The CEO's Painted Skin

John was eating his dinner in the dining table when he received a call from Allan.

"Hello, Boss!"

"Yes, Allan, what is it?" he asked.

"I'm here in a private hospital right now, I admitted Catherine here because she committed suicide!" said Allan.

"Whaaat!?" his face was drained of color. He accidentally dropped the spoon he was holding out of extreme shocked!

John had difficulty breathing. He almost drops his phone in the table due to extreme pain!

Fuck!

Everything goes out of hand already! His poor beloved Catherine! She suffered the worst and he only has himself to blame.

"H-how is s-she, Allan?" asked John with a trembling voice. The beating of his heart was becoming erratic as if he was the one dying after hearing the news.

"I haven't talked to the doctor yet, they still haven't gotten out from the room since the time we arrived here," replied Allan.

"Okay, just stay right there. I will be coming there in a few minutes, what is the name of the hospital?" John's heart was dead with worry for Catherine's safety.

"It's St. Peter Hospital," said Allan.

John ended the call and released a deep sigh. Tears were emerging from the corner of his eyes, right in the dining table he was not able to control his tears, and he cried and cried like a broken man. It's all his fault! If Catherine died he will only have himself to blame!

John can no longer continue eating, he already lost his appetite, he rose to his feet in a hurry and went inside his bedroom to change his clothes.

Fifteen minutes later...

John was already aboard the moving vehicle going to Quezon City.

"Boss, how is Catherine's condition?" asked Ramon. Allan already texted him about Catherine's condition a few minutes ago.

"I have no idea, Ramon. I still need to see her attending physician," replied John, his eyes had that vacant stare of a fallen tormented man.

'Poor Catherine!' said Ramon to himself. He was shocked when he heard of the news that the girl killed herself. Good thing she still survives or else his employer will never be able to survive the pain and torment every day, 'coz he knows how John loves Catherine so much!

Just that this couple was always prone to bad happenings as if every time they were together they always end up in tragedy. Dahlia died and John was alive. Fast forward, Catherine almost died and John still alive. Was John cursed? Maybe, all the women John associated himself with will die or suffer in life. He doesn't want to believe it either, maybe it's just a figment of his fertile imagination. Ramon focused his attention back to his driving and to the road ahead.

>>

When John arrived at St. Peters Hospital. He immediately seeks Allan and asks him about the latest update regarding Catherine's condition. He saw the blood on Allan's t-shirt, it must be Catherine's blood.

"Boss, the doctor already got out of Catherine's room. I told her that you will be coming anytime soon. She wants to talk to you in private," said Allan.

"Okay, take me to her office," said John.

Allan and John went downstairs to the first floor of the hospital, he walked towards the last office on the right side of the hallway.

"Allan, you can go back now and change your clothes," said John.

"Okay, Boss!" Allan turned around and exited the entrance of the hospital.

John entered the doctor's office.

A middle-aged woman that wore a colored blue doctor's scrub was sitting in the swivel chair inside the room.

"Hello, Doc. I'm John the guardian of Miss Catherine Ramirez," said John.

"Have a seat, John," said the doctor.

John sat down on the chair facing the doctor. "How is she, Doc?"

Dr. Cruz looked at John's face intently. "What is your relation to the patient?"

"I'm her boyfriend," answered John.

"I see... Are you living in together?" asked the doctor.

John nodded. "Kind of..."

The doctor became silent for a brief second.

John was dying to know of Catherine's condition. "Doc, how is her condition?"

"She's doing fine. There's not much blood loss, but if she was not discovered right away, she might suffer worst. Her body is very weak. She had not eaten anything solid for a few days. All our test shows that she is fine, but there is something you should know about her current condition..."

John's heart sunk in worry and fear. "W-what is it Doc?"

"Your girlfriend is one month pregnant! Congratulation!" the doctor smiled at him.

John's worry and fear evaporated right away. OMG! Catherine is pregnant! His wish was finally granted! He feels a sudden surge of happiness enveloping his entire being.

"Thank you so much, Doc!" he murmured, his face brightened up.

"But her pregnancy is delicate. Tell me what really happened to her, why she cut herself?" asked the doctor.

John was hesitating to tell the doctor about his infidelity but he has no choice. "She caught me kissing another woman," he said in a low voice. John dropped his gaze ashamed of himself.

He didn't see the doctor's face grimaced after hearing his confession.

"I see, that's why she tried to kill herself, it must be very hard on her part to witness such kind of tragedy especially that she is pregnant. You should be careful in dealing with her. Her health and the baby's health are very important at this stage. If she continues to feel depressed, it will affect the baby's health. She might suffer a miscarriage. First and foremost, to make sure the baby is healthy the mother should also be physically and mentally healthy. The mother's condition will always affect the baby's health. So, please avoid upsetting the mother, with her condition right now, it's best that you should not show yourself to her for a few days. Seeing you will only make her more depressed and she will keep remembering the traumatic events that she witnessed that leads to her suicide," said the doctor with her lengthy explanation.

John released a deep sigh.

"Can I see her right now, Doc?" he asked.

"Okay, go ahead. She is currently sleeping. We attached a dextrose fluid on her so that we can supplement her body with the vital nutrients that her body needs," explained the doctor.

"Thank you, Doc!" said John. He exited the doctor's room feeling happy upon knowing that Catherine was pregnant. He was hoping that her pregnancy can restore back the normalcy in their relationship.

He went back to the second floor where she was confined. John entered the room. Catherine was indeed sleeping soundly in the bed. He walked to her side and runs his fingers on her hair. Tears of regrets, guilt, and sadness were begun falling from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Cath. I never meant to hurt you this bad. I never meant to cheat on you with another woman. It's just a momentary weakness on my part and I wasn't able to control my urges and fell into temptation. But I swear, it's never my intention to hurt you and cheat on you. That evil woman was never my girlfriend she was outright lying to you. You are the only woman I ever love. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I will make it up to you, please allow me to redeem myself to you," he explained to her while his heart was breaking inside.

John continues crying beside Catherine like a fallen defeated man.