The Chairman's First Love

Chapter 4: Patrick's Offer

Chloe felt like ending her life at that time, but she felt that it was too unfair for her, she wanted to take revenge on Aaron later. Using all the money she had left, she returned to Metro City again. She remembered Patrick who had paid her hospital bills before. He used to give her his name card, so as soon after she arrived in the city again, she called him and asked him if they could meet up.

Patrick was off duty that day so he was at home. Upon receiving the call from Chloe, he immediately told her to come to his house. A taxi arrived in front of the three-storey villa about half an hour later and Chloe got off with only holding one bag that contained all her belongings.

"Hello, doctor. I'm sorry to bother you. Can you please help me again?" Chloe gathered her guts to talk with Patrick regardless of all the embarrassment she felt inside.

Patrick scanned her from top to bottom with a strange gaze. She looked as if she had been chased out from home.

"What happen to you?" He couldn't help but ask.

His heart instantly felt ached seeing how miserable she looked right now. Back then when he helped her pay her hospital bills, he did that to reduce her burden. At least she had no debt and could start saving up some money again after she gets a new job. It was just over a month ago, he thought she was doing fine now. But seeing her like this, it felt as if her life just got worse after she was released from the hospital.

"My grandpa just die and I just found out that he had sold his house. I had used up almost all the money I had to pay for his funeral, so now..."

Tears began to pool up inside her eyes and a few began to fall from the corner of her eyes. She was so ashamed to continue her words and lost the courage to meet Patrick's gaze.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" He asked her gently. Chloe shook her head as an answer.

"How much do you need?" He asked more.

"A thousand dollars?" She was hesitant to tell him.

It was not really that much for Patrick because he was paid almost twenty thousand dollars per month as an ob-gyn doctor at the general hospital. He could just give that money to her right away, but he was worried about her living alone outside. He suddenly had the urge to protect her and gave her a place to stay.

"What are you going to do with that money?" He was afraid she might use it to do something stupid like gambling or anything similar.

"I'll find a room to rent and use the rest to buy some food," Chloe told him honestly. That was really her plan.

"I'll pay you back after I get a new job, doctor. If you want to put interest in it, I don't mind. I'll pay for it as well," she sounded determined.

"Why don't you just live here with me?" Patrick suggested boldly.

"Huh?" Chloe knitted her brows, feeling confused.

"Look... I'm not trying to do anything to you. My place is pretty big, and I'm not home most of the time because I'm quite busy at the hospital. The third floor of my villa is actually a guest house with its own door. You can stay there if you wanted to. After all, you don't have a place to stay tonight and it's dangerous for a young woman like you to wander around in the city alone, especially at night. There's also a lift inside the house, so you don't have to climb the stairs to go to the third floor. But, there's no place to cook there, so we will need to share the kitchen on the first floor. There's plenty of food inside the fridge too. Just eat whatever you want. You can stay here for free," Patrick explained.

Chloe gaped at his words, feeling disbelief. The offer sounded tempting, but she still felt reluctant to accept it because she was a woman. She couldn't grasp the idea of living together with him inside that house. It felt so bizarre.

'Just the two of us? What if later he tries to do something to me? What if he suddenly asks me to pay him using my body?' Malicious thoughts were filling her mind.

"I'll give you the money as well. A thousand dollars, right? I can give you that right now if you accept my offer," Patrick persuaded her more.

"Is there anyone else living with you? A sister maybe?" Chloe asked.

As soon as he heard her question, Patrick knew instantly what was on her mind. He chuckled a bit, feeling embarrassed that he was not being sensitive enough regarding her privacy. As a matter of fact, he was actually quite concerned about that matter.

"Actually... no. I'm living alone. But don't worry. Wait here. I'll come back after a while," Patrick ran back into his house and went to grab the key for the guest house on the third floor. He also took a thousand dollars from his wallet. Five minutes later, he appeared again in front of Chloe and handed her the key with the money.

"Here. Take it. These are the keys to the front door and the guest house on the third floor. It's like a hotel up there."

Chloe stared at the money and the house keys in his hand. She was still hesitating to take the offer.

"It's fine. Just try to stay for a day or two. If you don't like it, you can go. I won't stop you. I'm just trying to help you," Patrick said more. His voice was so gentle that Chloe felt guilty to turn him down.

Slowly, her hand took the keys and the money from his hand. She met his gaze and he gave her a gentle smile. It felt like a smile from a brother to his little sister.

***

"Chloe... Chloe..." A man was calling her softly and Chloe's mind slowly came back to reality.

"Hmm?" She responded.

"What are you thinking? The food is here. Let's eat," Patrick said.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize it."

"You're thinking about the past again, aren't you?" He asked with an attentive tone.

Chloe felt bashful at him. This man clearly could read her mind pretty easily. She just smiled faintly at him as a response.

"You know... It's been five years. Don't you think it's time for you to move on and forget about the past? I mean the past before you met me. I don't want you to forget about me," he chuckled, saying those things casually. Yet, Chloe knew he was being serious in his words even though it sounded like he was joking.

"I'm sorry. You're right. I should just move on," Chloe replied.

"Great. You can start moving on by dating me," he joshed again while grinning.

"Patrick, you're engaged," Chloe reminded him while sticking out her tongue a little to him.

"If that's a problem, I can break off the engagement right now," he still with his playful tone.

"Stop being silly. Your parents might get a heart attack if you do that."

At that, he went silent and just ate while looking at her lovingly. He had waited for this woman to open up her heart again for five years now. Yet, Chloe's heart was so damaged by her past relationship, she didn't even dare to start another relationship even after he took care of her all this time.

Five years ago, she only stayed inside his house for five months. During those five months they lived together, he never even once touched her. He respected her and let her have her own privacy. For the first month, she acted indifferent towards him, probably because she still didn't trust him yet. The second month was a bit better. She got a new job and was able to save up a little. But she still didn't want to eat together with him and she always sneaked around when she was trying to use the kitchen on the first floor.

In the third month, they finally broke the ice between them. She was slowly able to accept it living together with him and they slowly became like housemates. She even told him her plan of continuing her study again as she had enough money to pay her student fee now. During the fourth month, she slowly showed her true nature, her clumsiness, her not-so-healthy habits, her insecurities and that was the time Patrick learned her character and behaviour the most. Strangely, even after knowing her flaws, he still adored her.

The fifth month was the most heartbreaking month for him. She took the courage to continue her study again and moved to her college hostel. She finally living independently. From that day onwards, she began to become slightly distant from him. Patrick felt like half of his life was taken away from him the day she moved out of his house.

If he didn't take some effort to reach her and contact her regularly, she probably would disappear slowly from his life. Yet, after spending life together with her even for such a short time of five months, he realized that his heart was attached to her and he didn't want to lose her. So, until now he was still here being by her side, waiting for her to realize that he was the man who would cherish her the most for her entire life if only she gives him a chance to be her man.