Chirp!
Chirp!
Chirp!
Birds chirped happily to welcome the arrival of sunlight that began to emerge in the eastern sky.
At the end of this summer, the air temperature is no longer as warm as before. By the time Autumn arrives, the air temperature will usually turn slightly humid before it is finally wholly humid when it enters winter.
Most people always enjoy Autumn. Because when Autumn comes, they can occasionally see the rain, as well as watch the group of birds flying in the sky to migrate to another place.
However, that is not the case for a man sitting pensively on his room's balcony. His eyes looked wistful. His shoulders slumped on both sides, and his black hair was by the cold morning wind.
Richard Garfield, 34, was a businessman who had a handsome face. He has a sharp nose, firm shoulders, muscles in every part of his body, green eyes, and a perfect jawline.
In the past, Richard was known as a man with a friendly personality. But that changed when the Autumn of nine years ago arrived. Until this moment, he could not escape the deep guilt and regret in his heart.
If God allows him to go back in time, he wants to fix everything from the start. So that terrible incident does not happen to make his future not as scary as this.
Creak!
The balcony door next to Richard suddenly opened, revealing a young man in a well-groomed suit. He's Aaron, Richard's younger brother.
Despite hearing the sound of the door opening, Richard remained unmoved in his place. He was acting like a deaf man who couldn't hear anything.
"Aren't you going to go to the kitchen and have breakfast with Mom?"
The soft voice came from Aaron's lips. After that, a heavy sigh is heard as his eyes stared with concern at Richard's present appearance, who was wearing sleeping pajamas and tended to be disheveled.
Aaron Gibson is ten years younger than Richard. He grew up as a man full of decency and a good personality. Never once did he swear or hum dirty words. But it is inversely proportional to Richard, who tends to have an explosive and careless nature.
He has oriental facial features. His body was much smaller than Richard with little muscle. The mother's genes are solid in his body, unlike Richard, who copied almost one hundred percent of their father's genetics.
Aaron was still standing in his place, waiting for a response from his brother. However, after a minute passed, Richard remained silent. So the next thing Aaron did was sit cross-legged on the floor, right next to Richard's legs.
"Two weeks I went on a business trip abroad. There seems to be a lot going on. Isn't there something you want to say to me?" Aaron asked with complicated feelings.
Aaron's eyes immediately floated far ahead through the cracks of the iron fence in front of him. He returned last night after two weeks overseas. And the first thing he heard from their mother was not a piece of pleasant news. So, this morning, he deliberately went to his brother's room to ask for clarity.
Richard's first reaction was to take a heavy breath. His eyelids blinked several times, ending the irritation in his eyeballs from being stroked by the cold wind. Without feeling guilty, he muttered flatly, "I just wanted to meet her. That's all."
Hearing that reason, Richard gave; Aaron smiled wryly. This is not the first time he listened to this excuse. Richard has always given similar reasons for his reluctance to meet Celine secretly in the past.
Aaron was always driven crazy by his brother's behavior. He understood how Richard felt. However, Richard's careless attitude annoyed him to the point of losing his mind.
"Haven't we made a deal before? You promised me not to meet her secretly like that again. But what do you do?"
Aaron rubbed his face furiously. No matter how hard he hid the resentment in his heart, it couldn't cover up perfectly. "Hiller came to ruin the garden and broke the window pane near the entrance. How angry do you think he is that he can go that far? It's not just about you. It's about our family and Celine's side! If you act recklessly again, something much worse than this may happen to our family in a short time! At least, be patient with your behavior."
"Be patient, you say?" murmured Richard in a broken voice and stared at Aaron with a deadly look. "How long will it take me to be patient? I've been patient for nine years, but she still won't forgive me! Do you think I want all this to happen? The person who deserves to blame is our mom and not me!"
Aaron's body jerked slightly as Richard's intonation grew louder. Richard failed to control his emotions, unlike Aaron, who had been trying to be patient and cool his head so that his words did not sound rude and ended up offending Richard.
Richard's breathing was already irregular as his chest was heaving so severely. And when Aaron turned his head to look at his brother, his eyes immediately connected with Richard's sharp eyes, which now seemed very creepy.
"Then, by meeting her secretly like that, what did you get? Do you feel much better? Did she accept you? Give you forgiveness or something like that?" Aaron asked sarcastically, which succeeded in silencing Richard with nothing in return.
Aaron clenched his hands down there, holding himself back from punching Richard's face, who didn't feel guilty at all about his wrong actions.
"Celine is different now. She wasn't an ordinary person like in the past. I'm sure you've not forgotten that Celine is a celebrity. She just started her career. Do you want to destroy her career too by meeting her secretly like that?"
Aaron got up. He stepped forward and held both his hands on the iron fence. A few seconds later, Richard was standing next to him.
For some time, both were silent. Aaron was looking for peace brought by the gusts of wind around the two of them. For now, he needs a lot of tranquility.
"If you were in Celine's position, you would have reacted similarly. It wasn't easy for her to accept everything or forgive us. It wouldn't be wrong for Hiller to overreact like that, too, because you've violated the agreement repeatedly," Aaron whispered blankly.
He took a deep breath. He glanced at the black watch on his left wrist. There were still ten minutes left before he went to the office.
"What scares me is your rash actions that will make things much more chaotic. Someone also told me that you fought with Jayden that night in Celine's apartment. If you act like this, how many people who don't know anything but get involved in this matter?" Aaron continued half-hopelessly on the sidelines of his dwindling morality.
"Richard, you are much more mature than me. And I hope you can be more careful in the future because you won't just be dealing with Hiller. Remember that Celine's agency and fans will protect her no matter what happens. If they caught you and everything got worst, you can be sued by her agency legally."
Aaron stood up straight. Because his time was running out, he must go as soon as possible to the office. It seemed that he had to skip breakfast to avoid traffic jams.
Before leaving, Aaron patted Richard's right shoulder gently and said softly, "Go and see Doctor Johnson this afternoon. He's been waiting for you for the last two weeks. Make sure you meet him."
Richard sat back in the chair when the door closed and threw back the hair that had fallen on his face.
Now, he mapped a smile full of bitterness on his handsome face. And shortly after that, his gaze fell upon the cut wounds on his left wrist.
Lightly rubbing his wrist with his thumb, he muttered in a tone full of sadness and regret, "Beatrice, I'm sorry."