Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca 1/8 On Richard's first night back , Rebecca could barely contain her excitement . She practically shooed Alistair out the door , eager to be alone with Richard . Wrapped in his gentle affection , she lost herself in dreams of their happy future together . By Richard's second night home , Rebecca discovered something new - taking care of a child was utterly exhausting . After a night of constant attention , Daniel finally fell asleep , but it was already one in the morning . Rebecca's beauty rest was completely shot . Richard lay beside her , as tired as she was . Just yesterday , they'd been all over each other with passion . Tonight , they both collapsed in bed , completely wiped out . " Rebecca , " Richard sighed , " let's hire two nannies . One to handle the cooking and shopping , and another to look after Danny . " Without hesitation , Rebecca refused . " No way . I don't trust strangers with Danny , and I wouldn't like anyone else's cooking anyway . " Richard tried to reason with her patiently . " Don't stress so much . He'll be fine . Everyone does it this way , don't they ? " Rebecca stood her ground . " But Danny's never been left with Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca strangers before . " 2/8 Richard's smile had an odd edge to it . " Rebecca , aren't you forgetting something ? Alistair is technically a stranger too . You were comfortable leaving Danny with him . Why can't you trust someone else ? " Rebecca's first thought was that it wasn't the same at all . How could it be ? Alistair had been there when Daniel was born , after all . The second night after Alistair had been shown the door , Rebecca lay flat on her back in the darkness . She listened to the steady breathing of the man she'd longed for all these years , staring blankly at the ceiling . A strange emptiness she couldn't . quite name wrapped around her . She didn't understand it . The man she'd pined for was finally beside her . She could finally sleep in his arms every night . She'd dreamed about it for so long . Yet somehow , the passion she expected just wasn't there . Rebecca felt lost . What's wrong with me ? I must be tired . Yes , that's it . I'm just exhausted . Rebecca closed her eyes wearily . Some time later , Richard suddenly rolled over and pulled her into his arms . His hands began wandering over her body . Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca 3/8 Too tired to respond , Rebecca felt none of last night's passion . She was about to push him away when a knock at the bedroom door startled them both . Daniel stood there with unnaturally flushed cheeks , breathing heavily . " Mom , my head hurts , " he whimpered between sniffles . Daniel was sick . Rebecca and Richard rushed him to the children's hospital in a panic . By the time they returned home , it was two in the morning . To let Rebecca get some rest , Richard thoughtfully took the sick Daniel with him to care for . ***** " Rebecca , would you mind giving me Alistair's contact information ? " Vivienne called around ten the next morning . Rebecca had just gotten out of bed and paused , remembering that Vivienne had asked for Alistair's number yesterday . The conversation had shifted before she could provide it . She hadn't expected Vivienne to be so persistent about it . Rebecca sat at her vanity , applying mascara in the mirror while teasing Vivienne , " I never would've guessed you were serious ! Is Anne right ? Has he really gotten under your skin ? " Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca 4/8 Vivienne gave a vague " hmm " before breaking into a grin . " You bet ! Now hurry up and give me his number . Don't keep a girl waiting ! " Rebecca scoffed , " The more eager you are , the less inclined I am to share . " Vivienne clicked her tongue . " Rebecca , why do I hear a hint of jealousy in your voice ? You're not actually jealous , are you ? " " Jealous ? Of Alistair ? " Rebecca laughed dramatically . " Nice one , Vivienne ! Your ability to insult me is really improving . Me , jealous of Alistair ? Please ! He's nothing . He doesn't deserve . that . " Vivienne's face grew serious . " Rebecca , sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees . From where I'm standing , you're in denial . After six years of being together day in and day out , can you honestly say you have zero feelings for Alistair ? Put bluntly , even if you had a dog for that long , you'd feel something when it was gone . Don't you- " " Fine , fine ! You want Alistair's number ? Just stop making me sick with this nonsense , " Rebecca interrupted with exasperation . She pulled up her contacts and recited a string of digits . " Hope you get your dream guy soon - as long as you don't mind that he's my reject . " After hanging up , Rebecca sat motionless for a long while . It was only now that she recalled how Vivienne had always praised Alistair so generously . She hadn't taken it seriously Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca 5/8 before , but the more she thought about it , the more something felt off . Is Vivienne finally making her move ? She must have been hiding her true intentions all this time because he was technically my husband . Now that we're officially done , she's wasting no time going after him . Rebecca smirked . Vivienne has terrible taste , going after a man even I didn't want anymore . No wonder Anne has been quietly working against her all this time ! She continued applying her makeup , but halfway through , she suddenly hurled her eyebrow pencil to the floor . Rage clouded her pretty face . Well , well , Alistair ! Who would've thought ? Acting all docile to my face while secretly lining up his next victim ! And it looks like he actually succeeded ! Rebecca was furious . One eyebrow pencil couldn't possibly absorb all her anger , so the expensive bottles and jars on her vanity paid the price , shattering across the floor with a series of crashes . Still seething , she grabbed her phone and dialed a number . Alistair , who had turned off all his alarms and was nestled in the plush comfort of his five - star presidential suite planning to sleep in , was jolted awake by the shrill ring . Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca He fumbled for his phone , still half - asleep . " Hello ? " Hearing his groggy voice only infuriated Rebecca more . 6/8 Sleeping peacefully , is he ? While I tossed and turned all night ! What gives him the right to sleep so soundly? When Vivienne called him , he must have been gloating about sneaking around right under my nose ! Rebecca let out a derisive snort and issued commands in her usual bossy manner . " Alistair , I'm giving you exactly ten minutes to get over here . Now! " She hung up without another word . Alistair stared at his phone in disbelief . From what he knew about her , this was the calm before the storm . He placed his phone beside his pillow , muttered " psycho " under his breath , and rolled over to go back to sleep . Just as he closed his eyes , something occurred to him . He quickly grabbed his phone again and blocked Rebecca's number . Only then did he close his eyes with a sense of relief . Let someone else deal with that bad - tempered princess . He was done with her nonsense , Rebecca sat on the sofa with her arms crossed and fury written all over her face . Having issued her ten - minute ultimatum , she 18jt Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca began a silent countdown . One minute passed . Then two , and three … By the seven - minute mark , Rebecca was pacing impatiently around the living room . At eight minutes , she kicked over a chair in frustration . By nine minutes , Rebecca's anger turned to harsh laughter . Well , well , Alistair . Nine minutes have passed and you're still not here ? Ten minutes passed without any sign of Alistair . 7/8 Rebecca couldn't believe he'd dare challenge her authority like this . Fuming , she called him again . For the first time ever , she heard the automated message . " Sorry, the number you are calling is unavailable … " Her first thought was that Vivienne must have already reached out to him . How pathetic was Vivienne that she needed to pick up my cast - offs ? The idea of Alistair and Vivienne no away , possibly hooking up behind her back , drove Rebecca crazy . She kept calling him obsessively , but by the tenth attempt , reality finally Chapter 8 Exhausted Rebecca hit her - Alistair had blocked her number ! 8/8 Meanwhile , Alistair's attempt to catch up on sleep wasn't going any better . Another ringtone soon woke him up . He naturally assumed it was the mentally unstable Rebecca calling from another number to yell at him after discovering she'd been blocked . He was fed up . This is ridiculous . We're done with each other now . Why should I keep putting up with her ?