CEO of my Heart 265 265

Henry looked at the note violently and crushed it into his hands. He couldn't deal with this. He straightened the note in his hands and then felt the fractals of his broken heart start to tremble. He tried to control his fear but his hands starting to shake. The world around him start to shake as his body was wracked in shivers. He'd never felt most alone as he realized the repercussions of his actions.

He had messed everything up beyond his deepest imaginings. The full weight of what he had done suddenly settled onto his back as tears streamed down in face. He curled up into a ball and tried to make himself as small as possible so maybe he could disappear from the world and not have to deal with the probelms that he had created for himself. The post-it note was crumpled into his chest as he felt the sharp paper dig into his chest. It was there still, even though he wished he could erase it. He had been desperate when he had started this journey with Ellie. His intent with her had always started with giving her respect that was due to a woman and being open to have a bit of fun with her. Not the end goal of being a real wife to him. He had been seduced with her easy going smile and ease with his problems so he had let her through some locked doors in his heart and now she had stolen away his choice. There was no passcode change fix to keep her away.

He cursed himself as he realized his careful forethought had been pushed aside in this case. Henry had been made into a clown as she had her fun to get herself what she had wanted. In this process he was going to have to seriously injure her to make sure that he got away safely. Even after all this she in his heart would never be a villain, he would always have a weakness for her. It was going to be real trouble soon.

Henry knew that there was no way that he could use the word love when dealing with Ellie Chen. He had no idea what she would do when she found out the truth about him. They all left him behind when they found the answer. Here in this bed where they had consummated this sham of a marriage, it had been so easy to lie back and tell falseholds. Long term, that would never work as eventually she would figure it out. The rejection would be instant and incinerating. She would first be angry and her care for him would be toasted away as she sank into salty depths of intolerance.

Here was his sins handed to him on a plate. His reckoning was coming now as he was lowering into the burning pits where he had always known he belonged. But, he would slip away now so she wouldn't be dragged there with him. Henry would save Ellie from the fires of Hades where he was. He would delve somewhere she could not find him.

This internal struggle was raging inside of him as he opened his tablet and looked at flights that could be taken immediately. QUiet as usual, Michael entered into the room with Henry's breakfast. His eyebrows were raised as he assessed the scattered clothing.

"Oh my, I see someone had quite a night. Good day, sir. It's mid morning already and I hope that you find the morning papers to be satisfactory as I walked all the way to the train station this morning to get the latest one--" His usual candor faded when he saw how Henry was sitting. He brushed against Henry's back gently so Henry would display some emotion. His gesture got the younger master out of his shell so Michael could see the stark fear that rattled his features. Instantly the servant reacted. "My dear sir! What is it? What happened? There was everything that you supposedly could need in the rooms last night. Was there a problem that I didn't plan for in advance? Ask and I shall make sure that you have it."

Henry shook his head as he felt the post-it crumbled still in his hand. He could see indentions forming in his skin from the sharp edges of the paper. The neon yellow was so strange against the white pajama shirt that Michael was slowly helping him into. He finally ripped the sheet in half and flung the pieces into the dust bin next to the bed. It really was destroyed in his deep seated discomfort.

Seeing his reaction to this turn of events was helping him start to make sense of what had changed now. He needed to think quickly. As more adrenaline cleared the path to his clear thoughts, he made up his mind. Henry turned to Michael. "I know what I need to do. We've overstayed our welcome here. I intend to go back to the office in New York. I've booked a flight and travel plans so we can go immediately."

The butler looked a bit incredulous. "Are you sure? You know it could be great here you know. You have more than everything that you could possibly need if you stay here with here. Leaving without explaining will create more problems than you think. It will come to haunt you if you don't think."

"No. This is for the best. It's even better if she doesn't have to ask questions. She can just come to terms with that she's alone now. She's not coming with us under any circumstances. No one will breathe a word of this to her staff. We'll have peace when we head back. Let's quickly make our farewell and get on the road. I want to be on the flight in an hour. It's not even that far away for a private landing strip."

Michael looked at the mess around them before nodded slowly. He picked out the articles of clothing that belonged to the master he served with a slow nod. "Henry, I rarely use your given name as I find it disrespectful as our relation is strictly that of master and servant but I cannot say that this is an intelligent course of action where I can support you. This is a good woman here waiting on you hand and foot. Ellie is not the type to make a mountain out of a molehill. If she has said or done something that has your extreme disgust I'm sure that you're revulsion is ill founded. There's a marriage counselor in town if you want I can make an appointment. I'm sure that if you went in for a consultation anything that is not smooth can be made so. This is a one in a lifetime chance, sir."

Henry could feel his throat heavy as he choked back a sob. He turned to Michael and pointed at his room. "I need to go home, now. Michael, if I need to hire a new--"

His dark tone spurred the old man into action as he quickly gathered his charges belongings and began to pack. His movements were jittery and he kept pausing as if he hoped that Henry could change his mind, but the Henry he knew was stoic and seemed immobile as a statue as he stared into nothing. Michael finished the bag and quickly went to the kitchens for a packed lunch so maybe with some food the sir would be calmed into reason.

As Michael left, Henry suddenly felt his mind start to unwind enough for him able to think properly for the first time since he had woken up. If he really did intend to return, there were many things that needed to be taken care of before he even started on doing that. He went to his room and closed the door behind him. Henry finally changed into clean clothes and made some instant coffee for himself. There was a small table on the balcony where he finally decided he needed to answer the note that had bothered him so much. He couldn't leave her without something to ease the pain of their separation.

While he wrote, he tried not to get the paper too wet.

Chapter end

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