The CEO's vengeful nurse

Samantha's First-Person Point Of View

A few more people made it into the auditorium from the back door, filling up the last row of seats. They whispered about their excitement with hushed voices.

Gripping the edges of my seat, I tried to still my shaky fingers and hide my anxiety.

Somewhere behind the curtains on stage was Zacky Henderson. The thought alone was enough to keep the audience riled up.

Tickets to his last book launch were sold out only a few minutes after release. Mostly bought by women eager enough to fight at the counter for a chance to see him. It was hardly about the book.

Zack stole your breath right out of your lungs when he walked past. His eyes had an impossible golden shine, almost hidden under his hooded gaze.

A simple smile got him boasting about his flawless dentition, making poor little women drip between their wobbling legs at the sight. To them, he was a god formed with the best elements. And he didn't fail to live up to the charisma.

A sudden wave of hoots and applause stopped my trail of thoughts and I looked towards the stage.

The pain that built up inside me was a direct opposite of what anyone should be feeling tonight. Moisture started to fill my eyes, but I immediately blinked it away and squared my shoulders. I was hopeful it was enough attempt at confidence.

"People..." the host was at the microphone. He was a rather short man, but he made sure to make enough money to suffice.

Stretching a hand towards the stage door, he gave us a daring smile. "The man we are all here for...Zachary Henderson!!"

If I thought the last applause was thunderous, this one nearly put a hole through my eardrums.

Finally, Zack made it over the threshold and onto the stage with a confident glide.

The man stood a good 6ft 3 inches, his enamoured body broad and ripped. The fact that his newly tailored suit hugged snugly to that same body seemed to have been intentional.

And I immediately started to regret the decision to be here.

The people around me may have swooned over the thought of going home with him. But I was sure my hatred for the man was much more real than whatever it was they were feeling.

It had nothing to do with the fact that I had already slept with him. Neither was it because I knew what that wonderful body looked like when naked.

The applause stretched on for an entire minute, enough time for Zack to settle into an armchair just across from the host.

He scanned the expanse of people that were here just to see him, smiling till it reached his eyes.

He'd adapted to the life of fame very quickly. So quickly I still had a difficult time believing he and I were once engaged.

It was almost as though he felt it. His wandering eyes stopped when they landed on me. Of course, I'd come early enough to pick a seat in the front row. For a split second, his smile ceased and I saw what one might mistake to be fear.

I sighed, fighting the deep urge to cry.

It didn't work. Breaking our eye contact, I gazed up at the wall-sized screen which was once hidden behind curtains.

There was an image of his new book on it; the new best seller in the country. My book.

All my restraints came crashing down at the not-so-subtle reminder of his betrayal.

"Mr Zachary..." the interview kicked off as soon as the auditorium grew quiet. "So tell us...you are the author of the latest best-seller in the country. How does that feel?"

Adjusting in my seat, I crossed my legs and awaited his answer.

What a darling he'd be if he told them all the truth. I'm sure it felt sneaky when he went through my computer while I was at work and retrieved the file.

After deleting every single backup copy I had of it, he left and never came back.

A few weeks later, Zachary was the next big thing. So big even Maxwell Publishing House saved him a spot as the Executive Manager of their firm.

"Well..." Zack spoke up with the smooth bass of a voice. A few feminine hoots blared up from behind me when he did. "It feels truly amazing. Like every single thing I dreamt of, and struggled for...is finally in my hands. I look back at all the nights I stayed up working on this masterpiece and it finally feels worth it."

The audience clapped thunderously, and I rolled my eyes in response. An expensive influencer must have worked on those lines of his or my name wasn't Samantha Roberts.

A short glance at my watch reminded me I had a shift in thirty minutes. I didn't want to be here any more than I wanted to leave.

My broken heart begged me to stay away. Zacky was now in the spotlight. Even though he sat only a few feet away, he was yet so distant.

But my ego had other plans.

I wanted to drag his name across the mud till there was no hope to recover. It was more than just an urge; it was now my life's goal. Even if I had to spend my entire savings on a single ticket each time just to get close.

The interview went on without any glitches on Zacky's part. Whoever wrote his lines had done a great job, it was obvious in the way the audience clapped after his every breath.

But unlike them, I sensed his anxiety. Almost like everything he said about the book was practised and not because he wrote it.

"What is your advice to every young author out there wishing to make it big?" That was the final question from the host.

What? Steal your girlfriend's stories when yours isn't good enough?

Zack went through multiple rejections from different editorial teams in the past. Long before we met, he quit writing to take up a job as a bartender when things didn't work out.

It was one part of his life he killed and didn't wish to talk about.

Things changed when we got together. All through those years, his love for it slowly rekindled each time he saw me write.

One thing was true about what he said. He did have sleepless nights trying to reach that dream.

However, after two more rejections, he decided to take a different path.

"Work hard," he began. "You will get many setbacks and rejections, but do not let it get to your head. Write about it if you must."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the hypocrisy.

"It will take a lot for something good to reach the surface," his eyes darted in my direction knowingly. I recognised the words; something I'd said to him myself. "But in the end, it will and everything will feel worth it."

I closed my eyes to block off the effect his actions were having on me.

Filling my head was the familiar sound of the audience's applause. It was much richer this time. Joyful.

I opened my eyes with a sigh. Everyone else seemed to be on their feet with their attention lost in the charisma of the man. To them, he was too good to be real.

But I knew him. And that changed everything.

***

The teeth of my hairpin snapped at my fingers due to my carelessness. "Damn it..."

I trailed off from mentioning the obscene word, sighing in agony instead.

Watching my reflection, I let my eyes glide down my sky-blue scrub. It barely fit my average figure, but certainly better than Emily's whose uniform gave the impression of a girl in a Halloween costume.

Even though she was my best friend and colleague, there was something about the way she treated me that spoke of motherly affection.

It was why she'd advised me not to go for that book launch. I wouldn't be in such a shitty mood if I'd listened. But after standing in a queue for six hours and bribing the man at the counter for a ticket, I wasn't letting it go.

Snatching my coat, I slipped myself into it and headed out the door.

Aside from stealing my book, Zacky took the car as well. I wasn't yet used to noisy buses or public subways where everyone's sweat was your problem.

The evening breeze was warm and comfortable, and a rich smell filled the air from the seafood restaurant across the road.

It was sunset; the time of the day when bands lined the sidewalk and choked on words in the name of a song. Or when the evening rush to get home turned people into gymnasts who jumped onto moving buses.

The bus stop was only a few blocks away. It was enough time for me to notice that something had gone wrong in the city.

Zacky's book launch was the topic of the neighbourhood early this morning. But now that that was over, the energy of the gossip became more...sorrowful.

A gathering of old men hushed on about a certain accident.

Customers in a queue wondered if the person would make it alive. The roadside ice cream stands were already busy with conspiracy theories of the accident being planned. I was too late to listen for a name, but whoever got this many people talking was a big influence.

***

How important this person was became a real question when every group on my way to the hospital was in on the topic.

I swallowed hard and kept my gaze forward at the entrance door. Tempting as it was to find out who had gotten in an accident, I didn't think it would matter so much to me.

Nobody mattered after Zacky's betrayal, I'd made sure of it.

At least not until I was sure he was behind bars for artistic fraud.

"Revenge never ends well, Sam! Just write a new masterpiece and become a star!"

Emily says that almost every single day. It made me smile that she didn't understand what it was to watch the man you love pick his fame over you. It wasn't about the book; hell, it was never about the book.

It was about Zack.

"You would not believe what just happened," a shrill voice snapped me out of my thoughts as soon as I made it through the automatic doors.

I flinched, stopping in my tracks. One more step and I'd have bumped into my best friend who stepped into my path without warning. Speak of the devil.

I was used to this. Her little way of welcoming me was usually with the latest spicy gossip of the evening. Mostly just repeating what I already heard on my way here.

Her brown eyes looked like huge bright balls, and her mole was like squashed berries.

For my comfort, I stepped back when she wasn't about to. "Let me guess, a certain celerity had an accident? See what happens when you drive while high on expensive weed?"

"Tell me about it," she came to stand by my side and we resumed the walk to our ward. "Cheap crack always advised."

I chuckled and left no response.

The ground floor was bustling with activity. Several stretchers were rolled past us with critical speed; doctors were yelling out orders in all accents I could grasp. It all seemed like the right kind of distraction away from Zacky.

However, I could hear fragments of the latest accident in the city flying from every angle.

Finally intrigued, I asked. "Who's this celebrity anyway? And is he alright?"

Emily and I sped into the elevator just before a trio of nurses could.

Finally, alone, she replied. "He's in critical condition. Was a terrible accident, but Dr Thomas is on him."

I froze. "Wait! He's here?"

"I was just as surprised," she shrugged with a squeal. "Daniel Berkeley? In our hospital?"

We exited the elevator and walked silently for a few moments. Moments I used to recall who that name belonged to.

"Daniel Berkeley, the..."

"Yes," she cut me off. "Your ex's only rival."

For the very first time, the evening gossip seemed to have piqued my interest. My heart began to race. When Zack had to worry about one author whose book could top his charts, it was Daniel. He owned his very own Publishing firm, a family legacy. That explained why many people were talking about it; a big name indeed.

"Oh..." was all I could manage for the next few minutes until we reached our ward.

Tapping my shoulder, Emily pointed towards a private hospital room and whispered. "He's in there."

I didn't know why, but I started to wish they would save his life.