Chapter 5 Declaration of love

Eryk watched Lucia, who was crying silently. Again, the man smiled inwardly. Lucia's sadness, visible in his eyes, increased his chances of melting the girl.

The man thinned his lips and cupped the cheeks of Lucia, who was currently looking up at the sky with her eyes closed. Eryk's touch on both cheeks made Lucia's eyes open instantly in surprise.

Eryk gently wiped away the tears on Lucia's cheeks, being so careful that Lucia felt a little comfortable with the treatment of the man she had just met.

"Stop crying, Lucia. Your tears are too precious." Eryk said this without removing his hands from Lucia's face. His dark brown beads gazed warmly into Lucia's eyes, causing her to smile and nod faintly.

Eryk removed his hand from touching Lucia's face. Now the man's right hand was wrapped around Lucia's shoulder, which instantly made the girl's heart flutter. This feeling was similar to what she experienced when she met the guy she liked at school. Could it be that the feelings she was feeling right now were love vibes?

Lucia felt her cheeks warm up; she knew for sure that by now they were already flushed, and it was enough to make her feel embarrassed by the man who kept staring at her face.

Lucia quickly lowered her head to hide her flushed face.

The blush on Lucia's face quickly spread to her ears. That made Eryk grin. The man was enjoying the change in Lucia's skin color, which looked very natural.

"Tell me, Lucia, what made you cry, hmm?" Eryk asked in a soft voice, which only added to the pounding in Lucia's heart.

At first, a black fog enveloped her heart, but Eryk's gentle demeanor, like the morning sun, slowly dispelled the black fog that enveloped her heart.

Now Lucia was indecisive: should she tell Eryk about something that made her cry or choose to remain silent and not say a word to the man who was standing very close to her at the moment?

Eryk squatted down in front of Lucia and took both of her hands. He pecked Lucia's fingers, which got the girl's attention, so that Lucia was now staring with wide, open eyes at Eryk, who was looking at her with a warm gaze.

When there was no one who cared about her fate, Eryk's presence at this time certainly made her feel cared for, so the girl no longer blocked the tears she had been holding back and hugged the man squatting in front of her. The girl felt a little less burdened now that she had a shoulder to lean on.

Lucia buried her face in Eryk's shoulder with the ugliest cry. Eryk could tell that the girl was going through a pretty tough situation. It was evident by Lucia's shaking shoulders as she cried.

Whatever the girl was going through, Eryk really didn't care. The man rolled his eyes and grinned again. The innocent girl, who had rejected him a while ago, was now starting to be lulled by the sweet nectar that Eryk was baiting.

"Don't hesitate to tell me your grievances, Lucia; I'm willing to be a good listener for you." Eryk said as he released his embrace. The man gazed attentively as he smoothed Lucia's hair.

Eryk's treatment eventually made Lucia nod slowly. If her heart was already full of things that made it difficult for her to breathe, maybe talking to a man she hadn't known for a while could ease the burden on her heart, even if only a little.

"You know, I just got fired from my job." Lucia began to tell the story, and Eryk responded with a nod. He watched as she was fired from her job at Queen Fortune. "And now, I need some money to pay for my father's medical expenses. What am I going to pay the hospital fees with when I've already lost my job?" Lucia covered her face with both palms. She felt embarrassed; the two of them hadn't met for a long time and didn't really know each other, but she was telling Eryk about her financial problems. What if he thought Lucia was a deadbeat?

"Oh, so that's why." Eryk nodded with a somber expression made in such a way. Showing how much he sympathized with Lucia's misfortune.

One of the man's hands was extended forward, making Lucia look at him with a questioning look. Eryk told Lucia to accept his hand through her eyes, so the girl accepted Eryk's hand as she stood up.

Eryk led the girl away from the bench she had been sitting on.

"Where are we going?" asked Lucia on the way to the parking lot where Eryk had parked his car.

"We're going to see your father, Lucia; where else?" Without turning around, Eryk opened the car door for Lucia, who seemed mesmerized by what Eryk was doing.

Eryk started the engine, drove the vehicle through the parking lot to the main road, and drove the car to the hospital where Lucia's father was being treated. 30 minutes into the trip, they arrived at the hospital where Henry was being treated.

Eryk quickly got out of the car and opened the door for Lucia. The man treated Lucia like a princess, which naturally made the girl mesmerized.

Lucia stole a look at Eryk. Instantly, the girl pursed her lips to hide a smile. A feeling rippled through the girl's chest as she realized the face of the man walking next to her was extremely handsome.

Whether it was admiration or falling in love, Lucia had no idea. All she remembered was that the feeling she was having right now was exactly the same as when she saw Connor, the guy she had a crush on at school.

When the two had just entered and were about to walk towards the corridor of the room where Henry was being treated, Eryk suddenly pulled Lucia's arm until the girl turned quickly with a questioning face.

Without answering with a word, the man pulled Lucia's arm closer to the administration counter. Lucia raised her eyebrows again. What was Eryk going to do this time?

"What's your father's name, Lucia?" asked Eryk as he turned to Lucia, whose head was still filled with questions.

"Henry Dilbert..." the girl's eyebrows knitted together even more, not understanding what the man was about to do.

"Excuse me, I would like to pay for the patient's medical expenses in the name of Henry Dilbert." Eryk said kindly to the woman behind the reception desk.

"Yes, sir, I will find the details of the patient's name." Within a few minutes, the female receptionist seemed to be busy with the computer in front of her. There was the sound of a printer preparing a copy of a document on paper.

"This is the bill for this month and the dialysis fee for tomorrow, sir." The receptionist handed a piece of paper to Eryk.

Eryk took it and read the lines of text detailing Henry's medical expenses. The man's eyes narrowed, then he said, "Just this?"

"Yes, sir," the receptionist replied with a professional smile.

Eryk took out the wallet that was kept in the pocket of the jeans he was wearing and took out the black card from inside.

"I'll pay it off today." Eryk said as he handed the black card to the receptionist.

Lucia's eyes opened wide as the man next to her pulled out the black card to pay for her father's treatment. How rich was the man next to her to have an unlimited credit card?

"Here's your card, sir," said the receptionist, handing back Eryk's black card.

The man took the black object and put it back in his wallet.

Lucia was rooted to the spot as Eryk started to move from where he was standing. However, the sound of Eryk's call brought her back to her senses.

"Come on, Lucia, why are you still there?"

"W-well, Eryk," Lucia replied stammeringly. She hadn't expected Eryk to pay her father's hospital bills so easily, even though they hadn't known each other that long.

What a kind man! Lucia praised herself as she flashed a smile at Eryk, who continued to stare straight ahead.

"My father's hospital fees are not small, but why are you willing to pay them, even though we don't know each other that well?" The question escaped Lucia's tiny lips in the end.

The man just smiled, deep in his head, thinking of the perfect answer to make Lucia fall completely into his trap.

"Because my heart was torn apart when I saw you cry, Lucia. And once I know the reason why you're crying, and at that time I have something I can give you to make you stop crying, of course I'll do it right away."

Eryk said as he continued to flash the most genuine smile he could and refrained from rolling his eyes. The amount of money paid for Lucia's father's hospital fees was a small amount for him.

"Thank you, Eryk. I'll pay you back when I get a job again." Lucia said it with a twinkle in her eye.

"Don't think too much about it, Lucia; I'm genuinely doing it for you." One of Eryk's hands held Lucia's chin to make her look up at his dark brown bead. "I did it for you, Lucia. The charming girl who captivated me from the first time I saw you."

Eryk's flirting made Lucia's cheeks flush. The girl even looked the other way to avoid the gaze of the man in front of her. Her chest was beating fast at the moment.

"Ah, can we go to my father's room right away?" Lucia tried to change the man's subject. The distance they were currently standing from Henry's infirmary was only 5 meters.

Eryk's one hand at his side was clenched tightly. He struggled to keep his face from hardening.

"Do not divert our conversation, Lucia. My praise of you has an implicit message; I'm expressing my feelings for you right now." Eryk slightly shook Lucia's chin to make her look at him.

The man locked their gazes. Lucia looked into the dark brown eyes of the man before her. The longer she stared, the louder her heartbeat became, and she worried that it could be heard by the other person.

There was a long moment of silence. Eryk decided to remove one hand from Lucia's chin, then cleared his throat to dispel the silence they had created.

"I'm not asking you to answer now. I'll give you time, as long as you want, Lucia."

The words that had just come out of Eryk's mouth stunned Lucia. How patient and mature he was, even willing to give her whatever time she wanted to answer his love question. Lucia knew very well that there were many women out there who were not as lucky as she was to receive a declaration of love from a handsome and understanding man like Eryk.