Chapter 165
A few minutes back in time.
Nn was still yet to open his eyes. Dorothy fingerpicked his favorite melody with a guitar, but that
didn’t seem to work. Once the song ended, tears overflowed as her heart spoke to him in silence.
He soon opened his eyes and disrobed the gloom off his wife’s face. There were no bounds to her joy
from seeing her husbande back to life from a near death situation.
Nn tried to speak, but he found it hard to move his jaw. “Where… am… 1?” He didn’t seem to
remember what had happened before the ident, at least not yet.
“In a guest room,” she replied, wiping her tears away. “You don’t remember falling from the balcony?”
“Balcony…” as seconds passed, what had happened with George shed in his mind like the fastest
poison out there and stung his soul sharper and deeper than any sword ever could. And he started
crying like a baby.
She thought he was crying because of the situation his body was in, but she had no idea that it was the
sense of emptiness suddenly prating the depths of Nn’s heart the reason for his heart-racking
suffering.
“It’s going to be okay, dear,” Dorothyforted him like a mother would a child. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
It took very many seconds for Nn toe out of his misery. Dorothy then announced to everyone
that Nn hade to his senses. Everyone in the vi, even the maids, came rushing to see him.
George didn’te, as he had expected. Nevertheless, seeing the rest gather around him, Nn’s
eyes teared up again. He felt grateful for their presence, even though he had been surly independent in
this family. Their smiles were like light splintering the darkness soaring in his heart.
“You’ve walked through the valley of death ande out triumphantly. The worst is now behind you,
Nn,” Jason grabbed one of Nn’s hands. “We all wish you a speedy recovery, and we’ll help you
however we can.”
The others also gave their wishes. It felt good to hear even the children wishing for his recovery,
Soon, everyone left the room. Dorothy also wanted him to sleep, so she also left, leaving Nn alone
in this room.
His heart began to feel empty like the silence in the room. Surely, he was alive. His heart was still
beating. His eyes were still open. His gut was doing its job, too, but he didn’t feel the worth of his
existence right now.
Even though it was peaceful around him, his soul couldn’t be at peace.
“Why did you do it, George? How could you…” his heart still felt overwhelmed with soreness.
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Meanwhile, Elizabeth called George over the phone. “Dad woke up.”
“What?” George sounded more shocked than d.
“Come at night and see him,” Elizabeth said. “You’re his only son. He’ll feel less pain when you’re
around.” George frowned. “… did he say anything after waking up?”
“Not much. Anyway, don’t forget to pay a visit tonight.”
“O-Okay.”
She hung up the call.
“You are stupid,” Shawn was standing right behind her. “You shouldn’t call someone directly involved in
an ident and is on a run right now.”
“It’s an important matter,” she replied with confidence. “He’ll feel at ease, knowing his father is
recovering.”
“I doubt he even cares if Nns lives or not,” Shawn mumbled.
“He’s not like you.”
“What?” Shawn red at her. “What did you just say?”
“Nothing,” she walked out of her room, not wanting to argue with him any further.
Shawn went to his working desk and sat down. He kept checking the records and bills. “There’s still a
lot of debt left to pay…” he rubbed his forehead with both hands. “Is selling ‘that’ new house the only
way? Lisa and Roshan never lived in a rented environment. It won’t be easy for them. If only Artur was
willing to offer some help… but that bastard wants my sister. However, she’s not at all interested in him.
It will take too long to force her to change my mind. Tsk, is there no other way?”
The maid, Delle, knocked and entered his room. “Sir Nn is asking for you, sir.”
“For me? Why?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Fine. Tell him I’lleter.”
“No, sir,” Delle kept her head lowered throughout. “He said it’s urgent.”
He wanted to shout, saying, “I don’t care,” but his wife entered the room, so he said, “Alright. Tell him I’ll
be there soon.”
Delle nodded and walked out without making any noise with her footsteps.
“Why is my dad calling for you?” Elizabeth curiously asked.
“How the heck am I supposed to know?” Shawn approached her. “You and your dad have done nothing
for me, yet I neverined. If I start being aggressive from now on, just bear with me.” He patted
her shoulder on the side before walking past her.
Elizabeth’s lips blossomed into a beautiful smile. She felt lucky to have Shawn as her husband.
A minuteter.
Shawn entered Nn’s room, and Delle walked out, leaving the two men for themselves.
Shawn sat down and looked at Nn’s condition. With the bones in his arms and chest broken, it
would take at least a year for him to be able to live normally again. “How the hell did you fall from the
balcony?”
Nn kept staring at the ceiling. “I was conversing with the voices in my head, and…”
Shawn didn’t say anything. For a grown man, battling with his inner voice was amon thing to do.
Too bad that it resulted in such an unfortunate incident.
“Knowingly or not, we all live two lives,” Nn voiced the words within his heart. “One on the outside,
and one on the inside-within our minds. I’ve realized today that it’s such a foolish thing to do-hiding our
true selves. Perhaps, I should have been more open with everything I did. At least that way, I wouldn’t
have any regrets regardless of the oue.”
Shawn thought Nn was talking about him, leading dual lives until all the bad things he had done got
exposed. “I did everything for my family. You know, it’s not easy to fulfill your daughter’s needs if I live
all righteously. I can’t ask my parents everytime Elizabeth asks me to buy costly things. I have my pride
to keep as the eldest son of the Sterling family. I admit I walked the wrong path, but it was necessary. If
I get another chance, I will walk that path again.” Nn faintly smiled. “You are much more foolish than
I am.” Shawn frowned. “Did you call me just to mock me?”
are
“I wish I did, but, no,” Nn spoke with effort because half of his face was hurting because of the
injuries. “I called you here to tell you about my life insurance payout that’s going to be paid in a week.”
Shawn was greatly surprised. “When did you…”
“Since 20 years ago,” replied Nn in a painful tone. “Finance is never a safe profession, since
betrayals are quitemon where money is involved. So I thought at least my family could make use
of the insurance money if something happens to me. Now, I want you to use half of that money to buy a
good piece ofnd that has a high possibility of giving great profits in three to four years. Buy it in the
name of your children. And give half of the rest to my wife, and the remaining one-fourth to my
daughter.”
Shawn’s expression was t. “What about you? What if your wife stops caring once you give her all
your money away? What if Elizabeth also does the same? You are not even in a position to work and
earn.”
Nn just smiled in return. “Maybe that’s why I didn’t tell any of them about the insurance.”
Shawn could understand why Nn couldn’t fully trust his wife and children because when things go
wrong, his family could do anything to get themselves out of it. “How much money are we talking
about?” asked Shawn.
“25 million.”
The number widened Shawn’s eyes. At that moment, a lot of thoughts rushed through Shawn’s brain,
and they weren’t all positive thoughts. Now, Shawn was old enough to know that if one thought about
something long enough, they could sink into it. Still, he chose to put himself in such a situation.
Shawn slowly rose up from his seat, making Nn look toward him, “Sorry, father-inw,” as he said,
he pulled the pillow from under Nn’s head. Their eyes made contact again, and by the time the
realization dawned in Nn’s eyes, the pillow pressed into his face stronger than he could bear.