Engfa had just woken up. She had no idea what happened to herself. But when she woke up, she found herself on a hospital bed, in a hospital gown with her cousin, Yoko and her cousin's girlfriend, Faye.

Except for her father who was almost gone, Yoko was the only relative she had left alive. Not that she had many relatives to begin with but the only few she had were gone.

As for the restaurant, that had been their family business for as long as she remembered. But as much as she knew, that wasn't their business before she was born. Her father was the manager of that restaurant with an old owner. When the owner died, he trusted Engfa's father so much that he gave the restaurant to him and as always, he had taken care of it like a precious treasure.

Things were so happy back then. If her father got to know that the restaurant he so dearly treasured was in such a state now, who knew what would happen? Not like Engfa was planning to tell him anyways. In this state of health, any little news could give him a heart attack and that was big bad news.

When she woke up in the hospital, the one and only thing she hoped was that Yoko didn't tell her father about her condition. Honestly, Engfa didn't know what truly happened. But she could guess. All she did in the past days was cry and sit silently on her bed, staring at the wall and questioning her life choices. Did she eat anything? Barely. Did she sleep? Barely. No wonder she probably fainted.

About a few minutes after she woke up, Yoko realized she was awake and came to her. “Phi Eng! What happened?” She asked, taking Engfa's hand in her own.

“I couldn't sleep properly so I just… fainted,” Engfa replied casually but everyone knew why she fainted, why she couldn't sleep, why she hadn't eaten.

“Faye, can I talk to Yoko alone for a minute?” Engfa asked. Faye turned to look at her and stared for a few seconds. She didn't really want to leave her girlfriend alone in a hospital room but the insistent look Yoko gave her had her folding. She gave a slow nod and walked out of the room.

Yoko turned back to look at Engfa and sat on the corner of the bed. “How's uncle doing, Yoko?” Engfa asked, trying to ease the awkwardness that was building slightly. Because of the big age gap between the two, Yoko and Engfa barely talked so  casually.

Yoko sighed. “He’s good. He keeps complaining about his students but he's doing fine.” Well, of course. He was a teacher. Of course, he complained about students.

Engfa slowly sat up, the IV saline attached to her vein moving slightly. Yoko adjusted the pillows behind her back. “What about your studies?” She asked again. “Quite good?”

Yoko smiled. That was one merit of having an older lover. She could help her with her studies. “Quite good. Phi Faye had been helping a lot,” she paused. “Phi Eng?” She called out suddenly, deciding to ask the question that she was fighting with herself whether to ask or not.

“Hm?” Engfa answered.

Yoko breathes in a small amount of air before looking at Engfa in a more empathetic, almost pitiful expression. “What are you going to do next?” She asked. “You know that it's not going to work like this, Phi.”

Engfa sighed heavily. She knew the younger one would ask something like that eventually and it didn't matter how much she wanted to avoid these questions, life wouldn't stop for her, would it? “I don't know. I'm trying. But in this age, who'd even offer me a job?” She paused and looked down at her weak self. Never in her life had she been so weak before. And all it took was a video from a famous influencer. How pathetic, right?

Yoko stared at Engfa's body as well, she had lost as least 3 kilograms weight in a week. The doctor had told her. And it was truly pathetic when she thought about how much fame and face truly mattered in thia unfair world. No one would be willing to listen hwr side of the story. Because that was nit even a controversy. Why? Because Engfa's not a influencer. If she was as well, this would have blown off fhe media.

But that's how the world is, right? People ought to believe whatever they see on the internet. To survive, Engfa would have to fight, not let herself become weak. “I know, Phi. But the way you're handling things… it's not going to make anything better.”

Engfa nodded. She knew she was being weak, overly emotional about things or just overreacting. And she was trying to survive, to keep up. But it was not as easy as it looked. She was not some rich spoiled brat who had enough money to start a new business anytime soon. For the rich, a business getting closed was like a game, candy crush, but for the poor, it was also a game, but a game of life or death.

“Phi Eng, I know how hard this is for you. But at least take care of yourself properly. If not for yourself, at least for uncle, for me. We do care about you.”

A weak smile took over Engfa's face as she lifted her free hand and ran it over Yoko's hair. She knew she shouldn't be happy at such a moment but she still felt only a hint of joy, knowing that there were still people who cared about her. “I promise, okay? Don't worry.”

Yoko slowly stood up from the bed. “Also, Phi Eng, Phi Charlotte is here as well, outside.”

Engfa's brows furrowed. She told her to leave her alone and she's still there? She destroyed her business and she can't even keep the one request she asked from her? How spoiled can a person get? “Why?”

“She was the one who informed us that you weren't responding to anything.”

Engfa scoffed and looked back at the ground. She destroyed her career and now she's following her around like a psychopath and also trying to play a hero. How pathetic!

Yoko walked closer. “Phi Eng, she's genuinely guilty about what she did to you. You should at least see her.”

Engfa chuckled and looked up at Yoko. “What's there to see in her? She is just another one of those rich spoiled brat who doesn't care and just wants all the credit!” Eng tried to sound angry but honestly, she couldn't be. She knew she should be mad. She had every right to be. But just watching how guilty Charlotte looked, it's like all the anger she had in her flushed down the drain and her real emotions came crawling back.

“She wants to apologize to you, Phi…”

Somehow that made Engfa become even more vulnerable. Her voice raised, not with anger, but with hurt. “And what is her apology going to fix? Is her apology giving me back my restaurant that I spent my blood and sweat on? No, right? What's the point then?”

“She's apologizing at least, Phi Eng. Most rich people wouldn't even bother.”

“That's the bare minimum she could do. My standard isn't so low that I'll take her ‘I’m sorry’ as good enough.”

“At least talk to her once.”

Enga looked around as if she didn't know what to do. “Fine. But only because you said so. And don't expect me to forgive her just because she's sorry.”

Witha long sigh, Yoko nodded. Indeed, she knew that Engfa was right. Those people just thought they'd apologize and everything was done, clean and clear. But that's not how life works. Maybe for those people, it does. But for the rest of the world, the reality was that an apology didn't fix anything at all.

Yoko walked out of the hospital room towards Faye and Charlotte. “Phi wants to talk to you, Phi Char,” she said to Charlotte. Charlotte was a bit taken aback by the sudden request but she nodded and slowly made her way to Engfa's room.

The second Charlotte entered the room, it's like everything fell into silence and awkwardness sweeped in. Somehow, seeing Engfa on a hospital bed, now conscious, made Charlotte feel even worse about herself. When she tried to break the silence, it was interrupted. “Phi-”

Engfa slowly looked up at Charlotte. “Are you really guilty about what you did?” She asked.

With no hesitation, Charlotte answered. “Yes,” she paused. “I really am. Please give me a chance to redeem myself.”

A slow nod came from Engfa, her expressions were unreadable. One second it was like she was feeling pity for Charlotte, while another second it was like she was disgusted by Charlotte. But Charlotte wouldn't blame her for either.

“How far are you willing to go to make up for it?” This was a question Charlotte didn't expect. And she didn't know that answer to that either. She had done wrong, she knew. And she could go to any limit if it meant she'd stop feeling so guilty. But she didn't have the courage to give that answer out loud. So she just sighed and stood there silently, head down.

“Can you help me rebuild my career?” Engfa asked again but didn't give her the time to answer. “If you can do what I request you to do, I'll forgive you.”

“I-” Charlotte was cut off again.

“You know… this wasn't only a business or a random career I did. This was my dream. It took me years to get to where I had gotten…” she paused. “Silly, isn't it? How a whole business that took years to build can crumble down so easily in one day.”

And there was Charlotte’s limit. If there was something she hated the most, it was the feeling of guilt, of regret. “I'll help you, in whatever way you ask me to,” she paused and added, “I'm sorry.”

A small smile took over Engfa's face. She looked exhausted from everything. “Okay. You can come to my apartment tomorrow and help me figure things out, good?”

Charlotte nodded. “Kha, Phi.”

“You don't have to call me Phi,” spoke Engfa, resulting in a questioning confused gaze from Charlotte. “I'm not that older than you. Just call me Eng.”

Charlotte almost forced herself to nod. She wasn't used to calling people older than her with their real names, let alone nickname. Well, except Faye but that was different. Faye's her best friend. “Okay… Eng.”

Engfa's smile widened a bit, her eyes filled with a type of sincerity Charlotte wasn't used to. “I hope there's still humanity left in upper class people's hearts,” she paused and in a small murmur, expressed her gratitude. “Thank you.”

Charlotte's mouth almost fell open. After everything she did, it was her responsibility to help Engfa, and yet she thanked her as if it was a favor Engfa had asked from her. “For what?”

Engfa's eyes drifted back down at her bed. “For apologizing, for caring about my forgiveness, for feeling guilty.”

Charlotte slowly nodded, not able to form a coherent response any longer. She was feeling overwhelmed. Maybe it was true that kindness hits harder than cruelty.

To Be Continued.....

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A/n: I miss the time when I used to be so consistent. Honestly, I've been taking a lot of stress from my studies and life overall, probably that's the reason for my inability to write as much as before. I'm trying, really though but I just can't seem to get into it.

To the people who requested to make the chapters longer, if I could, I would have. I know it's not fair that I barely update once a week with such short chapters but I'm trying my best. I have a very complicated life outside of Wattpad and writing. Thank you for your patience.

And to the silent readers, I'll request you to please leave a comment. I've been really discouraged about my writings lately as well. I'd really appreciate if you could let me know that you're enjoying it. It honestly breaks my heart when I see 15 votes in a chapter and only 2 or 3 comments. One comment can light up my whole day.

Thank you everyone for reading my work. This was a story I never thought would go so well ❤️