Elaine felt an arm around her waist and hot breath on her neck.

"Hmm this feels nice" She thought and then her brain came out of the sleep haze and she realized this was not supposed to be felt. She pushed the person with all her might.

"FUCKING HELL" Aaron immediately slid across the bed as he grabbed his injured side. Elaine had slapped both her hands over the bruise and pain was shooting around his torso. He huffed as he tried to breathe through the pain.

Elaine immediately opened her eyes and then she remembered she had come over at Aaron's last night and had obviously gotten drunk because she didn't remember getting in bed. She then realized Aaron was on top of the duvet. However now he was on the far end of the bed, bent over in pain. She just shoved him...

"Oh my god...I am so sorry" Elaine said as she threw aside the sheets and crawled over to him.

She noted how he held his torso and his breathing and her medical mind kicked into gear. Either his ribs were bruised or injured but in both cases he needed medical attention and from the looks of it, he hadn't gotten any.

"Remove your vest"

"What?"

"I need to look at it"

"I am fine"

She got off the bed and stood in front of him. Aaron noticed the change in her demeanor and the stern look on her face. She was in doctor mode.

"Look I am in no mood to play doctor-doctor. I told you I am fine." Aaron said as he straightened up but winced.

He looked at her again and realized she wasn't going to give up so he pulled the vest over his head and again pain radiated across his body.

Elaine studied the ugly bruise which was as large as her palm over his 5, 6 and 7 ribs.

"This is going to hurt a little but tell me where it hurts the most." Aaron simply grunted in response.

She placed one hand on his sound side, her eyes wandered over the scars she had seen yesterday and then with her other hand started palpating the ribs on the injured side. When she reached the 7th rib, Aaron groaned out in pain.

"Woman! That pains alright? Stop." Aaron said as he moved out of her grasp.

"You have a broken rib."

"No I don't"

"You want to argue with me about this?" He was turning out to be a lousy patient.

Aaron had that doubt in his head as well but the pain was throbbing and only exaggerated on touch, nothing he couldn't handle. Also he noticed how she was looking at his scars.

"Are the scars and bruises from the same source?"

"No. The bruise I got from a kick boxing session. These scars are...old and before you ask no I am not into any illegal shit or got my ass kicked by mafia."

"Okay good. Get ready we are going to the hospital"

"No we are not. I am fine!"

Elaine bent down and tapped his injured side again. Aaron cringed from the pain.

"Thought so." Elaine said as she headed towards the washroom to freshen up. He was going to the hospital no matter what, even if she had to drag him there.

"Fuck. Who gave her a bloody MD?" Aaron muttered as he got up.

Elaine brushed her teeth with the spare brush and washed her face. She would take a shower at the hospital if she got the time. This was the third night in a row she had spent around Aaron and last night next to him. She felt this pull towards him which she couldn't describe, like he was a safe harbor. Of course there was attraction but any woman with breath in her body would be attracted to this man. He was the epitome of masculinity.

She found her way back down and walked into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water.

"You ready?" She spun around at his voice. She stopped breathing. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, faded blue denims with black slip ons. How could this man look good in anything he wore? His hair was tousled in its usual sexy manner and Elaine noticed that he kept light stubble and was never actually clean shaved.

"If you are done checking me out shall we go?"

Elaine simply blushed and walked past him. He came up behind her and took out her jacket from the closet and held it up for her. She slipped in her arms and felt his fingers brush her collarbones as he fixed the collar.

"Thanks" Elaine said, her voice barely above a whisper. This man rattled her to the core.

They stepped into the elevator and Aaron pressed the basement parking button but Elaine pressed the ground floor.

"My car is in the basement"

"You are not driving and I came over in my own car. Need to take that back as well."

"You are awfully bossy this morning"

"Doesn't sit well with your CEO personality, does it?" Elaine laughed.

Aaron smirked but ignored her comment. He was barely hanging on his control by a thread. He knew she wanted him as well and that just made everything all the more difficult.

They walked out of the building towards the outside parking where guests and visitors parked. Elaine unlocked her Mercedes and both of them got in. The drive to the hospital was also a silence one.

"Just give me a few minutes. I need to change." Elaine said and Aaron nodded in response and sat down in the waiting area. Elaine noticed how all the female eyes gravitated towards him and his brooding form. He still wasn't happy for being dragged to the hospital.

Elaine hurriedly changed and paged Dr. McBurney. She headed back to where Aaron was sitting and saw Dr. Estelle Costello talking to him. She was openly flirting with him. Wasn't that fist sized diamond on her ring finger enough to hold her away?

"Dr. Costello." Elaine went up to them.

"Hello Elaine. Hope you are doing well darling" Estelle smiled as she got up from next to Aaron, whose scowl had now deepened.

"I am good. Please excuse me; Mr. Clark needs to see Dr. McBurney." Aaron immediately sensed the discomfort between the two women and stood up next to Elaine.

"See you around" Estelle said as she sauntered away.

"You hate her" Aaron stated.

"None of your business but you seemed to know her pretty well."

"None of your business"

"She is married"

"I could spot that ring from a mile away, don't worry its nothing like that."

"Why would I be worried?"

"Just saying"

Elaine took him to the ER 3 where she knew Dr. McBurney would be.

"Hello Dr. Sparks. I just got your page; was just finishing up here with this little guy" He said as he removed his gloves and discarded them.

Besides the fact that Elaine was with him, he hated being here. He needed to head over to office. He had meetings and work piled up.

"Mr. Clark has a fractured rib."

"I will look into it." Dr. McBurney said as he called over a nurse. She grabbed some forms and handed them to Aaron.

"Please fill these out Mr. Clark and I will be with you shortly." Dr. McBurney said as he stepped away. The nurse asked Aaron to sit in one of the cubicles.

"Dr. Sparks. ER 1. STAT. Dr. Sparks. ER 1. STAT." The announcement rang through the room.

"That's me."

"Don't worry. I will call my driver once it's done."

"Update me once you are done."

"Of course"

Elaine smiled at him and rushed out of the ER.

After an hour of examination and broken rib confirmed, though a hairline fracture, Aaron stepped out of the hospital with his prescription medicine in hand. The doctor hadn't taped his ribs because it was minor but told him to take it easy for a few weeks.

His driver pulled up and he got in.

"Where to Sir?"

"To the office, Jack" He needed to go in today. He had been going easy from the past two weeks and this is not how he functioned when it came to his business.

He stepped into his office building and strode towards the private elevator, nodding in response to the greetings that came his way.

He reached his floor and was greeted by his PA, Cecelia.

"Good Morning Sir."

"Good morning. Is the spare suit from the dry cleaners in?"

"Yes it is."

"I will buzz you once I am ready"

Cecelia nodded and left. Aaron went into his office and the changed into his suit. He sat down on his desk and powered up his laptop.

The day went by in a blur and the analgesics he took in the evening were taking a toll on him.

"No Mr. Chang, that clause is not negotiable. No matter how much you try to convince me I am not going to budge. Don't force me to initiate a forceful takeover of your pathetic company. I will shred it to pieces." Aaron ground out as he stared at the man in front of him who was now sweating and wriggling in his seat.

"Okay, Mr. Clark, as you see fit. I will have my lawyers work around it."

"You better" Aaron said as he got up and walked out of the meeting room, followed by his VP, Robert.

"You are back in shape Sir." Robert grinned, good to have his boss back in the devil reincarnated form in the meetings.

"Let's call it a day Rob" Aaron said as he looked at his watch. It was almost 10 p.m. That meeting took hell a lot longer than it required and Aaron felt a headache set in.

"Alright Sir. Good night"

Aaron nodded and called up his driver.

He reached his building and got out of the car and the guard greeted him. He skidded to a stop when he saw the woman waiting for him in the lobby.

Olivia.

"Wade darling...How are you?" She said as she sauntered over to him in her high heels and the dress barely providing any coverage. Her face was caked with makeup and Aaron cringed at that. What did he see in this woman?

For god's sake, he believed he loved her for the past four years.

"It's Aaron." He corrected her. Olivia always called him by his middle name and he used to like it but now he hated it. He was furious right now but did not want to make a scene in the lobby.

"Let's talk upstairs." They entered his penthouse and he turned around to face her, preventing her from stepping any further beyond the foyer.

Aaron clenched his jaw and he had his business face on, not even a flicker of emotion was present.

"I just came here to return this" Olivia held out the engagement ring and

Aaron looked at the ring and then back at her.

"I don't want it back. Keep it"

"What am I going to do with it?"

"Sell if off and pay for you own damn hospital bills the next time you decide to take an innocent life!" Aaron stepped towards her as he spoke in a dangerously low voice.

"Wade.."

"Don't you fucking dare call me that! You have no right!"

"This wasn't working out. We had started falling apart. It was going to end one day and you also knew it. It was better this way than to go through a divorce later."

"You think killing my child was a solution!" Aaron roared. He took a step back from her. He never laid a hand on a woman before and he wasn't going to make an exception now, even if this woman was a certified bitch.

"Oh please, what child? I was barely 10 weeks along!!" Olivia said "And you out of all people knew how much this whole pageant means to me!"

"And you out of all the people knew my past and how I felt about all of this!" Aaron shot back. Besides from Dante and Rose, Olivia knew about his past.

Aaron was beyond furious now. She acted if it was no big deal. She didn't even consider it a child. He whirled around and grabbed the vase and chucked it at the wall. It shattered to pieces. Olivia screamed and skidded towards the door.

"Just tell me one thing Olivia...did you love me?" Aaron asked as he faced her once again.

"It's complicated..."

"What the fuck is complicated about that question!? We lived together for three years and were engaged to be married. Did you love me or not?"

"I thought I did, Wade but from the past one year I had my doubts."

"So you didn't"

"I wanted us to work. I really did but it wouldn't have work. You needed me in way that I could never be there for you in that sense. You knew I never wanted to have kids but you wanted a family one day. Face it Aaron, I was also more of a need for you than love."

Aaron clenched his jaw as her words hit home. It was true, what they had was nothing but a relation where he craved her presence and she needed his fame for her own success.

"But abortion was not an option. I would have taken care of the child. You could have left if you wanted"

"I HAVE THE PAGEANT COMING UP! HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSE TO GO THROUGH THAT DAMNED PREGANANCY!?" Olivia yelled.

"Get out Olivia"

"What?"

"Leave before I do something stupid. I don't ever want to see you again. Ever. NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Aaron roared and Olivia looked at him. She had cared for him but he was a broken man and she didn't have the time to fix him.

"Take care, Wade" Olivia said as she glanced at him one last time and walked out.

Aaron cursed as he punched the wall.

"FUCK" He swore. He had realized he didn't love her and that was even more painful. How could he be so messed up?

He headed over to the bar and reached for a glass, it slipped out his shaking hands and in a fit of fury he threw everything off the counter, smashing all the liquor bottles and glasses against the kitchen floor.

The doorbell rang and Aaron strode towards the door.

Who the hell was it now?

He pulled open the door and saw Elaine standing there.

"Hey, you didn't message so I thought I would drop by and I brought food." She held up two paper bags.

She was here. Elaine was here. Aaron immediately felt relief rush through his body and before he knew it, he pulled her in his arms and sealed her lips with his own, holding on to her, like she was the anchor that held him steady.