The Essence Of The Darkness
Episode 41: The Bonding of the Heart

Elana looked at the face of the man in front of her with a frown. For some reason, even though his face was smiling sweetly, the man seemed to be enduring tremendous pain.

Plus, the man looked deathly pale.

Elana was cleaning one of the cubicles in the male employee toilet when she heard the sound of the door being closed indicating someone had entered. At first he was about to reprimand the person because clearly he had hung the inscription "while being cleaned" in front of the door of this employee toilet room to prevent anyone from going inside when he is in the process of cleaning the toilet.

It seemed like the person hurriedly entered to the point of not heeding the mark he had placed on the door...

Elana waited for a moment before coming out of the room where she was. He did not want to disturb the person completing his 'management' in a male-only urinal located in an open area in the toilet. It would be very awkward if Elana suddenly came out and the man still had not finished his 'management' in front of the urinal.

After waiting for a moment and no sound, Elana finally decided to come out. He then found a tall, slender figure staggered while holding on to the sink, visibly enduring the pain.

Elana should immediately say goodbye to leave because it is clearly out of her business as a janitor. But, when her eyes caught that the man was looking for tissue, while she had a box of tissue left after filling the stock in the toilet room cubicle, Elana could not help but give help.

And here he was, standing staring at the sick man while regretting that he might have acted out of his business.

"You sick? Should you go to the company clinic? The clinic building is next to the main building, not far from here." he bargained slowly. Maybe he did not know this man, but it was clear Elana could not just waltz away when there were sick people in front of him.

"I'm fine," the man's sweet smile disappeared as an attack of pain assaulted him. His hand moved pressing the tissue against his nose, his forehead wrinkled deeply even though his face was getting pale. "I've been taking medicine, so I'll be fine. Thanks for asking," he said kindly.

"Oh, fine then." Elana immediately withdrew, knowing that the man might need some personal space without interruption. "Then I beg you, sir."

Elana stepped back, about to turn her body. But, at the same second, the man's body staggered as if losing balance and suddenly fell forward, crashing towards Elana who was about to turn around.

Although the man's body was slender, but still the weight of his body was the same as that of an adult man in general, not worth Elana's petite body. As soon as the man's body leaned against her, Elana immediately staggered back holding back her weight. Luckily Elana did not fall to the floor and managed to reach the wall nearby to lean back.

"Master! You're all right? I'll call for help!" Elana tried to push the collapsed body of the man against her, panic began to attack her.

"No.. no.., please .. I'm fine, please don't call anyone. I.. I just wait for my medicine to react, then I will be good.." the man's voice grew louder, while his breathing was stingy, in contrast to his body that was getting worse and worse on Elana.

The gentle aroma of the man's perfume instantly seeped and filled Elana's sense of smell, at first glance like a mixture of various soft nuances similar to musk, dipped in fresh orange aroma with a sweet flash of vanilla aroma. Elana felt a jolt in her heart to push the man with all her might when she realized that she was trapped between the man's body and the wall behind him. He looked up and was about to push, but was then stunned when he saw the face of the man on top of him

Even the man's face now became many times paler than before. And even more terrifying.His nose!

The man befell and trapped him not intentionally, but because he was really sick....

"You're bleeding!" Elana finally undoes her intention to push the man rough and decides to gently wet him, then helps the man sit on the carpet while leaning his back against the wall.

The man's eyes closed, while his hand moved pressing the tissue against his nose. His chest moved up and down along with the deep wrinkles on his chest enduring the pain.

"You really need help. I will..." Elana was horrified to see the red stains that seeped soaked the tissue, she immediately moved back and was about to go to the reception area to ask for paramedics from the clinic.

Unfortunately, once again Elana's movement was restrained. This time the man's clenched fingers clutched his hands with a strength that was quite shocking for the man who was ill.

"I am truly begging you," the man said with great difficulty, while his eyes were still closed, "I will recover soon when my medicine has fully reacted... don't leave me.." the man said as if he was mocking, making Elana stunned at what to do.

***

"You should have called me as soon as you received the notice that Xavier had come here." Nathan put down to the table a glass of water that Akram had used to take sedatives.was on duty in the hospital when he received a call from Elios that Akram was having a panic attack. "After all, this is the first time you've seen Xavier again since five years. That's why you can't control your emotional upheaval driven by past trauma."

Akram's current condition is much different from his who always looks strong and flawless perfect. Akram currently looked so weak, the man took off his suit and tie and unbuttoned his shirt. His head rested on the back of the sofa with his eyes closed tightly, while one of his hands moved to massage the base of his nose and cover part of his face. Akram's breath seemed to be stingy, seen from his chest that rose and fell rapidly.

Right now, there was nothing they could do but wait until the sedative Akram took reacted.

"But, the effect of your trauma should not be that severe if Xavier does not pull the trigger that awakens the memory of your trauma. What exactly did that cunning devil tell you?" Nathan asked again, cracking the silence that lay between them.

Akram let out a long sigh, sensing that the sedative was already reacting and loosening his airway. His eyes then opened, lit up by a terrifying lightning.

"Elana," he growled.

Nathan's face instantly turned deathly pale from it, horror traversing his face.

"Xavier knew about Elana?" he shouted with a high voice."

"No..." Akram shook his head quickly. "Xavier doesn't know about Elana. But he did reveal his suspicions. He mentioned that I who had not been seen performing with women for the past three months made him wonder... Xavier thought I was saving a favorite girl and didn't want to change anymore" Akram leaned over and squeezed her hair. "She was judging my reaction. and I... Xavier seemed to have the power to find as little interest in something as I tried, he always managed to guess it, and when he mentioned it, I immediately remembered about Elana... and i..." Akram stopped his voice, his eyes closed back with a deep wrinkle on his forehead.

Nathan took a long breath. "Breath, Akram. You need to calm yourself down. If you can't control your emotions, that choking feeling will come again" he said slowly, giving professional instructions with great pressure.

Akram obeyed Nathan's words, again forcing himself to sigh quietly and regularly. This deep trauma is one of the weaknesses that have not been successfully overcome. Various therapies with professional experts starting from his adolescence until now, it was still not able to remove the trace of horror that feels every Akram considering his dark past.

Anastacia. It was her first love. The woman who ended up tragically losing her life because Akram was careless and unable to hold her heart to fall in love. When Anastasia was rescued, Akram was accompanying her in the hospital. He watched with his own eyes how devastated the woman's body was as a result of torture and abuse by the gang of criminals Xavier had hired to damage her.

Anastasia's condition at that time was destroyed and created a pressure of guilt that made Akram almost crazy. And as if that was still not enough, Akram was the first to find the body of Anastasia hanging from the ceiling.His treatment room, suffocated to death by hanging himself and lost his life in a very terrible way.

From there Akram's trauma is formed.The image of a loved girl turned into a miserable hanging corpse always looms over her, manifesting itself into the deepest fear that clings tightly and cannot be removed.

"If Xavier ever gains knowledge of Elana, he'll go crazy..." I opened my eyes again.

"If you're really worried about Elana, don't you want to consider letting her go? His life would be better if he were away from you. Because, by forcing her to be around you, it's the same way you involve her with threatening danger." Nathan advised carefully.

"I'm not going to let go of Elana. It won't, '" Akram decisively replied with an undeniable ultimatum. All this time he seemed to have relented with restraint showing no interest in anything to keep Xavier away from him. But this time Akram will not give up. He won't give up on Elana. If for the sake of Elana he had to break his promise to his mother and had to eliminate Xavier's life, then it would have done without hesitation.

"Then, you should increase your guard against Elana. Since Xavier came here, I'll bet that he himself is still hesitant with his conjecture and wants to see your reaction to make sure. At the moment Xavier was very curious, it meant that he would deploy all his men to search for information. You have to be careful in your actions, there may be an intruder in this company..."

"I've ordered Elios to re-scan all employees, carefully to the slightest detail, without exception," Akram's eyes narrowed with threat. "If there's an intruder, then we'll find him soon."

"Then to erode Xavier's suspicions, can you make a camouflage date appointment with one of your women that will be covered in public? If you come back to perform with your constantly changing lovers, then, I'm sure that Xavier will realize for a long time that his conjecture was wrong and that you didn't go on a date because you were busy and were recuperating after the accident." Nathan gave another suggestion. Facing Xavier who was so cunning and so ingenious, they had to rack their brains and act prudently at every step.

"I'm not going on a date anytime soon. Otherwise, Xavier would have been suspicious instead because I suddenly appeared with the woman again after she mentioned it. He'll think I'm trying to cover something up. But I will consider appearing with the woman again after the time is right," Akram glanced at her watch, then pressed the connecting button on her desk. "Elios!" call him with a frown. The drug has reacted and Akram seems to have successfully overcome panic attacks due to past trauma. The man now returned to being the usual Akram, with a cold, harsh and frightening expression.

The door opened shortly afterwards and Elios rushed in, and the man seemed to have intended to enter Akram's study, even before Akram called him.

"Lunch break's almost past, where's Elana?" Akram asked quickly as soon as he caught Elios in his sight. A glance at Elios's face immediately showed that something was not right. "What's wrong?" he asked quickly while squinting.

Without waiting for Elios to finish his words, Akram immediately stood up from his seat, grabbed his suit and stepped quickly away from the room. Meanwhile, Elios rushes after him, followed by Nathan.

"Mr Akram!" Elios calls quickly after Akram and holds the elevator door so that he and Nathan can come in. "Miss Elana is okay! Although they happen to be in one room at the time, but Xavier doesn't seem to realize that Elana has a relationship with you. She probably just thinks of Elana as a regular cleaning service officer."

Hearing that, Akram closed his eyes feeling the relief covering his entire body. Although his expression was stiff, but both Nathan and Elios who had known Akram for a long time could immediately see the turbulent emotions in Akram's soul.

"Now where is Elana?" after mastering himself, Akram again asked.

"From CCTV's results, he is currently in the employee locker room. They had all just returned from their respective work sites and were preparing for lunch. Like I said earlier, renovations in some areas made the janitors have additional work that made their lunch hours backwards and..."

"Psterilize that area of the locker room. No one can come near. Clear the path from the room to the elevator" Akram interrupted without waiting for Elios to finish his sentence.

"Good, Sir." Elios did not ask twice. He immediately raised his phone and gave a barrage of instructions quickly to his interlocutor.

Nathan who was leaning leisurely against the elevator wall and watching over all just smiled faintly, staring at Akram with great reckoning.

"You're so attached to Elana. Something I've never seen before happened to you. While Elana is still trying to run away and dodge," Nathan realizes that this afternoon Elana deliberately ignored Akram's request to come to his room at lunch. A real form of defiance of a stubborn woman. Even the usually very competent Elios seemed to be unable to do anything against Elana's stubbornness.

Slowly Nathan tilted his head and watched Akram closely. "Three months have passed and you have not shown at all that your passion and interest are receding towards him. From my eyes, you've become more and more infatuated with Elana, to a near-permanent degree. Why don't you just marry Elana? That way you can tie it firmly without being able to escape again. You can even impregnate her, get her to conceive your child, create an unbreakable bond through blood ties."

Akram shook his voice immediately. Exes darkened. "No," he replied in an indisputable tone. The terrifying memory prowess when he found the dead body of Anastasia hanging from the ceiling re-emerged in his mind. "I'm not going to marry Elana. Not before I obliterate Xavier." he continued in a threatening tone

***

.

Elana had just finished washing her hands and was preparing to leave with the others out of the central building towards the restaurant area outside. The janitors usually gather in the locker area to change clean clothes or tidy up after completing their work. And since this afternoon there was extra work, almost everyone was late for lunch.

Everyone stepped up cheerfully walking out of the locker room for lunch together when suddenly a group of people dressed in full suits with cold expressions like stiff suddenly just spread in filled the room.

"This area will be used for special purposes. Please all march out of the room without exception." The leader of the men in black clothes spoke out resolutely ice-cold, then all his men in the tens, the entire crowd, moving efficiently leads everyone in the room to line up neatly and exit through the hallway which has also been sterilized and guarded.

Elana came into the line confused. These guys in suits are familiar in Elana's eyes as Akram's men and bodyguards...

He had indeed deliberately ignored Akram's orders asking him to go up to his room at lunchtime.... But what's happening right now has nothing to do with it, right?

Elana was still filled with conjecture and anxiety when suddenly the leader of the black-clothed group grabbed her arm gently. Before Elana could protest, the man sighed Elana silently and pulled her out of the line in an efficient motion so that no one noticed.

"I'm sorry, Miss. You are told to stay" said the man in a flat manner.

Elana frowned, but knew that she could do nothing. She couldn't possibly protest without attracting attention, so eventually Elana could only shut up and wait.

After everyone had been expelled and there were only people in black suits who dwelled like statues in front of Elana, the elevator door that was near the locker area was opened and a figure that had been guessed by Elana appeared there.

Akram walked up to Elana, followed by Elios and Nathan. Elana saw the presence of Doctor Nathan and frowned.

Who is sick? Is Doctor Nathan on a doctor's errand, or just meet with friends with Akram?

Elana's attention was turned to Akram who now stood close in front of her. The man's eyes were so sharp that they carefully traced Elana's entire being. Afterwards, Akram's hand moved to cupped his palm onto Elana's cheek.

"You're fine," Akram said in a deep voice, a light of relief implied there, making Elana frown.

Of course he's fine. What was he supposed to be like?

Elana had not had time to bring up her question when Akram suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged Elana's steps back into the elevator. This time there was only Elana and Akram in that elevator.

As the elevator closes and moves up, Akram pushes Elana against the wall, then drowns out all Elana's resistance by slashing her lips mercilessly and passionately.

***

***

"Master,"

Regas bowed respectfully as he opened the door for Xavier. Xavier's car has been waiting for a long time in front of the gates of Akram's company. His master Xavier insisted on going into the enemy area himself without bringing a single follower and without carrying a weapon, creating anxiety over Regas' heart for not being sure that his master would come out alive from there.

But, in fact Xavier managed to get out of there without lacking anything, only his face looked a little pale.

Xavier merely nodded his head in response to Regas's respectful manner, then got into the car and let the driver run the car while Regas sat in his previous place next to the driver.

Several other black cars followed behind, armed bodyguards escorting Xavier.

"Do we need to visit your doctor?" Regas finally ventured to ask when he saw from the middle glass that Xavier who was closing his eyes and leaning his head back appeared to be completely pale.

"It's okay, I just need some sleep. Just go back to the mansion," Xavier's orders were still with his eyes closed.

Throughout the journey, that, Xavier recalls the incident when a sincerely attentive toilet cleaning girl was willing to wait until she recovered and was able to get up again before walking away from the employee's toilet.

Lana. It was the name Xavier saw on the name attached to his cleaning service uniform.

Xavier never found any real sincerity in his life. Even her foster mother who seemed very considerate and doting on her, had clearly done so just out of guilt alone.

But unlike the girl from before, her sincerity was real, so innocent and without prejudice, that it touched Xavier's heart at a point never touched before.

Lana. Lana. Lana.

Xavier's eyes flashed with an obsession-filled madness as he grinned widely while chanting the woman's name over and over again like a spell.

***