MY BOSS [the Series]

3*: Proposal

'Proposal'

The door to my hospital room opened, dragging my attention and mom's. Philip placed one hesitant foot inside the room and with his fingers wrapped around the door knob, he stepped no further.

Mom gave me a knowing look and excused herself, nudging Philip away from the entrance.

I snatched my hair from under my neck which was becoming a little bit sore. Why didn't I come with a hair tie or something?

Philip was still standing at the entrance watching me with caution.

"Come on in, I'm not going to spit lightning bolts at you."

His lips tugged up in a smile. "I just had to make sure." Then he took casual steps to my bedside.

Looking up into his eyes, I noticed that they were coloured a slight shade of red, and there were eye bags beneath. Apparently, he hadn't had much sleep and had been wallowing in alcohol.

"So, I felt we have a small talk as adults. Yeah, what's been done is done and it doesn't matter if we break up. We should clear things up."

Philip caressed the top of my pillow. "Who says that I want to break up with you?"

I observed his fingers inching closer to my hair. "Well, seeing what happened, it's only natural we broke up."

"I'm sorry-"

I lifted my fingers to hush him. "Why did you do it?"

Mom was right when she said I needed to hear Philip's side of the story. Even if there was no proper justification for what he did, I still needed his explanation.

"You want to hear why?" He asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "Yes."

"I needed some form of outlet for the stress I was going through. My dad and I had a fight, the weight of my company was becoming unbearable, Florence-"

"Why didn't you come to me?"

Philip rubbed the side of his face in despair. "I didn't want to bother you. We got into a fight remember? I assumed you'll think me selfish for coming to you with my problems when you clearly have yours."

My heart sank. Why would he think like that? "You know I'll never push you away. I could never do that. You've never left my side when I encountered difficult problems. Why do you assume I can't do the same for you?"

Philip's lips tugged up. "You're an amazing person, Florence."

My cheeks heated at his compliment. I think he noticed because he reached out to touch my cheek.

"Thank you."

"So," He drawled out.

"I guess we're good here."

Philip raised a brow. "Does it mean you've broken up with me?"

A smile stretched my lips. "It means I've given you a second chance."

His face was illuminated with a bright smile. "Really? Do you know how wonderful this is?" Philip paced around the room, running excited fingers through his hair.

"Don't ruin it." I warned.

He nodded and hurried back to my side. Picking my right hand, he planted a kiss on it. "I would never."

***

"Mom, why am I doing this again?" I complained, managing to look at mom who was before me.