Chapter 56: We lost him.
""Au... Augustine, you have to calm down," Derrick stuttered, his voice laced with urgency as he reached out, rubbing Augustine’s chest in an attempt to steady him. "Just breathe for a while, okay?" he added, his concern evident.
But Augustine wasn’t listening.
His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths, his vision blurring as a sharp, unbearable pain spread through him.
The weight of Derrick’s hand barely did anything.
Augustine felt as if his entire world had collapsed in an instant, leaving him gasping for air.
Augustine shook his head, yanking off the medical string from his body as he forced himself upright despite the searing pain coursing through him.
The moment Augustine feet met the cold hospital tiles, a wave of dizziness hit him.
His knees buckled, and the room spun violently around him, but he clenched his jaw, refusing to collapse.
He had to see Charles—had to prove that this was all a lie.
"Cha... Charles can’t be dead," Augustine repeated in his mind, his breath hitching as tears streamed down his face.
Augustine forced himself forward, each step a battle against the excruciating pain threatening to pull him down.
His vision blurred, not just from dizziness but from the overwhelming ache in his chest.
"I... I need to see Charles," Augustine choked out, his voice trembling as more tears escaped, his hands desperately reaching for the door.
A sharp pain pierced Augustine’s chest, as if a needle had been driven straight into his heart, making it impossible for him to think clearly.
’I saw Charles just hours ago... how can he be dead?’
Augustine refused to accept Derrick’s words until he saw it with his own eyes.
’But... but... I need Charles to hug me and tell me that all this is just a sick joke,’ he thought, his mind spiraling, grasping for any shred of hope.
Derrick rushed to the door, gripping Augustine’s wrist tightly. "You need to rest, or your condition will only get worse," he pleaded, desperation lacing his voice.
Augustine’s ignored him and with a sudden, forceful shove, he sent Derrick stumbling to the ground. "I need to see him," Augustine choked out, his voice raw with anguish. "I need to see Charles."
Augustine’s steps were unsteady, but desperation pushed him forward as he moved down the hospital pavement, his eyes darting around in search of a doctor.
Augustine heart pounded violently in his chest, prompting those at the pavement to glare at him as they murmur words that was best known to them alone.
Augustine could feel their stares—some filled with concern, others with pity—but he didn’t care.
Nothing mattered except finding Charles.
His trembling fingers curled into fists as he forced his aching body forward, refusing to accept the unbearable truth lingering in the air.
All Augustine could think of was proving that Charles wasn’t dead.
"Charles was in the same hospital room with me... he was being treated," Augustine mumbled to himself, his breath hitching.
His thoughts raced in circles, searching for any possible explanation—anything other than the one that would shatter him completely.
Augustine legs still felt weak and that prompted him to stagger from one end to another until finally, he stumbled upon a young doctor.
The doctor’s eyes widened in alarm as Augustine’s trembling hands clutched his lab coat, desperation radiating from his weak, battered body.
"W-Where’s Charles?" Augustine’s voice cracked, his lips quivering uncontrollably.
His grip tightened, yanking the doctor slightly forward, as if shaking him hard enough would somehow change reality—would somehow undo whatever cruel fate had been spoken.
"Sir, please calm down—" the doctor stammered, his hands hovering near Augustine’s shoulders, unsure whether to steady him or pry him off.
But there was no calming down. Not when the world was threatening to collapse around him.
"Where’s Charles?"
The doctor sighed. "I’m so sorry, sir," he mumbled, placing a hand on Augustine’s shoulder. "We tried everything we could, but we lost him," he added, his voice laced with regret.
After speaking, he slowly pulled his hand away from Augustine’s shoulder.
With deliberate care, the doctor pried Augustine’s fingers from his lab coat, loosening the desperate grip.
Once free, he turned and walked away, leaving Augustine standing there, frozen.
Stunned!
Augustine opened his mouth as he stared at the ceiling, the words of the doctor echoing deep inside his head. ’I am so sorry sir, but we tried everything we could.’
The doctor’s words felt unreal, but the more it echoed in the head of Augustine, the more the harsh reality of life began to strike him. "This... this can’t be happening," Augustine stammered, shaking his head sideways in denial. "Charles can’t be dead!" He screamed, falling onto the ground as he began to slam his fist on the cold titles.
"Charles... no... no, you can’t..."
Augustine fingers clawed at his own chest as if trying to tear out the agony suffocating him from within.
Everything around him faded-the murmurs of hospital staff, the concerned glances of passersby, even the footsteps of the doctor who had just walked away.
All that remained was the crushing silence of a world without Charles.
"CEO Augustine? Why are you here?"
The familiar voice made Augustine lift his head from the ground, his vision blurry with unshed tears.
He stared at the person who had just spoken, his breath hitching. "Doctor..." Charles mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper.
The person who stood in front of him was the doctor to who he entrusted Charles health to.
The doctor was the one who had treated Charles days ago when Charles was admitted after jumping from a tree.
Seeing the doctor, Augustine opened his mouth to speak up but no words were able to roll out of his mouth.
The doctor, momentarily taken aback, crouched down and helped Augustine to his feet. "Are you alright?"
"How... how can I be alright when Charles is dead?" Augustine stammered, his voice trembling.
The doctor frowned. "Charles is dead?"
The words of the doctor sounded like a question and Augustine nodded his head, replying to the question of the doctor.
"Yes... Charles is dead, and it’s all my fault," Augustine whispered, his voice laced with unbearable guilt.
His breath hitched as his chest tightened painfully. "I should have been there for him... I shouldn’t have dragged him into this. I should have—"
"Calm down, CEO Augustine," the doctor interrupted firmly. "Charles Donald is not dead." The doctor added with a serious tone that instantly made Augustine to become froze.
Augustine body went rigid, his mind struggling to process the words.
Augustine tears-filled eyes searched the doctor’s face for any sign that this wasn’t just some cruel joke.
"Wh... what did you say?"
"Augustine Wales," the doctor called, his voice steady as he gently guided Augustine toward a long bench.
Once they sat down, the doctor let out a small sigh. "Charles is currently having a chat with your father in his hospital room. So why are you creating a scene?"
Augustine’s breath hitched. "H-huh?"
The doctor exhaled softly, giving Augustine’s palm a reassuring squeeze. "Who told you that Charles is dead?" he asked, his voice calm yet firm.
"Derrick... a male doctor... and—"
Augustine’s thoughts stumbling over each other as his chest tightened.
He hesitated, afraid to believe. "Does... does this truly mean that Charles is alive?" Augustine questioned, as if he needed to hear the confirmation again to trust it.
The doctor solemnly nods. "Yes." He gently stated. "Charles is not dead but very much alive and healthy."
"So..."
Augustine’s words trailed off as he struggled to process the doctor’s revelation.
His mind spun, caught between the desperate hope that Charles was truly alive and the lingering fear that this was some cruel joke.
"But... I saw the doctor... he said... they lost him," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper, his gaze searching the doctor’s face for any sign of deception. "If Charles... If Charles is alive, then why did the previous doctor say he was dead?" Augustine demanded, his voice rising in desperation.
His breath came in uneven gasps as his fingers tightened around the doctor’s lab coat. "Was it some kind of mistake? Or... or is someone trying to mess with me?"
Augustine’s grip trembled, his knuckles turning white as he stared into the doctor’s eyes, searching for the truth. "What the hell is going on or did my mother pay you guys to mess around with me?" Augustine seethed in rage.
"Take me to Charles this instant!" He demanded with a cold tone, void of any emotions.
The doctor nodded, slowly rising from where he was seated. "You have to let go of me first so that I can freely walk." The doctor stated that despite the situation, he still sounded calm and professional.
Augustine exhaled sharply, releasing the doctor’s lab coat before following him down the hallway.
After a minute of silent walking, they stopped in front of a hospital door.
As the doctor opened the door, he stepped inside and likewise Augustine.
And behold... Charles Donald was lying on the hospital bed and he was dead...