Page 167 of Billion-Dollar Attitudes

"I'm pretty sure Cupid had some help from you and my busy-body brother!"

As we exchanged stories and laughed together, Jonathan's yawns were a gentle reminder that it was time for his nap. "As much as I would like to stay, it's time for me to head off and tackle my new assignments," I proclaimed while tightly embracing Ariel. "I'm so grateful that you're alright."

I stepped out of Ariel's home, taking a deep breath to inhale the warm air that encircled me. A sense of contentment and joy filled my heart. Living with my family here at Casa Palatious had been an immeasurable blessing, but how long would it last? I would need to support myself at some point because the insurance payments would eventually run out, and I couldn't depend on Ariel and Guy's generosity forever.

As I made my way from the mansion to the guest house, a thrill of anticipation surged through me. The afternoon sunlight glinted off my cherry red Mustang parked under the carport like an inviting siren song and beckoned me closer. Unable to resist, I traced my finger along the curving hood. A few years ago, Guy made a deal with my manager and bought the car as a gift for my 25th birthday.

Unable to resist, I rushed inside where the keys, hanging from a nail by the door, seemed to pulse with a life of their own as I grabbed them and made my way to the driver's side. My hands trembled with anticipation as I slid into the plush leather seat, feeling its cool touch against my skin. As I turned the key in the ignition, the powerful engine rumbled to life with a deep, throaty growl that sent exhilarating shivers down my spine.

With a devil-may-care grin on my face, I eased the Mustang out from under the carport and onto the winding driveway that snaked through the estate. A gust of wind brushed against my face as I pressed down on the accelerator. The thrill of feeling the car jump to life with every command left me giddy and happy. The scenery blurred past me as I drove around the property, reminding me of an impressionist painting, a kaleidoscope of color and motion. In that instant, I felt alive and liberated from the confines of my condition.

Then the sound of my car tires on the asphalt evoked haunting recollections from being confined in a vehicle trunk. Oddly enough, my thoughts wandered to Chelsea. What had gone wrong? How had she passed away?

Despite Chelsea's attempts to conceal it, something mysterious constantly distracted her, something she never spoke about. She often put forth a lot of effort for others' attention and validation at the car dealership where we had worked together. Yet I still couldn't figure out the last missing piece of the puzzle of who may have put her up to kidnapping me and why.

"Maybe, I should just leave the past alone," I whispered, convincing myself.

Dr. Blackburn's advice replayed in my head as I carefully eased my car under the carport. His point of view finally made sense to me concerning continuing with my medications. Even though I had longed for true independence, I was unwilling to gamble with my seizure medication. I had already endured far too much heartache, and there was no way I would risk coping with the aftermath of a devastating crash caused by having a seizure behind the wheel.

My heart was pounding from the adrenaline as I parked my car. Then stepping out, I leaned against the door and checked my watch — it was almost time to start my course!

I couldn't help but feel my excitement and anticipation as I perched on the edge of my chair and opened up my laptop to discover what grade I had received for all of my hard work on that narrative writing assignment. Today was the cutoff date for part two of my project, which I completed recently but had not yet turned in.

Then panic filled me as I typed my login details, only to receive a notification that left me chilled — "Your account has been locked because you've attempted too many logins."

"No... This can't be happening now!" I was horrified. How could this have occurred? And more importantly, how was I supposed to complete my assignment on time? The thought of missing the deadline and failing the course was overwhelming, and I felt a sense of despair gripping me.

My palms grasped my throat as fear and anxiety coursed through me, feeling like it would burst through the seams of my chest. My breath was ragged, shallow, and short as I felt a sudden surge of an electric shock spike to its peak. With my heart racing and my palms sweating, I desperately sought a resolution as I rebooted my computer over and again with no luck.

My mind raced with negative thoughts, and I felt a sense of helplessness and despair creeping in. It was like a wave of overwhelming emotion had consumed me, leaving me paralyzed and unable to think clearly. I knew I had to do something to calm myself down and regain my composure, but I couldn't shake the feeling of panic that had taken hold of me.

"My meds. Go get your anxiety meds, stupid!!!"

I dashed to my bathroom cabinet, hastily grabbing two pills before gulping them down with a mouthful of water.

After a few minutes, I felt my body relax as a wave of clarity and serenity broke through. As I leaned back in the chair, I inhaled deeply before intently focusing on the situation.

I shook my head in disbelief that I had hit the panic button without even trying customer service. So, I clicked the link on the school's website that automatically called them… only to hear a response of, "I'm away from my desk, or our office is closed. Give us a call back later!"

Tossing my phone on the couch, I slumped beside it and covered my face with my hands as tears of frustration and disbelief rolled down my face. As I sulked in my self-pity, the sound of someone tapping in numbers on the front door keypad echoed through the air.

"Guess who...."

An ecstatic cry of joy escaped my lips as Chase peeked around the corner. "You never cease to amaze me. You made it just in time... I'm having a problem accessing my course."

"What? Let me take a look...."

Tugging his hand, I led him to my desk and pointed at my laptop, still displaying the warning. "I can't imagine what I did wrong."

Holding my breath, I watched as he effortlessly clicked around. In no time at all, he had successfully logged me back into my account and quickly diagnosed the issue. "Megs, you haven't made your monthly payment!"

"I thought I did. I thought I had it on autopay...."

"All you have to do is enter your info right here." Chase gestured at the screen. “You'll be back in business in no time, babe."

I massaged my temples. “This memory thing is really very serious, Chase. I honestly thought I had set up the payments. It’s gone through okay before.”

“Meg’s it’s coming back. This happened before your session with Dr. Blackburn.”

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