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.

of silence, Katherine

had no way to get out of this. I knew you felt about me this way. The truth is that I really like you as well. But I never thought we'd be confessing our

have that talk again when you're in a better position. Now send me your bank

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 private customers as well. If it was someone else, he'd go deep in first to see where his money

connection to in such a long time, he didn't think much of it

Hero who helped her family would also leave a deep

sent him an account number registered in her name & Elric transferred the

get any calls from Katherine. He thought it'd be bad to disturb her in such time. On the 9th day, he finally

got curious and tried again. But still 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

what was happening around

HE HAD BEEN DUPED!!

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

he was conned. It was one thing if she ran off out of fear of not

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

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 of an eye; everything before him crumbled to dust. Everything was a lie to begin with. Finally, he fell

He called in sick leave for the next few days and contacted the Police and filed a case. But there was barely anything he could offer

his job, everyone was sneaking glances at him. One of his colleagues came to him

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

you mean ?" Elric asked,

of his colleagues was present at the coffee shop when Elric asked the owner 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

right time & never actually refused a major task. He did win the hearts of upper management based

rumor is enough to drag down your name in the mud. And the truth doesn't even matter

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 fresh breath and cool

him the worst experience of 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

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 wasn't

bond with him since childhood?

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