"I- I love you s- s-so much, Aman a- and I- I will al- always live in your he- heart...
These were the last words of someone. A person who was very precious to everyone.
A precious person, a precious son, a precious brother, and most importantly, a precious husband...
"No!"
"Don't go! Come back. I beg of you. Don't leave me. I can't live without you. Don't go. I beg of you!"
A silent cry echoed inside the dark room.
After that, there were small sounds of sobbing in the quiet night.
Like someone's heart was painfully being teared into pieces again and again.
*********
The next day was a normal morning at the Mei Mansion.
The group of more than 20 servants were all doing their respective tasks.
Young Mei Wei was the owner of this mansion. He had inherited it from his grandfather, Mei Shao, after the latter's death.
Mei Wei was a young man who was going to be 20 years old soon. He had black, silky hair styled in a popular hairstyle.
His face was very handsome, with a straight nose, ink-black eyes, and thin pink lips. His skin was pale due to always staying inside the house. His complexion didn't look healthy.
Though he was the sole owner of the Mei Group of Industries, his life was far from perfect.
His father hated him to his very being. His mother died giving birth to him. He was only loved by his grandpa, who also passed away six months ago. But this is not the worst; the worst was that he has been paralysed under his knees since birth. He never knew how it felt to walk.
Despite all his problems, he was very well-mannered and had a cheerful and sunny personality. He wasn't a spoilt rich second generation, but a boy who respected everyone, no matter their position.
The only light in his dark life was his love for his lovely caretaker, Aman.
His grandfather brought the young man to the Mei Mansion to take care of Mei Wei.
It was like love at first sight for Mei Wei, but slowly, as he started to know more about Aman, he fell more in love with him with each passing day.
Nevertheless, currently, Mei Wei is unhappy, and the reason for it is also Aman.
Sitting in his wheelchair, Mei Wei was impatiently looking at the door.
His face lit up with a bright smile when a youth walked from the door.
The youth had a beautiful face with golden, glowing skin that seemed to be shining. He was not too tall and stood around at 5''8'.
He looked only 19 years old. But he was older in reality.
This enchanting young man is the caretaker, Aman, and Mei Wei's love of life.
When Mei Wei saw Aman walking towards him, he pouted and turned his head. "Where were you? I was waiting for you for a long time."
Aman smiled apologetically and said, "I am sorry, My Prince. I have had some things to do. Please forgive me."
Mei Wei didn't look at him. His face was still turned sideways. Aman stood in front of him and apologised again, but Mei Wei again turned his face, still pouting.
This happened more than three times.
Aman sighed. "It's alright, if you don't want to forgive me, then, I guess, I should probably eat someone's favourite snacks myself."
Mei Wei's attention turned towards Aman after hearing about his favourite snacks. He calculated the pros and cons for a few seconds, then said, "Okay, alright, I forgive you this time, but I won't be so generous in the future."
He said it with a serious face, which looked quite funny. Aman nodded his head, agreeing. Mei Wei told him, "Let's have breakfast quickly. I am starving."
Anyway, he couldn't stay angry at his Aman for more than a few minutes.
While they were having breakfast, Mei Wei mentioned that he wanted to go to a park today, but not their usual one. He wanted to go to a different park that he liked very much.
Aman thought that it was strange, but he agreed nonetheless. He said that they would go to the park after Mei Wei's afternoon classes.
Mei Wei was quite happy. He wanted to go to this park badly. He had heard some things about this certain park.
****
In the evening, both of them went to the park that Mei Wei mentioned earlier. While in the park, Aman realised that this park was strange. There were many couples here, but not many children or elders.
Aman shrugged his shoulders, not caring. It was not his business. Wherever Mei Wei wanted to go, he would take him, no matter what.
While Aman was confused, Mei Wei was quite happy. He wanted to see these couples.
His gaze wandered around, and he saw a couple sitting on the bench. The boy's head was on the girl's lap while he was lying on the bench.
Mei Wei smirked coyly.
He told Aman, "Aman, I want to rest on the bench for a bit." Aman inclined, "As you wish, My Prince."
He took Mei Wei to a bench under a tree and helped him sit on the bench. He sat beside him. Mei Wei whined, "I am not comfortable, Aman. Wait a minute."
As he said this, he put his head on Aman's lap. He yawned. "Now I am comfortable." Aman shook his head and smiled while combing Mei Wei's hair with his fingers.
Mei Wei was happy now. After some time, he saw a small child, holding his dad's hand, and another man walking by their side, holding the child's dad's other hand, walking in the park. They were a cute, little, and happy family, which Mei Wei never had.
He looked at them sadly. A question emerged in his mind.
He looked at them for a few minutes and then asked, "Aman, where are your parents?"
The hand in his hair stopped, and Aman spoke, "My parents... they have not been with me since I was a small child. Since then, I have been alone in this world."
Mei Wei looked at his face and said seriously, "You are not alone, Aman. I will always be there for you." Aman smiled and only hummed. He restarted combing Mei Wei's hair with his fingers.
Nobody saw a sad glint that passed through Aman's eyes.
They sat in the park for an hour. After that, they returned to the Mei mansion.
****
After dinner, while they were watching TV, there was some commotion outside the house. Mei Wei asked the butler, "What happened?"
The butler answered courtly, "Master Wang is back, sir."
Mei Wei clutched the TV remote in his hand and said angrily, "Why does he come back after such a long time? The last time I saw him was at Grandpa's funeral. That too, only for a few minutes."
Aman comforted him, "That is good for you too. At least you don't have to see his face daily."
Mei Wei thought about what Aman said and nodded his head. Aman sighed. "Let's go to bed now; otherwise, we will have to greet him. We will face it in the morning."
Mei Wei is inclined. Aman first put Mei Wei to sleep. After that, he went to his room.
Nobody greeted Mei Wang, and he wasn't expecting it at all. He went directly to the room in which he always stayed whenever he came to this house.
Everybody in the Mei mansion knew that both father and son couldn't stand each other. They both avoided each other like plagues.
But nobody could guess that in this house, it was not Mei Wei but someone else who hated Mei Wang the most. A person who was here, especially for the sake of Mei Wang.
It was the person nobody could expect to be the killer of Mei Wang.
A Vengeful Serpent...
**********
Please check out the chapter comments for AI-generated character art of Mei Wei and Aman, created by the author.