'Sick'

With her brows knitted, Eliza dialed Vasquez's number. It was exactly 12:15 a.m. which caused Vasquez annoyance after receiving her call.

"Did I wake you up?" 

[ What do you think? It's already past midnight! ]

Eliza slightly distanced her phone from her ear after Vasquez growled. "Sorry. I'm just worried about Jalil. That's why I called to ask you something."

[Why? What happened to him? ]

"Well, he's too busy, I guess. We're supposed to visit his grandparents as I promised last week, but he cancelled it. Now he's still at his office room since this morning. Did something happen in the company? He barely ate. I'm worried that he's overworking himself."

[Whoa. What a caring wife! ]

"Don't start. I'm just worried about our contract. Who will pay me if he gets sick and dies? You?"

Eliza heard Vasquez sighed.

[Okay. Well. He was investigating that phone call you received last week while at the same time fixing the problem with the company. The clients are gradually leaving, and sales are decreasing. I can't blame him if he's overworking.]

"But still, he sh—" Eliza snapped her head in the direction of Jalil's office room when she heard a loud thud. "Ah. Thank you, Lor. Sorry for bothering you. You should go back to sleep. Good night!"

After hanging up, Eliza immediately went to Jalil's office. Jalil prohibited her from entering, so she just stopped outside and leaned against the door to listen. 

"Jalil?" She knocked twice. "Jalil?"

Eliza didn't hear a response from him, so she slowly twisted the knob and peeked inside. Her brows furrowed as she didn't see him at his table. The swivel chair was facing to the right, as if someone had just left from sitting there.

"Jalil?" She completely entered the office and closed the door quietly. The office had its own bathroom, which she assumed Jalil was in. "I'm sorry, I entered. I heard something, so I was just—GOODNESS!"

Eliza ran towards Jalil, who was flatly lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Hey, Jalil!"

She pulled his head up and rested it on her lap since she couldn't lift his whole body. "Shit, you're too hot!"

Eliza checked his breathing and pulse and was relieved when she felt his pulses. "Why are you working when you're sick? Goodness."

Eliza tried to pull him with all her might, but Jalil was way too heavy for her.

She tried to lift him up once again, but no matter how she tried, she just couldn't move him.

"Hey. Hey. Wake up. I can't pull you up!" Eliza slumped to the floor next to him, tired and sweaty. "I need help. I'll be back, okay?"

Eliza stood up, then went to the living room, where she left her phone after calling Vasquez. She was about to dial Vasquez's number again, but she remembered his tired voice when she talked to him earlier on the phone. 

After scrolling through her contacts, she decided to call Jeffrey rather than an ambulance because she didn't want to cause a rumor or ruckus. Reporters were quick to catch an issue for their headline, and she knew Jalil disliked that. Calling Jeffrey was the best choice.

Luckily, Jeffrey answered after a couple of minutes. It was obvious in his voice that he had been awoken from a slumber.

After talking to Jeffrey, Eliza went to the kitchen and picked up a small basin and towel, then filled the basin with lukewarm water. She also added several drops of vinegar to the water. Eliza wanted to cool down Jalil's fever while waiting for Jeffrey to arrive and move him. 

She didn't waste a second and went back to the office while carefully carrying the basin with water. Jalil was still unconscious when she returned. 

She started wiping from his face, neck, and down to his arms using the wet towel. She also unbottoned his top cloth to wipe his chest and reached for his armpits.

"Whoa. He's not hairy like my brother and father," Eliza whispered as she saw Jalil's hard chest and hairless armpits.

"Eliza?"

She looked at the door where Jeffrey entered and immediately went closer to them. 

"God, he's so hot," Jeffrey worriedly said as he positioned himself to lift Jalil and carry him to his back. "We should bring him to the hospital."

Eliza followed Jeffrey towards the gate while holding Jalil's body to assist Jeffrey in carrying him. 

Jeffrey gently put him in the backseat of his car. "Good thing you saw him right away."

"Yeah. I heard a loud thud from his office, so I hasted to check it." Eliza got inside the backseat as well and examined Jalil's head to see if he had been injured since he collapsed to the floor. "I hope he didn't hit his head that hard."