My Boss Is Secretly A Softie - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Living Condition
“What? Their kid has been in the—”

“Keep calm,” Terra interrupted. “I managed to inform them of her accident a week ago. But airports are on lockdown where they are because of inevitable situations. They are as worried as can be but can only keep in touch digitally.”

Terra explained to Star, who was ready to blow her top off. And after the quick explanation she managed to calm down and felt sympathy for them.

“They must be so worried!” she said.

“Yeah, it’s been hectic, but having someone who acts as an informant sure helps smooth over things,” Terra smiled.

Terrence stared at her but said nothing.

“Then,” John began after much thinking “I’ll take care of her. I’ll take her back home. We were living together before this.”

Terrence frowned and was about to object when Terra interrupted.

“But you stopped for a while. Besides, do you think we will trust either of you?” She pointed at the two men. “With a 16-year-old woman?”

“… Such contradictory prose.”

“Whatever. Either way, no way it’s happening. Right, Star?”

“Yup.” She popped her ‘p’ imitating a certain amnesic lady.

Terrence grunted, “She’s mine. What gives you the right to decide anything?”

“Hah?! She’s not a thing asshole!”

Terra felt a vein pop in her head, and the two glared at each other with animosity, leaving the other two feeling awkward.

They weren’t exactly sure when this began, but after Terra came back and made a brief visitation to ‘console’ the male who was taking everything very very badly, their indifference towards each other turned to opposition.

It was almost like they couldn’t wait to butt-head each other, and this couldn’t be more tiresome because of the recent arrangement that forced them to constantly interact with one another. At least to Star, it was problematic, John seemed like he couldn’t care less.

Speaking of that poker-faced brunette, he truly was the definition of emotionless out and deeply feeling in. And he wasn’t the only person who surprised her; everyone did— in fact, a lot of things also did, like Elara, who had always been true to her singleness, suddenly getting together with Mr. Obsessive.

When he broke the news like it was nothing, it was quite the bomb, and it would be accurate to agree that even though they didn’t exactly take it well, Terra had it worse, no one else noticed, but she did.

The amount of bloodlust she emanated…

‘I just hope that Elara gets well soon because I don’t see how we’re going to work like this.’

Terra smirked. “Until her parents get back in about a week, she’ll be living with me and Star in our newly bought apartment. Especially for her recuperation. I brought all her stuff. Both from her house and her parents’ house. Everything that could help jog up her memory. Do you have an objection? If you do then suggest a better idea.”

Star blinked. Not only her, but the others were shocked by the meticulousness of the bright-eyed lady. Suddenly, leaving her entire tour seemed so little compared to what Terra had done.

She acted like a knucklehead, but she was one of the most caring people ever. No wonder Elara liked her so much.

Terrence rolled his eyes. Big deal, he could just buy his Ela an estate or more if she wanted.

Although he had to admit, she was right; he had been too shaken by the events to make the necessary preparations, and this pink-haired brat beat him to everything.

“I insist on what I said. If I have to f—”

“Terrence,” John interjected, earning him a light glance, “She’s right.”

He continued. “Elara, with her state, might not be very open to staying with you no matter your past relationship because not only does she not remember, but you’re also a full-grown adult man. She won’t feel safe without the ladies. So she has a point.”

He frowned but John wasn’t yet finished.

“But a much better and less selfish,” his eyes clashed with Terra’s, who rolled her eyes, “Idea, would be to do this together. Let’s live together; there is a high chance it can help jog up Ela’s memories.”

There was no reply; it seemed everyone was sitting on the suggestion, but after a while, Terra accepted.

“Alright, the house is that big after all. And we can get to know each other *much better*.”

She grinned, “Right Terrence?”

She was blatantly ignored.

“I’ll go with it then, only for Elara.”

Star smiled, “Awesome! Way going John. It’s perfect, you have my support as well.”

They finally concluded and, after much mental preparation, stepped into the hospital. The amount of glances that came their way was inevitable but ignored. Not only did this hospital guarantee privacy, but it was also a relatively hidden facility to attend to special people secretly.

So, secrecy was confirmed.

Immediately they stepped into the room, Elara reacted in a way they least expected— the same way an arachnophobic person would in a room full of spiders.

She screamed in terror and fainted.

The four:… It’s that bad?

***

Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide, mutual assault, and depression.

[A few weeks ago]

“Elara? Elara, what is going on there?!” a voice exclaimed.

“Shit! I might have an accident—!”

Her words came to an abrupt stop, followed by a dreadful shrieking of cars, loud bumpings, harsh sounds that drowned all volumes, and a sharp curse before the turbulency peaked, and then… nothing.

[Crash!]

The phone slipped out of his hands and shattered to pieces. His vision swayed, and he crumpled to the floor. It was a terrific experience unlike any other. Even the trauma from his parents’ death hadn’t reached such an extent.

“Bleh!”

He puked till he howled. His intestine seemed to have turned inside out, and the festive drumming in his head wasn’t helping matters. A sound akin to the metal being rung deafened him, and for a minute, his body was capsized by fear. Pure, unadulterated *terror*.

When he finally regained consciousness in its barest state, he forcefully picked himself up, staggering to the telephone, tumbling and rising continuously till he reached it.

“M—Merl—lin,” he stuttered breathlessly, “Come quickly.”

***

Everything went on in a blur, but he handled it despite his semi-conscious state. He wasn’t allowed to see his Ela. He had been warned it would be ‘too stimulating’, but he did anyway.

Seeing her unconscious body, he remembered the taste of fear— acrid and repugnant. The vilest of all tastes. The doctors thought he had run mad. Men were called in to pull him away for his safety.

And his threats and position were the faintest line that stopped them from sending him off. He was carried in the same bed as Ela, crying silently as they drove off. It would have been a spectacle for the media had the accident not happened in a relatively desolate area, and everyone involved wasn’t ‘well-coordinated.’

In the next couple of days, he experienced what it meant to live a torturous existence. Somehow, his mind had perfected the video of what happened that day. And in every nightmare, he was either a step too late or a powerless spectator whose role was to observe with ‘joy’.

And like a desensitized masochist who had crossed all lines and decided to wander areas not meant for human consumption.

He became obsessed with this nightmare. It was his only way of seeing his beloved without facing the monstrosity of the situation point-blank.

His head was scrambled by it all. At one point, the doctor had to put him on medication to prevent something drastic from happening.

All work appointments were temporarily placed under Merlin. It was impossible to hide the fact that something was going on. But that was the least of his worries.

And then Terra came back, and her words knocked some sense into him.

“You are really going to lose your sanity over Elara, who has already been confirmed to be in a stable condition? Did the trauma scramble your brain to that extent?” she asked.

His eyes, an ashy grey with a bloody sclera that spoke of his misery, looked towards her. And then he smiled self-deprecatingly.

“I kinda wanna end everything. It hurts so fucking much.”

Terra’s peach eyes widened, and then they squinted with delight.

“Perfect! What are you waiting for? Pick up a rope and take a slow, sad stroll to a perfect spot and off yourself.”

He stared dimly at her.

“You were already an eyesore. Maybe then I can finally have my Ela for myself—”

Her words were snapped off by a tight grip on her throat, which left her gaggling a dry laughter.

“What? Too much?”

He was silent, pressing the daredevil to the wall even harder.

He croaked, “I will kill you if you dare as much as to desire her. I know what you are. Do not tempt me.”

His pupils constricted, and along with his gloomy but exquisite looks and Terra’s exuberance, it was quite the image created.

“Ah,” she moaned. “Should I say, choke me harder? Or should I warn you for Elara’s sake?”

There was no fear in her eyes. She knew something. Or perhaps the gun to the male’s chest was all the confidence she needed.

He finally released her, side-glancing at the coughing lady with a darkened gaze.

“My finger would have moved just as fast as that gun. Could you tell?”

Terra smiled. She raised the gun towards the man and shot it. Zero reactions. Zero shots were fired.

“Just as your aim wasn’t lethal, mine also wasn’t, but who knows? Maybe,” she raised her head evocatively.

“We hate each other that much.”

He frowned and then let out a sharp sigh.

“For Elara, we better live this to the end.”

“That’s what I was saying! Hahaha!”

He glared at her one last time and then left.

Terra’s cheerful visage changed, and her hands caressed the glaring red bruise on her neck. She had a curious look as she pondered.

He was one tap away from blocking her breathing, and she was one click away from sending a bullet into his heart. She couldn’t help the question: Who would have won?

It reminded her of her first time in the game of Russian roulette, where she nearly had a bullet lodged into her skull, but it was all so thrilling she wanted more, and then… her Ela found out and forced her to stop everything.

“It still left a scar though,” she snickered, gently massaging her earlobe.

Elara… it was a good thing that she was fine, or all hell would have broken loose.