Harley's POV
"I…I...am.. going to London", Jim stutters, squeezing his eyes shut.
My mouth hangs open as shock courses through me. I can't process what he means by going to London.
Is he talking about us? If that is it, then it's good news, even though I am going to miss my job.
"London? What's happening there?" I close my open mouth and question him, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and the loud pounding of my heart.
"I got a job offer there." He informs me.
"That's great news. When are we going?" I watch him intensely, studying his countenance.
I am facing him squarely outside his apartment, watching the rainbows after a heavy downpour when he announced the news to me.
Jim has been my boyfriend for 5 years and he has been searching for a job since he lost the former one, all to no avail. He has no qualifications and that has made the search so difficult.
"I'm going alone, Harley", he says and I raise my head instantly, glaring at him.
"But I'll be back for you, I promise." He is breathing heavily and I can see how hard he is trying to stop himself from crying. He must have been finding it hard to tell me about it all along.
"How long have you been harboring this thought without letting me know?"
"Since last week", he replies with guilt and looks down.
Anger fill me up instantly and I yell at him. "Last week? Are you crazy or something? After all these years? I got a job in Boston but you didn't allow me to go because of your fu**ing insecurities and now you want to leave me. Are you insane?"
He is silent and it is pissing me off. I try to control the urge to cry. I am used to having him around. He is my sleeping pill.
I barely sleep at night but with Jim beside me, I find sleep just by placing my head on his chest. He is all I have ever wanted. He is the only one who cares about me, apart from my grandmother. He is my first and true love.
Where will I start from? I ask myself inwardly, swallowing the lump of dread stuck in my throat.
"Jim, please don't go", I finally swallow my pride and beg but it is obvious that his mind is made up. He shakes his head sadly and I burst into uncontrollable tears.
"Harley", he stands up to hug me and I move away.
"I'm sorry", he apologizes, without looking at me.
My heart irks.
I wipe my tears as I sob. "So you won't change your mind?"
"I'm doing this for us."
"Fuck you! I hate you", I yell at the top of my voice. "You're doing this for yourself, not for us." I run into his room.
He follows me.
I place my face in my hands and fall to the ground, beside the bed, crying.
"I'm sorry. I promise to be back, Harley. Believe me." I hear him utter with a hint of pain.
I cry for a while before asking. "How do you want me to sleep at night without you?"
He can't answer that. He knows what I am going through and how hard I find sleeping at night difficult. But he doesn't want to be stopped. He has made a decision already and he needs to stick to that one decision that can change our lives forever.
But am I ready to adapt to the new lifestyle of not having him around to help out with my nightmares?
"I'm sorry, Harley", he says and moves away from me. He sits on the bed with his head bent. He is controlling himself from tearing up in front of me.
I am stunned that he isn't ready to compromise. Jim won't go back on his words. He is going to London and that is final. There is nothing else to say to convince him.
I stand up and made for the door.
"Harley", he calls when he raises his head and sees me walking to the door. I stop in my tracks, hoping he will change his mind at the last minute.
Hot tears trickled down my eyes. I can't get a grip on myself. This is the man I love with every fiber in me. My life is circled around his. My dreams, my aspirations, my fears, but now he is also leaving me.....just like the rest of them did.
The people who loved me always end up leaving. My parents left, my brother, and everyone. Jim is my closest friend. But here he is, talking about leaving me too.
Can life be any better?
"Take care of yourself. Remember that I love you and I'll always do." He tells me.
This isn't what I am expecting to hear from him. I feel the remaining pieces of my heart shattering into shreds because of how my chest is hurting so badly.
I almost burst into tears again as I look back at his cute face. I can see the worry etch on his face. And the sadness. He is finding it hard to let go. But I hate him for doing this to me.
"Go well," I say and run out, without any further persuasion or argument.
****
Harley's POV
I am scribbling Jim's name in my diary as I lay curled up on my bed. I miss him badly and can't wait for the 2 years he said he would be away. I want to be back in his arms again and feel his lips on mine.
Jim has been away for three days. There are bags below my eyes, showing how I have been unable to sleep for the past three days.
As I try to write the name Jim and I planned to name our last-child, my phone rings.
Thinking of Jim, I quickly get up to take the phone. I am disappointed to see Anita's name flashing across my phone screen. Anita is my colleague at the hospital and I wonder why she is calling as a frown touches my lips.
I pick up the call lazily.
"Harley", Anita's high-pitch voice booms into my ears, and I roll my eyes, wishing she can see me. Anita is neither a close friend nor is she my enemy. I will categorize her as just a colleague. The only friend I have is Chelsea.
"How are you?" She asks with a tone of concern.
"I am fine", my voice is laced with frustration.
"Hmm. I need a favor..", she stops mid-way and I wonder what it is she wants from me this time.
"What is it?" I demand with disinterest as I lay back on my belly, closing my eyes and seeing the image of Jim. I wish he is the one calling me instead of Anita.
"Can you please cover up for me at the hospital? I won't be available tonight", there is a hint of doubt in her voice.
Even though I want to tell her no, the tone won't let me. This will be the second time I will be covering up for her. I am not supposed to be at work till tomorrow night.
I sigh heavily and look at the clock. It is past 6 pm already. I know it won't hurt to help her out. My anger towards Jim has not dissipated at all. I know tonight I won't be able to sleep also, so I should make good use of tonight by helping someone in need.
"Harley, please I promise this will be the last time I will ask you…."
"It's fine", I said in irritation. "I'm coming."
"Really?"! She squeals in excitement and I exhale deeply. "Thank you."
"My pleasure. I will be there in a jiffy", I declare.
"See you", she yells and hangs up. I look around my room to see how untidy it is.
Instead of standing up to clean it, I walk slowly to the bathroom to take a shower, with the intention of cleaning my room up tomorrow morning after covering up tonight's duty for Anita.
Harley's POVI got to work half an hour later and Anita got off work happily after presenting the files of the two patients who are inside wards 2 and 10 respectively.I saunter towards ward 2, after changing my clothes. There is a boy of 10 years watching me as I enter. There is a deviant look on his face. I plaster a smile on my face, despite my frustration. This is what it takes to be a nurse."Hello pretty boy", I say and move closer. He is a pretty boy with blue eyes. He is looking calm and he isn't looking like someone who is sick. I open his file and read through it. When I bring out the injection, I can see the fear on his face."Don't worry, I'll be gentle", I assure him but the boy stands up and makes for the door. I am quick to catch him.So much for coming from the slum, I muse to myself.I am a well-trained judoist
Antonio's POVWhen I wake up from my deep slumber, I groan remembering what happened earlier. I have no idea what that crazy girl gave me that made me sleep for so long. I am sure she knows nothing of me, if not she wouldn't have done that. I am going to show her who I am, no one messes with me and goes scot-free, except Xavier's gang because I have no power to fight them.I am sure it was one of Xavier's men who shot me.Xavier, Brandon, and I have come a long way, we used to be good friends until something tragic happened, and that will be a story for another day. Xavier and I became enemies and since Brandon is always by my side, Brandon became his enemy too but his hatred for me surpasses that of Brandon's.
Harley's POVI can't believe the doctor fired me because of the idiot guy. I never thought the doctor would do that. I thought he liked me. I could see the look of defeat on the so-called Billionaire's face and a look of pity on his friend's face and Anita's.I picked up my things and left the hospital.As soon as I get home, I walk into the house to see my grandmother knitting another cardigan for me in the living room. The last one she did was for Jim.Seeing her in the wheelchair makes the realit
Antonio's POVMy emotions are all over the place as Brandon drives me back home. In silence, my jaw tightens, and I grit my teeth in anger, remembering how that crazy lady rejected my offer. I can't believe she is so proud despite being poor. I am employing her to be my personal nurse so I can take my revenge on her and show her the stuff I am made of, even though I have no plans to deprive her of her payment. Who the hell does she think she is? She did not only pierce me hard on the buttocks, but she also insulted and humiliated me. How could she?The more I think of what happened between us, especially how she rejected me without giving it any thought like I thought she would is the most annoying. It is making me restless because I can't take my revenge on her anymore. I don't even know where she lives but I have gotten her full name from the doctor. Harley Davidson. A first-level Nurse.I hear a chuckle and I snap my head towards Brandon who is driving with a soft smile forming
Harley's POVAfter I ended the call with the arrogant man, I dropped the phone and stared into space, thinking of what just happened. Why the hell is he asking me to become his personal nurse? So he can deal with me, use me the way he wants, humiliate me and make me beg for money? I don't even understand what he wants.Is he this foolish not to know that I am not a girl who will stoop so low to grab the opportunity of being a personal nurse for an arrogant fool like him? I don't even care if he is a billionaire or not. His behavior and lack of approach are totally out of it. I just feel bad that he has a good look. He ought to be as ugly as a duckling. That appearance would have fitted his dark and stupid mind.I blow a sigh and lean back on the headboard.Grandma must have heard me crying before Jim called me. I heard the sound of her wheelchair fading away. I feel she doesn't need to know what is happening. I don't want to tell her that I lost my job and I can't afford to pay her
Harley's POVI increase my pace, ignoring the discomfort and sound my heels are producing on the marble floor of the entrance of the company. It's been two whole weeks of job hunting and two weeks of pure torture that I have been through just to get rid of Jim's thoughts from my mind. He hasn't been picking up my calls and he hasn't called either. I find it very hard to believe that we are truly done. Everything we have shared means nothing to him.Reality dawns on me when I tried calling three days back and I found out he has changed his number. Sadness engulfs me, sinking in the realization that Jim is done with me and gone forever. It is still hard to let go because I still think of him once in a while, despite my resolution to completely forget about him and move on with my life. I guess my failure to secure another job after two weeks of losing my job is also a factor. If only I am still working, I will have no time to think about my problems. I will bury myself in my work by b
Antonio's POVI never thought this crazy fellow and I will ever meet again. I am glad we are meeting right here in my office of all places. I realize my little plan to make her life miserable is working after all and my smile broadens. I feel a genuine satisfaction in my heart. I noticed her shocked expression after she recognized me and the color drained from her face. It took me a while to recognize her too because she looks different from the miserable fellow I met that night. Today, she looks more responsible and a little pretty in her cheap dress. I want to laugh in her face. Where has her pride led her? How can she be poor and proud at the same time? What exactly is she proud of?Pinning her with a gaze full of satisfaction, her shoulder drops in disappointment and I see a flash of pain and fear. This is what I want. This is what I have been dreaming of seeing on her face. This is what I thought I would see that day when I threatened to sue the hospital but I didn't see it a
Harley's POVI look out of the coffee shop with a distant look on my face, until Chelsea's hand touches mine, pulling me out of my reverie. I turn to gaze at her and she flashes me a smile.I sigh.I was tempted to hit the billionaire's head with something but I refrained from doing so. He is the most annoying and obnoxious man I have ever met.What was the big deal with not apologizing after two weeks? I just wanted to help out but it turned out to be a misfortune for me. Anita is still in the hospital as the staff there while I am out here, stranded, broke and jobless."Harley", Chelsea calls me. I look down at the cup of milkshake in the middle of the desk between Chelsea and me. She is sitting opposite me and our chair is close to the window. I drag the cup closer and take a sip of the milkshake from the straw, hoping it will calm my nerves and allow me to talk to Chelsea about what is happening.I had called her immediately after leaving the office of the arrogant man and she pr