Chapter 11

William's office door flew open with a bang and slammed against the wall behind him with a resounding boom before throwing me to the sofa in rage. He apologized profusely in his best 'bossy voice' as he shut the door with another louder thud and made his way to his desk, where he collapsed into the chair.

"What were you thinking?" William shouted at me in irritation. "I specifically told you to stay away from Nick!

It took me a while to process William's action as my mind was lost thinking about Nick's situation. He was sent to the emergency room while William dragged me to his office. I wanted to stay with him and make sure he was fine, but it would only make the situation worse.

"It was my fault. I thought he needed some air, and I wanted to know his reasons why he kept hurting himself with someone who obviously didn't want to do anything with him!" I sounded pathetic for the very first time in my life, and I couldn't understand why I felt enraged about Nick's craziness toward Ferine.

William stood from his chair and pulled out his medical kit from his table before walking to me. He stopped and bent his knees to sit down in front of me.

He took my hands, and I was stunned to see both of my hands bleeding badly.

"I know how you can be so stubborn, but please, you cannot just do whatever you please because you are close to me. I do not want my reputation to go to waste because you cannot abide by the rules," he said and started cleaning my wounds while gently caressing my hand.

For a moment, something in my chest tore apart after hearing those words from William. So, he was acting so considerate and concerned all along because of his reputation and not because he cared for me.

"I am his personal nurse, so I should decide what's best for my patient's well-being. And having him like a mental prisoner will not help him in any way. He has to breathe away from people who cannot see his real gentleness," I boldly said to William.

I heard him sigh and finished bandaging my hands.

"I am just reminding you that Nick is not just a patient," William said shortly before standing up and walking away from me. "So keep him, just as you are instructed."

William slammed the medicine kit on his table, startling me from my seat. He removed his coat and was left with only a polo, tucked neatly into his black pants. "Tomorrow, change your bandage after bathing!" William said before walking to the door.

"Where are you going?

He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. "Ferine needs me," he answered before closing the door.

His eyes returned to their usual cold and expressionless state, and it was frustrating. It seems like I am not worthy of his concern or worthy of being treated with his gentle care and affection.

I stood up and was about to leave the office when something familiar caught my eye.

Inside the small pocket of William's coat hanging in its place at his desk was one of the most gorgeous pairs of glasses I ever laid eyes on, engraved with a simple design of an angel.

I must have dropped it back at the mausoleum a while ago, and William picked it up for me.

My heart skipped a beat at the sight of it, and suddenly my hands began moving on their own accord towards the glass. I carefully slid my fingers inside the opening, and my fingertips grazed against it until something with my eyeglasses became entangled with my glasses.

I pulled out a necklace that made my eyes widen in shock. It was the necklace I saw the man wearing back at the club when Cavin and I were supposed to kill Ferine's father. The same necklace I noticed the man who cut Nick at the mausoleum was also wearing

"Heureu, the president wants to see you!" Niko called from behind me, which startled me with my thoughts.

I returned the necklace and my eyeglasses and went straight to Mr. Ben's office.

"Come in!" I heard the old man's muffled voice inside, so I did come in.

I slowly swung the door open, and I saw Mr. Ben casually turning his chair side to side at his desk.

"What do you need?" I asked as soon as I stepped in and shut the door.

I didn't bother stepping closer, as I do not have any plans to stay longer.

"Sit down; we have a long discussion to make," he said, gesturing for me to sit at the chair in front of him while sipping his cigarette.

I walked closer, but I remained standing instead of taking a seat. "Since it's just the two of us, I'll drop my honorifics since we've got no secrets to hide, old man, don't we?

Mr. Ben leaned back in his chair before standing, then he walked to me and slapped me hard on the face.

I winced at the sound of my cheekbone stinging, as it felt sore and tender for a second. I stared at the floor, tears threatening to escape my eyes. The slap had hurt more than I expected, but then again, I knew I deserved it for being careless.

I wasn't surprised or even bothered, as I am used to being slapped, but this one was too insulting. Am I supposed to accept all his useless rants about his failure as a son because we owed him my father's life and the organization's exposure?

My hands closed tightly in rage, trying to keep in my emotions because someday I'll make him feel my wrath, incomparable with a sloppy slap.

"You only have one job, and that is to keep Nick away from people outside the rehab center," he said with a cold voice.

I held my face, and as I regained myself, I replied, "I see you are upset about Nick's little getaway! But I wonder why?" I sounded taunting with a sheepish grin on my face.

He let out a soft chuckle before throwing his cigarette to the ashtray. "Why am I upset? Well, dear, I am very upset about how ungrateful and hypocritical you are, forgetting that I kept your organization's secret for a very long time apart from giving your father a second chance to live!" Mr. Ben answered and grabbed my arm forcefully. "I expected you to be more..."

"To be more like...your pet?" I stared back at him with my coldest look, cutting him off from his words.

"I am not like your father! I only wanted you to make sure that Nick would be..."

"To make sure he would be kept away so that he wouldn't cause you shame? Disgrace, to be exact?" I cut him again.

Mr. Ben let go of my arm and shook his head in disbelief. "You do not have any right to talk back to me, insolent woman! If you want to keep your disgusting business secret, you only have to keep your mouth shut and do your fucking job! I hold the truths that would destroy your father in a glimpse!"

"Truth? Oh, really? Tell me your truths! I now understand why you had me play your game from the beginning. You knew that if I learned about Nick as my perpetrator, I could easily kill him. Smart move! Keep your enemies close! Well then, I'll keep Nick!" I sounded cunning and desperate.

"Oh, stop pretending like you know nothing! People like you have the dirtiest personalities. So you cannot fool me! Keep Nick safe and sound by his neck, and I'll keep acting as if I knew nothing! " Mr. Ben returned to his seat; I could see him breathing heavily. "These are his files for college applications." Ask him what his chosen course is, and let me know! "

Mr. Ben gave me a file with Nick's name in bold writing. I flipped through the thick stack of papers before coming across Nick's school records.

Nick's school record was rather normal and consisted of several minor achievements that seemed like nothing much. There were several sports achievements as well, like basketball and swimming.

"America. So, he should be in America," I scoffed. "This is the reason why Nick should not be seen. He could not be seen until he is appropriate enough to be seen as your son! How disgusting! If that is all, I am taking my leave!"

Rushing to the door, I slammed it shut with a loud bang as I stepped outside and heard Mr. Ben coughing badly. It sounded so bad; it might be the reason why his chest was rising so hard while keeping in his cough throughout our conversation.

I ignored it and went straight to Nick.

Just a few meters from his room, I could hear his shrill cries and dashed to see him curling in pain and sweating badly.

"What happened?" I asked the nurses inside Nick's room.

"He was stabilized for minutes, but he woke up like that! No one knew why or what exactly happened!" the female nurse answered in fright.

"I am his personal nurse; I'll take care of this!"

"Are you sure?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" My eyebrows raised dangerously.

The girl nodded in fear and quickly rushed out, leaving me alone with Nick.

"What happened? Answer me!" I asked, sitting beside him and holding his cold hand. "It is okay; I am here."

But he wouldn't respond; he just kept twitching in pain.

I sighed, then turned off the lights before lying next to Nick on the bed, facing him, and hugging him in a tight grip.

I am not sure what made me do this, but this was Cavin's way of calming me down during my panic attacks at night.

His breathing then started to slow down, and his body relaxed.

"What took you so long?" Nick softly whispered, his breath touching the bare skin of my neck.

"Stupid! Are these all acts just to get my attention?" I smirked, sounding proud.

"I feel less of a worthless person with you by my side. And besides, I cannot get your hand grabbing my balls out of my mind. It..."

"Shut up or I'll..." I tried to pull away from our hug, but he grabbed me by my waist and tightened the hug.

"You took advantage of me, so you cannot just leave me hanging!"

"Pervert!" I yelled before unintentionally knocking his senses out by striking him in the neck.