Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Reaching the hospital, they immediately went towards the emergency department but they weren"t allowed to go inside so they had to stay in the waiting room. After anxiously sitting for twenty minutes, Nathan finally came out and looked for Daniel.

Daniel sneaked out of the waiting room to prevent Samantha"s parents from hearing anything as he had suspected that Mother Kim does not know anything yet.

"What happened?" He asked in his most worried tone, uneasiness was apparent on his face. "She was fine just this morning."

"She came to the hospital earlier to meet me. She wanted to hear about what happened yesterday when she told me that you had considered the divorce. I couldn"t lie to her so I told her the truth. She asked if there was any other way as long as she stays healthy... if it was possible to fight off the poison and while we were talking, she suddenly felt dizzy until she blacked out."

Nathan explained how they brought her to the emergency room and tried to stabilize her condition but her condition was going down and she had a seizure.

"We have already transferred her to a private room. You can go and see her." Nathan added.

"Thank you," Daniel barely responded before he dashed towards where Samantha was.

When he arrived, the nurses had just left the room. There, he saw his wife lying on the bed in the middle of the room and sleeping peacefully. She was looking pale and her lips were somewhat dry.

From behind him, Samantha"s parents entered the room and Mother Kim wailed when she saw her daughter. She was in so much pain to see Samantha looking so weak and fragile, she had thought that she had already recovered from her sickness. Father Kim did not tell his wife about what Daniel told him that morning.

Daniel stood rooted by the door and could not go near them. He waited patiently for Samantha"s parents to calm down until his parents also came along with his brother and Seo Joon.

Looking at the people inside Samantha"s private room, Daniel"s heart became extremely heavy. And his shoulders drooped as if he was carrying everything on his shoulders. He had not come close to her yet nor did he talk to anyone else.

He slipped out of the room and leaned at the wall beside her door with his hands in his pockets. His heart sank as his mind was filled with images of her from last night, begging for him not to leave her and her most recent condition where she was looking frail inside the room.

She looked a little better last night and even when he left the house this morning. But only a few hours had pa.s.sed and she already looked so weak. He hated that he was not able to control himself the night before.

Taking out his phone, he was about to send a message when he heard footsteps. Raising his head, he saw Nathan Yun walking towards him.

"How are you holding up?" Nathan asked.

Daniel closed his eyes and leaned his head on the cold hard wall. There were so many things in his mind but the one glaring detail was that he had to save Samantha. His mind was already set and he was going to try and contact Devyn for the antidote.

"I need to save her," he resigned, looking so defeated.

It was the first time that Nathan had seen Daniel in that state. Though during the previous days, he saw Daniel"s ever-changing mood, he still appeared composed. But the man in front of him did not look anything like the almighty CEO of Cho Corporation. Rather, he looked like an ordinary husband who wanted nothing else but to protect his wife — Nathan found a new level of respect for Daniel.

Focusing on the matter, Nathan brought up the clipboard in his hand. "Samantha"s condition…" He sighed, "it"s deteriorating and if it continues to be like this, she"ll be in serious danger and the damage might be irreversible. We don"t have any other choice now. You already know that we only have that as our option. We can"t delay it any longer."

Daniel did not respond but Nathan understood what his decision already was.

"You should-" Nathan"s words were interrupted when the door of Samantha"s room opened. Daniel"s parents and Liam came out and told him that they were going to head home.

Nodding, Daniel went back inside with Nathan Yun following behind him and found that Samantha"s parents were also preparing to leave.

"Son, we"re going home so that you guys can rest." Father Kim said as he looked at Daniel in the eyes. He forced his wife and his son Seo Joon to go home with him as he already had a hunch that Daniel was going to do something that evening.

"I want to stay with my daughter!" Mother Kim protested.

"Your daughter already has a husband who will take care of her. You cannot stay here for the entire evening. Let Daniel do his job." Father Kim urged Samantha"s mother to stand and though reluctant, they left the room. "Let"s go, mother." Seo Joon said.

Father Kim stayed behind for a bit and looked at Daniel. "I trust you. Don"t disappoint me this time." He uttered in a low voice before he left the room.

Daniel knew what his father-in-law meant and when everyone else left, he sighed before going near Samantha"s bed.

"I"ll leave for now. Call me if you need anything." Not waiting for Daniel"s reply, Nathan left the room to give the couple some privacy.

Daniel sat on the armchair beside the bed and held her cold hand. Bringing it up to his lips, he kissed it gently and placed it on his cheek as he achingly looked at her sounding asleep. He fixed her hair, brus.h.i.+ng it away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Even though she looked weak and pale, he still found her beautiful.

He remained like so for a couple of hours until his phone beeped. Lazily, he took it out from his pocket and read the message from an unknown number.

Unknown: [ A package will be delivered. Sign them and follow the instructions. If you do, you can save your wife. ]

With brows furrowed, Daniel hesitated if he should reply or not but before he could dial the number, a knock was heard from the door.

Waiting for it to open, he turned his head but the door did not move at all. Confused, he stood up and opened it but found that no one was there. He was just about to close the door when his gaze lowered and he noticed an envelope that was on the floor. Looking from side to side, Daniel did not see anyone.

Thinking that it must be the package that was mentioned from the text, he gingerly bent down and picked up the envelope before closing the door.

Clenching his jaw, he had a hunch what was inside the envelope already. His heart raced as he hesitantly opened it and took the papers out. The moment that he saw the word "Divorce" on the heading, he clenched it tightly in his hand, forming creases on the white papers.

Together with the doc.u.ments, there was a note that said:

"Sign it before midnight and the antidote will be delivered to you. You are not to make contact with her starting then, nor are you allowed to do look for Yanovich. We have eyes everywhere and once we find out that you break these conditions. You already know what will happen to her and your family."

Daniel"s expression darkened after reading the contents and the conditions set. Closing his eyes, he could feel the rage scorching inside of him but his determination has already been anch.o.r.ed. And although this was something he did not want to do, as long as Samantha gets better, he was willing to do it.

He walked out of the room and made some calls to Sean and Lucas. After some time, he came back to Samantha"s side and looked at her with his tender gaze.

Daniel"s heart yearned for Samantha, the love of his life. Sitting next to her, he caressed her face and stroke her cheek gently.

"Samantha... you are the most beautiful miracle that ever happened to me. I wish for your happiness despite all of this…"

His eyes watered as he lowered his head and whispered something into her ear. He kissed her lips softly and sweetly. "Until we meet again, my love."