for her obviously and she gave him a grateful smile before sliding in. Her phone rang again and she picked it without checking the caller ID. She was damn too tired and her journey hadn't even started.

" Hey baby, are you all set? " It was Liam.

" Yeah, I'm in the car now " She replied tiredly.

" Thanks for everything, Liam " She added

" You don't have to thank me, Carla. I only did what I needed to do, that's all " He said firmly.

" Still, thank you " She repeated and he sighed.

" It's okay, when are you coming back? " He asked, changing the subject.

Carla looked out of the window for a while before she answered " I don't know yet, it depends on how bad her situation is, a week at most " She said thoughtfully.

" Okay, I'll wait for you. I can't wait for you to come back so we'll have our wedding " He said softly.

Carla frowned slightly, why was he being so understanding? Last time she checked, he was in a hurry to get married to her so they could start making babies, so what changed?

" Liam? " She called

" Yeah? " He answered quietly

She hesitated for a few seconds before she finally talked " Are you okay? " She asked uncertainly.

" Yeah sure, why? " He said, laughing.

" Nothing, I'm just confused " She said slowly

" Why would you be? " He asked and she guessed he was frowning too.

" Nothing much, I'm just confused because you're being so understanding in this situation, which is quite unlike you " She said with a shrug and Steve glanced at her from the rearview mirror.

" It's your mother we're talking about Carla, and you thought I would proceed with the wedding as planned? Wouldn't that make me a monster? " He asked in a very grim voice.

" I... I just thought... " She started to speak, feeling very guilty that she had misunderstood him.

He cut her off " No Carla, I'm no monster. I would have gone with you if you didn't mind but you said you'd go alone so I have no choice but to wait for you "

" I'm sorry Liam " She said sadly, guilt eating her up.

" It's fine Bella, just come back home to daddy quick, will you? " He said in his usual smug tone.

" Yes daddy! " She answered him cheerfully and Steve looked at her from the rearview mirror again. She spared him a wink and he blushed, looking away quickly.

" Good girl " He drawled

" We're having our wedding as soon as you get back, hmm? " He asked, but it wasn't a question. It was more of an assurance and statement.

" Sure " She readily agreed this time, she couldn't refuse after all he had done to help her.

" I'll miss you so much, Bella " He said unexpectedly and Carla felt blush crept up her cheeks. What should she say to that now? Should she tell him she felt the same?

" Same here " She said softly

He didn't seem fazed by her confession and said casually " Take care, okay? I'll be calling you every hour till you arrive there "

" Okay take care too " She said and hung up.