[At Tina's Apartment]
The door to Tina's apartment creaked open, and she stepped inside, her clothes dripping water onto the floor. The sound of the rain outside was muffled now, but the storm inside her heart raged on. Her mind was blank, her emotions a chaotic whirlwind of grief, guilt, and loneliness. She barely registered the cold seeping into her skin or the puddles forming at her feet.
Her gaze fell on the picture of her mother, placed neatly on the shoe rack near the door. It was a simple frame, but the image inside was priceless, a picture of her mother's warm, smiling face, a memory frozen in time. Tina's breath hitched, and tears welled up in her eyes as she reached out to touch the frame.
"Mom..." she whispered, her voice trembling. A tear slipped down her cheek and landed on the glass, blurring her mother's smiling face. "Mom... Paiming is leaving me..."
Her hands shook as she clutched the picture to her chest, her heart aching with a pain that felt all too familiar. Her mother had been her only family, the one person who had loved her unconditionally. When she had disappeared, Tina had felt like the world had crumbled around her. And now, Paiming, the person who had become her anchor, her family, was leaving too.
"Since you left..." Tina's voice broke, her words barely audible. Raindrops rolled down her cheeks, mingling with her tears as she stared at the picture. "Another important person to me has left me..."
Memories of Paiming flooded her mind, his warm smile, his gentle nature, the way he had always been there for her, no matter what. She remembered how he had made her laugh on her worst days, how he had held her hand when she felt lost, how he had been her rock when she had no one else. 'I used to like him so much', she thought, her chest tightening.
"But..." Her voice cracked, and she clutched the picture tighter, as if it could somehow fill the void in her heart. "It's me who betrayed him first." The guilt was overwhelming, a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. 'That's why he left me, right?'
She stumbled toward her bedroom, her movements slow and unsteady. Her wet clothes clung to her skin, and her hair hung in damp strands around her face, but she didn't care. She didn't have the energy to change, to think, to do anything but collapse onto her bed.
"Mom..." she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. She curled up on the bed, her wet clothes soaking the sheets, and held the picture tightly to her chest. Her wet hair fanned out around her, and her tears continued to fall, unchecked. "Is this the punishment I deserve?"
The room was silent except for the sound of the rain tapping against the window. Tina's body trembled with exhaustion, her mind and heart drained from the weight of her emotions. Slowly, her eyelids grew heavy, and her breathing evened out as she drifted into a restless sleep.
[Next Morning]
[At Chin Group's Building]
The clock on the wall ticked steadily, each second stretching into an eternity for Jim. He sat at his desk, surrounded by stacks of files and reports, but his mind was far from work. His eyes kept darting to his wristwatch, the hands stubbornly stuck at 10:30. "It's 10:30..." he muttered under his breath, his tone laced with impatience. "Why hasn't she come yet?"
The office was quiet, except for the occasional rustle of papers and the faint hum of the air conditioner. Jim's fingers drummed restlessly on the desk, his thoughts consumed by one person, Tina. He had expected her to show up as usual, her presence a constant in his chaotic world. But today, her absence felt like a gaping hole.
[Clack!]
The sound of the door opening snapped Jim out of his thoughts. His head jerked up, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the door. For a brief moment, hope flickered in his chest, maybe it was her. But his expectations were dashed when Yi Kuan peeked in, a file in hand.
"Jim," Yi Kuan said, his tone casual as he stepped inside. "Take a look at the financial reports from headquarters last month."
Jim's expression darkened, and he turned his head away, ignoring him. "Humph..."
Yi Kuan, unfazed by Jim's annoyance, walked closer and leaned against the desk, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Did you go out with your lovely girl over the weekend?" he teased, his eyes twinkling with amusement.
Jim's jaw tightened, a vein popping on his forehead as his irritation grew. He shot Yi Kuan a glare, but the man only laughed, clearly enjoying himself.
"Oh, why didn't Tina come today?" Yi Kuan pressed, his tone dripping with mock concern. "Did you piss her off again?"
Jim's hands clenched into fists, but he didn't respond. Instead, his mind drifted back to Tina, her face, her smile, the sadness in her eyes when she had last spoken to him. He remembered their conversation about Paiming, how she had been preparing to tell him the truth. 'Siao will break up with her this weekend', Jim thought, his chest tightening. 'She needs time to calm down.'
But the fact that she hadn't shown up today, or even called, gnawed at him. A sudden, unsettling thought crossed his mind. 'What if they patched up? What if Paiming takes her away from me?'
The idea was like a spark to dry tinder. Jim's expression turned grave, and before Yi Kuan could say another word, he shot up from his chair. He grabbed his coat from the nearby mannequin and rushed toward the door, his movements swift and determined.
"Hey, where are you going?" Yi Kuan called after him, his voice tinged with confusion. "Did I piss him off that much?"
"I'm going to her," Jim replied curtly, not bothering to look back as he stepped out of the office.
[At Tina's Apartment]
The elevator doors slid open, and Jim strode into the lobby, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat faster than the last as he approached Tina's apartment. When he reached her door, he hesitated for only a moment before trying the handle. To his surprise, it wasn't locked.
"She didn't lock the door?" Jim muttered, his concern growing. His mind raced with worst-case scenarios as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Stupid woman," he grumbled under his breath. "If she's lived alone in the attic, she's going to be in danger!"
"Tina, are you in?" he called out, his voice echoing through the quiet apartment. There was no response, only the sound of faint coughing coming from the bedroom.
Jim's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed toward the sound. When he reached the bedroom, he saw a figure curled up under a blanket, trembling slightly. The sound of labored breathing and coughing filled the room.
"Tina!" Jim's voice was sharp with worry as he grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it back. What he saw made his stomach drop.
Tina lay there, her face flushed with fever, her skin burning to the touch. Her breathing was shallow, and her body trembled with each cough. She looked so small, so vulnerable, and Jim's chest tightened with a mix of fear and guilt.
"Tina," he said, his voice softer now, filled with concern. "What's wrong with you?"
To be Continued :-