Recrudescence

The morning came fast.

Sonia opened her eyes to the cheerful face of one of her friends.

"Good morning, I’m happy to see you're awake," Lana, her ever caring mother hen friend, said sympathetically.

"Well, she’s not out of danger yet. She still can drop dead any moment," Istona, the official depression spokeswoman, said from her spot on the bed next to Sonia. Her eyes were glued to the wall opposite to her.

"Nah, I'm sure it's nothing. I even doubt she has a concussion. Most likely, her mind just shut down when she realised she is the mate of Alpha handsome Omar. Like, whaaaaat! Did you see the man?" Zinn said, finishing her sentence with a loud squeal. She was a mischievous little thing whose middle name was Trouble.

Not saying a word to them, Sonia sat up slowly to check her head. It still hurt, but it was definitely better than the day before. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. The problem was, with the constant banter of her supposed friends, she knew she wouldn’t be able to. Her thought brought her to what the alpha said yesterday, "Whatever it is, I will protect you." She scoffed. If anything, he should be protecting her from them, yet here they were—taking more space than they should, being less useful than they were supposed to be.

"I see you're awake," A feminine voice tore her out of her thoughts. She looked at the door to find the nurse, not at all bothered by the loud voices in the room. Sonia nodded, not wanting to speak.

"How do you feel? Do you still feel dizzy?"

Sonia slowly shook her head no.

"Breakfast is ready," the nurse said nicely, "If you need anything, just tell me." With that, she went back to the living room.

Sonia was starving. She was grateful for the food.

Halfway through her meal, she was surprised by Istona smelling her dish and crinkling her nose. "I wouldn't eat that if I were you," she whispered so only Sonia could hear.

"You were asleep, but I am quiet sure I saw her put something in your food."

Defiantly, Sonia brought another spoonful to her mouth, chewed and swallowed without breaking eye contact with her.

Istona raised her hands in surrender, mouthing "Suit yourself". She then retreated to check the knives on the kitchen counter.

Sonia felt her appetite vanish. After a few forced bites, she gave up. She threw what left of her food in the bin, took a bottle of water from the fridge and went to her room.

Rummaging in her purse, she couldn't find her pills.

Oh, no! I left my medicine at home! That’s not good. She sat on the bed, her head between her hands.

"You'll be ok. Don't worry. There's just twenty-four hours left. You'll be fine. I'm here for you." Lana said gently.

Sonia closed her ears, not wanting to hear anything. She needed to think fast.

The sound of her phone startled her. Reaching in her bag, she smiled when she saw her father's number on the screen.

It's my chance to get out of here.

"Good morning, my miracle. Before you say anything, I have good news. This old man here is calling you from Japan. We’re signing the contract. I really hoped you were with me today, but you weren't answering your phone yesterday. I thought you must be exhausted. By the way, how are you?"

She felt her throat clogged. Her father wasn’t in town. Her only hope vanished. Struggling to keep her voice steady, she said, "That's great news, I'm happy to hear that, and I’m fine, Dad, don't worry."

"I know I promised to meet with you this weekend. I’m really sorry. Maybe I can make it up to you later when I come back?"

"Sure. I feel lazy today anyway. I’ll go back to sleep."

"Ok darling, I have to go. Talk to you later."

"Later, Dad."

Hanging up the phone, she felt the heaviness of her situation settling onto her shoulders.

What should I do now?

Her stomach churned. Nausea overtook her. She dashed to the bathroom and emptied her breakfast in the toilet.

"Oh my god. Are you ok?" Zinn asked, concerned.

Ignoring her, Sonia went back to the room where she found Istona leaning on the door frame. "You got lucky this time. It’s just a matter of time until you run out of luck."

"Stop talking like that. You're making things worse," Lana said sternly. "Don't mind her, Sonia. You know she cares about you, but she doesn't know how to show it."

Istona scoffed, looking out of the room. "Speaking of people who care. The nurse out there clearly cares about the alpha, like, in a romantic way. Well, I’m not a love expert, but I'm quite sure the eyes she is giving him right now are what's known in the medical field as 'lovesick puppy eyes'."

They all rushed to the door to find the alpha talking with a very flushed nurse. "I can see a motive here to try to kill you, don't you think?" Istona said in her ear, too close for comfort.

At that moment, the nurse turned to their direction. The smile on her face fell. "Are you ok, Sonia? You look pale," she said with fake concern.

"I'm fine."

"Maybe I should bring the doctor," the alpha said.

"No, it's fine. I just threw up," she said, looking straight at the nurse whose eyes widened a bit in realization. "It's the concussion for sure," the nurse said quickly. "You should take it easy."

Sonia didn't answer at that. What there was to say? She didn't have evidence. She couldn't accuse her of anything.

"How do you feel today?" Omar asked her softly.

"I'm better and ready to go back home. In fact, something happened and I should leave."

"I understand, but you need to stay under supervision for another twenty-four hours. I came her to show you around if that's ok with you."

She perked up at the suggestion. It was a good opportunity to find a way to escape. She smiled brightly at him. "Yes, please."

He handed her a bag. "I thought you might need this."

She looked inside to find a cute grey hoodie dress. She thanked him and went to her room to get ready.