Well then! I think I must've opened the floodgates when I introduced the kissing scene between the two. However, we all know that Maine needs a little more push to cross the invisible line. So below is as such. Hope you like this chapter.
Strong, suggestive and sexual language used. Thank you!
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Maine sat down on the side of her bed and began eating the soup that Richard brought in, not noticing the idiotic smile that slowly started forming on her lips. She might admit it or she might not, but she actually feels a little impressed and a lot touched because of Richard's gesture. No one has ever done something like this for her. Her parents maybe, but that was when she was still a kid and she was sick at that time. Never in her adult life, did anyone thought of her needs and actually did something about it.
But Richard did, didn't he? He didn't have to because seriously, I'm just his daughter's nurse, and pretty much a freeloader in his house, but he did. Without prompting, without malice, without any expectations of reciprocation. Well, there was that kiss, (again) BUT, he didn't do that without my permission. I met him head on and the resulting crash was good. No, great. Oh what the fuck, yeah it was AWESOME!
Maine finished the soup and actually felt a lot better but she took two tablets of the pain reliever anyway, for good measure. She drank the whole bottle of water in one go quenching her thirst, and then gave out a loud burp after. As she looked down on the empty bowl and bottle, she realized that she needed to clean up. For a minute, she contemplated on remaining inside her bedroom but the sane part of her took over. She can't possibly stay in there for the whole weekend now, can she? Ugh! Okay, time to face the music. So, she picked up the tray with the empty containers and headed out towards the living area.
Maine emerged from the bedroom hallway and instantly spotted the mysterious female sitting on the bar stools by the kitchen counter, fiddling with her phone. Maine looked around for Richard and Bella but they were nowhere to be found. That asshole! He had the nerve to kiss me while his other woman was in the same roof? OH my dear Maine. So gullible! So fuckin gullible! She mentally kicked herself for her stupidity and she was about to retreat back into her bedroom when the other woman looked up and spotted her. SHIT! Too late! Press on Maine, press on!
Maine moved forward towards the kitchen feeling like an inmate heading towards her inquisition. The other woman was just staring at her as the distance between them became shorter and shorter. Maine, for her part, didn't back down either. She looked at the other woman, as much as the other woman looked at her, taking her in like an opponent taking in the competition. First thing Maine noticed was how stunning the other woman was. Her complexion fair and flawless. Her eyes deep brown almost black and very expressive. Her face was perfect even without obvious makeup. And her hair, the color of midnight, cascaded down her shoulders. Maine swallowed once, twice considering her opponent. WHOA! Really Maine? Opponent? When did that happen? What competition is this? And much to her surprise, the other woman smiled. It wasn't the 'I'll eat you alive' smile but it was actually a friendly, welcoming one. That took Maine by surprise that she placed the tray in her hand on the kitchen counter, a little too loud.
"Hi! You must be Miss Mendoza. I've heard so much about you" the other woman stated, a little bit too cheery for Maine's taste.
Yeah, I bet you did. What? Like when you and that asshole share a glass of wine and talk about your servants. Or laugh about them even. Of how stupid and gullible some people are. Of how he kissed me and I kissed him right back! Huh? HUH?
"Oh yes. That would be me. Miss Mendoza at your service" Maine answered, her words dripping with sarcasm. But the other woman remained friendly and unaffected.
"I'm Christine" she stated while extending her hand for a handshake.
Maine met the hand with her own keeping her facial expression in check. She introduced herself like I'm supposed to know her. Well, I don't know you so HA!
"First of all, I just want to thank you for taking such good care of our sweet Bella. She's been through so much" Christine stated with a hint of sadness.
Maine could see the genuine sadness and affection on Christine's eyes when she spoke of Bella but it was not enough for her to soften her stance. What? Your sweet Bella? You taking possession of her? Well, newsflash woman, she's not yours!
"Just doing my job" Maine stated while turning her back so she can put away her dirty dishes.
"No. You're doing more than that. I've never seen her look this content before. If not for the tubes coming out of her, she almost looks normal" Christine amended.
Is this woman for real? Is she actually complimenting me? What the hell? Maine remained quiet as she washed her dirty dishes, wiped them and placed them back in the cupboard. When she first moved into this place, Nanay Josie had emphasized how Richard does not like dirty dishes to be left on the sink. Apparently, he has a bit of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which actually explained why his penthouse is meticulously clean. It also explained why he would hire a housekeeper when he was the only one living here before. Anyway, in the past three weeks, Maine had made sure that he comes home to a clean, empty sink since Nanay Josie takes care of the rest of the household chores.
Maine turned back to Christine after she wiped the kitchen sink dry, to notice the mirth in the other woman's eyes. She had to ask because quite frankly, she didn't like being the subject of another person's amusement.
"What?"
"Sorry. It's just funny how you've been here three weeks and you're already behaving like him" Christine explained with a laugh.
"Well, he is my boss after all. I don't want to get fired just because of dirty dishes" Maine replied somewhat affronted.
"Oh no. Don't get me wrong. I think it's good. Because he's been trying so hard to get me to do that but I just keep forgetting. I think he might actually have given up since he doesn't really ask me anymore when I come over. He just does it himself, probably to save himself the trouble" Christine explained again, still laughing.
"You're here often then?" Maine asked out of curiosity.
"As often as I can. I was out of the country for 2 weeks due to a work conference. Just got back a couple of days ago but I had to get over the jetlag and a bit of a cold as well" Christine replied. "As much as I missed Bella, I didn't want her to get sick, so I had to make sure I'm cold free before I came to see her" she added.
Sure, sure. Because it was only Bella that you wanted to see. What do I look like to you? An idiot, a stupid idiot? Bite me!
"Ahhh yes. We don't want Bella to get sick now, do we" Maine replied, again with sarcasm. This time however, Christine noticed it.
"Look, Miss Mendoza...." And then they both heard it. Richard yelling for help. Both women forgot everything else and just ran. Ran towards Bella's room. Maine got there first. She instantly saw Richard hunched over Bella's crib.
"What happened" Maine asked calmly, instantly switching to her nurse mode.
"I just put her down for a nap after her tube feed finished and then she started seizing. So I put her on her side and then this" Richard explained in a panic. Bella was on her side, but she seemed to have difficulty breathing, her lips turning blue and her eyes rolling to the back of her small head.
Maine assessed the situation just by looking at Bella and instantly knew what to do. She turned the suction machine on, grabbed the ambu bag attached to the oxygen tank and placed it within reach. She quickly washed her hands, put on sterile gloves and went to work. It took three passes of the suction catheter inside Bella's tracheostomy before Bella's color started returning to normal. Maine attached the oxygen tube to the trach and turned the oxygen on to aid Bella in her breathing for now.
The whole procedure took under 5 minutes and during that time, Maine could hear Richard in the background, saying 'help her' and 'Oh god' over and over again but she didn't have time to reassure him because Bella was her priority. She could also hear Christine trying to reassure Richard although there was also a hint of panic in her voice as well. Then, she heard nothing. She deduced that Christine must've pulled Richard outside since she probably figured out that Richard panicking wasn't helping the situation.
Maine stood by the crib side observing Bella for a few minutes more and when she noticed that the little girl's breathing and her colour have returned to normal, she lowered the knob on the oxygen to minimum and proceeded to meticulously clean the mess around the room. She went to caress Bella's head for a few more minutes before she felt comfortable leaving her to sleep.
"Rest well, princess Bella" she whispered.
It was 15 minutes later when she stepped out of Bella's room with the handheld monitor in her hands. As she passed by Richard's bedroom, she saw Richard and Christine sitting on the foot of his bed. Richard was hunched over, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. Christine was beside him, her head on his shoulder, her arms around him in comfort. The moment was so intimate and out of the blue Maine felt this intense anger come over her. Oh come on Maine, it's not anger. It's called jealousy. You are jealous! She moved with the intention of turning around but just that moment, Richard looked up and saw her. Their eyes met. His, red rimmed and concerned, while hers, burning in anger and hurt. Oh fine, jealousy! Burning in jealousy! There! Happy now?
Richard slowly stood up and walked close to Maine. But the anger and hurt that he saw in her eyes caught him off guard that he stopped in his track. For a second, he felt a little disoriented having been the recipient of that look. What the fuck?!? It's the first time he's seen that look on her. He quickly recovered though and moved towards Maine again.
"How is she? How's Bella?"
"She's sleeping now. You should call Jason, I mean Dr. Pineda" she quickly corrected seeing that Christine was following close behind.
"Is Bella okay now" Christine asked with genuine concern on her face.
"She's better. But like I told Mr. Faulkerson here, Dr. Pineda needs to come see her to make sure everything is fine" Maine answered monotonously. She then turned her back and walked the few steps to her room.
"Maine, wait" Richard said before she could close her door.
"Mr. Faulkerson, I'm tired and still nursing a hangover. So if you don't mind" she lied without turning around to face him. She heard Richard give a defeated sigh.
"Thank you" was all he whispered.
But before Maine could totally close the door, she heard Christine.
"Kuya Alden, is Bella going to be okay?"
WHAT?!? WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE JUST SAY? Kuya? Oh my god, why didn't I see it. Ugh! Stupid, stupid Maine. Talk about a facepalm moment!
