CHAPTER 1

When Chase awoke, it was 4:59 a.m. He turned off the alarm clock before it could ring. He got up from lying down and moved to his bed before leaving his small bedroom and heading straight for the kitchen. Chase has a simple life with his grandmother. His parents abandoned him at a young age. He doesn't know where his parents went. His grandmother didn't even know about it. But he didn't think about that anymore because he had no intention of looking for them either.

He accepted the truth that his parents didn't love him because they wouldn't leave him if they did. Besides, Chase is happy with his grandmother. Chase walked over to the fridge and took the dish he had from the night before, which was placed on a small Tupperware. He put it in the cooking pot to heat it. He also cooked rice.

After he cooked, he packed them. Then he went back to his room to get himself ready. Chase is not going to eat his breakfast at home, but at the hospital with his grandmother. He also wants to see his grandmother before he goes to work. His grandmother was hospitalized a week ago. Except that his grandmother is old; she has an illness and needs a doctor's monitor. Twenty minutes later, Chase finished preparing himself. He exited his room and went to the kitchen to get the food he had packed. He left his apartment.

While Chase was on his way to the hospital, he was looking at the hospital's notice to him on his phone. It was a bill notice that he needed to pay on Friday. That is two days before the due date. Chase spends a lot of money on his grandmother's treatment, but he doesn't mind because he is willing to pay a lot just for his grandmother to get better. That's why he is working so hard to pay the hospital bills.

After a couple of minutes, Chase arrived at the hospital. "Thank you, man!" he said to the taxi driver after handing over the payment.

He got out of the taxi in the back seat and walked into the hospital. He walked to the elevator to go to the third floor of the building, where his grandmother's room was. When he got to the right floor, he immediately headed to room 306.

A smile drew on his lips when he saw his grandmother sleeping soundly when he entered the room. He slowly walked towards the table to prepare the food. While he was preparing the food on the table, the door had sprung open. It was the doctor and nurse who came in.

"Good morning, doctor." He greeted the doctor with a smile written on his lips.

"Hello, Chase," the doctor responded as he walked in his direction. "Early as always," the doctor added.

He smiled. The doctor is used to seeing him at the hospital every time he visits his grandmother.

"How is my grandmother's condition, doctor?" he inquired.

"We are doing our best to cure her, Chase."

"Thank you very much, doctor; please do everything."

"Don't worry, Chase. I'll do everything I can," the doctor said, patting his shoulder before he walked out of the room. The nurse followed him.

He let out a deep breath as he turned his gaze toward his grandmother. He walked toward her, holding her hand. He couldn't help but tear up as he watched his grandmother. It hurts him to see the old woman in this condition.

In this world, he only has his grandmother. He couldn't imagine living without the old woman. He could lose everything, not just his grandmother. He still needs her. He still wanted to give a good life to the old woman who sheltered and cared for him. He still wants to be with her for a long time. If only it were possible, until he grew old, his grandmother would still be there by his side.

He immediately wiped the tears from his eyes when his grandmother woke up. He stroked her forehead and said, "Good morning, Grandma."

"What time is it?" the old woman asked. She had a worried look on her face because she thought that her grandson might be late for work. She did not wish to burden her grandson.

"Don't worry, Grandma. It's still early. I still have a lot of time," he replied with a smile. He knew for himself that his grandmother didn't want to bother him.

His grandmother advised him numerous times not to go to the hospital and instead concentrate on work because she could manage herself and the doctor could take care of her, but he refused. Since his grandmother took care of him after his parents abandoned him, he wants to look after her. It's not that he wanted to repay all the sacrifices his grandmother made for him; it was because she was his only family. She is his life.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to be late for your work."

Chase nodded his head. "Yes, Grandma. I'm sure. Don't worry. Okay?" He gave her an assuring smile.

"All right, but you don't have to come here all the time, Chase. I can manage myself here; you should just focus on..."

"Grandma..." Chase cut her sentence short. "You think you're bothering me again? You know, you're not. Never. You are my family. You are not a burden to me. Okay? I'm glad I'm taking care of you. I don't get tired. And I will never get tired, I promise you."

"I understand, my son; it's just... I'm worried; I can't help myself."

"Then, if you don't want to worry about me, get well soon. Okay? And when you're good, we'll tour the entire world. You want that, don't you?" Chase is fighting back tears as he speaks to her.

"Yes, grandson, I want to travel the entire world," she said, smiling.

It had been her dream.

"Okay, if you're good, we'll go travel the entire world, I promise. So, Grandma, promise me, too, that you'll fight your illness and get better, okay?" Chase tried to smile.

"I will, my son," his grandmother said, attempting to smile despite the pain in her heart. The old lady felt like she was lying to Chase because she knew that she would not last long in this world. As much as she wanted to live, she couldn't. She had already accepted her fate, and she needed to make Chase ready to let her go at any time.

"Okay." Chase hugged his grandmother. A droplet of tears fell on his cheeks, but he immediately wiped them away. He doesn't want to show his grandmother that he is hurting. He has to be strong for her.

—

Chase stretched out his two hands after he completed the assigned task that his boss made him do. He then took his phone to check if there was a message from his boyfriend, but there was none. Chase is gay, but it's not obvious because he has a handsome body. He is tall, handsome, and has fair white skin. The curve of his face is so perfect, from his thick eyebrows to his brown dazzling eyes, to his high-bridged nose, down to his heart-shaped kissable lips, enough for the girls to fall for him. Unfortunately, he is not into girls.

'Is he busy?' He only thought. His boyfriend hadn't sent him a text since this morning.

Chase has been in a relationship with a guy named Gerald for almost two years. This is not his first relationship. In fact, he has had many boyfriends before, but they didn't work out because they only betrayed him. But despite the betrayals he has encountered, Chase is still open to a relationship. Compared to his boyfriends before, Gerald is the only one who gives him real love and value.

He immediately checked his phone when it vibrated. He got a reply from Gerald.

“Hey, baby. I'm sorry. I just woke up.” He smiled after reading Gerald's reply to him.

"Aw! He must be tired from work," he uttered. Gerald works as a bartender, so he understands, but today is his day off.

“It's fine, baby. I understand. I'll see you later.” He sent him back. Within a few seconds, he got a reply from his boyfriend.

“I almost forgot to tell you. My boss wants me to go to work tonight because there is an event at the bar. Sorry, baby.”

Chase was a little bit sad because they hadn't seen each other for a few days. He missed him. He also needs him for comfort, but he understands. His boyfriend needed to work.

“It's okay, baby. I understand. Then I'll see you the next day. I miss you.” After that message, he never received a reply from Gerald.

"Hey, Chase. Are you coming with us later? Oh, I know you're not, but you should come with us," said one of his co-workers, who had just entered.

The question left him perplexed. "I'm sorry. What was the occasion again?"

"Did you forget? Our department has dinner later."

"Oh, right! Sorry, it slipped my mind." Chase remembered that he had declined to attend the dinner tonight because he planned to visit his boyfriend. Well, he always refused. But since his boyfriend needed to work and he had nothing to do after work, he would go with them.

"So, are you going or not?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there."

"Really? Great!"

Chase just smiled.

—