AGAPI

29. Lasting Agony

Once I get in the company building, I hurry up to my office and found Denise on the couch still crying, holding a file. I sit beside her, taking the file away from her hand and open it.

It was the health report of Ms. Mabel- diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Last stage.

Everything is blank. This doesn't make sense. I hope this report is a fake one but there is a hospital's stamp, the doctor in charged sign and the report seems real. I want this to be a dream. No, a nightmare.

"Who sent this?" I ask Denise, who's still crying, covering her face with her hands.

"Her secretary, Mr. Kim."

"Are you sure you received this from him itself?" I look at her and she removes her shaking hands to look at me with her swollen eyes.

"No. This was mailed to you and the person who mailed this is Mr. Kim." She stops crying, wiping her tears off from her cheeks.

"Let's not believe it until we hear it from Ms. Mabel itself. She would've told me if this was real. I can't believe this yet." I shake my head denying everything right now. "Let's go to her company." I stand up and head out as she follows me.

"No matter how much I hated her, I didn't want her to be dead." She starts crying again.

"For God's sake, stop it Denise! She isn't dead. Don't worsen the situation." I want her to calm down so that I could calm myself too. The hangover itself is a lot for me to handle and this bad news makes it even hard for me stay sane.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I feel too sorry for hating her all this time." She doesn't stop sobbing like a kid.

"Denise!" I raise my voice at her for the first time ever, not having the patience to calm her down anymore. "I need you to stop." I look at her and stop walking to which she stops too, looking at me with guilt. I sigh feeling sad for her too. "Calm down, please." I hold her shoulders. "We're not sure yet. Let's not assume anything for now. Please." I say it slowly and clearly for her to understand so that she doesn't stress me out more than I already am. She nods, trying to stop crying by biting her lower lip but tears still fall down her cheeks.

"I'll go alone. Stay here." I walk away from her but she follows me.

"No, please. I want to come too." She doesn't look into my eyes. "I'll stop crying."

"Are you sure?" I look at her, being concerned and she nods following me. It isn't her mistake that she feels like crying because I feel the same too but I do not want to believe this yet. I do not want to go ask Ms. Mabel about this while crying, which would definitely overwhelm her. First of all, I do not even want to go and ask her, being scared that it might be true. 

I don't want this to be true.

I had hated her always with all my will but at this moment, no. I just wanted to hear a 'No.' when I ask her if the file in my hand was true.

I start driving to her company with Denise, both trying to hold in our tears. All I could think about was Austin. How he would take in this matter, how he would react, how broken he would feel hearing about this, if at all this was true. After all, she was the only person who stayed with him even after his own birth parents abandoned him. Thinking about him, tears get gathered in my eyes which blurs my vision. I wipe them from one hand, the other still on the steering wheel, convincing myself to not cry yet.

Once we reach her company, we head straight to her office. As we are on the way to her office, Mr. Kim comes walking towards us carrying few files. I call out his name to make him notice us and as soon as he notices us, he rushes towards us signalling us to walk in an empty room.