Elise realized that no matter how much she tried to hide something, no secret can remain forever. One way or another, others will know about it. And the secret she was holding can crumble a person’s reputation in one go as well as change the lives of the people around her. And of all the days the secret she had been keeping from Ryan to be revealed, she had to be sick.

It all started when Ryan asked him to wait for him in the parking lot…

Elise needed to meet Ryan so he could sign a document. But the guy was nowhere to be found. And when she was able to contact him…

“I’m meeting with someone. Can you wait for me in the parking lot? Just stay near my car.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

She only sighed and just headed to the address Ryan asked him to go. She waited for about an hour, but no Ryan Zhang showed up. Her legs already felt a little sore since she was wearing heels and her headache, which had been lingering ever since she woke up that morning seemed to be getting worse. And worse, a heavy rain suddenly fell from the sky. She made a run towards the nearest building to hide from the rain, but when she got there, she was already thoroughly soaked. She also felt a little cold since the rain brought some wind with it.

“That Ryan. I’ll gut him alive for sure.” she said, her teeth chattering from the cold.

“Elise?” a familiar voice called.

Elise turned around and saw a person she never thought she would ever see again.

“Luke.”

Luke Li, the CEO of Li Corporation, and also her older brother.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I was waiting for- Achoo!”

“Are you okay?”

“Just a little cold. I got soaked in the rain a little.”

“A little?” Luke said with a surprised tone. “You look like some wet chick or something. Here.”

Elise felt a coat get wrapped around her and saw her older brother giving her his coat. She gave a thank you in which Luke only nodded in return.

“I think you should head home. Yeah. You should head home. I’ll get my car and drive you back to your house, okay?”

She wanted to decline but a sneeze made her unable to. And if there was something she knew about her brother, he’d never accept a ‘no’ for an answer. A black car made a stop in front of her and Luke opened the passenger’s seat door for her. He ushered her inside and Elise just let him since she was feeling a little dizzy already.

“Do you feel okay?”

“I’m…” she let out a small cough. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just take a warm bath and take get some rest.”

“Are you kidding? You look like you’re sick already.”

“I’ll be fine big brother.”

“What’s your address?”

Elise told him her address and shivered at the coldness she was feeling.

“What were you doing out there anyway?” Luke asked his younger sister whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.

“I was waiting for Ryan.”

“Ryan again? Aren’t you two-“

“It’s not like that. I’m his handler and I need him to sign a few documents. I was waiting for him there but the rain suddenly arrived.” she explained and sneezed afterwards.

“Get some nap. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”

“Thank you brother.”

Ever since their family stopped supporting Elise, which was after she graduated from university and found her first job, Luke had no idea what had been happening to her. She wanted to find her countless of times but his parents would stop him every time. His father especially, was waiting she’s realize her mistake and come back on her own, with or without the baby. But years had passed and Elise never returned. Elise was like their father in many ways. There was a lot of pride within them.

Luke reached the address Elise told him and tried to wake her up, but she didn’t budge.

“You’re burning up.” Luke said.

He immediately got off the car and ran inside the porch of the house with Elise on his arms. He knocked on the door, hoping someone was inside the house. He was planning that if there was nobody there, he would run to the hospital. Elise had always been easy to get sick ever since she was younger. He was very surprised though when a teenage boy opened the door. Strangely, he resembled his sister, and at the same time, that bastard that hurt her.

“Seth?” he called, remembering the name Elise said she named her son.

“Uncle Luke?” Seth called surprisingly.

“You know me?”

“I’ve seen your pictures.” Seth suddenly gasped when he saw her mother on his uncle’s arms. “Mom! What happened to her?!”

“Let’s get inside first.”

Luke laid Elise on her bed and asked Seth to fetch a basin of lukewarm water. Whether it was pride or not that she never returned home, Elise was still his younger sister and he couldn’t just leave her alone. Especially not in the hands of a kid.

“Do you have some cold medicine and a thermometer?” Luke asked once Seth returned. His nephew just nodded. “Get it for me. Also, bring a pitcher of water. She needs to stay hydrated.”

“Okay.”

That night, Luke and Seth took turns in taking care of the sick Elise.

***

Ryan was a bit miffed. His parents forced him to attend a blind date and he couldn’t say no because they sent someone to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, the girl he met was a total fangirl and wouldn’t stop talking. When he looked outside, he suddenly saw the heavy rain. Then he remembered that he asked Elise to wait for him in the parking lot.

“Shit.” he said all of a sudden. His date got surprised about it but she never had the chance to ask him because he already ran away.

When he reached the parking lot, even though he was soaked in the rain, he found no Elise Li. He returned to the building and asked the guard on duty.

“Oh, there was a woman that came running when the rain started. But Mr. Luke Li took her home.”

“Luke Li?” the guard nodded. “Oh, thank you.”

He couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance. He regretted worrying about her. But then again, it was Luke that brought her home, so she should be okay. Right?

The next day, Ryan looked for Elise in Wu Studios building, but she wasn’t in her office. He called her phone and after a few rings, it was finally picked up.

“Hello?” said a voice that didn’t belong to Elise on the other line. The voice was deeper and sounded younger. Like it belonged to a young man.

“Is Elise at home?”

“Who is this?”

“Didn’t she save my number?”

There was a slight pause.

“It’s saved as Annoying Guy.”

Ryan only shook his head in disbelief and stopped himself from lashing out.

“This is Ryan Zhang. Can you tell Elise to come to the phone? I need to talk to her.”

“You’re Ryan Zhang?”

“Yes? You a fan?”

“I will never be a fan of the guy that let my mom get sick.”

“Your mom? Wait, she’s sick?”

“My mom’s sick. If you have any problem, solve it yourself. Bye!”

The call was dropped before he could even retort. He couldn’t believe what he just heard! Elise was sick? And did the guy on the other line just called her mom?

“I need to find where she lives, ASAP.”

Ryan stormed inside the HR Department and demanded the address of Elise Li. Thankfully, one of the staff told him and he immediately drove there.

He stood in front of a two-story house located at the edge of Shanghai. He had to see her and ask her some questions. One of them was the man who called her mom on the phone. He rang the doorbell and was very surprised to see a teenage boy who resembled him when he was a teenager himself, open the door. He couldn’t believe it! Did Elise lie to him?

“Ryan Zhang.” said the young man. “What are you doing here?”

“Where’s Ellie?”

“Ellie? Oh, mom’s sick. She won’t see any guest. Please go back to where you came from.”

The door was about to close, but Ryan stopped it by forcing it to open and enter the house forcefully.

“Hey! This is trespassing!”

“I need to see your mother.”

Seth blocked the stairway so he could stop the rude trespasser from advancing to the second floor.

“My mom has a fever and she has not woken up since last night. Can you not bother her?”

“I need to-“

All of a sudden, Ryan was dragged away. He felt pain at the side of his face where a fist connected to it. When he looked up, he saw Dylan with Luke and another teenager behind him.

“She’s sick, don’t you get that?” Dylan said. “Stop bothering her.”

He brushed Dylan aside and headed straight for Luke.

“Who’s that kid?” he asked, sounding angry and confused.

“That’s none of your business.” Luke sneered.

“I’ll ask one more time, who’s the kid?”

Ryan saw Luke roll his eyes and then sigh in defeat.

“Luke Li!” he held Luke by the collar, but the situation immediately got reversed. Ryan felt his back collide with the wall, Luke’s arms still on his collar.

“That kid is the kid you left my sister with.” Luke said with gritted teeth. “That kid is the responsibility you ran away from. That kid is your son.”

“But- but Elise said she put him up for adoption in America.”

“She lied. So you can keep your reputation.” Dylan inserted.

“You knew? Why do you know?”

“I don’t have to tell you.”

Ryan glanced at the kid who was being comforted by the other teenager which he guessed was Dylan’s younger brother.

“What’s his name?” he asked.

“Seth Li.” Luke answered. “Now, either you get out of here or I’ll call the police for trespassing.”

“I’ll go. But I will have to talk to Elise one way or another.”

Ryan left the house, his mind stuck in the fact that his son was in China. And his name was Seth Li.

***

Elise woke up with a terrible headache. The last thing she remembered was getting inside Luke’s car and after that was one big blank. She turned to the side and saw her son who was clasping her hand.

“Hey sport.” she greeted. “Sorry mom got sick.”

“What are you saying sorry for? Uncle Luke said you’re just overly stressed, then you got soaked in the rain and got exposed in the wind. So you ended up with a severe case of cold.”

“Really? Wait, that means you took care of me right?”

“Yep. Uncle Luke too.”

“Is that so.”

Elise smiled internally. She knew that if her parents only didn’t force Luke to take a business course, he would’ve been a doctor.

“Hey mom, some guy came to visit you, but he never got to see you.”

“Some guy? Who?”

“Ryan Zhang.”

She sat up abruptly and because of her actions, she felt dizzy, almost vertigo.

“Mom! Don’t do that all of a sudden. You still have a fever you know?” Seth said in a worried tone and helped her lay back down.

“Did you just say Ryan Zhang came to visit?” she asked.

“Yep. But he never got to see you. Uncle Luke and Dylan stopped him.”

“Did he-“

“Also, I heard something from them.” she swallowed the non-existent lump on her throat. “Ryan Zhang is my father, isn’t he?”

Elise tried to look away from her son’s gaze.

“Mom. Is Ryan Zhang really my dad?”

She sighed. “Help me up.”

Seth helped her sit up and offered her a glass of water.

“So…”

“Yes. Ryan Zhang is your father.”

“So that’s why you never told me about it. He’s an actor. His life’s a mess.”

“I’m sorry for keeping that from you. I thought… I thought it was for the best.”

Seth got a little miffed. After all he had always wondered who his father was ever since he was a kid. But his mother always avoided that topic and as he grew up he learned to never ask her since it seemed to be a sore topic for her. But seeing a guy who looked a lot like him up close, with an explicit feeling of comfort and hate in his guts, he didn’t know what to feel either.

“Mom, do you hate my father?”

Elise was a little agape at the question. She was afraid this day would come, but she realized it was inevitable.

“I’m… I’m not sure. How about you?”

“I’m not sure either.”