Chapter 10
Laurel POV
On our way back to the hotel, I couldn't help but keep staring at him, like someone who had finally found a piece of her life that made her whole again.
My heart still ached from the condition I met him in, but despite that… I was grateful.
Grateful that he survived long enough for me to find him.
We got into the hotel while Nicholas went to get the room cards.
He came back and handed one to me and Eric, then turned.
"See you tomorrow."
I nodded.
I walked my brother to his room.
"Go in and have your bath," I said. "Should I order your dinner, or will you order it yourself?"
"I'll order it myself," he replied.
"Alright."
We told each other goodnight and went to sleep.
The next morning, I woke up very early.
Immediately, I rushed to Eric's room.
I needed to confirm that what happened last night wasn't just a dream.
I knocked.
He opened the door, wearing a bathrobe.
"Sorry, I didn't bring any clothes," he said.
Without wasting time, I called Nicholas and asked him to lend Eric a pair of jeans and a shirt, which he did.
I ordered breakfast for all of us since we were all staying in my room.
Nicholas and Eric were already eating, talking, and even exchanging glances.
Eric had always been confident even as a child.
But I just stood there, my hand resting on my chin, watching the two of them.
At that moment, I made a promise to myself.
I will never lose this again.
Later, after Nicholas and Eric were done talking, Eric walked up to me.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" he asked.
"Nothing," I replied.
He looked at me carefully before speaking again.
"You know… when I woke up, I realized you weren't in the car when the accident happened. So I asked one of the paramedics who brought me in to search for you, but they couldn't find you."
"That's because the person who saved me is powerful," I said. "At that time, no trace of him in Canada was supposed to be noticed."
Eric nodded slowly.
"That must be why I couldn't find you, even after I left the hospital."
There was a pause.
"Are you going to ask me anything?" he said. "Why I was working there?"
He looked at me for a while before speaking again.
"Why didn't you ask me anything?" he said quietly. "Are you… ashamed of me?"
I froze for a second.
"Ashamed?" I repeated, shaking my head. "No… I'm proud of you."
He frowned slightly.
"You survived," I continued. "You made it this far on your own… I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"If I hadn't left the car that day," I said softly, "the accident wouldn't have happened."
Eric's expression changed immediately.
"No," he said firmly. "That wasn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself."
"If anyone here should be feeling sorry, then it should be for the way mom and treated, even though they did change, it didn't erase what they did and aria and I couldn't do anything ". He said.
" I didn't even realize all that happened to you are this painful untill the accident happened then I know how much you been hurting all this while, Am sorry".
I looked at him, my chest tightening.
" Whatever that happened then was not your fault and as long as I exist," I said, my voice steady,
"you will never know the pain of not having a family. I will always protect you."
There was a pause.
"Then who will protect you?" he asked gently. "We need to protect each other."
Before I could respond, he stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you… for still existing," he whispered.
For a moment, I didn't move.
Then slowly, I held him back.
Then Nicholas that has been watching all this while suddenly walked towards the door and tapped it.
I pulled away .
Nicholas stood there.
"We need to get going," he said.
I nodded.
"I'll be waiting in the car," he added before walking away.
I closed the door and turned back to Eric.
"Let's go home," I said.
During the car ride, an awkward silence filled the space.
Nicholas tried to lighten the mood, starting a conversation with Eric about how I used to behave.
" Has she always been this cold?," he said with a small smile.
Eric chuckled.
But I wasn't listening.
My mind was elsewhere.
On the scars on my brother's body.
They kept replaying in my head.
Making me wonder how much he had suffered… how heavy everything must have been for him to carry alone.
A few hours later, we got home.
The moment we walked in, I saw them all, Lee Joon, Kang Dae, and Seo Hee.
They stood up immediately, like they had been waiting, for news.
Then Eric walked in behind me.
Their eyes shifted from me to him, anxious, curious.
I stepped forward.
"This is Eric… my younger brother," I said.
"And this is Lee Joon, Kang Dae, and Seo Hee."
That was all it took.
They immediately surrounded him like ants to sugar.
Within minutes, he was already on the couch with them, talking and laughing.
I watched quietly.
He was… nothing like me.
So different.
Too open. Too warm. Too easy with people.
I guess that part of him never changed.
I turned and walked into the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, I brought out some ingredients.
Not long after, I heard footsteps behind me.
Kang Dae.
"I never knew you could cook for someone," he said, already teasing. "Your brother just came today and you're already cooking. You've never even cooked for us once."
I rolled my eyes.
"That's because he's my brother," I replied. "And he's still young."
I turned to look at him.
"You're a grown man. If you're hungry, get your own food."
He laughed.
A few minutes later, Lee Joon joined me in the kitchen.
"What can I help you with?" he asked.
"Hmm… maybe the vegetables," I said.
While cutting, he spoke again.
"Thank you, Laurel."
"For what?"
"For saving Seo Hee… and allowing her to be your friend."
"I did what I had to do," I replied.
"Can I ask you a favor?" I added.
"Yes," he said.
"Nicholas' dad got me a personal assistant. Not that I don't trust his choice, but I need you to assess him for me. Help him blend in, his work, the people he should know. In two years, I'll be going back to Korea with Eric."
Lee Joon paused.
"Will Eric agree to go to a country where he doesn't even understand the language they speak there?"
"He likes you all," I said. "He'll go when he knows you all stays there. But I'll still ask him."
"In two years, he'll be 18, right?"
"Yes."
"That means he'll be in his final year of high school in Korea."
"Yes," I replied.
After cooking, we all ate dinner together.
The noise, the laughter, the small conversations, it filled the house in a way it hadn't before.
Later that night, I sat in the parlor, watching all of them.
Talking.
Laughing.
Living.
Eric was right there… smiling like nothing had ever broken him, sometimes i wonder how much he is bottling up in his mind.
And for the first time in a long while, I allowed myself to breathe.
I thought I had lost everything that night.
But now,
He's here.
Alive.
Within reach.
I leaned back slightly, my eyes still on him.
No matter what happens from here…
No matter what comes our way…
Now that I have him back,
I won't lose him again.