King of My Heart

14. "I'll never get over this. Never."

(1396 words)

*Still Ethan's POV*

I woke up in a room with an off-white ceiling. My vision was sparingly blurry and vague. It took me several minutes to adjust my vision to my surroundings and figure out where I was.

How am I here? I should be dead.

I had no idea how I had wound up in the hospital. I wanted to rip the IV cannula off my wrist along-with the bandage wrapped around my slit wrist and rush back home to finish what I started.

"Ah good, you're up." A nurse, seemingly in her mid-forties, entered the room.

"Who brought me here?" I demanded.

"Your cousin. Listen kid, I don't know what's going on in your life but suicide is not the solution to anything. Time heals everything. Whatever you're going through, you'll move on from it and find happiness." She said to me.

"Time can't heal this wound. It can't bring her back. I'm lost without her." I replied monotonously, feeling sorrow and emptiness consume me as Anastasia's face once again flashed in front of my eyes.

Tears escaped my eyes spontaneously. I had no control over them. "I want to be with her." I whispered, my broken heart aching.

"Oh dear Lord. Son, it'll all be okay. Everything will be fine. Just know that suicide is not the answer. Seek help if you wish. Talk to someone but please don't end your precious life. Life is all about ups and downs. It's not all flowers and rainbows but it's not entirely storms and disasters either. There's always a rainbow after a storm, remember that. Don't lose hope."

No counselling could fix my broken heart and fill the void in my life that my wife's departure had produced.

The door opened once again and Sophia came in. A look of relief crossed her face when her eyes landed on me.

"I'll leave you two alone." The nurse announced and left the room.

Sophia walked up to me. "What the hell was that, Ethan? I understand that Ana meant so much to you. I understand the pain you're going through but that doesn't mean that you'll take such extreme steps!"

"Does anyone else know?" I inquired.

"No, I didn't tell anyone. Imagine how distressed your parents and our other family members would have been if they found out!"

"Why the hell did you bring me here, Sophia?! Why didn't you just let me die?!" I demanded, anger consuming every fibre of my being as my voice became louder with each word.

"Ethan, are you insane?! I'm your cousin, a part of your family! How could I let you die?"

"I'm nothing without Anastasia. I don't want to live anymore."

"Ethan, please. You're stronger than this. You'll get through this." She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"I'll never get over this. Never."

———

"I'm sorry about the loss of your wife." I heard the words as soon as I stepped foot into my office, from my assistant, Alayah. A pang of pain crossed my heart and I gulped, trying to keep my emotions under check.

"Please place all the pending files on my desk." I switched my tone to my authoritative one after clearing my throat, in an attempt to conceal my sadness.

"Sure, sir," she said before piling up the files onto my desk, next to where my laptop lay, untouched for days. I had no idea how I was going to concentrate on work. "There's quite a lot of work in store for you, sir. Also, you have a meeting with the representatives from IHK Corporation today at 3 pm."