Hero of Darkness

Chapter 2: The End

3 days later, he finally received a call from Katherine at night.

"Hey, it's me."

"Where are you? What happened? Why didn't you pick up any of my calls ?" Elric asked.

"I'm sorry. It's been hectic recently. I just didn't have time to explain." Katherine replied.

"Now tell me exactly what happened? I at least deserve to know that, right ?" Elric said.

"Well.. It's my Dad. He... He.." Katherine suddenly started sobbing & her words stopped coming out of her mouth.

"You can tell me, I'm always here for you." Elric said out of genuine worry.

"My dad has been diagnosed with stage 3 Cancer. We just found out. He didn't tell me & my mom because he didn't want to worry us. And we don't have enough money for the treatment either. That's why he hid his illness." Katherine said and started crying loudly this time.

"I don't know what to do Elric. My Dad is dying and I really can't do anything to help him. I have no money, no insurance.. Nothing." Katherine's sobs didn't stop. Elric was listening to this on the other side of his phone felt as if his father was dying at this moment. Due to his attachment towards Katherine, he felt her pain as his own. He quickly replied.

"How much do you need ?" Elric asked

"What do you mean ?" Katherine replied

"I meant how much money do you need for your Father's treatment? I can arrange for it. I'm an accountant, remember ?" He said with worry & care in his voice.

"Around 30 Thousand Dollars."

"Don't worry. I have some savings. I can help." Elric said with a resolute voice.

"No, I really can't ask you to help me. We haven't known each other for that long. Even our relatives won't give us that much money even if we begged them. And I have no way to pay you back even in the next couple of years." Katherine said hurriedly.

"It's okay. The truth is I really like you, Kate.. I know this is coming out of the blue and at the wrong time but hear me.. It's okay. I trust you enough to know that you won't cheat me. And I won't be able to sleep knowing what you're going through and I could've helped. So please don't refuse." Elric said in a soft and gentle voice.

few moments of silence, Katherine spoke

had no way to get out of this. I knew you felt about me this way. The truth is that I really like

a better position. Now send me your bank account.

in the past two years, he certainly made up some dough and did some side hustles for

actually felt a connection to in such a long time, he didn't

also leave a

in her name & Elric transferred the money without a second

such time. On the 9th day, he finally

nothing. He found it odd and tried from his other number which he barely used. So nobody knew his other number. But the same response came. He didn't know exactly which Hospital Katherine was at so he could only go to her apartment he once visited. But after talking with the landlord and her roommates, he found out that Katherine came to her apartment the

believe what was happening around

HE HAD BEEN DUPED!!

obscure as well. Also, he found that her roommates weren't her friends from college, rather they met through an app used to search for renting apartments. There was really no other way to look for Katherine any longer. He quickly took a cab and went to the coffee shop he always went in. The owner was already familiar with Elric so he offered

was one thing if she ran off out of fear of not being able to pay him back. But everything he came to know

even her real name. Nor did she have a dad with cancer. She seemed more of a professional than someone who did such a thing for the first time. He was nothing but a

For the first time in a long time, he actually felt connected to someone. He'd go as far as

He was still not over what happened yesterday. All his hard-earned money from the past 2 years was gone. And don't even talk about the emotional trauma that incident left on him. He called in sick leave for the next few days and contacted the Police and filed a case. But there was barely anything

at him. One of his colleagues came to him and said

Johnson. If you wanted to fuck a woman that badly, could've just hired a hooker. Hahaha!" With a smug smile on the face, his

you mean ?"

coffee shop staff. But to have

a lot of shame & mockery on his head. This was their chance to berate Elric with an excuse. Because Elric had always been a guy who got the job done at right time & never

your name in

barely made it till the working hours ended. Every breath he took felt like an eternity. After the shift ended, he didn't immediately leave; he went to the uppermost rooftop of their building which was around 32 floors tall, to get a

his entire life. This hurt more than the beatings he got from the kids who bullied him in school. This hurt more than the look of disappointment his parents gave him. Never was his mental fortitude & his pride was tested up to this extent. Tears dripped down across his cheeks like a river.. He had finally broken down. He could no longer tolerate how messed up, lonely and pitiful his life had become. He knew very well that his own actions played a very big part in it

he was simply clueless. He was lost, helpless, alone, desperate, yearning for someone to put a hand on his shoulder and tell him that it was gonna be okay. But there really

had any form of bond with him since childhood? His fictional characters & idols he

multinational company's CEO had their own self respect & pride. But today, all of it was shattered for Elric. And he