Page 48 of Viral Affair

She brushed her fingers over my shaft. I tensed up as a fresh wave of arousal rippled through me. Then she stood and pulled my boxers up.

I could smell her perfume, and that scent alone drove me crazy. One that had been haunting me in the past two years. We both lived in London, so close and so far away at the same time. Maybe there was a reason why the universe had kept us apart. The timing might not have been right when we’d first met.

“You might be right, Rupert. You need to take it easy over the next few days, and I need to see Mum, make sure she’s not trying to refuse any further tests,” she said.

“You’re not going anywhere alone. Come on, I’ll accompany you, plus we both know that your mum loves me already,” I told her.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Veronica

Rupert was right: my mum loved him, and the other two ladies wouldn’t leave him alone.He was his own celebrity in that room.

I was certain he wouldn’t want to come with me to the hospital after yesterday’s fiasco and his panic attack, but he’d insisted on joining me. Deep down, I felt good that he was looking after me. He was such a good guy. It made the guilt of Vincent hurt me more.

Vincent kept texting me, reminding me of our agreement, and I hadn’t replied to any of the messages. He wanted to make sure I wouldn’t forget what I needed to do. Rupert was doing all these wonderful things because he wanted a relationship, but I was reluctant because of Vincent. This wasn’t right. The bastard could destroy everything I cared about and hurt Rupert, hurt his family, so I had to keep playing his game for now. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to keep up the charade, but I can’t let Rupert know and I have to make Vincent feel like he is getting exactly what he wants. I know from past experience that he would play with my life, like he had done before, so easily to get what he wants.

After I had spoken to the doctor, who assured me that Mum was fine to be discharged by Thursday, she would need to come back for a regular checkup. He also told me he wanted her to take it easy.

I wanted to have a chat with Mum alone, so I left Rupert with the two ladies as I took her for a little walk outside her room. I felt guilty also that I hadn’t visited her for ages. It wasn’t from lack of trying, but every time I told her I was coming over she’d insisted she had to work. In the end, I’d stopped calling her. But damn, the guilt coming in from multiple sides is making me really examine my life.

“Mum, you need to really start taking better care of yourself, which means you must give up one shift in the care home. I have already spoken to Debra and don’t really want to hear any objections about me helping you out financially,” I said, wanting to get it off my chest straight away.

My mother still had no idea what I was doing, and I planned to tell her once I’d quit working for Emperor to become a full-time content creator.

Rupert was right. I had to start believing in myself more. The Russian beauty brand would hopefully make their decision soon enough, and if I scored that contract, it would completely change my life.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that, hon,” my mum muttered.

I could tell she wasn’t happy about all the changes, but something had to give. Her health had to come first.

“I know you’re working in London, but the cost of living has gone up. I hope you’re saving money?”

“Things are going well for me, and soon I’ll be a full-time influencer, so you don’t have to worry about anything. I just want you to look after yourself. I was going to go away to Europe this summer with some friends, but I can stay—”

“Veronica, don’t you even dare not take your trip. You’ve been working so hard in the past few years and you deserve all the holidays you can take,” Mum cut me off straight away, stopping.

I glanced at her in shock.

“So, you want me to go away?” I asked. I had been planning this trip knowing that Laura was going to be away with her hot PM boss, but nothing was really finalised just yet.

“Of course, you said it yourself. Life is too short, and I don’t want you to be like me. I’ve always regretted that I didn’t travel more, but after your father left, life was difficult for me, for us. I’ve been thinking last night about everything you said, and you were right. I have been working too hard, killing myself in a job where they’d just replace me if something happened,” my mother admitted.

I stared at her in shock. Mum had always been so proud of her work ethic, but maybe this health scare had finally made her realise that her health was much more important than a job. Nothing short of a miracle, as far as I was concerned.

“I know you sacrificed yourself for me and I’m grateful for it,” I said, moved to tears. I had to arrange some sort of holiday or a cruise for her. Maybe we could go together. I had tried in the past, but she’d always refused it, claiming she didn’t have time. Things were going to change now, and my heart was full. “So, you really think I should go? Six weeks is a long time. My roommate is going away to Italy with her new boss, so I figured I’d have a holiday too, but I’m a little worried to leave you here on your own.”

“Christ, Veronica, I’m fine and I promise that from now on I’ll be looking after myself. Go and enjoy yourself because you might regret it later,” Mum continued.

I really had no idea what to say. It seemed that her stubbornness had started to crumble.

“Who knows? Perhaps once you come back, we can go away somewhere together. I always wanted to spend Christmas in hot weather.”

I laughed, knowing that I still had a lot to organise, and I needed to speak to Rupert. A few months ago, I’d provisionally told Matthews that I might be going away for at least two months, and he’d noted it, so work wasn’t an issue. We chatted a while longer then went back to her bed where the ladies were laughing away with Rupert. He seemed completely relaxed, and I instantly regretted that I’d need to leave him behind. Our relationship was still slightly up in the air.

Rupert seemed in a much better mood when we were leaving the hospital later that afternoon.This made me happy to see.

“Those ladies absolutely adore you,” I said with a giggle. “And Mum managed to convince me to go away to Europe during the summer. I told her I was apprehensive about leaving her, but she cut me off and told me I was going to regret this if I didn’t go.”

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