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.

moments of silence,

me this

again when you're in a better position. Now send me your bank account. I'll send the

when it came to money. Aside from his groceries, rent and other taxes, he never actually had to spend much on anything. So in the past two years, he certainly made up some dough and did some side hustles for some

the fact that she was the only person he actually felt a connection to in such a long time, he

appearing out as a Hero who helped her family would also leave a

sent him an account number registered in her name & Elric transferred the money without

He thought it'd be bad to disturb her in such time. On the 9th day, he finally decided to call her again to check up on her &

response came. He didn't know exactly which Hospital Katherine was at so he could only

was happening around him.. He chose not to

HE HAD BEEN DUPED!!

asked for an address to the landlord. And later he searched that address on maps only to find it non-existent. Her other information was 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 all the information they had on

thing if she ran off out of fear of not being able

did she have a dad with cancer. She seemed more of a professional than someone who did

clue for Katherine, Elric was exhausted and finally came back to his apartment. He was drained both physically and mentally. He was hungry but didn't have the willpower to eat something. He was still in shock. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt connected to someone. He'd go as far as to say he had fallen for her. And yet, in the blink

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

week when Elric returned to his job, everyone was sneaking glances at him. One of his colleagues came to him and said in a low

that badly, could've just hired a hooker. Hahaha!" With a smug smile on the face, his colleague made the last part very

mean ?" Elric asked,

about Katherine. And later news spread about how she was a con. Which surprised many people including the coffee shop staff. But to have cherry on the top, her scamming Elric for 30K Dollars also got leaked. It didn't take much time for the news to reach his

& 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 actually refused a major task. He did win the hearts of upper management based on his track record alone & they found

down your name in the mud. And the truth doesn't even matter

himself in these office shenanigans but he too had his pride.. He 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

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 as well.

on his shoulder and tell him that it was

past 3 months? His siblings who never actually had any form of bond with

man no matter where he fits inside a society, from someone working as a janitor to a multinational company's CEO had their own self respect & pride. But today, all of it was