CHAPTER 370: OPEN HIS EYES

Meanwhile...

"Goodness. Look at him."

Justin shook his head, looking around Derek’s room. "A mess" was an understatement for the aftermath here. Everything was tossed around, things were shattered on the floor, and it looked exactly like someone had fought in the place.

On the bed lay Derek, lazy and disheveled. He hadn’t changed out of last night’s clothes: one shoe still on, the other gone. His hand still clutched an empty bottle of whiskey, which had dripped onto the bed beside him.

"Derek." Justin kicked the leg dangling off the bed. Derek looked like he’d passed out from drinking. "Hey."

"Ugh—" Derek groaned but barely moved.

"Derek, I know what happened last night was an epic fail, but dude, you gotta get up," Justin clicked his tongue. "Our company is in trouble, and the board’s been with the chairman since this morning. Do you even have any idea what’s going on?"

His mouth curved down as he stared at Derek’s back. Irritated, Justin pinched the bridge of his nose and bent over to help his cousin.

"Come on now, get up!" Justin slung Derek’s arm over his shoulder. "You really need to get up and fix what you can. Stop sulking."

Justin almost tripped carrying a grown man to the bathroom. Thankfully, his regular exercise paid off: he managed to drag Derek and put him in the tub. He turned on the faucet and looked at Derek blankly.

"I’m not going to undress you — this is all I can do for you," he said, watching Derek groggily cock his head back and flutter his eyelashes. "Derek, you’re a man. If you keep this up, Travis will take advantage of everything. He’s already in charge of damage control — he and Aunt Celes. Unless Aunt Celes wants to be the next head of the family, we’ll be bowing to that jerk in a few months."

He huffed and stepped back. "Get yourself together, man."

Having said that, Justin left Derek to recompose himself. The tub water slowly rose, drenching Derek’s clothes. He wasn’t in the right state of mind yet.

"Hah..." Derek spread his arm over the rim of the tub, head cocked back, eyes on the ceiling.

A tear slowly formed at the corner of his eye as a ridiculing scoff escaped him. "Who cares who gets the top position in the company?" he muttered, scratching his head and letting the water rise to his chest. He gazed down at the water.

His reflection rippled, reminding him of the time he almost drowned. That faint call for help, and then someone finally jumped in to save him.

"Is that... Melissa, was she the one who saved me?" he asked quietly. "Or was that a lie too?"

Slowly, Derek slid down until he was submerged. Holding his breath, he stared at the ripples above him until his eyes closed.

*

*

*

"Aunt Celes, don’t worry about him." Justine picked up trash in Derek’s room while talking on the phone. "I dragged him into the bathroom so he could bathe."

"Good work, Justine."

Justine grinned, about to say something when Celestine hung up on him. He frowned, glaring at his phone.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "She wouldn’t even talk to me about anything else."

Shaking his head, he shoved the phone into his pocket and threw some clothing onto the small couch.

"This mess... I don’t think even a deep cleaning is going to restore this," he muttered, glancing toward the bathroom door. "What’s taking him so long?"

Justine blinked, eyes on the door. Part of him expected Derek to be dallying. But then he remembered the humiliation of last night, the lies that unraveled, and the current disaster. Derek was soft in places that mattered; situations like this could cripple him.

"Derek!" he called, marching toward the bathroom. "Dude, you don’t have time to idle. Don’t put on makeup, alright?"

He leaned against the door, listening. The water was running, but not the shower.

"Derek?" he called again, but heard nothing. "Derek, if you don’t answer now, I’m coming in. Let my eyes be damned!"

He waited a beat, then panic spiked in his chest. Without thinking, Justine pushed the door open and shouted.

"Derek—" His eyes widened. No one was in the shower; water overflowed from the tub. His breath hitched as he saw Derek’s hand over the rim, the man’s whole body submerged.

"DEREK!!!"

*

*

*

Celestine sat near the bed, eyes on the man lying motionless. When she lifted her gaze, it fell on the chairman across the bed. His face was grim; his quietness still carried worry.

"Chairman," she called. "You agreed I’d take care of him. Allow me to handle this as well."

"Celestine, if you’re going to fix this expecting another portion of the share, then forget it," he grumbled. "I’d rather give him what he wants and watch our family fall than let someone with an ulterior motive help him at a price."

"I can assume the role of head of the family with or without another portion of your share, Chairman," Celestine replied, unoffended. She and the chairman had a deal; her help came with its own calculus.

She turned her gaze back to Derek’s pale face and sighed. "This boy never learned how to swim because he lost both his parents to drowning. He may throw tantrums and threaten people, but he never threatened anyone by drowning."

Meaning: both Celestine and the chairman understood Derek’s state of mind was serious.

"Chairman," she whispered, eyes steady, "I may leverage this situation to my advantage. However, not in this matter. If Daniella hadn’t died, I’d happily step back and support her. You’re not the only one who lost Daniella, chairman. I’m not losing the only person she left behind for the Youngs to ruin."

There was a soft but burning determination in her voice, anger at the Youngs for pushing Derek to this point.

"This boy will hurt over what I’m about to do," she added under her breath, "but I’ll make him see clearly. He’ll see why you oppose this engagement, and why the Youngs aren’t worth his breath — much less his life.