Keira and Zach were back to their routines after the wedding. Zach was finis.h.i.+ng some loose ends before he completed his term in the military, while Keira was busy with her reporting job.
She was in the middle of preparing some news items in the newsroom with the rest of the crew when a sudden unfortunate news. .h.i.t them. Their CEO, Bernard Cooper, was involved in a fatal car accident that had claimed his life.
Keira immediately thought of her cousin, Xander, who must be devastated right now. She called his a.s.sistant to ask about his whereabouts.
"He"s still at the hospital, Ma"am," answered Ron, Xander"s a.s.sistant, who immediately briefed Keira on the current situation.
"Alright, I"ll be on my way there," she said before ending the call. Xander was a brother to her, just as much as she was a sister to him.
They were both an only child in their respective families. The only relatives whom Xander was close with were his cousins, Keira from his father"s side, and Bernard from his mother"s side. And now that he had lost Bernard, Keira was the only "sibling" left for him.
Keira promptly applied for emergency leave and left for the hospital, so she could be with her cousin, to comfort and console him.
Upon her arrival at the hospital, she saw Xander sitting outside the operating room, with his head down and shoulders slumped. Bernard"s dad was sitting beside him. She immediately went to Xander and hugged him.
"Be strong, cousin brother… I"m sure Bernard is in a better place now…" she murmured as she stroked Xander"s back. He was now sobbing hard.
Her heart grieved for her cousin because she knew how much Xander loved Bernard, who was like a brother to him.
"How could he just leave like that? He sounded so happy when he called me just a while ago, Keira. He even threatened me not to dare stare at his girlfriend once he introduces us. He was so excited to introduce his girlfriend to me… I even prepared a feast for them..." Xander said in between his sobs.
It had all felt surreal for Xander. If he hadn"t seen Bernard"s cold body with his own eyes earlier, while Bernard"s girlfriend was hysterically shouting for his cousin to wake up, he still would have not believed that Bernard was gone.
"How is she?" Keira asked about Bernard"s girlfriend, Deyna Song, whom she had the chance to meet previously. Xander"s a.s.sistant told her that Bernard had protected Deyna with his body.
Deyna must be devastated too. But after seeing how badly wrecked the car was on the news, Keira thought it was fortunate for Deyna to have miraculously survived with only a minor concussion to the head.
"She pa.s.sed out earlier after seeing Bernard"s body in the operating room, and they already transferred her back to her room," Xander answered as he wiped his tears. He gently pulled himself away from Keira"s hug to check on his uncle, who looked despaired.
"Uncle, please rest for now… I"ll take care of everything. I"ll take care of Bernard..." Xander said. He was sure his uncle would need some time alone. Bernard was his only son, and it must be difficult for him to accept that he was gone.
Xander s.h.i.+fted his gaze to his a.s.sistant, who just arrived, and instructed him to escort his uncle back to his home and tend to all of his needs.
"Thank you, Xander. Please look after Deyna too…" was the last thing Senior Cooper said in a somber voice before he left with a.s.sistant Ron.
"Yes, Uncle, I will…" answered Xander.
Keira accompanied Xander for the rest of the day as he made the arrangements for Bernard"s remains.
Her mobile phone beeped. It was a message from Zach, responding to her earlier text message, in which she informed him that she would be accompanying Xander at the hospital for a while.
[ Alright. Please offer him my deepest condolences. I hope he will find some peace... I"ll be meeting Senior Liu today. Please take care of yourself. Don"t skip meals, and come home early if possible. I love you, my star… ]
Keira smiled and proceeded to help Xander with everything that he needed, as soon as she put her mobile phone back in her purse.
"Sir…" Zach greeted Senior Liu, who visited him in his office at the military base. Then he gestured for Senior Liu to take a seat on the couch.
Senior Liu sat down and smiled at him. "Please call me "Uncle" from now on. I prefer that over "Sir""
Zach smiled and humbly apologized, "I"m sorry, I"ll try to keep that in mind. To be honest, everything hasn"t really sunk in yet."
Then Zach offered, "Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?"
Senior Liu smiled and replied, "Coffee will do, please…. Thanks."
Zach signaled his subordinate to get his guest a cup of coffee, while Senior Liu looked around Zach"s office and stood up to approach a cabinet where Zach"s medals and awards were displayed.
Then it dawned on him that he had never even gotten the time to visit his own son"s office at the military when he was still an active General of the army. "I"m such a bad father," he lamented, followed by a sigh.
Zach smiled, seeing Senior Liu stare intently at his trophies. Then as if he could read his mind, Zach pointed out, "Jeru also has the same amount of those, Sir…"
Senior Liu smiled and nodded, but his heart still felt like it had been p.r.i.c.ked by a needle for knowing so little about his own son.
"He sat back on the couch and said, "Your father, Charles, would surely be proud of you wherever he is now."
"I would like to know more about him, Sir. My father. How was he like? What kind of a person was he?" Zach asked in earnest. He genuinely wanted to find out more about his biological father.
Senior Liu took a sip of his coffee before he started narrating about the good old times that he had with Charles, including their childhood stories.
"I think I"m more like him then," Zach a.s.serted with a smile. From Senior Liu"s stories, just like him, his father also appeared to be a reserved man, who couldn"t reveal his thoughts or feelings readily. His father had changed and had become more open to things only after he met his mother. Just like how he had also started to open up more only after Keira strolled into his life...