Chapter 21

Aurora’s POV

I take a deep breath to battle against the dizziness that slams into my body. Why me? It’s been two days since I first started feeling sick, and even though I’ve taken medicine, I still feel nauseous and occasionally feel dizzy.

The headache pulsing behind my eyes also makes me want to cover my head and crawl into bed, but I can’t. The lack of sleep is catching up with me, making it difficult to work.

Work. I almost laugh because I haven’t been able to get much work done over the last two days due to feeling sick. No one else seems to notice, not even Thorne, who has been keeping his distance since he got angry at me during our meeting with Jackson.

I’ve only talked to him when necessary, but each time he leaves his office or calls for me, I startle easily. The way he snapped at me in the meeting stayed with me, and now I wonder if he’ll get angry again.

My mind goes back over the last few days as it searches for a possible reason for my sickness. I might have caught something from the hospital, or I could have eaten something bad, but I just can’t remember what it would be.

Either way, I can’t let something like a few days of being sick keep me from doing my best at work. I have bills to pay to keep myself and Sophie afloat. She may spend most of her time in the hospital, but I still buy her things. Clothes, books, or anything I can to help her be more at peace while she’s cooped up.

And now I can’t visit her. I don’t want her to catch whatever sickness I have, which means I’ll have to wait until I’m better to go to her.

Another wave of nausea hits me, and I push myself to my feet. On shaky legs, I make my way to the bathroom, making sure to stay close to the wall in case I need to lean against it. I notice some stares as I pass by other people, but no one stops me even as I enter the bathroom and start splashing cool water on my face.

Once I feel a bit better, though not by much, I take two anti-nausea pills and swallow them with a bit of difficulty. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. I steady myself and then remember the file folder on my desk.

Crap. I was supposed to take the newly edited company collaboration file to Thorne by lunch. I hurry back to my desk, catching a glimpse of a clock as I do, and only push myself to move faster. The dizzy feeling grows, but I push it aside, swipe the file from my desk, and head to Thorne’s office.

After my mistake the other day, I don’t want to make Thorne again. He’s been pretty silent toward me, distant, though I’m not sure if he’s still angry. He also hasn’t come to the house or my bed since that day either. However, I’m okay with that. I don’t think sleeping with Thorne right now would make me feel better; in fact, it would probably make me feel sicker.

Just the thought of trying to have sex right now makes my stomach churn. I would hate to throw up on him in the middle of such an intimate moment.

Again, I try not to think about it too hard since it only makes my head ache more.

Knocking on Thorne’s office door, I wait until he calls for me to enter before I walk inside. Thick silence greets me, an awkward air filling the space between us when he looks up and doesn’t say anything.

I’ve apologized for my mistake many times, but I’m not sure if he accepted the apology. I did mess up really bad, though. It took him a long time and a lot of effort on his part to get the paperwork I had accidentally ruined.

Hopefully this new paperwork can ease the tension.

“I brought the company collaboration file,” I tell Thorne, passing the folder to him. I wait nervously as he reads over the file. However, instead of telling me I did a good job, he silently glares at the paper and flips it to the next page.

“What is this?” He growls, finally looking up at me. The heated, angry gaze cements my feet to the floor.

“I-It’s the list of companies requesting collaboration, along with the projects they want to collaborate on, like you asked.”

Had he forgotten?

No. Thorne wouldn’t forget something like that.

He holds the file up in front of me. “This,” he waves the file, “is a list of employees to be promoted, not the collaborating companies.”

“What?” I stumble forward, catching myself on his desk as I take the file from his hand. And he’s right. I shake my head. “I-I swear it was in this folder.” My eyes run over the names, and I spot Jackson’s name near the middle of the page. Where did this come from?

I blink the dizziness away and shake my head again.

“I didn’t make this list, Thorne. I don’t know—”

“And I don’t know why you keep making mistakes when your tasks are as simple as this,” he growls. Something inside me dies at his anger, and I lower my head.

“I…”

What am I supposed to say to that?

“The original file was in this folder,” I mutter. “

“Then where is it, Aurora? I can’t keep letting mistakes slide,” he says, rubbing his eyes. “If you can’t do your job properly, you won’t have one. No one wants a sloppy worker, and I’m disappointed.”

The displeasure in his tone hit me right in the chest. I didn’t mean to mess up. I could have sworn that I had the right file. I even checked twice before putting it in the folder. Even if I wanted to argue, I can’t. I see the promotion list. It’s clearly not the company collaboration list.

So, I say the only thing I can, pushing all my sincerity and remorse into my words so he knows that I really mean it. It isn’t an empty apology.

“I-I’m sorry, Thorne.”