Chapter 3: Heartbreak

"Let go!! Let go of my mom. Go away," said Chris as he shook his grandfather's hand away from his mother. He shook hard before Old Master Lu finally released his mom and started wailing.

Chris ran to his mom and held her with his tiny hand. He wiped her tears and kissed her to transfer a bit of comfort, even when his heart broke into a million pieces.

After a while, they all calmed down and went to the hospital. Chris still remembered the journey to the hospital as one of the longest hours of his life. Rain still poured, lightning struck along the horizon, but it was dead silent in the car.

Mama Lu held Chris's hand along the way but looked far away outside the window. Chris couldn't help but shuffle into his mother's arms and sit still in her embrace.

Arriving at the hospital, a frenzy of flashes greeted them. The bodyguards held them off, away from Chris and his family members. Walking down the hospital aisle towards the morgue, Mama Lu tightened her grip on Chris as they approached the body under the white cloth.

"Dad is asleep. He is just sleeping! Whew," said Chris naively.

Mama Lu once again broke down at the sight of the love of her life, now cold on the bed. Colors drained from his face, while he looked as calm as the Caribbean seas.

"Ma.. why are you crying? Daddy is asleep. Hush now, just wait a while longer and then tickle him awake!"

"Ohhh… god! Dear god!" Cried Mama Lu as she hugged Chris tight.

More and more unfamiliar faces flooded the cold morgue, and wails were heard even from miles away. Chris still didn't understand, or wasn't willing to understand, the situation.

Seeing his father lying peacefully, he naively thought that everything was just fine. Reality didn't hit him until the day of the funeral, where he watched his dad placed in the casket and lowered to be buried on their family land.

No matter how hard he cried or how loud he wailed, daddy wasn't coming back. He remembered kneeling beside his father's grave, digging with his nails to get him back. Mama Lu was there, but all she could do was watch Chris dig. Tears never left her pale face from the day they heard from that police uncle up until now.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"Sir?" Cried Zhichen as he saw Chris sweating and frowning in his sleep.

Chris opened his eyes and lifted his head up. He had never been able to forget that nightmare, one that haunted and kept him awake at night. Everything was so vivid, like it was just yesterday since the event happened.

His secretary's voice was the one that broke the memory. Looking at Zhichen's terrified face, Chris opened his mouth and said, "I'm fine."

Zhichen had been working for Chris since he graduated. He was used to Chris's nonchalance as he knew that his boss preferred silence.

"Let's go," said Chris before he pulled out the IV line on his hand nonchalantly. The doctor had advised him not to leave before finishing his treatment, but Chris, who knew well the possibility of lurking danger around him, proceeded to discharge himself.

Since the incident, Chris worked hard and often neglected his health as he buried himself with never-ending work or school. He had only one goal at that time, which was to be better and care for his mom. Nothing else was important to him.

…

"Mom, are you sure?" Asked Alice for the tenth time.

Ana rolled her eyes and proceeded to walk away from Alice's bedside.

Alice watched her mom walking away and felt terrible. Why couldn't her life be like those novels she read whenever she could? Those characters would meet a rich, handsome prince charming and live a happy life.

Why wasn't she like that? As she lay on the hospital bed, Alice once again lamented her poor, sad life.