#5th chapter It's Not Goodbye

CHAPTER 5
Bullet
 
"My love, Esmeralda please don't leave me" Victor is bitterly crying outside the ICU. Although the bullet was successfully removed from her body, she was still unconscious. He was devastated. This was his 2nd time crying after the death of his mother.
 
All his dreams about them have been shattered. The plan to introduce her to their society, the surprise tour, and everything he had planned to show his affection was turned in vain. He doesn't know what he would do in case Esmeralda stops breathing. If only he confessed earlier, they would have been abroad by now, enjoying the different views and sceneries.
 
He was surrounded by his employees, dressed in formal attire, all of them sad. They like Esmeralda for their boss. They can see that their boss loves her so much, that's why they love Esmeralda too.
 
Madelyn, the General Manager, is also there. She knows how the relationship of the two got started, and she likes Esmeralda from the first day she met her. She also reminisced that she paid two girls to act in front of her in the restaurant, and it is so effective. Bravo! Esmeralda submitted her curriculum vitae just a minute after she overheard her accomplice's conversation.
 
She recalled how happy her boss was. For the first time in history, her boss Victor is really attracted to a girl. And she could tell that Victor found his true love.
 
Before that day, Victor is always late. He defies his own policy - No to tardiness. But from that day onwards, he's the first person to arrive in the office. He even comes before the guard's next shift arrives. That's why all of them were curious about what happened to their boss.
 
But now, this happened. Madelyn sighs bitterly. She too is doubtful whether Esmeralda can survive or not. How tragic is their love story!
 
His father, Alexander, who felt bad for opposing their relationship is also there. He genuinely felt pity for Esmeralda, his previous excellent and reliable secretary. When she's in his office, everything is tackled smoothly. No questions were asked, and all the major customer complaints were solved immediately. That's why he wanted his son to find someone like her. But he was forced to fire her because of his girlfriend's attitude. He chose his girlfriend over his secretary.
 
Fortunately, they found each other but he hid his joy for Greta. He doesn't like that it would create misunderstanding.
 
All of them never expected that Esmeralda would shield Victor from the bullet using her own body.
 
"Vic, my son. I'm so sorry for what happened. It's my fault, I never tightened the security." Alexander deeply regretted that he didn't personally check the venue. If not because of the woman, his beloved son would have been lying there, with a body full of breathing apparatus and life support machines. He promised himself that if the woman woke up, he would let them get married and be happy just like before.
 
This news immediately reached Esmeralda's parents. The news includes the precious love between her and the man named Victor. They admired Victor for loving their daughter unconditionally. But they are also worried about her safety being with him. "Let them accompany her first, and show their affection to my daughter." Mr.Martin told his men. "The mastermind of this assassination is within the family. Too bad, my daughter got involved because of her will to protect her beloved man. We shall stay out of it for now until my daughter wakes up. I believe she saw the assassin, that's why she did it."
 
It's been 7 days since she's in a coma, yet Victor never left her side. He lived in the hospital taking care of her. He didn't allow anyone to do it. He always wipes her face with a towel dipped in lukewarm water, to keep her free from dirt. He's always talking to her.
 
Today was no different from the previous days. He gently wiped her face, and then stopped when he reached her left jaw. "Who would have thought that you have a very beautiful heart-shaped, red birthmark over here". He bent and kissed her gently. She's too beautiful even in her deep sleep. Every day, he took a picture of her, all angles of her face, and saved it to his laptop. He also stored a backup file on a USB.
 
One day, it was 8:00 AM when he needed to go to the Apple Blossom restaurant to fix a problem. It's been a week since he neglected his duties as a CEO. The Board of Directors relies on him for special matters like today.
 
The branch they're opening in Snowflake Island has a problem, that's why he needed to meet the Board of Directors to instruct them what to do. He's about to leave after he asked the nurse to keep an eye on Esmeralda when Greta, the wife of his father visited. "I will take care of her while you're busy." She told him with a smile on her face.
 
Since the matter in the restaurant is urgent, he left hurriedly after saying "thank you".
 
Greta and Esmeralda were left alone. She leaned closer to bed and talked to Esmeralda in a very soft voice. "I'm sorry dear. But why did you sacrifice yourself? Are you that stupid? I hate you, but now, I don't. I'm not that heartless you know. It's your fault. You might die early. You can't enjoy being pampered by my stepson."
 
She's about to pull away from the bed when she notices something in Esmeralda's left jaw. "Oh, how come tomato ketchup was smeared on your jaw? Are you eating when nobody's watching you? Okay, since you're in a very pitiful state, I will just wipe it for you." Then she pulled out a wet tissue from the corner table and wiped the said dirt.
 
But it did not wipe off, so she took a close look.. She exclaimed "wow what a beautiful tattoo! Heart Shaped?"
 
Suddenly, her phone rings. "Darling where are you? Have you forgotten that today is our schedule to have a portrait? "Alexander said.
"I'm at the hospital, watching over Esmeralda while Victor went to a meeting", she told her husband.
 
"Don't worry about her. There are so many nurses there, we also hired a personal nanny to take care of her every need, remember? So you can just come over here." They already treated Esmeralda as Victor's wife although they never met her family yet. They don't know how to contact them.
 
"Okay then, you have a point." Then she went out of the hospital to find her husband.
 
It was 6:00 PM when Victor was done with his conference. He was about to return to the hospital, but along the way, he remembered to buy Esmeralda's favorite flower which is Pink Carnation. He hurriedly turned his car in the direction of a flower shop and bought a bunch of pink carnations.
 
When he arrived at the hospital, he heard the rumbling sounds of helicopters flying away. He thought that there was a high-ranking official who visited the area, or maybe a member from the royal family came to have a checkup.
 
He continued to walk towards the elevator, he pressed the top floor to his family's private hospital room. His mind went blank when he found that the room was empty. It doesn't have any traces that a patient in a coma stayed there for at least a week.
 
He panicked. He immediately called the management to ask what had just happened.
 
"Mr.Tan, her family came and picked her up. I'm sorry I forgot to inform you. They said they have more advanced equipment in their country for the patient's faster recovery." The President of the Hospital told him with the utmost respect.
 
Victor was puzzled. He never mentioned her family, their names, and where they live. He planned to encourage her to go visit her parents after his father's wedding, but the unexpected happened. How could he find her now?
 
"What car did they use?" Perhaps he could follow.
"They lift her by air, a convoy of a helicopter at least. Several Doctors also came with them."
 
Victor's mind is full of questions. How? who? How come a simple employee gets that treatment? Just who is Esmeralda? But, what if it's just a trick? He remembered that he left Esmeralda under Greta's care. So he called her up immediately. But the latter told him that they have a schedule to do their portrait which should not be delayed because the artist has very limited time.
 
He weakly leaned on the wall, then slowly slid until he was completely sitted on the hospital floor. The bouquet of carnations fell instantly the moment the call ended.
 
His world was shattered once again. But this time, into tiny pieces. He almost went crazy. It affected his work, his appearance, and later his attitude towards everyone.
 
Ever since Esmeralda disappeared without any trace, Victor became crueler in words and actions. Gentleness is eliminated in his vocabulary. Until such time, he turned into a Victor they never knew.
 
Madelyn is also doing her best to locate her boss' gf by the Curriculum Vitae she has submitted. She wanted to help him find her because almost all of them in the office were terrified by the new Victor they are with. The presence of Esmeralda might change the whole situation. Madelyn saw the address, her hometown is Fermi Country, but the address is incomplete. Fermi Country is too wide to search. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Her hope to find the girl her boss loved had died. So she decided to stop searching.