Inside his office, Lucifer was on a short break after his strings of meetings. As he sipped his tea in a leisurely manner his mobile phone chimed making his brows scrunch.
Shooting a flitting glance at the lit up mobile screen Lucifer picked up the call, his attitude flippant.
"Hello? Lucifer?"
Ethan's anxious voice came at once.
"Hey! Howdy buddy.."
Feeling relieved after half a day of hectic meetings as he sipped his tea, Lucifer was happy talking to his friend. It was like therapy.
"Sera.. She's passed out"
Holding Sera's hand in his own as she lay on the car seat, Ethan choked on his words.
As soon as Sera's name was mentioned, Lucifer's hand lifting the porcelain cup with intricate blue design halted midair, almost scalding himself.
The man stood up with a start.
"What? What are you saying? Where is she?"
Leaving the black blazer hanging on the coat hanger on the side, Lucifer rushed out, bombarding questions as he advanced towards the glass door.
"Still unconscious, I found her injured in the storage room at her gallery, it was a mess. There was also a broken portrait of Mia, I don't know what happened.. I don't understand. It's weird! Lucifer, I'm scared.."
Closing his eyes, Ethan breathed in as he explained in a muddled manner, panting and breathing harshly in between in words. He was in no way calm.
Ethan's deepest memories of Mia, his fears and other bitter feelings that were locked somewhere inside him were burst open at the scene.
It was a chaos of emotions.
Ethan Lee's heart was hurting. A dull ache spread itself all over rendering the man helpless as he stared at Sera's drained face.
In his state of trepidation, Ethan was reminded of the cruelties that Mia had gone through on that unfortunate night.
"Calm down.. Take her to the hospital first, I'm on my way"
Dashing out in his thin black shirt and well tailored pants, Lucifer disregarded the frantic Xinglei who was trying to stop him, and walked past towards the exit. His long legs entered into the private elevator, the doors closed and his figure vanished in thin air.
Staring at the darkened screen of his mobile phone, Ethan Lee was overcome with a sense of despair.
"I won't let anything happen to you.. I promise! I won't let you die this time, you can't leave me.."
His eyes were red with tears in them as he weeped silently holding Sera's hand to his lips. The back of her hand was wet with his salty tears.
As the kneeling Ethan stood up from the ground, Assistant Chen sprinted towards him with obvious worry written all over his face. The carry bags in his hands fell onto the ground, the cakes and drinks spilled onto the concrete driveway. He leapt forward to help the stumbling man steady his steps.
"CEO!"
Assistant Chen was in the neighborhood cafe. On Ethan's orders, he went to buy desserts and drinks for Xia Ruo Lan and Sera as compensation for his tardiness.
"Chen! Drive.. Drive to hospital"
- - -
"Lucifer.."
Pacing back and forth, Ethan Lee paused abruptly listening to heavy and hurried footsteps. He turned to find Lucifer striding towards him.
"Ethan! Where's Sera? How is she?"
Grabbing onto Ethan's shoulders with both his hands, Lucifer inquired. His tone urgent.
"She's inside.. The doctor is examining her.."
Gesturing towards the closed door, Ethan said somberly. A looming despondency could be detected from his dull black eyes.
"You look bad! Relax, she'll be fine.."
Studying his friend's haggard appearance that was in contrast to his usual prim proper look, Lucifer patted his back assuringly. He could see stains of red on his sleeves.
"Yeah, thanks man.."
For the first time, Ethan's face eased up and his lips curved into a small smile. His hands still trembling in horror.
"What about her parents? Did you inform them.."
In a bid to distract Ethan's attention from all kinds of nonsensical thoughts, Lucifer asked curiously.
"Yeah, I called her brother.. They're on their way"
Nodding his head, Ethan interjected as he stared at the entrance.
At this moment the door opened, a middle-aged man clad in white coat emerged attracting Ethan's attention back to Sera, and the situation at hand.
"Doctor!"
Faced with the frazzled Ethan, Dr Mu was a lot more calm as he smiled subtly and darted a fleeting look at Lucifer behind him.
"Mr Lee, there's no need to worry. Miss Lu is probably fatigued, her body is weak and she seems to be suffering from insomnia and lack of appetite.. You just have to take care that she eats a balanced diet and sleeps well"
More than relieved, Ethan blew a sigh almost hugging Dr Mu as he expressed his gratitude. His pale face was back to it's original color.
"Thank you, Dr Mu.. Can we go see her?"
Having seen Ethan behave like a kid for the first time ever, Dr Mu was dazed. He remembered this lad behaving like this five years ago, when that girl was still alive.
Alas.
"Ah, yes you can.. Excuse me"
Shaking his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts, Dr Mu smiled awkwardly at Ethan and left.
"Huh! Sera was troubled by the gallery's opening.. No wonder she fainted.."
Considering the receding figure of Dr Mu, Ethan mumbled to himself. He was about to turn around and talk to Lucifer, when the latter was already at the door.
"Lucifer! You.."
Grasping the handle, Lucifer turned to Ethan as he briefly instructed before entering Sera's hospital room.
"Take care of her parents.. Don't let anyone inside, I'll go take a look"
Dumbfounded by Lucifer's actions, Ethan had no choice but to comply to his request as it was dangerous for Lucifer to appear in front of the Lu's.
"What's he thinking?!"
To be honest, they weren't acquainted in the first place, and given Lucifer's identity they'd surely suffer another heart attack lest they encountered him. It was best to keep them apart.
Moreover, Ethan trusted Lucifer. He has absolute faith in the man, his head was a treasure and the brain inside was the cause of endless chaos in the dark world.