Chapter 16 - The pain behind the smile

25th July - Windsor Square - 8:22AM

"Fu*k."

Kai was in a conundrum now. He had the chance to consume the elixir but he couldn't up and start walking suddenly out of the blue. Nor could he pretend to stay immobile as they had scheduled a surgery in the next few days and by then if they would see that he was perfectly fine, then that might raise red flags and he couldn't afford to tell anyone about the system. So he needed to find a way to somehow circumvent all suspicion but still make the top surgeons of the country that they fixed him and not some "system generated magic elixir."

"Haaaaaaa." Kai sighed. He was truly blanking out on what to do. He could take the elixir and regain his mobility right now. But the circumstances made it very difficult for him to take it. There were too many unpredictable factors.

Ultimately he decided to postpone using the elixir and called Albert to escort him to the hall for breakfast.

 Surprisingly when he arrived, he didn't see Jeff in the room. Usually Jeff is in the hall around this time and chats with the staff about his day. Not seeing him there seemed a bit weird to the young man. Seeing the head butler, Albert organize the breakfast table, he decided to ask him.

"Where's Jeff?" he inquired

"Sir requested for his breakfast to be sent to his room" Albert responded. "He also instructed us to inform you that today's session will be cancelled as sir has some other business to deal with"

Kai tiled his head in confusion. Jeffrey is an outspoken person and he usually communicates directly if something important comes up. There had been a scenario a few days ago where he had to attend a meeting with some colleagues and had told Kai directly. Now to send a message through the head butler and not showing up for breakfast caused alarm bells to ring in his head. He then asked again "Is he okay?"

"Of course sir. He just requested for his breakfast in his room as he seemed to be busy thinking a few things. There isn't anything to worry about." Albert assured him with a reassuring smile.

Kai didn't believe him completely but ultimately decided to trust him and then started eating his breakfast while contemplating about what to do for the day as suddenly his entire day had opened up.

Jeffrey's Room - 9AM

Albert, the ever trusty aid, silently opened the door to his employers to find a sight that broke his heart.

His ever smiling employer, a man who he truly respected with all his heart was lying curled up on his bed sobbing. The smell of alcohol was present in the air and several shards of broken glass were scattered across a side of the room, evident that someone had thrown glass across the room. The old man truly looked pitiful with him clutching a picture close to his chest.

That picture was arguably the Maestro's greatest treasure. 

In a mansion that consisted of countless memorabilia from all across the musical world, the most important treasure was a simple framed picture of the most important person in Jeff's life. A person he would give all his fame and fortune to spend more minutes with. His beloved wife.

Seeing the man like this broke Albert but he dare not even try to comfort the man. He needed to feel that pain to start the process of letting go. He never would fully let go of course but still.

The head butler quietly started sweeping the broken glass and tidied up the room. He then brought a steaming hot portion for breakfast, placed it on the table and gently nudged his employer awake.

"Sir, it's time to wake up." Jeff shrugged off the attempts but eventually got up and held out his hand for Albert to grasp and guide him to his cane. Without saying anything, he guided himself to a drawer, opened it and gently placed his prized picture in the drawer for safekeeping. 

And then without saying a single word, Jeffrey August just entered the bathroom to freshen up. Throughout the entire ordeal, Albert just stayed in one spot watching the man do whatever he wished. After seeing Jeff enter the bathroom, Albert sighed.

'Truly the most cheerful of men hide the most trauma and suffering' he lamented