Chapter 54: Cruel words
"You’ll do anything I want?" he repeated, staring at me.
"Yes," I said, shaking my head in agreement.
"You’ll cut all communications with him, and you’ll do anything I want?" he asked again.
"Y... yes," I replied. As long as Cole is fine and free, then why not? As long as they don’t hurt him.
"Okay," he nodded.
Okay? Is he agreeing to my request? Will he release Cole?
"Okay..." I looked at him.
"Okay," he repeated.
I gulped. "You’ll release Cole?" I fixed my gaze on him.
"Yes."
"You’ll let him go."
"Yes."
"You’ll allow him to return to his family?" I asked again.
"Yes."
A gasp escaped my lips, and I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. "Cole will be a free man?"
"Hmm," he hummed.
Cole... Moon goddess! I’m so happy. This is great news, but I can’t show my excitement to him. I must compose myself.
"You’ve agreed to do whatever I ask, whatever I want," he said, gazing at me.
"Yes, I will. I will do anything and everything you want," I agreed.
"Good, we have a deal," he said, extending his hand for a handshake, and I happily shook it.
"Let’s go to the hospital then; you can speak to him. He is a free man from today; he’ll no longer be under our control. Come this way." He led me to his car, and I happily followed.
He opened the back door and helped me into the car; he sat beside me.
"Take us back to the hospital," he ordered his driver.
"Yes, sir," the driver responded, leaving the warehouse. We arrived at a worn-down hospital five minutes later.
This hospital doesn’t look right to me. Do people even work here? It looks so old and dirty.
"Sir, we’re here," the driver announced.
"Let’s go." Parker helped me out of the vehicle and escorted me straight to Cole’s ward. We stopped at the entrance. The hospital was empty; I only saw two nurses and a few patients who didn’t look healthy or sane.
Is this... Why do I feel like this is a mental hospital? Dirt is littered everywhere, and no one seems to care.
I don’t feel good about this.
"Cole is in there," Parker pointed out. "I want you to go in, see him, and speak to him. I want you to relay these words to him. Tell him..."
"That you regret meeting him and that you never wish to see him again. Make it short and quick."
"What?" I frowned, not understanding him.
"You can’t say that to him? Is it too difficult? Okay, if those words are too harsh, then say these instead; tell him..."
"That you’re glad you weren’t fated to him, tell him he is too weak-hearted, and that you dislike him. Tell him you never want to associate with him again, and lastly, say that orphans bring bad luck. Ask him to stay away from you and never contact you."
"What?" My frown deepened. Why would he want me to say such cruel things to Cole?
"You said you wouldn’t associate with him again, didn’t you? I’m giving you the easiest way to get rid of him. If you say those words, he will forget about you."
"But... you went too far. I can’t say those words to him," I protested, shaking my head. Calling Cole an orphan would be too cruel. He would never forgive me.
"Don’t you want him to stay alive?" Parker stepped closer. "Do you want him to keep working for us? We could kill him easily. This is the only way to keep him safe. You need to cut all connections with him."
"Or would you rather see his lifeless body?"
"Of course not!" I half-yelled.
"Exactly. You don’t want to see his lifeless body. Bryce has also been reluctant to kill Cole because he thinks it would affect you mentally. But the moment Bryce learns of the warehouse incident, he won’t hesitate to end his life. Make your choice. I’ll be waiting out there in the car."
"If you end things with him, Cole will be able to reconnect with his family; if you don’t, he’ll die. Decide quickly. I’ll be in the car," he said, then turned and walked away. freewebnøvel.coɱ
What should I do? I don’t want to say such cruel words to Cole, but I don’t want him to get hurt either. I want him to stay alive.
"Are you here to see the patient?" I was still contemplating what to do and hadn’t noticed the nurse behind me until she spoke.
"Uh... yes," I answered, eyeing her. She looked strange.
"Go in and see him," she instructed.
"Oh... okay." I reluctantly walked into the ward, but the condition I saw Cole in was terrible.
Cole... he was badly hurt. His entire body was bandaged. How badly did they hurt him? Is he even alive?
Panic surged through me, and before I could stop myself, I tapped him. "Cole. Cole, wake up. Are you still alive?"
"Cole!"
"Cole!" I kept tapping him.
"He is alive," a voice said behind me, startling me. Turning, I saw the nurse from before glaring at me from the door.
I swallowed. "Really?"
"Yes. He is awake now, but he won’t be awake for long." She pointed at him before disappearing. She was... strange.
"Amera..." I snapped my attention back to Cole when I heard my name.
"Cole!" I cried. "You’re alive."
"Uh... yes, how did you find me here?" He tried to sit up but struggled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I’m here to see you; why else would I be here, you fool? Obviously, for you." I looked around. "You need to move to a different hospital. Who brought you here?"
"Those men brought me here after doing this to me."
"I’m so sorry. I’m truly sorry."
He smiled. "You don’t have to apologize; I’m okay."
"You’re obviously not okay, you idiot. Look at you; you look like a mummy."
He tried to laugh but couldn’t; he ended up smiling. "I’m happy to see you."
"Don’t be. I’m not happy to be here. I want to—"
The beeping of my phone drew my attention.
"Excuse me," I said, pulling out my phone. Parker had sent me a text.
What does he want?
I opened the message.
"You have five minutes left," it read.
Five minutes? I have five minutes to do as he wants.
Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll do as he wants. I don’t care if Cole hates me; his life comes first. I can’t stand by and watch him die.
Having made my decision, I inhaled deeply and moved closer to Cole.
"Cole... I have something to say; it’s important," I began.
"What is it?" He fixed his gaze on me.
"It’s about our relationship, our friendship. I want it to end. I don’t want to be your friend anymore. I don’t wish to speak to you again. The truth is, I regret meeting you; I wish I had never met you. I wish you had never come into my life. I want you to disappear. I no longer... I no longer want to associate myself with an orphan... Orphans bring bad luck. Please stay away from me."
After saying those cruel words, I turned and walked away, leaving him more confused than when I arrived.