A Baby For Billionaire Knox

THEME: The silent treatment

IN THE HUMAN WORLD

SUNDAY EVENING

Eretia woke up to a cool evening. She lay on the bed in silence for a moment. She felt stronger now with no pains. She didn’t hear any sound behind the door.

Knox? Where did he go? Her eyes scanned the room until it flickered on the wall clock. The time was 7:30 p. m. Knox wasn’t in the room.

Eretia realized that she wasn’t in her bedroom but Knox’s room. She pushed herself up and crawled out of bed. She left the room and headed towards the sitting room.

Knox Martins was there. He sat on the couch. She stood there and watched as he typed on his system. Eretia cleared her throat. Knox Martins turned and looked at her. It looked as if he hadn’t slept well. His eyes were shadowed.

“How are you doing?” Knox asked.

“Better.” Eretia muttered.

Knox nodded and focused his attention on the system. Eretia wanted to know how long she had been out. She rubbed her palms together and pondered if she should ask him.

Knox Martins closed his laptop and looked straight at her.”You passed out on the beach yesterday afternoon.” Knox said with a serious face as if he had read her mind.

“I.. I.. I..” She stuttered.

“Why do you keep passing out every time?” He asked.

Eretia avoided his gaze and looked down at Neifion. She didn’t know what to say to him. And there was no way she was going to reveal her identity to him.

“Are you ill?” He asked.

“No.” Her response was sharp.

“Then what? You were out for a whole day and you had nightmares in between…” Knox stopped to swallow hard. “And.. and I had no idea of what to do.” He completed.

Eretia looked up at him. Then she remembered the nightmare. The mermaid crying for her to save her and the half dried lake filled with horrible looking mermaids. And Knox holding her tightly until she had fallen asleep.

“Eretia, is there something you are hiding from me?” He asked in a tight whisper but that was damn straight!

Eretia looked away and stared into space. He wanted her to tell him the truth. He was tired of trying to figure if she is human or a mermaid and if what she wrote in her diary was true.

Eretia heartbeat accelerated. He sounded like he knew her secret. Her palms became sweaty and she couldn’t bring herself to tell him everything. Knox Martins would hate her if she told him her true identity.

“Eretia-”

“There is nothing wrong with me.” Eretia cuts in sharply.

Knox stared intently at her. “Okay.” He muttered.

Knox stood up and walked to his bedroom. Eretia blinked back tears that threatened to spill. Some seconds clicked by and Knox came out of his bedroom to the living room. “I am heading out.” He said.

“Knox.” She called out to him.

Knox stopped at the door hoping she would just tell him everything.

“Never mind.” Eretia mumbled. She rushed towards her room before he could say anything.

The tightness in her throat won’t let her spill the truth. She was scared of what his reaction would be. Eretia locked her bedroom door and broke down in tears. She sobbed silently.

Knox moved out of the house. He stayed two minutes in his car before pulling out of the driveway.

***********

Eretia opened her eyes slowly and sat up quickly. She glanced around the room and she realized that she had slept off in tears. Then she remembered everything. The thought of Knox Martins filled her mind.

What would happen to him if she return to her world? Eretia thought.

She walked to her bed and sat on it. She reached the drawer, the green light on the alarm clock beeped 9:30 p. m. It is really late. Eretia sighed as she settled to take out her diary but it wasn’t there.

Eretia searched and lifted every objects in the room but the diary was no where to be found. “Where did I dropped it?” Eretia asked herself.

She fell back on the bed to think of where she had dropped the diary the last time she wrote in it. But she couldn’t think of anything except Knox Martins that kept popping up in her mind. She wondered if he was back home.

Eretia rushed out of her room to check if he was home. “Knox.” She called out but got no response.

She checked his bedroom, bathroom and kitchen but he wasn’t anywhere in the house. Even his car was not in the driveway.

“Why isn’t he back yet?” She looked up at the wall clock. It was 9:50 p. m.

Eretia picked her phone on the couch and dialed his number. It was switched off. Then her stomach let out a loud growl. She was hungry. Eretia went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She hoped that Knox would return home soon but he didn’t show up. And she stayed up all night waiting for Knox Martins arrival.

Eretia gave up around 5:30 a. m and she slept off on the couch.

*******

MONDAY MORNING

Eretia woke up immediately she heard the door clicked. It was as if she had just slept for only ten minutes. She rubbed her sleepy eyes to have a clear vision and the first thing her eyes caught was Knox Martins. She stood up quickly and went to him.

“Good morning.” Eretia yawned loudly.

Knox Martins stared at her. “I was expecting you to-”

Knox walked away without listening to her and she followed him.

“Knox, I prepared dinner last night and stayed up all night waiting for you. And I was so worried when I tried your number but-”

Knox stopped abruptly and she almost bumped into him. “But it was switched off.” she completed.

“I didn’t ask you to prepare dinner for me. And I never asked you to stay up all night waiting for me.” Knox snapped at her.

Eretia’s eyes widened in shock. She was confused and taken aback by his sudden outburst. Knox started to walk away but soon stopped without facing her.

“There is no need to come with me to the office today.” Knox said in a low tone. And he walked into his room. Knox clenched his fists when he entered his room.

Knox Martins left that morning without saying anything to her. He didn’t want her at the office so she won’t pass out again. Even if she was truly a mermaid then it is best to keep her at home so others won’t find out. He thought.

******

TUESDAY MORNING

The silent treatment was killing him. Knox can’t keep avoiding her forever. If he want the truth then he should man up and confront her. Knox thought deeply as he sat in front of his Mahogany desk.

Knox glanced at Eretia’s desk and her image appeared on her chair. He knew that he was hallucinating but he didn’t want the image to disappear. He missed her smile and everything about her. Even though he was desperate to know things about her, he still kept calm and trying to give her a chance to open up to him.

But it seems Eretia wasn’t ready to tell him anything. She was afraid of what he would do and his reaction!