ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴠᴀʟꜱ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛ

₀₂₃

𝘞𝘙𝘌𝘕 𝘑𝘈𝘔𝘌𝘚

THE MEETING WENT AS GOOD AS I expected. Surprisingly Rhys pulled through and held up his end of the presentation. And his tie was the most perfect knot ever. Kudos to none other then me.

I'm still in my business attire while we drive home. Rhys is too, I suppose-minus the jacket, tie, and about three buttons. The urge to crawl back in his lap is strong. Very incredibly strong.

I text Lex when we're an hour and a half away.

𝙢𝙚: 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚.
𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙
𝙡𝙚𝙭: 𝙞'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙬/ 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖
𝙢𝙚: 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣?
𝙡𝙚𝙭: 𝙞'𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙪 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 ;))

I turn off my phone and take out the clip holding up my hair. Then slip off my heels. Rhys is being weirdly quite. No witty remarks since the last car ride. He's only said 'ladies first' when he opened the door, and 'nice job Miss James' when we finished the presentation.

I pop the top button of my shirt and Rhys's gaze sweeps to me for a second. I debate doing a second button-to even it out-but my phone rings. It's from a number I don't recognize. I pick it up.

"This is Wren James." I say.

"Hello Wren. This is Jeniffer at The New York Hospital. How are you?" A soft voice greets me.

"Fine. Is something wrong?" I trace my lips and see Rhys peak over at me.

"It's your mother, Margo Perry, i'm afraid she took a turn for the worst." Jeniffer explains.

"What exactly happened? Do i need to...pick her up?" I regret the question when it leaves my mouth. I wouldn't pick her up. Not after everything she did.

"No sweetie. We're keeping her here-monitoring her. And as for what happened, she was brought in because the workers at the facility she was at, called and explained that she was having trouble breathing. And it looks like she has a collapsed lung. And the other isn't doing well either."

I pause. Rhys's eyes feel heavier. My stomach feels like it's going to fall from my body. My throat restricts my breathing.

"And, what can you do for her?" My voice remains even.

"I'm afraid because of her condition, she wouldn't survive extensive surgery. She seems to be stable as of now, but we'll inform you if anything changes." She says.

"Okay." I manage.

"Alright, take care." I hang up the phone, and place it in between my legs.

"What was that about?" Rhys asked from beside me.

"The hospital called to let me know my mother is dying." I say before i can stop myself. Rhys's eyes widen slightly.

"Do you want me to drop you off there?" He's acting too nice. I wonder if he has a good relationship with his mother.

"No."