LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 4: Blast From the Future
The name hit him like a punch to the gut. His heart pounded as he stared at the phone while it buzzed incessantly, drilling into his mind.
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone. He felt frozen, the memory of her betrayal and the image of Tyler Mooney wrapped around her kept flashing in his mind.
So, with his breath heavy, he considered letting it ring out. But then the ringing ceased and Darren exhaled shakily, relief washing over him.
Buzz! It rang again.
The same caller ID: Lily.
'Might as well get it over with,' Darren thought as he swallowed hard. Rather than reaching for the phone with a trembling hand, he picked it up quickly like he was irked.
Then he took a deep breath, and he slid his thumb across the small buttons of the phone.
"Hello?" His voice came out more clipped than he intended.
"Hey, you," Lily's voice chimed through the speaker, bright and flirtatious. Darren felt stiff from the way he recognized it, how it used to be all those many years ago when he trusted her.
"Where are you?" she asked him. "Your boss, my Dad is looking for you. You can't start your internship month by being late again, Danny. It's already the third time this week."
Darren froze, somehow hearing Lily's playful tone and recognizing it, managed to cut through his composure. He could barely focus on her words. That voice… so familiar, so cheerful. It was like being yanked into a past he desperately wanted to escape.
"Darren?" she prompted, her voice softening. "Are you there?"
The system chimed.
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┏Investor System has discerned a spike in the Host's emotional status┛
┏Reason for emotion spike has been identified as: Lily Smithers┛
┏Suggestion!┛
┏In regards to her betrayal and the CEO of Moon Enterprise being her father, the system advices that you cut all ties with Lily Smithers as she offers you no meaningful aid in your journey┛
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Darren watched the interface with curiosity. The system was right. The best way to not get betrayed again by Lily was to end things immediately and keep distance from her.
He was thinking of this while Lily continued to speak over the phone.
When he still didn't reply, she called again; "Darren? Can you hear me?"
He slowly snapped out of his trance. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here," he said, his voice hollow. "I'll be there soon. Sorry, just… caught up in some stuff."
There was a pause on her end. Then her voice softened, laced with concern. "Is everything okay? Are you okay?"
Darren blinked, caught off guard by her curiosity. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.
"You sure?" she pressed. "I know with your mom in the hospital and everything… things must be really tough for you. If you want I could tell Dad you need a day off."
Wait... what?
All the words she just uttered hit him like a freight train. Did she just say his mom? His... mother?
Darren's chest tightened as memories flooded back. It was this year… this was the year she fell gravely ill. A condition so fatal that without surgery — a surgery he couldn't afford back then — she had…
She had died.
Darren's breathing quickened. In the silence, Lily's voice faded into the background, he didn't care about anything she was saying, he had just seen the other broader part of this picture.
It wasn't just about Bitcoin and being a billionaire. It was about building his life to the exact kind of good things he wanted.
His mother was alive.
"Darren?" Lily's voice brought him back.
"I'm fine," he said quickly, stopping her from continuing her rambling. "I'll be at the office soon." Without waiting for her reply, he ended the call, slamming the phone down onto the desk.
For a few minutes, he sat there, stunned. His hands trembled as anger and hope warred within him. Hearing Lily's voice brought a surge of bitterness, a reminder of the betrayal that had shattered his life before regression.
But another light in the tunnel had appeared; the thought of seeing his mother again — the woman he hadn't seen in ten years — ignited a flicker of hope.
He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. His mother needed him.
Darren quickly took a fast bath, sunk his laptop and some books into his suitcase.
Then, he entered on top of his old bicycle which was the only means of transport he had at that time in his life. He cycled out of his home and into the bustling city streets, the old bike creaking beneath him.
The chilly morning air stung his face, but he barely noticed. His mind raced, heart pounding as he approached the hospital he knew all too well.
Ahead, tall and gallant was Morrison's Hospital. It was a building with a sleek glass façade glinting in the sunlight. Designed in the shape of a large cross, but made with glass, the typical skyscraper although more daring.
In the city, everyone knew it as a symbol of wealth and prestige, owned by a renowned doctor, Richard Morrison, who had a big lifeline partnership with the Moon Enterprise.
Darren parked his bike outside. Seeing the old piece of junk there was so out of place in comparison to the numerous luxurious vehicles in the lot.
He ignored all of this with only one thing in mind, then entered the hospital.
Inside, the air smelled of disinfectant and expensive polish. The lobby buzzed with activity: there were nurses in pristine white uniforms, hurrying past, while patients in tailored suits were sitting in plush chairs.
Darren stood there for a while, momentarily overwhelmed as he tried to remember where led to where in this damn hospital. He looked awkward compared to the usual people who came to Morrison's. His poorly ironed suit drew disdainful glances from several staff members.
Regaining some memory, he walked straight to his forward right where the reception desk was. The nurse — a young sassy woman chewing gum — looked him up and down with thinly veiled contempt. "Name?" she asked briskly.
"Darren Steele," he said, his voice steady despite the knot in his throat. "Here to see my mother."
The nurse barely acknowledged him, blowing a bubble and scribbling in the register before shoving it toward him. "Sign here."
Darren signed, ignoring the judgment in her eyes.
"You know the drill." The nurse said. "I'll tell the doctor you're here. That old lady is taking the space meant for more illustrious and fitting patients. Do hurry up and get her out of here."
Darren froze, glaring at the woman as she sat down, continued chewing her gum and pressing away on her phone.
He was so angry but he knew he could do absolutely nothing. Not there.
But why? And how? Why and how could people be so blatantly mean? In such a way that it felt heartless and almost even evil?
Darren decided to just accept that some people are made that way, and they had to exist in order for goodness and kindness to be worth something.
He sighed then walked through the pristine halls, his steps echoing on the polished floors. Every corner of the hospital screamed opulence, from the gleaming marble tiles to the art-lined walls.
More eyes also looked his way judgmentally, yet, none of it mattered.
Stopping in front of a door, he hesitated, his hand hovering over the handle. He was going to see his mother for the first time in ten years.
Darren took a deep breath, even though it still failed to make him any less nervous.
He opened the door anyway.