âWorryfree?â Benjamin said those three syallbles out loud.
âWhatâs free?â Luca did not understand what Benjamin just said, but Benjamin had already rushed into the nearest elevator. âMr. Benjamin, whatâs going on?â Luca yelled, but the elevator doors had already closed on him.
Luca rubbed his temples. âWhatâs wrong with everyone today? Am I the only normal one around here?
Or is everyone else normal and Iâm the one going crazy?!â Luca wondered out loud.
Benjamin practically sprinted back to the building where Emma was. He found Robert and Waylon Adelmar huddle together in the lounge with solemn expressions on their faces.
âWaylon,â Benjamin gasped for air. âDid you give Abel something?â
Waylon looked up at him blankly.
âTell me,â Benjamin rushed forward. âDid you give Abel Worryfree?â
Abel was quiet for a moment before nodding. âYesâ¦â
âWaylon!!â Benjamin yelled as he grabbed Waylon by the collar. âHow could you do that? Heâll lose all his feelings toward Emma! How is that fair to her?â
âDo you prefer him dead then?â Waylon countered. âEmma might not survive this. Do you want the four children to lose their father too?â
âButâ¦â Benjamin argued.
âThereâs no butâs,â Waylon declared. âWorryfree is the best anti-depressant developed by Father himself after years of research. It can cure people from heartbreak and remove unnecessarily feelings of hurt. This can only be good thing for Abel, no?â
âBut youâll completely remove all of Abelâs feelings toward Emma as well! Theyâ¦â Benjamin said.
âI canât worry about that right now,â Waylon cut him off. âThatâs how Worryfree works.â
âBut, sonâ¦â Robert Adelmarâs brows furrowed. âThereâs no antidote for Worryfree. Abel will treat Emma like a stranger.â
âFather, can you guarantee Emma will come out of this alive?â Waylon questioned.
Robert remained silent. He could not guarantee such a thing.
âBased on the current situation, it is likely that Emma wonât survive, but Abel might. If he does survive, do we want him to live his life in pain and heartbreak or do we want to relieve him from the burden of heartbreak?â
Both Robert and Benjamin had no counterargument. Jamie slumped on the floor desolately. Abel Rykerâs feelings for Emmeline had completely vanished, just like that?
âBut Mr. Adelmar, have you ever considered the possibility of Emma surviving? What would she and Abel do then?â Janie demanded an answer from Waylon.
âIn that case, the stars will have to align for them once again,â Waylon said as a matter-of-factly. âIf that happens, letâs hope Abel can fall in love with Emma againâ¦â
â⦠Are the effects permanent?â Janie asked.
âThere are not enough use cases just yet, but just remember⦠itâs a drug, not a magic pill, so no one knows for sure,â Waylon answered.
âThat means thereâs still hope for them!â Janieâs eyes lit up.
âWhat we should be focusing on right now is whether Emma can be saved, or all of this would be for nothing,â Waylon drew their attention back to the pressing issue.
âWell, at least thereâs hopeâ¦â Janie held back her tears. âIâll pray day and night for Emma to survive, and for Abel to fall in love with her again. Otherwise, I donât want to believe in love any longerâ¦â
âHuh!â Waylon chuckled flatly. He wanted to ask Janie what was there about love to believe, but he decided not to destroy the womanâs idealistic notion of love and swallowed his words instead.
âRelief from the burden of heartbreakâ¦â Benjamin mused. âShould I take a dose of it too?â
âNo!â Janie snapped. âBen, I know youâre in love with Emma, but think about it. Donât you see how scary it is if you lost all your feelings for her just like that?â
âThereâs nothing great about love,â Robert bellowed. âItâs just a chemical reaction.â
Janie rolled her eyes internally. It was obvious that the Adelmars had no female figure in their lives, and probably the reason why Waylon Adelmar was still single in his late thirties. Both the father and son had long given up on the notion of love.
Benjamin and Janie went to visit Abel in his ward together and found Luca in the ward checking in on Abel.
âMr. Abel, does your abdomen still hurt?â Luca asked worriedly.
âItâs much better,â Abel said flatly, but his response only made Luca even more concerned. Why was Mr. Abel not mentioning Ms. Emma any longer? If he was feeling better, he should be dying to jump out of bed and rush to her side!