When it came to Chloe Hayes, I was completely indifferent.But hearing Brandon Lee was disfigured, I raced there, even impatient for the hospital elevator, practically scrambling up five flights of stairs.I was genuinely anxious, terrified I’d miss it.The doctors couldn’t believe how fast I arrived.
With a beaming face and overflowing excitement, I burst into the ward. “Where’s Brandon Lee? How’s his hand disabled? How big are the scars? Let me see! Let me see!”Everyone in the room stared at me, their faces awkward.I wasn’t awkward at all.I just felt a surge of pure joy. “Where is he? Where is he??”But the next second, the curtain around the bed opened.Chloe Hayes, one leg in a full cast, looked at me with a bewildered, uncertain expression.My face instantly darkened.Yet, she gazed at me, her voice trembling, and confused. “Are you… are you Declan Davies’s… brother?”Me: “?!
”I scoffed. “I’m your father!”That comment seemed to hit something in Chloe.She clutched her head, a pained expression on her face, and collapsed back onto the bed.The doctor pulled me out of the room and explained, “Ms. Hayes has a concussion, and her memory is scrambled. She answers general knowledge questions fine, but when we ask her age, she says she’s twenty…”I wasn’t listening properly.The doctor seemed to catch on. “Mr. Lee’s room is on the sixth floor. He’s still not entirely out of critical condition. You can see him through the glass.”Without a word, I sprinted off.Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
When I finally reached the sixth floor and saw Brandon Lee…I personally saw this pretty boy, who had destroyed my marriage, and who had been strutting around like a peacock just days ago. Now he lay there, covered in bandages, his right hand strangely curled into a deformed claw. His once handsome face was a mess of injuries.Out of common decency, I almost felt a pang of pity.But then I thought of what he’d done to me, and my sense of decency vanished instantly. I was no longer a decent person.
