Chapter 62

Everyone stared at me as the vomit dripped from my mouth and onto the floor at Arthur’s feet. I watched, mortified, as Arthur slowly stood up, hands at his side. He walked over to me, and I closed my eyes just as he put his hand on my shoulder.

“Anna, are you okay?” he asked, his words quick and panicked.

I opened my eyes to look up into his. He stared at me with genuine concern. I nodded my head, only for more vomit to attempt to make its way up my esophagus.

Fortunately, I was able to swallow it back down.

“I’m fine,” I croaked.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Because I just asked if you were fine, and after you said that you were, you threw up all over me.”

He laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood, but I could tell that he was in way over his head.

“I’m fine. We need to get you cleaned up and changed for The WWWs—”

“I’m not going to The WWWs.”

I gawked at him, and everyone around us stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate or say that it was a joke. His expression showed that he was dead serious.

“Of course, you are. It’s huge for your career. You can’t miss it.”

“Yes, I can, and I am. You’re too sick.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m not the one going.”

“And neither am I, not anymore.”

“Arthur, I don’t feel well enough to argue this with you—”

“Then don’t. I’m not going. Period.”

We were bickering like an old married couple. Everyone was staring at us, and a few were even whispering. I wanted to escape, to hide in a deep hole somewhere, but I had nowhere to go.

“Arthur, please,” I started, “for the sake…for the sake of your career…”

I couldn’t finish that sentence. My sternum and mouth started burning again. The gremlins angrily clawed at my stomach, causing me to double over in pain.

“Anna, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Arthur stepped closer and put his arm around my shoulders, but that was the wrong move. I vomited again, this time all over both our shoes.

I could hear Arthur’s other employees emit squeals and groans of disgust. The intern in charge of taking his clothes to the dry cleaner cussed. Arthur, however, did not lose his grip on my shoulders.

“Come on,” he said, directing me towards his personal bathroom, “we need to get you somewhere private.”

I didn’t look up as he guided me. I couldn’t stand to see those appalled faces or the looks of judgment as we passed by them. I didn’t know what they thought was going on with me, but I knew it wasn’t anything good.

Arthur closed the door behind us after we entered his private bathroom. It was large—as large as most people’s bedrooms—but I barely had time to register this before I headed straight for the toilet to vomit again.

Arthur came immediately to my side, pulling my hair behind me. He rubbed my back as I heaved into the toilet bowl.

“It’s all right, Anna. Let it all out,” he said in his most soothing voice. Frankly, though, I just wished that he would shut up.

After a minute of nonstop vomiting, I let out a shuddering breath and sat on the ground beside the toilet. Arthur wiped my mouth for me with some toilet paper, then tossed it into the toilet, closed the lid, and flushed. He knelt beside me and flashed me another of his blinding smiles.

“Well, I guess this isn’t how you thought you’d be spending the day, huh?” he said.

I shook my head.

He glanced at the ground for a moment, then looked back into my eyes.

“If you don’t mind me asking, does this have anything to do with those health problems that Lily mentioned to me?”

I hesitated but eventually nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head gently.

“Not really.”

“Then we won’t.”

I smiled slightly.

“Thank you, Arthur.”

“You’re welcome.”

I reached over and squeezed his hand.

“You should go get ready for The WWWs.”

“I already told you, I’m not going to those.”

“And I told you, I’m not letting you miss them. Not for me.”

“No one else can style me but you. Therefore, I cannot go if you’re not feeling well.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Arthur, you were dressing yourself like a big boy for a long time before I came along. I think that one more day won’t hurt you. Besides, I’m just fine.”

I tried to get up, but I suddenly felt lightheaded and immediately had to sit back down.

Arthur arched a brow at me.

“You were saying? Admit it, you can’t even get yourself home in this condition.”

“I’ll find a way. You just need to find a way to get yourself to that awards ceremony.”

He shook his head emphatically.

“I won’t be able to live with myself if I left you here in this condition. That’s not to mention that Lily will kill me if it ever gets back to her.”

I managed to chuckle a little, and the sound made Arthur laugh as well.

“While I don’t want to cause you a death by Lily, I think that everything will be perfectly fine if you go ahead with your plans. Lily will understand. She knows that I’m a big girl who can take care of herself.”

“But friends look after each other.”

“And you have done a wonderful job of looking after me so far—”

“Yes, I did a wonderful job of dragging you to a toilet.” Arthur rolled his eyes dramatically. “I need to take you to a doctor or something.”

I shook my head rapidly.

“No, no, I’ll be okay, really.”

“If it’s a part of your medical problems, then you really should be checked out by a medical professional—”

“No!” I said sharply. Realizing that I had spoken too sharply, I mumbled, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

He guided my head to make me look him in the eye.

“You need to realize, though, that people care about you. We want to help you and take care of you. You need to let us.”

I looked away. This felt a lot like the lecture that Barnett had given me. And Lily.

“You are not missing The WWWs. I won’t allow it.”

“Well, fortunately, you don’t dictate what I can and can’t do.”

“Really, Arthur, you need to think this over more carefully. It could be your entire future on the line. My stomach problems are not worth missing the biggest night of your career so far.”

Arthur took my hand in both of his and brought it to his chest.

“Anna, you are worth missing that stupid awards show for. You are worth risking my entire career for.”

He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.

“I love you, Anna.”

Some gasps from behind the door revealed that we had eavesdroppers. I gaped at Arthur, unsure that I heard him correctly, though his words should not have surprised me.

“You…what?”