“Listen.” Instead of blaming Ben, Zachary warned. “I don’t want someone to love me out of sympathy. A relationship built upon sympathy is meaningless, and I don’t need it!”
Ben kneeled before him on one knee and begged for his forgiveness. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nacht. Please forgive me.”
“All my life as a businessman, I’ve been through hell, but nothing had ever taken me down. Even now I’m on the brink of death, I’m not afraid of dying, because I’ve lived my whole life with dignity. So please don’t take the last shred of dignity away from me. You hear me?” Zachary said in a calm but sorrowful voice.
“Got it.” Ben kept his head down. Tears began to well up in his eyes.
It must have taken this egoistic man a lot of courage to admit how vulnerable he was at this point. Zachary must have trusted Ben wholeheartedly to make that remark.
He hoped Ben could understand him and stop doing anything that would upset him further.
“All right.” Zachary let out a deep sigh. “You may go.”
“I’m so sorry…” Ben apologized in a hoarse voice and left the room.
After a final puff at his last cigarette, Zachary returned to his bed. He was a little worn out, and his back hurt. Suddenly, he recalled how weak Dr. Felch was before he passed away.
Right now, he felt just as weak and sickly.
I can’t sleep. I got to stay awake!
Zachary had to remind himself to stay awake as he was afraid he would pass away in his sleep.
After fighting off sleepiness for some time, he gave in and dozed off.
In his dream, countless demons grabbed him from below as if they were trying to pull him into the abyss.
He struggled to escape but to no avail. His body was so stiff that he did not have any energy to fight back.
All of a sudden, he heard Henry’s voice from afar. “Stay strong, Zachary. You cannot fall. The entire Nacht family depends on you.”
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