"Why didn't you tell me you know what the bloody stalker looks like? It could have saved me, and everyone else, a lot of time and effort,"Harry shouted the moment the door to their quite closed. Silence greeted his question. Elena refused to look at him as she made her way to her room. The progress was admittedly slow but anything was better than being battered by him. "Elena? Els?" But, she realised, too late, that he moved faster than her and could still block her way. Like now, spreading his legs and placing his arms on his hips to cover the hallway.

"Move,"she said through gritted teeth. Her feet were killing her, her back was throbbing in symphony and her mind was frayed beyond belief, fear pounding in from all corners. All of these she had told him, in one way or another throughout the evening. And he wanted to talk about it now? Glaring at him, she tried again. "Harry, move damn it. I don't want to talk about it now."

"Like when you were willing to talk about it this morning? Alright. Then tell me when. Tomorrow morning? Next week? Next year?"

"Not now." Fatigue and stress wearing down her nerves, she could feel the fear creeping in, the sticky, thick fog settling into her mind. Feeling as if there was a shadow looming over her, her eyes darted all over the room. Every shadow and dark corners made her pulse jump. She wanted to move, to run despite her exhaustion, to find a safe spot where no one could find her, safe from any and every eye.

"Els, are you alright?"he suddenly asked, his hand reaching to touch her. Who was he? Why did he want to grab her? Why couldn't he leave her alone? Alarms began blaring in her mind, she took step back. And another. And another. Until she couldn't move anymore. Her heart settled when she saw that he wasn't moving closer to her. But why were the walls undulating and looking like they were closing in on her?

Taking deep breaths, she calmed herself. In her heart, she knew that this was just a figment of her imagination, her mind playing tricks on her. But something in her wasn't listening. Whether it was her instinct or her nerves, she couldn't stop feeling threatened. Her skin itched, as if they were feeling hundreds of eyes, malicious eyes. So many eyes. Too many.

"Stop,"the man said, his eyes intent. Stop? Stop what? She wasn't doing anything. Why was he looking at her like that? His eyes were so cold. Why was he so angry with her? A sudden gust of air conditioned air hit them and her cheeks felt surprisingly cold. Cold? Her cheeks were wet? Her hand came up and she saw that her hands were trembling. Trembling? Was she scared? Angry? Why couldn't she know?

"Elena? Elena!"

Why was the man so close? When did he come? She had to move- Why couldn't she move?

"Breathe, Els. Breathe. Breathe, damn it."

The world was shaking so much. It was becoming darker too. But with the darkness came sweet relief. Relief from the pressure and fear.

Without a second's thought, she welcomed it with open arms.

------@@@@------

Running his hand over his face, Harry couldn't believe how his evening was turning out. It was honestly the worst night of his life. Not evening being kicked out of the company he had nurtured for a decade came close. Pacing around the hallway, he ran over the course of the evening.

First had been the stalker. After enduring the tense dinner, finding out that Elena knew the man and hadn't told him was like lighting a keg of dynamite. He had wanted to question her about it. To be honest to himself, he'd wanted to shake the truth from her. For a moment there, he had doubted her, thinking she might be working with Xavier to catch him in a bad situation. Maybe that's why she brought up marriage. And that moment of distrust had shaken him. Luckily, his cousins had returned, having looked for them when they'd unexpectedly split up.

Then the car ride back to the hotel wasn't pleasant either. The car was barely able to contain the explosion that ran through his veins. Elena hadn't talked either. She had shifted around, complaining about her back ache or headache or something. Probably something made up to get out of this, he had thought but he'd learned otherwise now.

When they had gotten to the room, he had been raring to go, wanting to get to the bottom of this. Wanting to rid himself of the suffocating ropes of suspicion. So he had turned a blind eye to her signs of exhaustion and discomfort, signs that he only recognised now. Now, in hindsight.

Feeling like hitting his head against the wall, he realised that he must have triggered a reaction in her. Something that had made her look at him with cold eyes filled with fear and confusion. The worst part had been when she had slowly turned blue. She had been hyperventilating so badly and he had been standing there like a log, not doing anything. Not knowing what to do. He couldn't believe the relief he had felt when she had lost consciousness. He'd managed to catch her before she fell.

He had called an ambulance soon after. And here he was, pacing the hallway, waiting for news of her. There were so many nurses and doctors walking around but no one was telling him anything. He could barely repress the urge to grab and demand answers.

"Harry!"

Whipping his head around at the sound of his voice, he was surprised to see Jason and April walking down the hall. Both of them looked worried expressions and Harry immediately grabbed his arm when they were near. For some reason, a part of him crumbled. He barely managed to keep his composure.

"What are you doing here?"he asked, his voice having become hoarse after the tense few hours he'd had. Clearing his throat, tears suddenly sprang into his eyes when April hugged him. Slowly, his arms came around her.

"Jason overheard one of staff talking about it,"April related, looking up at him concerned.

"I went down because April was craving something and heard about the ambulance and pregnant woman. When I couldn't get you at your room, I pieced everything together,"Jason explained, his arm becoming an anchor in Harry's rocky sea. "I tried to get Cameron but he wasn't answering. I thought they were with you. Anyway, how's Elena?"

"I don't know. No one's told me anything." Harry couldn't help the way his voice broke. Just thinking about a future without her made him feel like he'd fallen into an abyss. He had a feeling the breakdown before was just the tip of the iceberg. He just froze in fear.

"Let me go and ask. April, stay with him."

Harry barely noticed Jason leave, barely felt April lead him to the benches that lined hospital hallways. All he was doing was hoping, praying for the first time in his life, that Elena was still alive.

------@@@@-----

The beeping in the room was wearing on Harry's nerves. His eyes fixed on the still pale Elena, his hands gripping the closest hand tightly, he was deaf to the conversation that was happening just feets away from where he was seated. He had heard what the doctor had said before. There was no need for any more details.

Guilt and worry coursed through his veins. Why had he done that? How could he have accused her? She hadn't gained consciousness once. Not during the ambulance ride. Not during the examination. Not during the transfer to the room. It was driving him crazy. But he knew if he let it out, he would be dragged out. He didn't want that. It's just, why won't she wake up?

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at Jason, lost. His cousin had a grim look in his face. His stomach dropped to his shoes. Did the doctor say something else? Something worse? His heart racing, he shot to his feet and gripped Jason's shoulders. Why wouldn't he say anything?

"Harry,"April yelped before catching herself. Then she turned placid eyes on him. "Calm down. And let him go." Under her frown, he slowly removed his hands. He wanted to question them, to demand answers but he was barely keeping himself in check. The doctor had only given them a cursory overview when they had met at the hallway. Harry had thought that there was nothing else to worry about but the way they were acting made his back tense. Taking a deep breath, he waited, his eyes moving from Jason to April and back again.

"They are going to keep her here for observation. The twins are fine but the fact that she hasn't woken up worries them. Plus her vitals are still elevated. Doesn't help that she's carrying twins. So it will be a couple of days before she can leave. That means that you won't be able to intercept Xavier at the party-"

"Screw the party,"Harry barked. Relief that there wasn't anything else wrong with her, he barely managed to stay on his feet. Holding a hand out when Jason was going to support him, he ran his hand over his face. "That's great. That's great."

"But, Harry, didn't you come here to confront Xavier with his shady dealings.?"April asked in a perplexed voice. "I mean, that's why we are all here. Right?"

Harry could understand her confusion. Indeed, that had been the reason he had come here. But he had done some soul searching while waiting. And one thing stood out. It was that Elena was number one in his life. Everything else was a distant second.

Why was he trying so hard to get something that had discarded him? The moment Xavier came back, everyone was clamoring to give him what he wanted. He wanted the company, his parents went out of their way to arrange it for him.Their younger son? The current CEO? Who cared? In a small corner of his heart, he felt a pinch but it was barely enough to sustain his attention. Just looking at Elena made it all go away.

Anyway, he didn't need to get the company back. He didn't even want the job in the first place. The role of helming the company had been thrust upon him. He, who had wanted to travel and explore the world, had been anchored down by this yoke called family and it hadn't occurred to him to discard it. Instead, he had been clinging onto it like barnacles to a ship. Now, with Elena's safety being threatened, her health being jeopardised, he had had to take another look at his life.

It could have been said that he didn't have to give up all he had built just for her. But this paranoia, this anger that was partly a byproduct of this incessant fear, needed to stop. He couldn't believe how easy it had been for him to question her, doubt her. He had wanted it to be like the first time. Where there was no status, just them.

And it wasn't like he needed the job. He had enough wealth to sustain the four of them. Everything he owned was in his name and paid for. If he needed anything, he could just start another company. In any field and at any size. And he could work as and when so there would be plenty of opportunities to spend time with his family. He knew it wasn't going to be easy if went down that road but the connections he'd built would come in handy. And, most importantly, his family would be his priority.

He had decided.

AN: Hey guys. Hope you like this chapter. Harry was quite the villain here. I hope Elena doesn't pull away too much. What do you think?

Anyway, please VOTE and COMMENT if you did. And follow me on Wattpad or Twitter for more info.

THANKS

Next update:28 Nov 2018