The next thing Adrian saw was darkness.
"Code blue, we need to move, now!" Dr. Lee shouted, rushing into the room.
Adrian's eyes had rolled back, his body limp.
"Stabilize his temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Apply oxygen at 4 liters per minute. We need to get his blood pressure up, pronto!" Dr. Dave ordered.
Nurse Kim swiftly attached the oxygen mask.
"BP's dropping, Doctor. 80/40 and falling," Nurse Thompson called out.
"Administer 1mg of epinephrine IV, stat. And get an ECG reading, now!" Dr. Dave instructed.
Dr. Patel injected the medication.
"ECG shows ventricular fibrillation. We need to shock him," Dr. Patel announced.
"Charge defibrillator to 200 joules. Prepare for shock," Dr. Dave directed.
"Charging..."
"Clear!" Dr. Dave shouted.
The defibrillator released its charge, Adrian's body convulsing.
"Sinus rhythm restored. BP's stabilizing," Nurse Thompson reported.
Dr. Dave exhaled slowly.
"We need to get him into ICU, ASAP. Prep for coma management. I want neurology and cardiology consulted."
Nurse Kim nodded.
"Let's move, team!"
As they rushed Adrian to ICU, Dr. Dave's voice remained calm but urgent.
The medical team worked in perfect sync, fighting to save little Adrian's life.
The scene he had witnessed was just too shocking for his little mind.
"He has lost some of his memories" Dr. Dave announced to both Elsa and Luke.
"All his memories?" Luke asked, concerned.
Though he doesn't really like Adrian, he was still his father.
"Thankfully, he didn't lose all his memories.
Apparently, he seemed to have witnessed a shocking scene." he said and both Luke and Elsa, exchanged glances.
"Are you perhaps, aware of what incident Adrian must had witnessed that had caused him to slip into a coma?"
"Not at all." Luke disagreed.
The doctor studied their expression quizzically, but kept his thoughts to himself.
Adrian had woken up from the coma, three weeks later.
He had lost some of the memories of that night and anytime he tried to remember, the splitting headache that comes, always forces him to stop.
He was walking around in the hospital, still in the uniform when the headache came again.
He clutched his head, closing his eyes.
"Hey...are you okay?" a tiny voice asked.
He opened his eyes and saw a cute little girl, looking at him with her wide eyes; a stick of lollipop in her hands.
The headache gradually dissipated and the pain left.
"Are you okay?" she asked again.
"Are you in pains? Should I go get a doctor?" she pouted.
"Such a talkative" Little Adrian mumbled.
"I'm fine. You can go" he said and made to leave, but she held his hands.
"Take. This lollipop would take all your sorrows away.
Mum usually gives me when I'm sad." she said, stretching out her hands and handing over the sweet to him.
Adrian smiled at her kind gesture.
"What's your name-" he wanted to ask.
But she had run off, her cute ponytails bouncing as she ran.
After returning from the hospital, Adrian became aloof.
He hated women's touch so much.
Anytime it rained, he had get different memories flashes that usually made him down for days.
He had been given drugs to stabilize it, but the memories still came sometimes.
PRESENT,
Adrian's face was cold as he recalled his childhood.
Till now, he still hasn't gotten the full memory of what happened that night.
Though, he had already remembered a larger part of it.
He remembered how the were kidnapped and that his mom was killed that day...but who killed her?
Who shot that gun?
He still couldn't remember.
He had stopped trying to remember, because whenever he tries.
His head usually aches badly.
For some reasons, he feels Luke and his step mother knows about his mother's death.
His step mother had always treated him like a slave, so he had no reason to like her.
As for his father, he just resents him so much.
And he doesn't know why.
But somehow, he feels it's connected to that night.
The night his whole trauma began.
*
Adrian heard a knock on the door and he lazily walked to check who it was.
He rolled his eyes when he saw Bryan's happy face on the camera.
"This disturber is here again" he muttered and opened the door.
However, he got dragged out, instead.
"Dude..." he called, but Bryan kept pulling him.
"Heyy" he yelled and Bryan finally released him.
"We need to go somewhere" he said.
"You are joking" Adrian said and turned to enter the house, but Bryan quickly ran to his front.
"Come on. Let's go" he whined.
"What type of a friend just knocks and hijacks his friend like that"
"This guy" Bryan said, laughing and pointing to himself.
"I wonder how you are still in the company. You need to be sacked for treating a CEO this way." Adrian joked and Bryan laughed.
"Go get dressed and let's go" he said, finally releasing Adrian.
"You'd better not kidnap me" Adrian said, after getting dressed and Bryan chuckled.
"What are we doing here?" Adrian whined, when they got to Bryan's second house.
He only come here when he wants to have fun.
"Just come in" Bryan urged.
Getting in, Adrian paused.
His eyes widened and he turned sharply to Bryan who averted his gaze.
In the living room, were ten different girls, all dressed to kill.
"Who are these?" Adrian asked.
"Remember the contract marriage we talked about?
I researched, and picked the best ten girls I could pick for you.
"No. I don't want 'em" Adrian said and walked away immediately.
"Calm down" Bryan said, following him out of the house.
"We need to find a girl for you as soon as possible. You aren't going to sign a contract with a stick, are you?" Bryan asked and Adrian sighed.
"I know. But...."
"Come on"
"I don't want those girls. They look like sluts" he rolled his eyes.
"Well...I don't know the girls you like. How would I even know, when i haven't seen you date one." Bryan complained.
"I'll find one as soon as I can" he concluded.
"Really?"
"Yes"
*
Violet held her files in her hands, working briskly. Her heels making clicking sounds as she walked.
She hasn't really been seeing Adrian around.
He hardly calls her to his office like before, and she wonders why.
Ever since that night, he has been acting weird and distant.
Not like he was close to her, but there seemed to be some withdrawal.
"Good morning Miss Wilson" a junior co-worker greeted.
"Good morning" she replied and walked ahead.
She got to the elevator and saw that someone was using it.
She was waiting, when Adrian came there too.
"Good morning sir" she greeted, but he ignored her.
She swallowed.
"He is always switching. Sometimes a bit warm, sometimes as cold as ice" she thought to herself.
The elevator icon turned green and Adrian stepped in.
She fidgeted a bit, before entering as well.
The elevator's smooth glide halted abruptly, plunging Violet and Adrian into an unsettling silence.
"What's going on?" Violet muttered, her eyes wide with alarm, her gaze darting toward the control panel.
Adrian's irritation flashed like a spark. "The elevator must be faulty. What's wrong with the technical department?" His voice was low and tight, his jaw clenched.
A soothing automated voice intervened, "Please be patient. The elevator would be fixed in a while."
Adrian leaned against the wall, his eyes closing as if seeking respite from the frustration.
When he opened them, his gaze fell upon Violet, her face etched with fear. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her shivers escalated into violent tremors.
"Violet, are you okay?" Adrian's voice softened, concern seeping into his tone.
Violet's eyes remained shut, her shivering intensifying. "Violet?" Adrian called again, worry creeping into his voice.
"I'm scared," she whispered, terror trembling through her words.
"Scared of what?" Adrian wanted to ask but then, it dawned on him that she was probably scared of enclosed spaces.
This was the second time, he is seeing her so terrified.
She hung her head low, shaking visibly.
It reminded him of his own trauma.
Without thinking, Adrian reached out, drawing Violet into a comforting embrace. "Violet," he whispered, his voice a gentle reassurance.
As she lifted her head, seeking solace in his gaze, their lips accidentally touched.
The contact was fleeting, yet electrifying. Time suspended, and the elevator's confinement melted away.
Adrian's eyes locked onto Violet's, the proximity igniting a spark. For an instant, they forgot everything but each other.
Violet's trembling slowed, her fear yielding to the unexpected intimacy.