Leap OF Fate

After sending Serene back to her hotel, Justin drove back to Rain International. He had a couple of meetings to do in the office, after which he'd meet a client at the hotel where Serene was staying. He planned on surprising her by bringing her dinner. Knowing Serene was just in the same building as him, he wanted to rush his meeting. However, it was for a significant acquisition for Rain International, so he made sure that he got all details covered.

The meeting concluded a little later than usual. Coming out of the hotel's function room, he went to the restaurant to pick up his reservation. His heart was aflutter and had a bit of a spring in them. He cannot help but smile at the thought that the last time felt this was perhaps back when he was still a teenage boy crushing over his classmate.

He paused in his steps and his brows furrowed when he saw a group of men rushing in. They looked like hotel personnels. The crease on his forehead deepened when another set of men came rushing in. By attire, he could tell that they were firefighters. "Sir, please follow me and evacuate the building," one of the hotel personnel approached him soon as he got spotted.

Justin stood rooted in his spot. He stared at the person. His heart palpitated and his body felt cold as soon as he received the command. Serene's image came up in his mind.

"What's going on?" he asked the other person.

"There's a fire on the 19th floor. We request all guests evacuate the area for safety." Justin's soul left his body. Serene's room was on the 20th floor, just a floor above the fire. Is she safe? Was she already evacuated? Justin's brain felt like it's going to explode from all these questions.

He charged into the hotel, not caring about the shocked look on the hotel's personnel or for his safety. The hotel personnel's angry shout asking him to stop did not deter him.

He took the fire exit and took two steps at a time as he climbed up the flight of stairs. He's on the tenth floor. The ten flights of stairs felt like forever. He felt like he was not climbing quick enough. He wanted to be in front of Serene's door right away. Reaching her floor, he saw the thick smoke that covered the corridors. The pungent odor hit in his nose, making him cough. He took out his handkerchief and covered his nose. He squinted his eyes to look for Serene's room.

It did not take him a long time to find her room. Standing in front of her door gave him an ominous feeling. He kicked the door hard, sending it to burst open.

Soon as the door opened, the image of Serene gave to his view. She was clutching her chest as she laboriously coughed. He ran to her immediately.

He was a step away from Serene's body when she lost her consciousness. He immediately closed the gap between them to catch her and carried her out of the room.

From the moment he carried her out of the room to the moment they arrived in the hospital felt like forever for Justin. He felt like dying watching the paramedics attend to her. Soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the paramedics wheeled Serene to the emergency section for immediate treatment.

The wait was agonizing for Justin. Although the paramedics assured him, she will be alright. She just passed out because she inhaled a lot of fumes. His heart pounded in his chest like crazy. He paced the halls back and forth, waiting for the doctors to assure him she will be fine.

After a while, nurses wheeled Serene out of the emergency ward and transferred her to a room.

***************

Serene adjusted her eyes from the blinding light. She looked around her unfamiliar surroundings. When she tried to move her hand, she felt another person's hand enclosed hers.

"You're awake," Justin smiled at her. Serene's brows furrowed when she looked at him. This was the first time when she saw him disheveled. His hair was a mess and there were missing buttons on his wrinkled shirt.

"What happened?" She wanted to understand why he was in such a state.

"There was a fire on the floor directly below your hotel room." Serene recalled what happened to her. She woke up feeling choked. She tried to get out of the room but passed out before she reached the door. "I met a client in your hotel that night. I rushed to your room as soon as I learned about the situation." He pressed her hand that he held and brought it to his mouth. "You scared the life out of me when I saw you pass out."

His voice sounded so aggrieved that it gripped Serene's heart. She cannot control her tears when she recalled the difficulty she felt trying to get out of her room.

"Thank you," she choked on her tears as she looked into Justin's eyes. "I'm glad you're there." She's truly grateful that Justin was there at the right time. Otherwise, she could only imagine the worst. Shivers ran down her back, thinking what the worst-case scenario would have been.

Justin stood up from his chair to kiss her on her hair. "Do you need anything? Do you want water?" Serene simply nodded. She watched him get some water from the dispenser. She's still not over the fact that she owed Justin her life.

Justin helped her adjust to a sitting position and put a pillow on her back. He then helped her drink the warm water he took. He looked at her tenderly, his hand caressed her cheeks affectionately, "Please don't scare me that way ever again."