Chapter 77: Chapter 73 (Part 2)

We finally went up all the floors, oversaw the construction, and checked the ventilation, AC duct spacing, electricity connections, and water works briefly. The state of the elevators is a little dingy, but that’s not an issue since they are installed only temporarily for ease of labor; it’ll save their time. Once the interiors are done, luxury elevators will be added accordingly. I pointed out a few of the flaws, but other than that, everything has been done with a keen eye to ensure 100% perfection, just as I like. It had to be this way; I have very competent employees to supervise everything here. Still, I make sure to approve everything once I’ve personally checked.

It took us about exactly one hour and eighteen minutes to go through each floor briefly. Hannah was awfully silent all this time. I would’ve said that she’s angry, but no, she looks rather disoriented and jittery.

Did I make a mistake by forcing her to come with us? Surely I couldn’t leave her alone, and there’s absolutely no way that I would’ve allowed her to be alone with Max; that’s unquestionable. And on top of it all, she herself decided not to tell me what was bothering her.

Maybe she was just trying to make me feel guilty, but in no way was this any of my fault this time.

We were on our way back when the elevator suddenly stopped near the 7th floor with a small jerk.

“What just happened?” Hannah asked alarmingly.

“Why did the lift stop?” I asked Max who was standing next to me, while Hannah and Samuel stood behind us.

“It happens sometimes; you know how these old lifts are, boss, having a mind of their own,” he shrugged nonchalantly like it was no big deal. “Since the workers use the elevator shafts most of the time, no one hardly ever uses these. It’ll be back to work in no time.”

I know how things are when buildings are under construction and what challenges are faced during this period, but I don’t like his approach towards it. Old or new, our projects can’t have any malfunctions, especially if he’s already aware of them. Also, he’s not my favorite person today anyway.

“Get it fixed, Max, today. Now call someone to get it opened,” I ordered.

I guess he understood because he didn’t give any other smart answer and nodded.

About a minute or three passed, but the damn thing didn’t move one bit. We tried pushing the buttons in case it was jammed, but to no luck.

“Hannah, are you alright?” came an apprehensive voice of Samuel from behind.

That alarmed me, and I turned around and witnessed a terrified Hannah.

Panic was written all over her face. She was holding the metal rod with such a tight grip that it turned her hand white as if her life depended on it. With the speed of light, I sprinted forward and held her arms.

“Hannah, are you alright?” I shook her a little.

“I... I can’t breathe,” she said breathlessly.

“Hey, what’s happening to you?” I touched her face, and it’s been so cold.

“Open the door, please; I can’t breathe.” She’s panting heavily. She gripped my jacket to hold on, but it slipped because she couldn’t grasp it with shaky hands.

“It’s okay, it’ll open in a few minutes; just hold on, okay?” I rubbed her cold hands to warm them, trying to bring back the blood flow in her body, and turned towards Max, who was watching everything dumbfounded. “Fucking call someone, Max, get this damned thing open NOW!” that woke him up. He took his phone out and immediately started dialing.

Meanwhile, Hannah’s condition got worse and worse; her whole body was shivering, her breath was shaky, and there was cold sweat all over her face.

“I said get me out of here!” She shouted in disorientation.

“I think she’s having a panic attack,” Samuel said, catching my attention. “Has this happened before?”

“I don’t know; I have no idea.” I can sense urgency and panic in my own voice.

“Try to distract her somehow,” he suggested.

I didn’t know what to do, so I did the only thing that came to mind.

“Hannah, hey, look at me, look at me.” I held her waist and tapped her face lightly to grab her attention. “Just look at me, Hannah," I said, and she did. Fear was written all over her being. I’ve never seen her so shaken up.

“Elijah, please get me out of here, please!” She clenched my hands so hard that her nails bore holes in them. My brain could comprehend the stinging sensation, but it was the least of my problems.

“We’re trying, Hannah; please try to breathe." I tried to calm her, but it only agitated her more, so much so that it was getting hard for me to hold her. She’s banging the metal walls like it’ll somehow open them. “WHAT’S TAKING SO FUCKING LONG, MAX?”

“I’m on it, sir; just a couple of minutes, please.” I wanted to kill him for his negligence that caused this mess, but right now that’s not my priority.

Right now, my priority is only Hannah and her well-being. I just need to get her through this and get her out of here as soon as possible.

Her one hand is holding mine with a death grip, and with the other one, she’s holding her neck and rubbing it to help her breathe.

“Hannah, listen to me.” I held both her arms, but she struggled to stay still like a fish out of the water. “Hannah, listen.” I don’t think she can hear my words, or at least I don’t think she can register them. She just kept repeating to get her out and that she was suffocating.

“HANNAH, LISTEN TO ME, OKAY," I shouted, and that got her attention. Thank God. “We’re trying to get you out of here, but you have to be brave, okay?” She just looked at me blankly, her lips and whole body quivering. “Answer me?” I asked gently.

She nodded weekly in response.

“Okay, now I know you feel like you can’t breathe, but we’re going to try, okay?” She tried looking away, but I immediately held her chin so she wouldn’t lose focus again. “No, don’t look away; just focus on me. Alright, look into my eyes; we’re going to do this together, okay? Let’s take this off first.” I helped her remove her jacket. “Now breathe slowly.” I patted her hair to soothe her nerves.

“I can’t, Elijah; it hurts, I c...” She choked on her words as tears flew down her face, and she broke down into hysterical cries.

It’s her who’s struggling to breathe, but it feels like it's constraining my heart too.

“I know, I know, but we have to try, baby. Here, hold my hand and grip it as hard as you can, okay?” She did so but struggled to maintain the grip. “Good. Now on the count of three, we breathe, alright?” I coddled her like one does to a child.

I held her in my embrace and continued patting her head while I tried to get her through it.

Her eyes are closing due to the lack of air; she’s still bewildered, but not as bad as before. We slid down the cold metal wall inside that compact elevator, forgetting about the two other people we had with us. She clenched onto my shirt with all her might; it’s now all smeared with her tears as her head rested on my chest.

To be honest, it was the least of my concerns at the moment; she’s all that matters to me right now.

“Please get it opened,” she said between the hiccups. “It’s scary,” she cried once again, but as a mere whisper.

“I know, but there’s nothing to worry about; I’m right here.” I brought her closer to me if that was even possible and continued rubbing her shoulder.

Her sobs became quite even, and her breathing wasn’t as hysterical as before. That’s not a good thing because it’s a sign that she’s losing consciousness.

“How much longer?” I mouthed to Max, who was looking at us worriedly.

He gestured “five minutes” with his hand only. Both of us knew the gravity of the situation and how, if we said anything, it would only agonize her further.

A few moments later, the lift jerked, once again bringing her attention back to the situation, and she latched on to me like a scared child, afraid of being abandoned.

“Please, please, please make it stop,” she cried out in my arms when the elevator dropped down a few floors, disrupting our balance. I tightly held her and covered as much as I could of her body with mine in case something worse than this happened.

Thankfully, nothing else happened

Minutes later, the doors to the elevator opened on the floor, with at least five men standing outside in anticipation. I released my breath; I didn’t know I was holding back.

I shook her lightly, but she collapsed on me due to the lack of oxygen. She’s not completely unconscious but extremely dizzy.

“Hannah, you’re safe; you’re absolutely alright,” I assured her, still nowhere ready to let go of her. “We’re getting out of this damn elevator. Come on, we’re now going to stand up; put your hand around my shoulder,” she tried lazily with no energy whatsoever.

Wasting no further time whatsoever, I put one arm around her back and the other under her knee and carried her out to the elevator. Since there are no sitting spaces yet, I put her down on the floor near the window so she can get maximum air.

We were stuck in that elevator for maybe twenty minutes or so, but it felt like an eternity had passed.

“Move aside, everybody; give her some room to breathe. She’s alright.” I said this to the crowd of concerned and intrigued people.

I helped her drink the water from the bottle that someone handed over to me. She gulped down big sips and chugged down the whole bottle in one go. I had to slow her down to avoid the water from getting into her windpipe and disrupt her breathing again.

It took her some time to get back to her senses completely, and for her breathing pattern to get back to normal, her pale skin slowly recovered its color back to life. Now that she was in a much better situation, she looked around the gathered crowd, which made her unsettled and self-conscious.

“All of you can get back to work now, thank you,” I commanded in my back-to-boss voice. That did it, and the audience scurried away.

Except for Max and Samuel.

“Are you alright now, Hannah?” Max asked sympathetically.

She only nodded in response.

“That’s good. Is there anything I can do for you?” He probed further.

“It’s alright, Max; I’m with her. I can take it from here.” I said in my authoritative voice, “Tell Raymond to get the car ready; we have to go to the hospital.”

“Hospital?” Hannah asked anxiously.

“Yeah, to make sure you’re alright.”

“I am alright.” I raised an eyebrow at her, not believing her at all. “I really am; I just need a few moments, that’s it." It sounds like she’s telling the truth.

“Are you sure?” I still had to ask.

“I am, thanks,” she said, resting her head on the wall.

“You can leave, Max,” I said to him while still looking at her.

When he left us alone, I realized that it was just the two of us now; the adrenaline rush had subsided, and what happened a few minutes ago started registering in my mind.

Taking off my suit jacket, I rolled up my sleeves, and I too leaned back on the wall next to her, almost a hand’s distance between us. The wind was blowing, nipping at our skins, and the cold cement floor that we were sitting on felt nice too. Her eyes were closed, but I just couldn’t look away. I wanted to make sure she was okay, afraid that if I looked away, I might miss something. The tiredness of the panic attack was still evident on her face.

I gave her some time to relax while I just sat there, observing every expression and thought that went past her face.

“You should’ve told me that you’re claustrophobic,” I said now, looking ahead at nothing.

“What difference that would've made?” She asked with her eyes still closed.

“All this could’ve been avoided,” I said, looking at her again.

“I know, I’m sorry.” She finally opened her eyes and saw that all my focus was on her. But this time she didn’t look away or try to avoid our eye contact. Her gaze held honesty and guilt.

“What are you apologizing for?” I asked, not understanding what she was getting at.

“For causing you so much trouble,” she shrugged. “I wasted so much of your time, I’m sure there are a thousand other places you’d rather be at than being with me in there at my most pathetic.” Is she for real?

She does realize that we were stuck in the elevator, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t be anywhere else, right? But even if I had a choice to go, I would’ve still preferred to stay and be with her.

“I’m glad I was there and that you’re fine; it’s not pathetic, Hannah. I’m just not sure why you couldn’t tell me in the first place. If you did, I would’ve never forced you to come with us,” I said, feeling a little pang of guilt myself.

“I was embarrassed,” she answered after a while. “Of all the people, you’re the last person I wanted to know this about me. I thought that you would judge me; I think I’m immature and weak,” I said truthfully.

“I would never think you’re weak, immature maybe,” I gave her a side eye, and she smiled a little, sending my heart into a delightful frenzy, “but not weak. You’re very strong, Hannah, sometimes too strong for my liking. I know I’m an asshole, but I wouldn’t judge you just because you have a fear; there’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it’s inspiring how you face your fear every day and don’t let it control you.” I turned towards her, and she was already looking at me but in complete amazement.

I myself don’t know where this is coming from, but I knew it within me that I had to say it.

“I… I don’t know what to say. Other than maybe that I was wrong,” her eyes held the same look, the same spark and sincerity that I’d begin to miss, “I’m sorry.”

We sat there for a while, comforted by each other’s presence, our eyes communicating the essence we were feeling at that moment.

That was until my cellphone started ringing and broke the moment.

“We should get going; everyone must be waiting for us,” she said as soon as I was off the call.

“Are you sure you’re fine now? You don’t need to rush it.” I asked her.

“It’s fine; I’m feeling a little better now, just lethargic and sleepy, that’s all,” she said, like it’s no big deal. "Besides, the aftereffects can last for days; we don’t have that long to waste,”  she explained.

“Take the rest of the day off; the team can cover for you today,” I suggested.

“That won’t be necessary; it’ll help take my mind off of it.” I’m not sure it’s a good idea. “But can you drop me home first? I can use a shower and a thirty-minute nap or so,” she asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” I assured her.

When she tried to get up, I offered her my hand, though I wasn’t so confident she’d take it considering how stubborn she is.

Surprisingly, she took it. That too without making any argument.

I held her hand firmly and helped her on her feet. I could feel my pulse racing at the slight touch of our skins. I can tell she’s feeling the same, as her locked eyes with mine are a clear indication of that.

When she let go of my hand, it instantly made me miss the sensation of her soft touch.

“You can go through the elevator; I’ll take the stairs,” she said to me as we walked towards the stairs.

“I’m coming with you.”

“It’s alright I can manage...”

“I said I’m coming with you,” I said with absolute conviction and stopped midway to get my point across.

When she saw I wasn't moving unless she agreed, she nodded and started walking ahead.

I deliberately intended to walk behind her to ensure her safety in case she feels dizzy again and stumbles.

But she stopped.

“You’re coming?” She turned her face over her shoulder, waiting for me.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” I matched her steps as we walked side by side.

........................................................................

Author’s note:

Phew! Another extremely long chapter within the same week? That’s a milestone.

That was a tough scene to write. But definitely one of my favorites.

It has passion, soul, and suffering.

Finally, Elijah now knows about her phobia and how bad it is. He can think back on all the times she tried to avoid these situations but always went ahead with them. The dramatic revelation forced him into respecting her.

Along with that, it made him aware that she’s not as unimportant as he wants her to be, and the things he’s feeling towards her aren’t benign but are deep-rooted and growing stronger each day, no matter how hard he tries to resist.

In fact, seeing her suffer made him realize that it would be the last thing he’d want for her, despite wanting to hurt her in the beginning, something he’s still responsible for doing.

The moment serves as a turning point in both of their lives.

Especially in Hannah’s, the way he took care of her is something she’s always wanted but never got. But now that she has it, it’s coming from a person who’s hurt her so much in the past.

How can a cold, heartless billionaire be so caring?

She was afraid to let him know about her ugly parts, but he perceived them in such a way that her scars started to heal a little.

It’s something she can’t deny; his presence in her life may not be such a bad thing.

But if only the scars of the past would disappear with one single touch of compassion.

It’s a journey—a long and painful one. Who knows what the future holds?

If you know someone who’s claustrophobic or has any other phobia, please be compassionate towards them, be there in their difficult times, be their shoulder of strength, and help them through this. Be kind to the people around you. Only God knows how many people are fighting through their silent battles alone.

They don’t have to be alone, and neither do you. Reach out to your loved ones and to those who don’t seem too lovable too. We can all make this world a better place to live in.

P.S. I’ll drop the answers to all your questions on Sunday; feel free to drop in as many questions as you can.

And lastly, don’t forget to vote and comment. It would help me write better to know what part connects with you guys and what needs more work.

Much love