"Aubrey, please! Get a hold of yourself.", Lucy hugged him very closely to her. Her heart broke when she saw him like this. He was like a glass, easily shattered with one single touch.
How could he become like this.. who the hell was responsible for this..?
Lucy gritted her teeth. This was the first time she ever felt like killing somebody. Aubrey was broken beyond repair. It was not easy to help him, she knew.
'But I won't give up.. not now.', she said to herself, trying to build up confidence inside her.
She patted his back in rhythm. His heavy breathing started to cease. He was going through a hard time just by hearing the name. Who was this chairman Lee? What kind of demon was he?
".. Lucy.", he spoke her name slowly.
"Yes..?"
".. Lucy.", he said it again. As if trying to convince himself that she was here.
"Yes Aubrey. I'm here.", she tried to hold back tears.
His condition was not a laughing matter. It was serious. He had severe PTSD and it was not going to disappear anytime soon.
Lucy tried to appear strong in his eyes. But she was just a woman. She couldn't help him with his pasts. She couldn't heal the broken parts. She felt hopeless for the first time in her career. That she wasn't able to cure him when he needed it the most.
"I'm sorry.", she said. Her voice was shaking.
She didn't know how he was able to invade her mind and soul just in a short time. Now his pain was also hers. She couldn't bear to see him like this.
Aubrey lifted up his face to take a look at her. She was crying. Why was she crying..?
"I told you I will heal you. But I couldn't do it. You're hurting but all I do is-", her sentence was cut off with a despairing kiss from Aubrey. She was startled, but she was the happiest.
His hands were wavering, he couldn't bring himself to touch her face properly. But he still wanted to show her how much her words meant to him.
She closed her eyes. The tears stopped. She inched her face closer to his. Her palms on his chest, she unconsciously gripped his shirt very strongly. And then her one hand went to his hand. She guided him to touch her own face. His hand became less shaken.
They pulled out from each other. Gasping for air.
".. I'm weak.", he said out of the blue. He wore a sad smile.
"But I still want to be with you.", he looked her in the eye. He was surprised to see himself reflecting in her eyes, again.
Why did her eyes only have him in them? What made him so special? He was just a mentally ill man. Unable to fix himself for the better.
But he was grateful. She had chosen him.
"Will you still choose me..?", he asked.
"I love you.", she answered him with another confession. And she kissed his cheek softly. She wanted to tell him he was not alone anymore, she will stay by his side.
This time, there were no more sadness and hopelessness.
She would heal him and she wouldn't be dispirited anymore. She wouldn't say sorry for the second time. She would do whatever it takes to piece his heart back together.
"Let's do this Aubrey. You and me.", Lucy smiled from the bottom of her heart.
He nodded. He smiled back. He was happy. No matter what the future became, he wouldn't let her go.
"You're my boyfriend now. It's official!", she giggled. Feeling content.
And later that night, he told her everything..
•••
"Chairman Kim, you should go to bed soon. It's not good for your health to stay up late.", the personal attendant said, he was concerned.
The old man turned to his closest attendant, the only employee he trusted to take care of him. He was sitting behind his expensive wooden desk. His hair was white but he appeared very neat and tidy despite the wrinkles on his face.
He was the current chairman of Prime Hospital, Charles Kim. The father of Annie Kim and Sam Kim. And also Lucy's grandfather.
"The boy ran away. I never thought he would make it.", the old man said. There was slight concern in his voice.
The attendant was silent. He knew almost every secret there is to know about Kim family, and he was loyal.
"It looks like fate is planning something for him and my precious granddaughter.", he continued. He didn't like the idea of having a member of Lee so close to his granddaughter.
But he couldn't deny the work of fate. He had lived long enough to learn not to interfere.
"What will you do, chairman Kim?", the attendant finally spoke.
The old man didn't answer. He remembered something from long ago.. where the tragedy had befallen the Lee family. It was seventeen years ago.
He received a mysterious letter, handed to him personally by his attendant. He opened it, and saw it was from his long time friend, Silas Lee.
Silas Lee was the current chairman of Lee Group at that time. His words in the letter weren't long.
PLEASE LOOK AFTER MY SECOND GRANDSON.
That was all. And the mansion of Lee family caught fire on the same day. He learnt that the CEO of Lee Group and his wife died from the fire. Their second son died too. Only the oldest survived.
He couldn't trust the news, and he tried some ways to find more. The second son was alive. Held captive in the mansion. He became a prisoner from a young age of eight. His existence was wiped out from the world. The person who was responsible for all the happenings was the oldest son himself.
Charles found out how cruel and heartless the oldest son could be. He murdered his own parents, tied up his own brother, and caused the disappearance of his grandfather. Silas Lee was nowhere to be found after the incident.
The business world was in chaos, Lee Group was at its lowest around that time. The chairman was told to be retired because of the grief of losing his son and daughter in law. The first heir, Adamson Lee was only seventeen years old. He was too young to hold the position in the company. But somehow, he was able to.
Adamson Lee shook the whole business world once again when he became the official chairman and CEO of Lee Group at the age of seventeen. He turned the tides very easily and the company was able to flourish in a short time.
He took his lead and became the king of economic growth. A dictator in business. His leadership was acknowledged to be the greatest in history. And it continued until today.
Charles Kim went back to reality. He was worried. He had been looking out for Aubrey Lee from a distance. And he knew what the boy had to go through. It was unimaginably ruthless.
He once intended to lend him a hand, to get him out from that place, but he didn't have the power to go against Adamson Lee. He would just make the worst enemy. His Kim family was too precious for him to sacrifice if he really wanted to save Aubrey.
So Charles Kim decided to wait and see. He knew everything, and he knew how shattered Aubrey Lee had become. It was a miracle he didn't go insane. It was also a miracle he didn't die from the many suicide attempts he had tried.