“Breaking News, Tragedy at the press conference of Crafter Co.” 
“ The hottest topic today on social media sites is the tragedy that struck Crafter Co.”
“Tsk” Barry scanned the news channels showing the breaking news. There are current rumors that Cara is actually dead and that Crafter Co is hiding it to prevent their stocks from going down. Though Barry is concerned about Cara’s health, he is more worried about the influx of calls from the board of directors.
“Boss, are you sure Ms. Cara is okay?” Barry asked Ashton, who had just come out of the spare room in his office. He was surprised when he saw the amount of blood on Ashton’s clothes. He realized Cara was critical.
Ashton nodded at Barry, not wanting to explain further. “Nothing, I could not handle. Just please get us some clothes and make sure the perimeters are clear. We can’t afford another mishap like this.”
Barry agreed with Ashton. “We have already fired the entire group. There was a snitch within the group. We can’t be too sure so we removed them all.” He said as his voice cracked, he somehow felt accountable for what had happened to Cara.
Ashton was silent as he walked back to the room. He can’t fully blame Barry for the incident as he is aware that this was a planned attack all along. He blames himself more for not being able to save his wife on time.
Cara was still unconscious on the bed with her bloodied clothes; Ashton just managed to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on the open wound. He walked back closer to Cara with tears swelling in his eyes. “Babe, sleep it off until your wound is healed.” Ashton whispered to Cara’s ears as he fixed the stray hairs covering her face. Ashton knows Cara will be okay, but deep in his heart, it breaks him seeing her like that. In fact, he isn’t sure how fast Cara will heal from this deep wound that pierced her heart.
“Right!” He gasped as he remembered one important thing. Ashton stood up and carefully started removing Cara’s clothes from her. He took a deep sigh “Love, I hope you are proud of me now.” He said in a low voice as he removed the pieces of clothing from Cara. Ashton removed his bloodied clothing as well as if he was in a rush.
 “Splash!” Ashton ran the hot water into the tub. He carried Cara to the tub and soaked her as he never let her go in his embrace. A few minutes in the tub he noticed his fingers were getting wrinkled already, but he kept his ground, determined to help his wife.    
“I can’t believe I would be doing this with a woman. Not to mention the Sakalam I have despised all my life.” He sniffed her head like she was a substance he could not let go. “I could still smell that alluring scent of yours. It still makes me go crazy.” He held her tighter. “I love you so much, Cara.” Ashton said lovingly.
“I love you as much,” Cara mumbled.
“Oh,babe. How are you feeling?” Ashton sat straight to check on Cara.
“Much better.” She replied in her weak voice.
Ashton stood up and carried Cara to the couch near the bed. Cara barely opens her eyes but she can feel Ashton’s worried disposition. He diligently wiped her with a towel, making sure she was warm while he was barely clothed himself aside from his already soaked underpants.
“Don’t worry too much about me, I will be fine.” Cara said as she tilted her head down. The richest man in the world is down on his knees wiping her legs and feet with so much compassion in his eyes.
“Does it hurt?” Ashton asked Cara.
“Hmm, yeah it does. I not dying don’t mean I don’t feel it.” Cara explained to her husband.
Ashton let out a big sigh as he stood up to check on Cara’s wound. “It is healing quite slower compared to the gun shot last time. Even with the help of the warm bath”, he commented.
Cara chuckled hearing Ashton’s words. “Perhaps it was because they used a wand this time. Anyway, I was surprised you remembered about the invigorating warm bath.” She let out a smile.
“Uhm, I don’t easily forget… especially if it is about you, my love,” Ashton replied. He led Cara to the bed while he removed his wet underpants and joined her in the bed. “You might recover faster like we did in the cave.” Ashton smirked at Cara.
Cara laughed at Ashton’s cheeky remark. “I’m just kidding, let’s share that energy tomorrow.” Ashton embraced Cara and they both drifted to sleep.
Ashton woke up in the middle of the night and carefully went out of the bed. He can now settle his other affairs as Cara is feeling better. He looked at himself in the mirror as he changed his clothes. “I can do some things for my wife too.” Ashton felt content that he was of use to his wife. 
“Barry, is that damn culprit identified already?” Ashton gritted his teeth as he remembered that grin on the man’s face. He looked really satisfied knowing he had killed Cara and that even the moments before his death he looked fulfilled.   
“Yes boss, but the press is suppressing it.” Barry answered with a tone of disappointment. He blew out his cheeks before he spoke. “It is Freddie Balman.”
“Balman, the city mayor?” Ashton was surprised by Barry’s revelation.
Barry nodded to confirm.
“Hmm, then what is the angle of this attack? It does not feel random”. He asked Barry, acting like he did not know. The Mayor is not part of any subsidiaries or shareholders and companies they break ties with. He cannot blame it to their current economic sanctions, neither can he point it to the phantoms openly.
“We don’t have the details yet, boss. But we all know what it is about,” Barry answered, unknowingly not knowing the real reason behind it.
“Dig into their finances; I’m sure he is using a dummy for his papers.” Ashton ordered Barry. “Most importantly, buy out to remove rumors about Cara’s death. Also, don’t forget to mention that it was just a shallow wound caused by a dagger. The guards were just quick to stop the deranged man and his group. And add the fact that she was just shocked by the incident. That’s why she fainted.” He laid out the press release he wanted. “Oh and one more thing, tell them that we will be out of sight for about a month after the show. We will set out later. So don’t let the shareholders worry too much.”
“ring, ring” Ashton looked down at his phone and saw Theo was the one calling. “You may take your rest now, Barry.” He glanced at Barry’s direction before he went inside their room to answer Theo’s call.
“Ashton. Sorry for calling you this early. But I need to tell you this; you need to show the world that Cara is fine. The Phantoms think that she is dead. Even the Mayor is held a hero here for their family’s sacrifice.” Theo was straight to the point.
“Yeah, I know. We will show up later in the afternoon for some paparazzi shots.” Ashton answered, not wanting to tell Theo that it took a while for Cara to recover this time.
“Good. I will update you for anything important. Don’t call me.” Theo ended the call abruptly.
Ashton heaved a sigh, he was just thankful to have those insights from Theo. It’s not like they did not expect this kind of attack from the phantoms, it’s just a matter of when. “We have a long way to go, my love. And I won’t let anyone hurt you again.” Ashton whispered to Cara as he went back to bed with her.
***
Cara woke up earlier than Ashton. She glanced at him sleeping peacefully. She can’t help but be thankful to him for taking care of her. Cara loves this side of Ashton’s personality, it’s not like she expected to pampered and loved and affectionately cared for by this arrogant and rude boss. “Heh, I’m not complaining.” She said to herself as she kissed Ashton’s nose. 
 Ashton was quickly awakened by Cara’s subtle kiss. “Oops, sorry babe, I did not mean to wake you up.” Cara looked at Ashton with her puppy eyes.
Ashton wrapped his arms around Cara and kissed her nose in return. “It’s okay, now we are even.” He smirked at Cara.
Cara playfully went on top of Ashton while they were both still undressed. “Is the offer to share energy still open?” She asked her husband.
Ashton was game and sat up, which surprised Cara. He held her as if inspecting the wound on her chest. “I can’t believe that nasty gap is now just a patch of reddened skin now.” His eyes still can’t believe how Cara regenerated like vampires in those movies. He kissed her chest as if he was trying to fix a kid’s wound. “We shall get ready to show off the world that you are okay, or else I might end up sucking all the energy you just regained.” Ashton smirked at Cara.
Cara kissed Ashton on his lips and gave him a sexy smile. “Honestly love, it might be the other way around. I might end up swallowing all your energy and you might.. tsk..” Cara paused and winked at Ashton. “you might end up the one tired on the bed.” She laughed cheekily and prepared to stand up.
Ashton pulled Cara back into his lap and kissed her back. “That we have to see, babe.”