Alvin sat on the chair opposite his wife and watched her for signs of movement,she had been unconscious for two days and showed no sign of life in her. The dark circles under his eyes were evident signs of sleepless nights and the wrinkles on his forehead revealed his anxiety. Events of the week slowly flowed back into his memory and filled his thoughts; it had been a hectic one for him. He concluded. His main priority was to see the love of his life stand up from the bed.

    Just then he felt her fingers twitch and averted his gaze to her. His body soared with happiness and satisfaction as she finally opened her eyes and tried sitting up.

"Easy there babe, just lie down back" he said jumping up from his seat to hold her back.

"Alvin..is that you?" She asked squinting her eyes trying to make out the full figure,her Vision was blurry and she could sparingly make out the objects in the room. Her hands went to the back of her head and she jolted,pain ran through her body like an electric spark making her wince and lie down back.

"My head hurts a lot,it feels like a thunderstorm hit me. Why am I here Al?"

Alvin sighed and wrapped her in a full embrace, a moist substance soon formed on his shirt making him look down to see tears streaming out from Stacy's eyes. His heart tore at his chest while he payed blames on himself for being unable to take care of his family; if he had been more observant, Sara's cancer wouldn't have gotten this bad.

"Where's Sara?" Stacy sat up and pushed away from his embrace, her eyes scanning the room frantically for signs of her daughter. Anyone looking at her would think she was possessed.

"Sara is fine now dear but you need - "

"I want to see my daughter. I have to be sure she's okay" she pressed on and tried to get off the bed.

"Sara is fine Stacy...now lie down back on the bed immediately and get some rest!" Alvin shouted and sat down on the chair close to the bed. He rubbed his temples and tried to straighten out the wrinkles on his forehead.

   Stacy froze and stared in shock at the man sitting in front of her,that was when she noticed the dark bags that had formed under his eyes and the fatigue that had taken over his expression. Without uttering a word, she laid back silently on the bed and closed her eyes.

"How long have you been sitting here?" She asked slowly.

"You've been unconscious for two days now... And I've been sitting here for two nights waiting for you to wake up" he paused and looked up. "I know you are worried about Sara's situation but can you also consider your own health too? I can't risk losing both of you at the same time".

Stacy wanted to speak up but the hurt written all over his face forced her words to remain stuck in her mouth. Her husband had two sleepless nights because of her and the first thing she did when she woke up was to ask of Sara without bothering to know how he was doing. Alvin stood up immediately to avoid any discussion between them, he could read her emotions and guessed what was running through her mind but this wasn't the time for guilty conscience to play. All he wanted was for her to be awake and now she was, he felt satisfied.

"The doctor has placed you on a one week bed rest,that means you can't do anything at all so that your body can recover well. I'll have the cook come over to take care of your diet together with any of your belongings you might need". His words flowed out like instructions and Stacy couldn't help but listen to him.

"Where are you going to so early?" She questioned.

"I haven't been in the office for some days now and there are matters that need my attention urgently so I'll be heading off to sort things out" he answered.

"Does that include the movie Sara is acting in?"

He nodded. "Yes dear, the movie was placed on hold because of her but they have to finish it before the end of this month. I need to know the conditions they are stating because she's not physically fit to continue acting".

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later in the evening" she retorted accepting defeat. No matter what she said now, he wouldn't stay and the company was at a critical point where they needed him so she didn't have to act selfish.

"You'll see Sara once your body is healed up. Take care love" he came closer and gave her a light kiss before leaving the room.

The silence of the room pricked her skin like needles - this was because she hated being alone or staying in a quiet environment. Closing her eyes, she decided to go back to sleep and wait for her husband to return.

                      X.X.X
Alvin adjusted his tie as he got off the elevator before entering the conference room where the board meeting was to be held. A few of the company directors were present together with the screenwriter and producer of the movie Sara was filming in.

"Goodmorning" he greeted and took his seat in the revolving chair at the extreme end of the room.

"You're welcome Mr Ramirez" the producer spoke up extending his hands for a handshake but quickly retracted it back when it was left hanging.

A frown settled on his face as he folded his hands under his chin and focused his gaze on the producer.

"I'm sure you're quite aware that Sara is sick and I've been busy at the hospital so can you go straight to the point?"

Carlos,the producer cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Well Mr Ramirez, you know we scheduled for the film to be done shooting by the end of this month and released by early May but the crew has been on break for two weeks now".

He was getting angry and impatient already. Did they think because they were at the top of the entertainment industry that they could choose to do as they pleased just because their artiste was involved. One thing he didn't know was that Alvin was ruthless when dealing with greedy people like him and the artiste he was referring to in question was his daughter.

   Alvin's eyes turned cold and his gaze darkened, the cold domineering aura he gave off made the directors present shudder in fear and cast a warning look to the other party but they didn't grab the message and went on. They mistook the silence for fear.

"But I already compensated for the time wasted and have the blame for any losses that would be incurred in the future so what else do you want?" He placed his hands on the table and fixed an intense gaze at the producer. The both jolted and the screenwriter made to respond but was interrupted by Carlos.