Guilty
“Don’t worry. You’ve done more than enough. Honesty, you’ve exceeded my expectations,” the boss said.
“Sorry, I don’t quite follow…” I said as I looked at the boss questioningly.
“Are you in love with my son?” the boss asked abruptly.
I remembered that he had asked me this before in our previous conversation. Back then, I had answered him firmly that I wasn’t. However, now it wasn’t as easy to give him a straightforward answer…
“Does it matter?” I asked instead of replying.
The boss’s eyes narrowed at me slightly before he grinned at me.
“You seen her already, haven’t you? Amelia…” the boss asked before he let out a sigh.
“Yes…I have…” I replied.
The boss seemed deep in thought for a short moment before he spoke up again.
“That girl…she’s not going to make it…” the boss said emotionlessly.
For a moment, I felt like the old man in front of me wasn’t heartless. However, he must have suffered greatly at the loss of his eldest son and perhaps from what happened to Amelia as well. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know what happened to Harvey and Amelia.
“Hayden said she could wake up…” I said softly.
“He probably also said that the chances are slim…” the boss interjected.
“Well, yes…he did…” I admitted.
“Even if she did wake up, she wouldn’t make it. I would prefer for her to just pass away in her sleep. That would be best for her,” the boss said before he closed his eyes briefly.
He looked quite tired. I wondered if he would tell me what happened if I asked. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure if I should ask. I might be prying too much. Nothing good may come out of knowing either; I’ll just be satisfying my own curiosity. However, there was one thing that I wanted to ask…
“Do you know why Hayden still wants to marry Amelia?” I asked.
“What did he tell you?” the boss asked.
“Well, he told me that Amelia is actually his brother’s fiancée so…I was wondering why he wants to marry her…” I said hesitantly as I gathered my thoughts together and tried my best to put them into words.
“He’s probably just guilty. I would be extremely surprised if he’s in love with her…it’s just not likely…” the boss replied, waving my concern completely away.
“Guilty? But…Hayden didn’t do anything wrong, did he?” I asked, not quite understanding.
“Frankly, I don’t think Hayden did anything wrong either. No one thinks that it’s Hayden’s fault but…he probably still blames himself for everything after all this time,” the boss said, and he sounded very regretful.
Hayden feels guilty…
‘Same as always. I told him that…I’m sorry…’
If I remembered correctly, that was what Hayden said after I asked him what he told his brother when he was in front of his brother’s grave. Just what was he sorry for…exactly?
“What happened exactly? Why does Hayden have to feel guilty?” I asked seriously.
For some reason, I felt like if I could just get the answer to these questions, I’ll be able to figure Hayden and perhaps everything out…
The boss looked at me with slightly widened eyes. I bit my tongue, realizing that I have spoken up quite loudly just now.
“I’m sorry…” I whispered.
“Oh no…there’s nothing to apologize for. I’m just…not used to you being so straight forward, but I like it. However, this is something that you should ask Hayden himself…” the boss said before smiling a little sadly at me.
“I see…” I mumbled.
It was clear that the boss wasn’t willing to tell me anything more. If I wanted to find out, I had to ask Hayden. I wonder if he would tell me though…
The boss slowly got up from the sofa, signaling to me that our conversation was over. The conversation stretched out for much longer than I had imagined at first. However, I did get to learn a few new things and I did get to thank him.
“Thank you…for helping out regarding my grandmother,” I thanked him again before bowing my head to him.
“I already told you that I got more than I bargained for…” the boss replied.
Is he referring to Hayden taking over Torex as well? Well, if that’s what he wants to believe then…
“Well, I feel better that you seem satisfied…I guess…” I replied a little hesitantly.
I took my leave and once I was outside the boss’s room, I leaned my back against the door and let out such a loud sigh that it echoed in the empty hallway. It felt a little strange when I thought that this might be the last time that I see the boss.
“That was a very loud sigh,”
I whirled around and almost bumped into Hayden. When did he get here? How come I didn’t realize? Was he here all along?
“Hayden…” I whispered his name as he laughed a little at me.
“How did it go? Not too bad, I hope…” Hayden asked with slight concern.
“Oh…it was ok. Nothing much…” I replied vaguely.
The truth was so much happened in there that it left me confused. One sure thing was that I needed to muster up my courage and find a good opportunity to ask him about what happened to Harvey and Amelia. How I’m supposed to do that is still a mystery to me though.
“Let’s head back, I’m hungry…” Hayden said as he took my hand into his casually.
“Yeah…” I agreed.
I followed Hayden back to his car. The ride back to the penthouse was peaceful and it gave me a good chance to gather my thoughts together. I understood why the boss wanted me to ask Hayden myself, but it would have been much easier on me if he had just told me. I rolled my eyes as I thought of the boss’s smiling face when he told me that Hayden would take over Torex. That old man is so manipulative. Arghhh!
“Are you sure that my old man didn’t say anything weird? You’ve been frowning for a while now…” Hayden asked with his eyes still on the road ahead.
–To be continued…