Chapter 14

Crystal

I was thrown off guard by his question. Wait, how did he know about that? I shook my head mentally. Of course, he knows everything happening around me because he reports to my father. And now I had no choice but to respond.

"Actually, I don't know. But it feels a bit scary," I said.

He raised his brows, wiping tissue in the corner of his mouth. "Mind if you tell me why?"

"It's his legal family I'm gonna deal with. I don't know them, even what they look like," I said then raised my face at Erik as I frowned. "Can you tell me something about them?"

"Hmm…" He pressed himself against the chair and curled his arms over his chest. I couldn't help but recall how I felt relaxed inside those arms.

"There's nothing to worry about. Carrie is about your age. She may not smile all the time and often, she remarks sarcastically, but I think she's still nice," he began. "And about Mrs. Vivien Wayne—well, whenever I visit your father's office in the mansion, I usually catch her yelling at the maids." He winked.

"W-wow, and now you tell me not to worry, where it sounds that I will be living with a pack of wolves."

He shrugged off, downing his glass of water. "I am confident that you are capable of handling their attitudes well."

I frowned. "How can you say so?"

"You're a Wayne. Plus, you're not the martyr type and you always fight for what you believe is right. Remember the confrontation with the manager-in-training?"

My jaw almost dropped as I stared at him in awe. "W-wait, how did you…" I was not able to finish my query because I was embarrassed just by recalling that scene.

"Don't think too hard about how I found out about that." He chuckled. "It's part of my job to look after you, so it's just normal that I am aware of the things happening around you."

I nodded slowly. Hell, this man was indeed my stalker. I looked down at my soup, mindlessly stirring it when an idea popped into my mind. "It seems like I cannot really avoid living with them. But I just wonder, can I bring Mama with me?"

He gazed at me as if he didn't expect me to ask that. But he responded at once anyway. "The only person who can decide about that matter is your father."

"Why? My mother may be stable now, but she's still sick. Doesn't she deserve someone to watch over her while she recovers?" I could hear the building irritation in my voice. God, I didn't want to get mad at my father again. But I couldn't help the hurt prickling in my heart just by the thought of leaving my mother in her crucial state.

"Remember what your mother told you? She wants you to go with your father." Erik sighed, reaching forward to touch my hand balled into a fist on the table. "Your dad will no longer abandon your mother, especially when she needs all the attention in the world. Mr. Wayne will surely hire a team of medical practitioners to take care of her."

"My father has abandoned us before. How can you say that he won't do it again to us?" I chuckled bitterly, gazing at our connected hands. "And I think she doesn't need any fancy watchers around her. I'm the only one who can watch over her."

I wanted to yank my arm away, but for some reason, I wanted to feel the warmth of his touch to ease the pain in my chest. I knew he had no control over what was happening and he was only taking orders from my father. Regardless, I knew I could trust him to talk about my feelings and frustrations.

"Oh, sweetheart…"

I raised my face at him, hearing that endearment again. Goodness, I wasn't sure if calling me 'sweetheart' had some meaning for him. Maybe he only wanted to make me feel good. Whatever his reason might be, I couldn't help but feel butterflies flying in a frenzy inside my stomach. Shortly and I could feel the crawling of heat on my face.

"Um…" I cut my gaze from him. "I think I've recharged enough. Let's go back to Mama. I want to be there when she wakes up."

"Of course." He stood up and offered his hand to me. "Let's go?"

A few minutes later we were walking back to the floor where Mama's room settled. The silence was accompanying us. Only the sounds of our footsteps could be heard in the empty corridor. But he was the one to break the ice as we reached the ICU door.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I can watch over her while I suggest to your father to eat in the cafeteria. I bet he's starting to get hungry by now."

"You'll do that?"

He nodded.

I smiled at him as I yawned. Being stuffed with food made me a bit sleepy. "I really don't know what to do without you, Erik. Thank you for being so thoughtful to us."

"It makes me happy to be with my boss's family in times like this." He winked and carefully twisted the doorknob.

But we both gasped when the door swung open and my father popped out.

"F-father? W-what happened?" I stuttered.

"Y-your mother—she's… she's gone." His eyes were wide and his voice was shrill with terror.

"G-gone?" My voice was rough as I repeated. My throat suddenly became painful as if there were thousands of needles in it. Unchecked tears blurred my vision as I tried to chuckle. "You gotta be kidding me. The doctor just said that she was out of danger! Let me in!"

My father and Erik tried to stop me. But I easily passed through them, pushing them as I shouted at the top of my lungs. No one could ever stop me from knowing the real condition of my mother.

"Mama? Are you oka—" I gasped.

My blood seemed to freeze as fear coursed through my veins when I spotted a body covered in a white blanket. My legs were shaking as I stepped closer. And when I opened the blanket, I cupped my mouth, and dread gnawed at my insides when I saw her lifeless body.