If only Elise wasn't there, Diaz somehow calmed her pounding heart when she heard those words. Diaz's disbelieving look after receiving Elise's sad expression was returned by the woman bitterly which means "please understand". It was as if this sentence wasn't the first time Elise had heard it. Even with all the responses he received, Diaz still didn't understand how such a sentence could come out of their mouths. Even though it was clear that their nephew was not in good condition, how could they utter such horrible words?
Diaz had been missing from Claire's life for more than ten years and didn't know what happened to his middle school friend. But even for ordinary people, hearing such a curse would not make them understand, what happened and what bad things made Claire worthy of such a curse.
Elise gestured to Diaz who was still stunned in his place, asking the man to follow her to stay away from those who were still discussing things not much different there. The woman in an office suit that was still neat for the size of someone who sounded panicked on the phone earlier stopped her steps after she felt that she was a bit far from Claire's room. She stood slightly aside, not wanting to hinder the passers-by with their own needs
"As dr. Gorge explained earlier. Ms. Claire's mental state is not in good condition. It's not only happened recently but Ms. Claire has been hospitalized for the past few years."
Yes, that's Diaz already heard it. What Diaz wants to know is more than that. "But what? What made Claire like this?” After holding it in for quite a while—even when dr. Gorge explained Claire's condition in his room, Diaz was silent and listened—finally the man regained his voice. It feels like he's had enough of being a listener today, more than enough even because even though he doesn't want to--Diaz still has to hear the words he didn't want some time ago. The words made him angry at the husband and wife who were there, even though he wasn't sure what basis he was so angry about.
Elise once again flashed her smile, not the kind of pleasant smile that Diaz had expected to see since he arrived at the hospital a few dozen minutes ago, “For that one, Mr. Diaz seems to have to ask Ms. Claire directly. I have no right to talk about the problem.”
Diaz exhaled in a huff, brushed his hair back, and was at a loss for words. He never expected the problem to be not as simple as he had previously thought. Diaz thought that Claire had just fainted, then of the many people who could be contacted, only he might be able to be reached. Diaz thought that his business was only to be responsible for Claire's admission to the hospital, then when he was done he could go home and say goodbye to Claire, exchange gratitude and usual pleasantries, and then forget about it for a while as if nothing had happened. Just like when Claire contacted him last week. But the more you dig, the less visible the root of the problem becomes, and that makes him even more confused.
“I apologize for involving you in a matter that may still confuse you. But when I received a call that Ms. Claire was in the hospital again, and saw her in the treatment room earlier, I felt that Ms. Claire needed someone else to take care of her. And Mr. Diaz's name is the only thing I remember because Ms. Claire mentioned it a few days ago, so without thinking I took Ms. Claire's cell phone and—”
"And why does that person have to be me?" cut Diaz before Elise finished her sentence.
"Because you were the last outsider that Ms. Claire contacted...?" This statement is a question, which means that even Elise is not one hundred percent sure of her choice to contact Diaz.
And of course, that reason didn't sound reasonable to Diaz. “No way, Claire contacted me last week! How can I be the last person she contacted?!"
But as Elise said earlier. When she got the news that Claire had passed out and made her have to finish the meeting twice as fast as the time she usually spent, the woman's feelings were even more awkward when she found that her boss was unconscious with a bandage wrapped around his wrist and lying on a hospital bed, Elise was made to wake up. weak, it felt like screaming and crying aloud why the woman whom he respected so much with all her kindness and humility must always suffer and end up the same as now.
Amid his confusion and her scattered thoughts, she searched for the words "possibility" and "if" that could make her superiors free from this condition, and the name Diaz came up. Her memory then replayed her conversation with Claire a few days ago, after lunch, with a bitter tone and a modest smile, Claire said, "Maybe I really won't be able to get married, Elise."
It was clear that Elise's forehead was wrinkled by the sudden remark—she had just entered her superior's room, placed the file Claire had asked for and was intending to return to her shirt when she heard that sentence, but her movements were stopped because of that sentence. He looked at Claire who was still looking at the cellphone screen, before looking up at Elise with a small smile.
"Sorry, Ma'am if I'm wrong. But Ma'am are discussing—?"
"I was rejected by the person I asked to marry," the brief explanation did not make Elise understand, it made the wrinkles on her forehead double, and the reaction made Claire laugh. "Tell me I'm crazy. I asked my middle school friend to marry me, and he rejected me indirectly. His name is Diaz."
"Miss..."
"It's understandable, I just suddenly asked him. After a dozen years of no contact, suddenly I sent the marriage invitation," Claire still smiled, this time more cheerful than before. The woman whom Elise respects took the file that Elise had put down, then began to read each row of letters there.
"You may return to your desk. Next time I will tell you the details," said Claire when she realized that her assistant was still standing in front of her desk.
Elise could only nod, although half still didn't understand at the time. But today, and with all the situations she faces, out of the many incidents she has experienced with Claire, it is this fragment of memory that dominates the most, so without thinking, Elise immediately took Claire's cell phone from the nightstand and called Diaz several tens of minutes ago.
"Elise...!"
In Elise's mind, replaying the memory might be short, but for Diaz, who was waiting for her answer, Elise's silence was too long. And because of that insistence, Elise finally without thinking said, "Because Mr. Diaz was the only person Ms. Claire asked to marry her consciously!" Elise unconsciously raised her voice, although after that the woman felt guilty and quickly muttered sorry.
Diaz was about to deny it when the voice of a man older than him could be heard from behind him. "Who did Claire ask to marry?"
The two people who were talking were silenced, finding Claire's uncle and aunt who were now not far from them.
Finally, for the first time, Diaz could see Claire up close. Observing the sleeping face of his junior high school friend whom he had not met for ten years. Not much had changed, the woman's facial features only looked more mature than the last time they met, but what he saw was still the Claire he knew, though when Claire opened her eyes, he don't know if the impression was still the same or not.But that's not the case, the existence of Claire's uncle and aunt who are now sitting opposite Diaz is the main axis now. The atmosphere around him clearly couldn't be said to be friendly, especially after what happened before the three of them ended up gathering in that infirmary.Diaz was still trying to avoid the question that seemed ready to be pointed at him in plain sight by busy observing Claire beside her bed. Before that baritone voice, he heard and couldn't help but draw his attention away from just focusing on Claire."So your name is—Diaz?"Clumsy. Or somehow, Diaz was confused a
"Are you awake?" were the first words that came out of Diaz's mouth as soon as he saw Claire blinking slowly, opening her eyes and trying to adjust the light entering her retinas.He moved the chair that he was sitting on to get closer to the bed Claire was in. Diaz didn't feel the need to overreact, seeing as Claire seemed to be fine in her consciousness, even if something felt Claire and made her body uncomfortable, Diaz would of course rush to call the doctor or nurse on duty."I'm okay," Claire muttered hoarsely, trying to energize every little movement she made. Her body was unbelievably limp, her throat was dry and her eyelids felt heavy until all the movements she was trying to make seemed to slow down. The presence of someone she hadn't seen in a long time didn't necessarily surprise Claire, even though she had just woken up from her subconscious, Claire's brain was used to quickly digesting the situation after what she had experienced before lying in this bed. And Claire coul
The place was quiet, only a few people were sitting in one or two chairs scattered in every corner of the room. Diaz was there, one of them, with a cup of coffee he had just bought five minutes ago at one of the drink counters. Diaz spends his afternoons in the hospital canteen with his cell phone to his ear. "Sorry, Ed, I left suddenly. But earlier I called HR for a half-day permit." "I heard from Sonia earlier, that your family has been admitted to the hospital. How are things?" Unbeknownst to Edwin—the person who is currently on the phone with him—Diaz grimaced at the statement as well as the question. The reason is that he did use the excuse of "relatives being hospitalized" to apply for permission to the HRD office, but hearing it from Edwin made him feel like someone who was being caught lying. That excuse sounded stupid now, even though Diaz wasn't lying about himself having to rush to the hospital, but describing Claire as an important family or relative was ridiculous. Jus
Elise closes the door slowly. She even held her breath to make sure that her movements didn't make any disturbing noises. Her lips pressed tightly together, holding her back against the door for a few seconds before deciding to leave without looking back. In her heart with a regretful look on her face, Elise mumbled the word sorry many times. Sorry to the two people who are now isolating themselves and decided to have a one-on-one conversation."Sorry, Mr. Diaz, for making you confused today. And sorry, Ms. Claire, for involving people without Ms. Claire's knowledge and permission..." Elise's lips mumbled as she recited the sentence along with her steps away from the now forbidden room, for her.***Inside, the two high school acquaintances exchanged glances. Neither one relented, nor felt intimidated even though the gazes they gave each other were too sharp for two people who were in an unplanned reunion. For some women who receive Diaz's gaze at this time, perhaps that kind of look
One of his hands touched the surface of the mattress, forcing a movement that was still relatively weak because his body consciousness was functioning less than fifty percent. Almost a minute without finding the object he was looking for by fingering, Diaz finally forced his eyes to open slightly, peeking through the sleepiness that was still attacking. The increasingly deafening sound of the alarm made Diaz move faster to find his cell phone, almost falling off the bed when he reached for the cell phone which turned out to be on the side of the nightstand. He pressed the button to deactivate the alarm, exhaling tiredly just from trying to find the phone in the early hours of the morning.Diaz glanced at the clock on the wall which just showed 6 am. There was still plenty of time for him to get ready for the office, and although he could have chosen to sleep again to fulfill his sleepy desire, Diaz still tried to keep his eyes awake. Rising from the sleeping position, the man pondered
The two people were frozen in place with each other. Just yesterday they had stressed to each other that they should never see each other again, not get involved with each other, and not meddle in personal matters more than they should. But now the two of them are reunited, without planning, without being taken into account by the two of them."Claire?" the sound of breaking broke the silence between both of them. Claire turned her gaze to the person who called out to her, smiling faintly trying to control herself from her surprise.Ryan invited Claire to sit in the space provided, while Diaz followed the figure of the woman who no longer exchanged glances with him at every step the woman took. Out of the corner of his eye, Diaz found Elise who was also surprised to see him in the same place. The girl followed behind Claire and took a seat beside her boss still with grimacing eyes staring at Diaz. Unexpected encounter, isn't it?The meeting started with the formal introduction of the
As soon as she got in, Claire laid her head against the car seat and found a secure spot for her to let go of whatever she had been holding back for a very long time. Emotion? Awkward? Flustered? Afraid? Worried? For roughly the last two hours, Claire had to struggle with her mind since everything was so dreadfully messed up in her head. Grateful that Claire made it through it today despite having struggled mightily to survive for the past two years since accepting the role she currently holds. Of course, there are days and times when Claire fails and loses, not just once or twice, but tens or even more than hundreds of times. Because of all the bad thoughts that she could not overcome at those times, Claire had to end up imprisoned in the hospital like yesterday. Specific time. Elise, who is seated in front of the steering wheel, has a worried expression on her face, indicating that she is aware of what her boss has been through. She must constantly be aware of her surroundings due t
Diaz gulped down saliva again. Breathe in deeply and slowly let it out. Because he didn't know where to gaze for the remainder of the time, his head was occupied staring down or sideways out the window.Claire was in front of him, and Cheryl was on the other side, occasionally catching her eye on him even though she didn't seem to care. Despite not constantly watching it, Diaz was able to comprehend his ex-actions. Diaz knows Cheryl much better than her present lover, who just happens to be his employer, thanks to the five years spent together in a relationship that was on the verge of leading to the altar.They are currently seated at a huge table in a family restaurant with seven other people. The atmosphere at their table seemed fine in the eyes of the sighted layperson. Everything appeared to be going as usual, especially with Edwin and Liana making the most noise out of all of them. Elise would occasionally join in when Liana forced her into the discussion. Due to their shared j