by J. A. Delese
“Don’t,” Andrew said.
Tom felt surprised and looked in his eyes. He could tell that Andrew was serious. They stared silently at each other for a few seconds, and Andrew spoke first.
“You must let her go!,” Andrew spoke clearly.
How can I? Tom answered back in his head. How can I do that? Would you do that if you were me? After so many years of misery, you finally find the one who could give you rest and you could just let her go so easily like this? I can’t. I can’t do that. I can’t let her go!
This was obviously more than he could bear right now. Maybe several years later, he would let her go. Maybe ten years later, he would let her go—maybe twenty years later.
But not now.
“Thomas!” Andrew called his name again.
“Let her go.”
It was almost like he was begging. Tom looked at his friend. He knew that Andrew was trying his best for him, so he was very sad to disappoint him.
“No,” Tom said shortly and walked out of the house.
Catherine
She washed her face with cold water to wake up. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. He gave her back her passport, and she came here to the airport. She was waiting for the flight now. She wouldn’t go back to Korea this time. She would go back to New York. She would get everything back again—her career, her life, her love. She felt a bit dizzy, but she used all her strength to stay focused.
I should go back and handle everything by myself.
She was thinking about what she should do first once she arrived in New York. She was going to New York with a three months pass now, because she was pretty sure she lost her visa already. She needed to find a job. She needed to find a new law firm.
Won’t be easy this time….
It tasted bitter to think about reality. She studied so hard to graduate from law school and in the end, became a prisoner. All that knowledge couldn’t protect her.
How funny.
She smiled ruefully. She wiped her face with a tissue and left the restroom. It was still early in the morning, but there were many people in the airport. She passed the airline counters and was about to get into the customs line, but she saw some people in black suits. They were looking at her. She felt right away that they were here for her, so she turned back and moved to the other side, but there were more guys coming toward her from that side. She opened her eyes bigger.
What the…?
She got confused. Were they the people he sent? Why? Didn’t he tell her to leave? She tried to think, but she didn’t have enough time. The guys were approaching from both sides. She didn’t know what to do. She looked around at the guys, and they suddenly stopped walking. They were standing on both sides of her but didn’t approach her. She was thinking of shouting for the police, but she didn’t think it would make the situation any better. If he decided to get her, he would get her in the end. Fight was meaningless. She breathed out and sat down on the chair behind her.
Really terrible people.
They were all terrible people, including his parents and these guys. Surely, the worst among them was him. They give her hope and then shatter that hope to see how disappointed she would be. That was how they felt satisfied and enjoyed themselves.
She covered her face with her hands. About one minute later, she could feel that someone was standing beside her, a very tall man, tall with brown hair and green eyes. It was the same guy she saw at her mom’s house. It seemed like he was in charge of her.
“He asked me to leave,” she said desperately.
This guy didn’t show any emotion on his face. He just stared at her with a blank face. She tried to appeal through her teary eyes, but it didn’t work.
“He asked me to bring you back,” he said.
The tears flowed faster. How could he do this? How could he do this to her again? What the hell is wrong with this guy? Is this that much fun to him?
“Please…,” she begged.
She was shedding tears, but didn’t cry. She was surprised that she was calm now. Actually, she felt disgusted and dizzy inside, but she was trying her best not to lose her mind.
“Sorry,” he said.
She expected this, so it didn’t hurt her that much. She wiped her tears with her hand and sighed once. She stood up from the chair and followed them.
Tom
He was sitting on the bed, but soon stood up and paced the room restlessly for a long time. Anxiety contorted his face. He had already heard that she was on the way back, but he wouldn’t feel safe until she actually stood in front of him.
She must be very angry.
He knows. She would probably yell at him and cry and beg. He closed his eyes. He was aware that he didn’t have a choice and didn’t want to choose, but if he had to, he’d rather choose her yelling than begging. It was truly too painful to see.
He recalled the last time he saw it. Then he heard some sounds from downstairs.
She’s back.
He gave a sigh of relief and sat on the edge of the bed. He thought she would go to the guest bedroom that was actually considered her room now, but he heard her climbing up the stairs. He didn’t move at all. He couldn’t move at all. His mind suddenly went blank. He didn’t know how he should welcome her. Honestly, he didn’t know how he should behave. He just stared at the door until he saw the doorknob turn. She came into the room. She looked as if she had stayed outside for days. Their eyes met, and they were looking at each other in silence for a while. He thought she would yell at him first, but she didn’t. She just looked at him silently, and that made him feel more awkward and guilty. He wanted to say something to her, but didn’t exactly know what to say.
Should I say sorry to her? Or should I console her?
He didn’t know what to do, so he kept the silence with her. Awkward silence fell between them. The silence, however, didn’t last long. She broke it first.
“You told me to leave.”
I did, he answered in his head but couldn’t speak it. He was feeling shameful for what he did. He didn’t want to show how he felt now to her, so he looked away from her to avoid her eyes. He just looked somewhere in the room and didn’t know how many minutes passed like that. She broke the silence again.
“You told me to go.”
Her voice didn’t carry any anger or other emotions. She simply stated the fact. It, however, somehow triggered him, and he unexpectedly told the truth. He just said it: “I lied.”
He was aware that it would hurt her badly, but he had no other way out. He just told the truth. He took a look at her. She looked depressed and sad. She lowered her head and he knew it was to hide her tears from him. She quietly walked out of the room. He felt too bad. He really felt fucking bad. He wanted to go and hug her. He wanted to tell her that he desperately needed her, but he was not stupid enough to do that now. He lay on the bed and breathed out deeply.
At least, she’s here.
That already relieved him enough. As long as she was with him, everything was going to be fine. Everything was going back to the way it used to be. She would be there whenever he needed her. He could touch her and sleep with her whenever he wanted.
Just then, he heard another sound from downstairs. It was a lot louder and sounded like something fell down. It sounded like someone fell down.
Catherine!
That jolted him into action. He ran out of the room and found her lying at the bottom of the stairs. It seemed like she had fallen in a faint.
“CATHERINE!” he shouted.
He ran down the stairs and held her body with his hands and realized that his hands were wet. He looked at his hands. His hands were wet with her blood.
“NO!”
Blood was pouring from a cut on her head. Susan came out to help, but he had no time to tell her what to do. He picked Catherine up and rushed to get out of the house. Guards were standing outside of the main door when he opened it. They looked shocked to see her like that, but he couldn’t take time to explai
n now.
“NEED TO GO THE E.R. RIGHT NOW!” he shouted.
Then, they started to make phone calls. She paled visibly, and it scared him. They got into the car that was waiting for them, and the car was driven to the hospital at full speed. He couldn’t believe he was bringing her to the E.R. again. It was just several months ago that he did the same thing.
This is insane. This is madness. This is madness.
He couldn’t even cry this time. He was just holding her tightly and trying to support her head. The car stopped in front of the E.R. and a medical team was already waiting for them at the entrance. They took her from him and carried her into the E.R. He followed them inside as a nurse took her pulse.
“It’s too weak. Call Dr. Amber NOW!”
“A head injury in collision. Has external bleeding and possible internal bleeding….”
Oh no….
He was stunned by what was happening in front of his eyes. He couldn’t move his body at all.
I did this to her again…I did this to her again….
That’s all he could think. He tried to find a way out in every painful moment, but every time he tried, it seemed to get him back to the same place over and over again—the place where he lost his Liz. Now, in this place, he was losing her.
He felt pain in his head. He felt giddy. The whole world seemed to spin round. He felt like collapsing at any time, but another doctor’s shout woke him up.
“She’s miscarrying! CALL DR. ERIN!”
Eva
She had never expected to see this girl again, especially in this condition. After the last time she saw this girl’s friend, she found out through the other nurses, who he was. It seemed like he had quite a good reputation and background, so she thought he wouldn’t make the same mistake again in order to maintain the reputation of his house.
But here she is.
She looked at Catherine as she slept. She looked so peaceful. Actually, she wasn’t sleeping. She was in a coma again. Eva clucked sympathetically at that.
Such a poor thing…badly injured and even lost a child this time.
She would feel so much pain physically and mentally when she woke from this coma. Eva couldn’t imagine how it might feel, losing a baby. It must be terrible.
It must be shocking for the father, too.
She recalled the face of the friend. He looked totally shocked and pathetic. He stayed in the ward for two days without sleeping or eating. He refused to eat anything. He just looked at her the entire the time. He refused to leave the room, but the doctors convinced him to go back home and get some rest, since it would definitely take some time for her to wake up. Then, he agreed to leave for one day.
All the nurses pitied him, losing his beloved girlfriend and a child, but Eva didn’t. She still remembered what he said to this poor girl—those horrible words. She remembered being so shocked that she dropped the cup she was holding.
Maybe he did this to her.
It was possible. Maybe he found out she was pregnant and asked her to abort the baby, but she refused to do it. So he pushed her down the stairs like in a movie.
I’m thinking too much.
She shook her head.
But this is really too much!
What kind of monster was he? Hurting a woman who was carrying his child? Eva thought that if she saw Catherine another time, it would be because she was dead.
Maybe he’s going to kill her next time!
She put her hand over Catherine’s and said, “Be strong.”
She moved out of the ward and passed by the guards at the door. There were always guards at the door. This guy was either very protective or possessive. She thought it was the latter. If it were the former, she wouldn’t be here. Eva sighed deeply.
Maybe I should think about what I was offered. It’s not entirely a bad thing. Maybe it will help her get away from this guy. So it’s good for both of us!
She came back to her desk and brought out her bag from her locker. She opened her purse and found the number she was looking for.
Ingrid
She rushed into the hospital to find her son. She was so surprised at what she heard from her brother. Every single word from Dr. Colin’s mouth came as a shock—fell from stairs, hurt her head, bleeding, and especially miscarriage. When she heard that word, she was in a state of shock for several minutes and couldn’t move.
Stupid kids! She shouted in her head.
Initially she wanted to scold her son. It was so stupid that he didn’t use protection and more stupid that they couldn’t keep the baby. Yes, she planned to scold him, but when she saw him in the ward, she couldn’t say anything. He was sitting on the sofa, looking depressed and worn out. She walked toward him, and he turned his head toward her. She could tell that he had been crying. His eyes were red.
“Thomas.” She felt her heart aching at seeing her son like this. He already looked emaciated.
“You should get some rest,” she said warmly, but he didn’t say anything back to her. He just moved his eyes from her to the bed in the room. Ingrid following his gaze and walked close to the bed. The girl was in a coma. The girl who had her daughter’s voice was in a coma. This was the second time that she had gone into a coma. She breathed out heavily. This was too much. They were committing a sin.
“I didn’t know she was pregnant,” he said.
Ingrid turned and looked at him.
“She never told me. She never said she was carrying my child,” he said between his tears. She sat beside Tom and threw her arms around him.
“Maybe she didn’t know either. It happens. You don’t even know you are pregnant.”
She recalled the time when she was carrying Nate. She didn’t have periods for three months, but she thought it was just because of her irregular periods.
“I should have noticed it. I should have paid more attention to her. Then, we would not have this madness. I should have not done this to her….”
As soon as he finished talking, he started to blubber. Ingrid held him tighter. She wished she could save him from this agony. She really wanted him to not suffer from this kind of pain. He was not supposed to suffer anymore.
After she returned home, she sat on the bed for hours. She didn’t want to think about it, but this reminded her of that moment— the most painful moment in her life. She tried not to cry, but she couldn’t help it. Tears flowed down from her eyes. She thought it would be okay after so many years, but she still felt like it happened yesterday—every single moment of that day seemed just like yesterday.
“Ingrid?”
It was her husband. She wiped away her tears with her hand.
“Welcome home, honey,” She said, forcing a smile.
“Are you alright? Did he say something again?” Stephen asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s just….”
She couldn’t finish and cried again.
“What is it?” he approached her as he said it.
“It hurts to see my child’s suffering,” She just managed to say it, holding her breath, but she started to cry again. Stephen, her husband, took her in his arms and soothed her, but he didn’t say anything to her. It seemed that either he also felt very sad or had nothing to say about it.
“I thought…I would not see…him crying…like this…never ever again….”
She was crying so much it was difficult for her to speak, but she said what she wanted to say. Stephen held her tighter in his arms.
“He put himself into this situation. He refused to listen to our warnings. He behaved so irresponsibly and acted like a little kid,” he said.
His tone carried more anger than sadness.
“But he is your son,” she answered. “Your eldest son, an heir to this house. You must help him. You must guide him to the right path.” She held his hands tightly.
“Promise me, darling. You are his father. Promise me that you’ll help him. Don’t let our boy cry like this again. Promise me.”
&nbs
p; Nate
This is fucking crazy!
He wanted to shout out loud. He had never expected he would see such a drama in his or his brother’s life. He got out of the elevator, and a guard blocked him.
As usual.
Nate didn’t really like being rude, but he couldn’t be nice to these guys now.
“Move,” he said in a low tone.
He thought he had said it quite fiercely, but the big guys in front of him didn’t move at all. He looked straight in the guys’ eyes and narrowed his eyes.
“Move. I need to talk to my brother,” he said again.
It seemed the word brother worked. The guys looked at each other, and one of them went into the ward.
They want to check with him.
Nate snorted. He thought this was ridiculous. If he was so cautious, how could he let her fall down the stairs? Why did he let her end up in a coma two times?
So fucking ridiculous.
The guy who entered the room came back out and gestured for Nate to come in. He went into the ward. He could see Tom sitting on the sofa. Her bed was in the other room that opened to the room with the sofa. He moved first to the bed to see her. She was in a deep sleep. She looked so pale and bloodless. It was like a dead body. This was not the Catherine he remembered. Nate felt sad and held her hand.
“I’m so sorry, Catherine,” he said.
He had no other words to say but sorry. What else he could say? He promised he’d send her back and here she was. He told her he would send her back home safely. Suddenly the sadness welled up within him, and his eyes filled with tears.
“I’m so sorry that I was so blind and deaf like that. I should have listened to what your friends’ said. I’m terribly sorry, Cathy,” he said and started to cry. Nate felt guilty, but he was aware that the one who must feel guilty was not himself. He turned his head and looked fiercely at Tom.
“You did this to her,” he said. He walked toward Tom, shouting, “YOU DID THIS! YOU DID THIS TO HER!”
“Yes,” Tom said.
Nate couldn’t believe Tom just simply said it like that. He didn’t even care enough to deny it? He grabbed Tom by the collar and shouted, “WHY? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO HER? WHY! You thought you could do this, ’cause she has no one else but herself? You think you can get away with this? You think you are sort of God? Tell me, you son of bitch. TELL ME! ANSWER ME!”