Xander was whistling as he walked into his office. He stopped by Assistant Ron's desk, and with narrowed eyes, he reproved, "I think I've been too lenient with you lately. Here, have this revised according to her corrections, and give me the final version by the end of today."
Assistant Ron flinched as he accepted the document. He was quite positive that Miss Yera would reject his boss's offer, based on all the mocking expressions she had displayed while he was explaining the contract.
He scratched his head because his bonus will be cut down for sure. This almighty boss of his, Physician CEO Yang, might look charming and congenial on the outside. And of course, for the most part, he was indeed such a warm and friendly person. However, when provoked, he could transform into a scary demon with ease. So Assistant Ron immediately thought of a way to placate his boss for making him worry for nothing.
Xander continued to hum inside his office. He thought he would need at least one week to convince her. But as it appeared, Yera really wanted to get her revenge soon. He shook his head and mumbled, "Hmm, I'm too ridiculously excited right now."
He took Yera's profile report from his drawer and sat at his desk to examine it again. This had become his daily routine ever since he met her. He had not missed a day to check her profile just so he could stare at her picture. At her delicate face and her beautiful yet soulless eyes. He had the urge to put life back into those eyes.
He was not sure if it was because he pitied her or whether he was attracted to her physically. All he knew was that he wanted her to become his.
He realized the journey wouldn't be smooth sailing. Just like a hedgehog, Yera had covered herself with prickles. It was her defense mechanism to protect herself from others. Pursuing her would mean to take out those prickles one by one, and to allow himself to be pricked in the process.
But then again, he was Xander Yang, whose confidence was as high as the Himalayas, and whose skin was as thick as a rhino. Some punctures from those prickles didn't scare him. He was sure that sooner or later, he would be able to strip Yera off of all her prickly spines.
His crazy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his mobile phone. It was Ralf. "Boss, we already have a lead on one of Miss Yera's kidnappers. We will let you know once we have him in our hands," Ralf reported from the other line.
"Alright, make sure you have the right culprits. You know how I hate loose ends, Ralf," Xander said in his serious voice.
"Yes, Sir, I understand. We will check everything," answered Ralf. Xander instructed Ralf on more things regarding Yera before he ended the call.
...…..
Yera went to work to submit her resignation letter. She would soon work at Yang Hospitals, as Xander suggested. She would still keep her identity as Deyna Song because she didn't want the people who were responsible for all of her grievances to know that she was still alive. She must get her revenge first. She wanted to torture them.
After submitting her resignation letter, she visited Bernard's grave. She put down the flowers she brought on his gravestone as she whispered, "I brought you these colorful flowers, hon. You love the combination of different colors, right? By the way, your cousin will help me with my fight. I'm actually not sure how you will react to this, but I need to use him to get my revenge. Sorry, hon…"
Yera stared at Bernard's gravestone as her eyes flooded with tears. She sobbed, "I missed you so much hon… I really missed you so much…"
Her tears were now spilling down her small face. The walls that held her up just collapsed and she was grieving like there was a giant gaping hole in her heart. The pain of losing Bernard had never left her, and she was not sure if it ever would.
After a few moments of dwelling in her sorrow, Yera wiped her tears and smiled. She joked, "Did you intentionally send your cousin to help me out? But that cousin of yours talks too much..."
"To be honest hon, the more I look at him, the more I miss you. It's harder for me whenever he's around because he reminds me of you…" Yera confessed. She was trying hard to hold back her tears.
She could picture Bernard there, scolding her for being weak. He was also telling her to move on.
"Are you telling Bernard on me?" Xander's playful remark suddenly startled Yera.
"Why are you here?" asked Yera.
"I had a meeting nearby and decided to stop by here to ask for Bernard's approval and forgiveness," Xander answered as he looked at Bernard's gravestone.
"I see his tree is growing fast," he noted of the tree that was planted for Bernard there. Yera smiled as she also looked at the tree and whispered, "Yeah, I would love to see it grow tremendously."
"Yes, it will. Especially if you smile like that often. If Bernard sees that, his tree will definitely grow fast," Xander declared while smiling at Yera. Smiling suited her better, and Xander could not help but voice it out.
Yera's cheeks turned pink, and she quickly turned around to hide it, "I will go first."
Xander let out a sigh before he answered, "Alright. See you later…"
Then he sat on the grass and looked to the sky. "Little bro, it's been months. I still can't believe time flew by so fast. I bet you can see me wherever you are, right? If you are not happy about what I'm planning for Yera, please feel free to hunt me down. Give me a sign. You can appear in my nightmare or something. You know I listen to you well, right?" Xander smiled.
He was not sure if what he intended to do was at all acceptable. He was just following his heart. Then he turned around to look at Yera, who was already walking far from him.
"But please, let me take care of her at least…" Xander pleaded as he watched Yera's back.