Entangled Heart

Episode four

In a last-ditch of desperation, she mustered up the courage to tell Daniel hoping he would understand and give her more time to look for it, “sir, I can't seem to find the documents for the meeting, I’ve checked everywhere for them” she nervously explained. However, Daniel’s reaction was anything but understanding. His fierce gaze pierced into her, and his voice carried a cutting edge as he scolded her “what sort of stupidity is this, Ms. Emma?, this is unacceptable, you are supposed to have everything ready for the meeting, I need that file immediately I don’t care how you are going to get it, just find it and get out of my office!” . His anger echoed in the room as Emma rushed back to her desk as tears gathered in her eyes ready to drop. The pressure felt suffocating, and she couldn’t help but feel as though she wasn’t good enough to even meet up with his high expectations. Despite her dedication, she couldn’t control external factors, and Daniel’s continuous humiliation took away her confidence day by day leaving her feeling a sense of frustration and helplessness, and a growing sense of inadequency overwhelmed her as she tried to maintain her composure under the constant pressure.

As days turned into weeks, Emma’s anxiety and fear grew with each encounter with her formidable boss. He seemed determined to frustrate all her effort and to keep her under his control, over every aspect of her work and life. Each day, their conversations left her feeling small and more insignificant.

One day, as she passed by Daniel's office, she overheard him speaking to his friends, who remembered her from the club, he was openly mocking her. Their laughters echoed in her ears, intensifying the humiliation she felt. Emma quicked rushed to her own workspace with her eyes filled with tears she refused to cry in front of anyone. In the evening as she was about to leave the office after a stressful day and go see her dad at the hospital, Daniel called her into his office, she entered the office hesitantly, only to be met with loads of hard criticism fired at her. Daniel's tone was loud and serious "you think you can just leave like that? You are here to serve me not do nothing and leave whenever you feel, don't f*****g forget your place here, Emma". Emma tried to fight back her tears, her voice was trembling with tiredness "I'm really sorry sir, I just want to go spend some time with my Dad at the hospital please", "that's none of my business, finish typing these documents before leaving" Daniel said dropping a pile of document on his desk for her to pick up, then dismissed her. Emma could not hold back her tears anymore after carrying the pile of documents to her desk, she cried bitterly out of frustration and exhaustion . Late into the night she completed the task, she still wanted to see her dad despite being exhausted, she left for the hospital.

In the dimly lit hospital room, Emma's heavy heart weighed on her as she walked in, she was so exhausted that every step she took her exhaustion was evident. She was greeted by a very heart breaking sight of a nurse rolling out a covered body from her father's room, surrounded by nurses and doctors with a depressing look on their face. Emma seeing this, her heart panicked, a sickening feeling gripped her as she was struggling to process the scene before her. With tears streaming down her eyes she ran towards the body being rolled out, desperate for answers, and hoping that it wasn't what she feared.

As she ran, her bags and purse slipped from her hold, falling to the ground. In that moment, her mind was consumed by the thoughts of her dad. Tears kept streaming down her cheeks, with her trembling hands she removed the cover from the body's face, fearing the worst, only to see someone else lying there. A sigh of relief escaped her lips upon realizing it wasn't her Dad, but still anxious, she wiped her tears and went straight to the doctors to ask about her father. The doctors explained that her father had been moved to another room after carefully observing him after the surgery, and she can be rest assured he's out of danger. Emma was so relieved hearing this news, because her world would have been meaningless without her father, she wouldn't know how she would cope.

The nurses took her to her father's new room, she picked up her belongings that fell on the ground and followed them. As she entered the room, a glimmer of comfort appeared when she saw that her Dad was awake, lying feeble on the bed. Their eyes met and emotions filled the room. "Dad”, Emma whispered, her voice trembling with emotions as tears threatened to spill. She rushed to him , wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad you're alright, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you, please don't ever leave me. How are you?”

Her father mustered a faint smile, but his eyes betrayed the pain carried within his heart, “I’m not leaving you, I'm getting better, I'm glad you came to see me” he replied, his voice was weak and filled with remorse and guilt "I hever meant to place this burden on you, I'm sorry for putting you through all this, I'm so sorry". Before he could say anything further Emma gently placed a finger on his lips, to stop him from saying words like that. "Dad, you must never think that way", She said trembling with emotions, "you are not a burden, you are my everything, the reason that keeps me going, I love you so much and I would do anything for you" tears filled her eyes as she fought to stay composed. Her father's eyes mirrored her pain, from witnessing the sacrifice she had made for him. In that moment, words unspoken hung in the air, acknowledging the unbreakable bond that they shared. "I know you are worried about me", he continued, his voice sounding so low, "seeing you work at a place you are not happy..... It breaks my heart so much". Emma's shoulders were tired and exhausted as the emotional toll of the day's events weighed heavily on her. "It's okay Dad," she replied, trying to mask her tiredness. "I'm doing what I have to do to make sure you are comfortable and okay, even if it means sacrificing my own". Her father's eyes filled with tears, compassion and gratitude, and he gently stroked her cheeks " you deserve so much more, my dear, " he said " I wish I could have provided a better life for you, look at you, living your life for me, it's always been like this ever since your mom left", Emma’s eyes were fixed on her dad’s, when she noticed a fleeting shadow through the curtain. Curiosity mixed with concern, stimulating her to approach the door prudently “who’s there?” she inquired, her stare fixed on the mysterious shadow.