The Secret Obsession of the CEO
Chapter 87: Heart To Heart

Chapter 87: Heart To Heart

Rory waited for Liam’s return holding back her tears. But he was not returning for a long time.

Filled with impatience and disappointment, she leaned back on the bed patting Ellie who was on her shoulder. Ellie fell asleep and so did she.

But she had disturbed sleep.

In her dream, she was lying on the bed. She couldn’t see that she was tied, but she could not move an inch. It was dark around and her chest was heavy. It was hard for her to breathe.

The window was in front of her and through the curtains, she saw a bald figure trying to get inside the room. The knocking sound on the window was terrifying.

"Help!" She tried to scream, but she couldn’t.

Helplessly, she stared at the window. Oddly, there was no door in that dark room, only a window. The dark creature trying to get her calling her "little rose".

She heard something break. And there were shiny pieces of broken glass inside the room. She gasped for air as she saw thin boney fingers with long black nails reach in, tearing the drapes. She screamed at the top of her lungs, but no sound came out.

Someone...help me!

-----

In the hallway, Liam ended the call. His eyes still weren’t clear as he was wondering if he made the right decision. He closed his eyes and Rory’s smiling face came to his mind.

Even in that dark, even when they were running for their lives, she could smile and there was only one reason behind that smile.

Yeah, I made the right call!

He opened his eyes with a content smile. His smile reduced seeing Frank in front of him. He was holding a bag in his hand. Liam’s first instinct was to ignore him and get inside the room. He even took a step away unconsciously.

But he stopped himself and faced Frank. Even Frank was surprised by Liam’s attitude. He was lost for words.

"I...heard what you were talking..." Frank pointed at Liam’s phone. "It’s better this way."

"Ah, yeah," Liam placed his phone inside his pocket. "I’ve looked back, for all my life, thinking about the one woman who neither loved me nor wanted~"

"Oh, she loved you," Frank interjected Liam. "She couldn’t show..." his voice trailed off and he sighed. He shook his head. He did not want to talk about the past anymore. Maybe it is time everyone moves on.

Liam sighed and looked at the floor.

"You’re right. We miss a lot of now by looking at the past. Look forward," Frank looked at Liam with a smile. "Rory loves you very much and you now have a beautiful child together. You have a family," he looked at the door of the room Rory was in.

"Yeah," Liam smiled looking at the door. "I realized I missed so much because I couldn’t look past my past. I am not going to give up on them anymore. It’s time I become a man."

Frank looked at Liam and the corners of his lips trembled as he tried to control his emotions. He leaned on the wall and took a good look at the boy he always worried for.

His blue eyes were filled with determination and with his back straight, his shoulders looked broad.

He is willing to put his family first; over himself and his cruel past.

He has finally become a man!

And there is no woman better for him than Rory.

But there is still one more thing.

"You know, William..." Frank walked closer to Liam. "I know it has become a long time and there won’t be any proof of whatever happened in the past. But if you want to find out... You are well-connected and so is your uncle - uh - both your uncles have good connections and~"

"I don’t want to know..." Liam nodded. He understood that Frank is talking about finding out about his real father. He had no interest in finding that man whether to bring him to justice or forgive him or accept him as his father.

"I’m done looking at things that cannot be changed. I am going to change my future. I have a tough road ahead of me but... I know my Cherry will be right by my side through it all. And dad..." he cleared his throat. "I can still call you dad, right?" he asked. Without knowing his eyes reddened.

"Oh, William...Son!" Frank held his cheeks and his hands trembled. "Why are you even asking me this? You are my firstborn no matter what any piece of paper says... How can I...?" A drop of tear rolled down his cheek. "Don’t you dare..." He choked.

"Your hotheaded nature... You’re so much like...how she used to be...I never..."

"Dad!"

Liam hugged Frank before the tears in his eyes dropped down. He couldn’t believe that the man he thought he knew could be shaking and choking in front of him.

He loved mom very much, didn’t he? He could love me because he thinks of me as part of her. His love for me is not through blood, but an extension of his love for my mother.

He is a good man!

Liam could understand. His dad mentioned that ever since that "incident", his mom wanted to be alone and they slept in separate rooms.

For him to hold on for ten years without losing hope for her...that must be true love.

" I’m sorry, Wiliam... I would have died with the secret. But... I’m sorry..."

"No, dad. I am glad I know the whole truth." Liam spoke from his heart.

He remembered all the hurtful words he hurled at his father without thinking. All this time he thought he was the only one suffering. But his father was suffering too. His father suffered when his mother was alive and after her death, the one who should have been his support hated him.

"Should I have told you earlier then?" Frank asked after composing himself.

There was some movement of hospital staff in the hallway and they found a quiet place for their talk.

Liam thought about what Frank asked. "No...that wouldn’t have worked... I wouldn’t have understood it all earlier."

Yes, he wouldn’t have understood what love is if not for Rory. Her absence in his life taught him what desperation is and how being in love is unpredictable and hard to understand.

Love makes one act stupid at times.

His father is not without faults. He could keep on blaming him for the rest of his life. But where will it end?

In the end, he didn’t even remember his mother hugging him. But it was his father who took care of him. His family took care of him.

Who is he to blame anyone when all he received from them is love?

Frank nodded with a wry smile. "Everything has a time..." He said.

Liam scoffed. "Yes. And sometimes one has to go through hell for it..."

"Are you in any sort of trouble, William?" Frank asked. Liam looked somber as he stared at the floor.