The Secret Obsession of the CEO
Chapter 101: How Involved

Chapter 101: How Involved

Agnes sat by the French windows in her room and watched the work they are doing. Apparently, her granddaughter has arranged for a garden to be planted beside her room.

She was not very pleased by it because she is not fond of flowers that have strong fragrances. But she could not fathom how Aurora knew it. She never talked to her about it.

Peonies... The only flower she can bear with.

And the garden has a variety of peonies along with some scent-free flowers.

She recalled Aurora talking to Mrs. Delport that the garden would be blooming by late May and it will uplift her mood.

Agnes’ lips curved up imagining a garden of flowers around her bedroom.

That girl... She’s smart... Just in a different way. She’s more of the homely sort. No wonder he loved her so much!

"There is a storm ahead for Aurora, Ma’am," Mrs. Delport said to Agnes offering her tea.

Agnes got the tea from her. "Thanks," she nodded.

"Maybe it would be better if she is sent somewhere safe. She doesn’t have to stay right in the path is a storm, Ma’am. She’s too precious to suffer."

Agnes smiled. "Lina, she is not in the path of the storm. She is in the eye of the storm... And sometimes, the eye of the storm is the safest place. With every eye on her... Don’t you think so?"

Mrs. Delport agreed. After some silence, she frowned. "But she’s very young and... I don’t want her to suffer. Do you think everything will end well?"

Agnes looked at her and said nothing. There was a trace of doubt in her eyes. But she blinked and looked at the window.

"She can suffer a little and I hope she could be at peace afterward. A home, a family... That would be enough for her. That’s what she is more interested in. Why should she spend even a little of her intelligence to make money for another person or someone else’s benefit in exchange for money? She can be at peace. She’ll inherit enough. She won’t have to work to sustain a lavish living..."

"Wa-wait..." Mrs. Delport placed her mug on the coaster. "Madam, so back in the hospital, you were telling her to pursue being a stay-at-home mother?"

"Why, yes," Agnes looked at Mrs. Delport. Her hands shook and Mrs. Delport ran and got her mug. "Lina," Agnes pressed her lips. "Was I not clear?"

Mrs. Delport let out a long sigh. Even she who was with Agnes for decades and prided herself on understanding her without her having to talk didn’t get "that" message.

Certainly, Aurora wouldn’t have.

But Mrs. Delport decided not to let Agnes worry. She can explain it to Aurora later.

But seriously? Agnes Roberts... The Agnes Roberts, who did her best to let everyone know that women are better than men... Wants her granddaughter to slave off in the kitchen? For a man?

Does she really want her granddaughter to become the woman she once despised?

But Aurora is very smart! She would be wasted in the kitchen. Has Agnes gone senile?

"That is exactly what she would have understood, ma’am," Mrs. Delport smiled, or at least, she tried to.

Agnes didn’t fail to notice the reluctance on her old friend’s face. "Back then, when we moved here, I didn’t like this place an ounce... Whenever I went out to the town, all I saw were housewives. I was angry at them for still deciding to get oppressed. I mocked them in my heart for depending on a man for their allowance. I was proud to earn plenty and I was prouder to spend my own money on myself. Archie... He loved this place... He loved the homely atmosphere here..."

Agnes kneaded her knees. A smile bloomed on her face. Mrs. Delport smiled. Agnes always smiles remembering her husband. When she met her, she didn’t think Agnes loved her husband. The admiral was a silent man and was mostly in his office, reading. She thought he does not love Agnes too.

But as time passed, she could see the deep love between them that they expressed very subtly.

"One day..." Agnes continued. Mrs. Delport saw a new kind of smile on her face, "I saw Dorothy in the store... She was shopping and this time, her husband was with her. Her kids were running wild and she...was counting money to spend. Maybe it was a tough month for them... But then..."

Mrs. Delport poured Agnes a new cup of tea.

"Her husband came behind her and hugged her. I was in the next aisle and I could see them through the little gaps... He gave her a bunch of notes. ’I got a bonus. Get yourself a dress,’ he whispered. She was thrilled. And he looked very happy as she tried on different dresses. They were not designer dresses and she was not going for the costliest dresses in the store, but..."

Agnes took in a deep breath. "It stuck in me for some reason. I don’t get jealous of other women. I was better than any of them. But... I got jealous of her, that time. That smile, as if she got the whole world... And when we went out one night, in Paris, I saw a shop. Not a very good shop, but I went in. Archie, as always, followed me in and looked for a chair to sit on. There were no chairs and so he followed me. I picked a random scarf I found. And I asked Archie to pay for it. And he looked at me like I’ve..."

"Did he pay?" Mrs. Delport asked. Agnes never liked it when Archie paid for her. She fought with him once because he paid for some of her expenses. He would have been petrified when Agnes asked him to pay.

Oh, I wish I was a fly on the wall when that happened!

"He did! He did!" Agnes smiled and wiped the corner of her eyes. "His smile... And I was happy. Do you remember? He always bought me scarfs from then on...And..."

"And you started wearing scarfs although you never liked them before," Mrs. Delport finished her sentence.

Agnes nodded. Mrs. Delport understood what Agnes means. Aurora has a choice. She can choose to become a career-minded woman or she can choose to be a housewife. And Agnes is under the impression that being a housewife would be better.

But is Liam worthy?

Mrs. Delport still didn’t agree with Agnes. Maybe her past regrets of not looking after her son play a major role in her thoughts now.

But this is not the same. Rory should find something for her to do rather than depending on her husband. At least something that would keep her mind occupied.

"You remember Helena Neugen, Lia?" Agnes asked and Mrs. Delport smiled.

"Of course! Helena--the one they all called the pretty face, the one who stood smiling by the dictator’s side like arm candy. But unbeknownst to even the dictator’s closest ally, Helena held the keys to the castle. And she helped us topple the government as easily as toppling a house of cards."

Mrs. Delport still remembered those days. They toppled governments, killed dictators, spied and killed spies, tortured dissenters, and they wrote reports that would be accepted by the majority. They spent time with criminals and made deals with kingpins and Kings alike.

They appointed Presidents and assassinated the ones they didn’t want. They were the secret service and the spy network... Those days...

"Ah... You think our Rory could be like Helena?" Mrs. Delport laughed. "I can see that! The way she turned on me, roaring when she didn’t like what I talked about... I got reminded of you..."

"I had a much sharper tongue, Lia... And I have done worse than burning the hair of a bully..."

"I agree, ma’am..." Mrs. Delport chuckled.

She could see that Rory and Liam might work out. Rory can support Liam by standing behind him. But if he is not deemed suitable for Aurora, he doesn’t have to live. Marriages are valid only until death, right?

Till death do them part..?

-----

"The doctors said that you will be discharged within an hour," Liam said holding Rory’s hand.

"Okay, so we have an hour..." Rory looked at him. "I want to know everything. I want to know how involved you are in this situation, Liam."

"I told you... I am not~"

"I will not take this from you anymore, Liam. Hear me. If you think someone is framing you, you should have reasons to believe that. I want to know that reason," she said.

Liam still hesitated.

"Between you and me, Fitzwilliam, I do not care if you were the one who killed those women, or a hundred more women. I just want to know everything," she said.

Liam saw the determination in her eyes and gulped. She looked like a different person.

"Tell me now, or else..."

"Will you leave me?" he asked.

"No, and what?" Rory’s blue eyes shimmered. "And let the world blame Ellie as the daughter of a serial murderer? If I let you do whatever, you will ruin your life. You cannot do anything alone. We cannot. We need help. A lot of help. So... Tell me the truth without hiding anything, Fizzy. How involved are you? "