Hendrick looked at her intently before asking, "What would you like to know?"
"Everything." Karen replied with interest in her gaze.
Hendrick sighed. "Okay, here we go..."
Karen nodded, showing him that she was ready.
"I'll start by telling you the kind of person you were... You were the kindest, sweetest and bravest girl I know. You were also smart, except when it came to handling your relationship with Jane." He slightly chuckled when he said the last part.
"I still remember the first time I saw you. I remember it like it was yesterday. You stood up for me against Stan. It's really embarrassing for me every time I remember that day. I was a coward then and probably would still be one if not for you." He held her small hands in his.
"You are a pretty good fighter. You would beat up Stan back then when we were kids and sometimes when we had a fall out you'd teach me a lesson." He laughed and continued "But as we grew up, nature cheated you by blessing I and Stan with muscles and masculine strength so you couldn't beat us, especially Stan like you used to."
"That was an advantage for Stan because he could annoy and taunt you and easily get away with it... he was your number one enemy and you just couldn't stand him."
Karen's face dulled on hearing this. "But he is not bad, why didn't I like him?" She asked.
"It was not just you. Stan didn't like you too. That's why everyone is surprised at his attitude towards you since you got back from the hospital. You can't blame me and everyone else if we suspect that he has something up his sleeves."
Karen stubbornly shook her head, "He is very nice."
Hendrick sighed. "Alright, fine. He is nice, so back to the story... We were best friends and did almost everything together... until something happened." He looked her in the eyes.
"My accident?" She curiously asked.
"No, that's not it. I'm talking about our engagement which was decided by our fathers. Remember I told you that they were really close friends and business partners?" Karen nodded and he continued "My dad was on his deathbed and everyone including your dad was really worried and not ready to say goodbye. The expected date of my father's death was already disclosed by the doctors and it was getting pretty close. Your father wanted to give his best friend a parting gift and what better gift to give his best friend than securing a good life for his friend's illegitimate son... at least, that was what he thought.
Your father knew how my dad's wife could be manipulative and cunning and my dad was worried about that as well. He knew she would take away my rights to some of my father's wealth and claim it all to herself and her precious son... so he decided to get both of us engaged in order to give me a better future... which was to make me the CEO of your family's business after we get married." His eyes didn't leave hers as he continued telling the story.
"The news of this got to you and I and we blatantly refused to accept it. We were best friends, but I never once had the thought of making you my girlfriend talk more of getting married to you even though I used to always praise your beauty... Your father spoke to you about it and because of the love you had for your father, you decided to go along with it in order to make him happy. My father also spoke to me on his deathbed, telling me to please grant him his last wish and help him rectify his mistakes. He blamed himself for my mother's death and the shame I had to go through because I was his illegitimate child. I couldn't stand seeing him like that and I forced myself into accepting it and that might have been one of the biggest mistakes I ever made."
"Why? You don't like me?" Karen suddenly asked.
Hendrick didn't expect that question and he quickly tried to clear up the misunderstanding. "No, it's nothing like that. It was one of my biggest mistakes because I got to lose my best friend. We would only say hi to each other whenever we met and whenever we were alone, it would be very awkward. We no longer hung out and we were slowly drifting apart and that hurt me more than anything. The thoughts of canceling the engagement crossed my mind because to me, getting a bright future wasn't worth losing you, but I just couldn't coldly snatch away my father's happiness, especially when he was just a few days from dying. The truth is that I'm only able to get this close to you because you can't remember anything. Your accident is like a blessing and also a curse to me."
"So I didn't love you?" Karen asked, looking away from his eyes- his enchanting eyes.
"You did love me, but as a friend. It was actually all my fault. If I had not been a coward and had spoken to you to clear the air, maybe we would have still been very close even if we are engaged." He held her chin to make her look at him.
Karen smiled at him. "I.." She stopped talking and held her head as she winced in pain.
"Oh shoot! I think I might have said too much. Are you okay? Try to breathe in and out." He panicked a little.
"I'm seeing things and... I don't know what they are." She said with clenched teeth as she tightly gripped her hair.
He hugged her and was patting her head gently. "It's okay. It's all good."
She calmed down and slowly let go of her hair. She had seen so many things and people at once, but she couldn't make out their faces and their voice's as well.
"I'll get you water so you can take your drugs. Give me a minute." He let go of her and quickly left before Karen could stop him.
He was back in no time with a glass of water. He dropped it on her table and saw the stimulant drugs that Dr Lucius had given Lauren.
He opened the bottle and took two pills. "You would have to take this."
Karen's face twisted when she saw the drugs. "What's that?" She looked at it and it didn't look like something yummy to eat.
"They are stimulants and they would really help you a lot. It would make you more active and smart." He chuckled and got back on the bed. "So, ah..."
"Ah" She said after him and the drugs went straight into her mouth.
Hendrick took the glass of water and held it to her mouth as she drank from it.
She drank from the glass with her eyes not leaving his face. He touched her forehead and she loved how his touch felt.
"Thank God you are okay or Dr Lucius would have killed me. He literally just warned us earlier today about pushing you too hard." He said with a sigh.
His phone rang and he glanced at it. "Duty calls." He said to Karen with a pleading look, hoping that she wouldn't try to stop him and she nodded.
"Make sure to stay in bed and rest well, okay? I'll come by some other time." He got off from the bed and was already leaving her room, but he stopped and turned back. "I forgot my phone." He went and got his phone, while Karen's eyes were following his every move.
He looked at her and hesitantly walked up to the bed and kissed her forehead. "I used to do that before." He said with a smile and waved at her.
Oh how joyful she felt on the inside when his lips touched her forehead. She waved back at him with a smile as he left her room.
"Karen is stupid... why didn't she like you?" Karen said to herself as she placed her hand on her chest feeling her unstable heartbeat while smiling widely.
Hendrick got downstairs and saw Jane sitting alone in the living room, she seemed to be lost in thoughts. He could also see that her eyes were wet with her tears. She must be thinking about something really sad, probably Karen.
"Jane." He called out softly.
Jane jerked a little and quickly hid her face from him. 'Darn it! Why didn't I go to my room instead?' She questioned herself inwardly.
"I don't need your sermons. The ones I got from my mom and grandma are enough already, so don't worry, nothing of such would happen again." She said.
"I'm glad about that, but I was just gonna tell you to take care. I'm leaving for work." He replied and she looked up at him.
Hendrick noticed her injured lip, which looked really obvious. "Hey, what happened to your lip." He asked with concern.
Jane frowned and covered her mouth. "It believe it to be your brother." She replied and turned away.
Hendrick wasn't sure he heard right. "Do you mean Stan?" He asked.
Jane rolled her eyes. "Do you have another brother?" She asked instead and before she could turn back or say any other words, Hendrick already left the house.