CHAPTER 184: I AM HER FAMILY

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[-Same Day-]

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The Golden Globes have been completed.

....well, at least for the people outside the industry, as the so-called insiders are still relishing in the after party - unrecorded by cameras.

And somewhere around the corner, a group of people could be seen, completely isolated, away from as the distant sound of the party and celebration thinned behind them.

They were all the people left behind to handle the situation after Regal left the show unannounced, and tried to carry forward the event.

Now, with the show completed, they had regrouped.

On clear notice one could even notice the - just received Golden Globes sitting in a chair, completely unattended with no value.

Christopher was still trying to catch himself - who was just a few hours ago - with his wife, and few of his potential winning actor nominees.

Gwendolyn, Samantha, Darren, and Maggie had also abandoned all their works and groups - now standing with hard and tensed faces.

"Regal doesn’t know everything yet." Christopher said, breaking the silence. "My agency got the call first, from someone at paramedic dispatch. I pulled Rock aside and told him what I knew."

The truth was, Christopher didn’t know much about the exact severity of the situation himself, but just a call from Rock and he had the entire information about it in a few seconds. He took a breath and continued with what Rock had told him.

He exhaled once, as he went onto the details he got from Rock.

"It’s Seren and Keanu. They were driving to the ceremony when some delivery van ran a red light and slammed into them. Seren took the worst of it, she was out cold at the scene. Keanu was conscious, thank God, but he couldn’t speak and something’s wrong with his leg."

"....." Gwendolyn kept walking but her hand moved instinctively to her throat, like she couldn’t quite breathe.

"How much does Regal actually know?" Samantha asked from behind her.

Christopher shook his head. "Not much actually, Rock told him it was serious right before they left, you saw what happened after that."

They turned the corner.

Simon was still there, just past the exit - alone, motionless, like a forgotten statue, the car key still dangled loosely from his fingers.

"They’re already heading to UCLA Medical." Simon told them without looking up.

Darren’s eyebrows shot up. "He’s driving himself? In his state?"

"No, Rock’s got him." Simon said, finally pocketing the keys like they didn’t matter anymore. "That’s all I know."

By then Grace and Kristen had caught up, along with Zack, Timothée, and Ludwig.

They all wore the same strained expression, the same confusion about how a night of celebration had gone so wrong so fast.

Seeing everyone gathered, Christopher started moving, he shot a quick look at Darren. "We need two cars, I will take one, you get the other. Gwendolyn, ride with Simon, everyone else, just... figure it out and get there fast."

The moment had shifted, the lights behind them - the awards, the glamor, the laughter, felt like a different world now, behind some glass they had all stepped through.

And without another word, they followed.

....

Regal sat in the front seat, his gaze locked on the road ahead, though his hands weren’t on the wheel.

Rock was driving.

In the backseat, Stephen sat frozen, glancing between the two, unsure where he belonged in this silence that felt too heavy to break.

He wanted to say something, anything, maybe a question, a reassurance, even just Regal’s name spoken gently - but every word he thought of sounded small, and wrong.

Rock, for his part, pushed the car harder than necessary, like if he kept the wheels moving fast enough, he could outrun whatever this was.

Maybe if Gwendolyn were here, then something could be done - she always knew how to handle this kind of quiet, but she wasn’t.

Stephen looked at Regal’s profile though couldn’t see his face from the back...

Surprisingly, he looked calm....?

However, that made him feel even worse.

Stephen parted his lips, tried to say something—

"Ah—"

—but stopped.

He froze the second he saw Regal’s face in the mirror.

Blank, still and eyes open, unmoving.

There was not a single tear.

Yet his whole presence was screaming, his silence louder than anything Stephen had ever heard.

You could tell, anyone could tell, his mind was going a thousand miles a second.

It was the first time Stephen had ever seen Regal like this. The one who always knew what to say, always had clarity, control, sharpness... now looked like a ghost in his own skin.

And Regal’s mind, despite the stillness in his face, was anything but calm.

He hadn’t even caught all the details, when Rock had walked up to him backstage, he hadn’t spoken more than a few words: It’s serious, Seren, Keanu’s with her.

Soon he just left... Like then and there.

Now, sitting here, all the noise was inside his head.

Even Regal, as still as he seemed, wasn’t really still inside.

His mind was spiraling.

Things he normally brushed off, little feelings, little fears, not because they didn’t matter, but because he didn’t want to face them... now rose to the surface, uninvited and merciless.

He remembered the day he first opened his eyes in this world, how different it all felt.

No - He didn’t have an identity crisis.

He never confused this life with the past one, he accepted this as real.

As his.

Still... deep in some silent corner of his heart... a quiet question always remained, just maybe, this isn’t really my life and these aren’t really his people.

It wasn’t strong, just a trace of doubt.

But now?

Now, at this very moment—

That doubt was gone.

Gone without a trace.

Because this pain - this gut-deep, crushing, breathless pain at the thought of losing his only remaining family, was too real.

The image of Seren, her laugh, her annoying little jabs, the way she would lean on him like he was some kind of superhero, flashed in and out of his mind like a strobe light... none of those doubts remained.

It was the kind of ache that left no room for delusion.

This is his life.

This is his family.

And nothing, no memory of his past - nothing could make him feel otherwise now.

Even Regal himself hadn’t thought all this through, it wasn’t conscious.

It just happened to settle into him like a quiet vow.

Right now, there was only one thing he wished for, with everything he had:

Please be safe, he thought... Please, just be okay, Sister.

And the fear... it was gut-wrenchingly human.

.....

A sudden nudge broke the stillness - Stephen’s hand on his shoulder.

Regal blinked, snapping out of it.

Stephen.

"We are here..." He said, voice low.

They had arrived, the hospital was right in front of them.

Without a second thought, Regal opened the door and bolted - again, he didn’t even realize he was moving.

Rock didn’t stop him, he opened his own door and followed, running at full speed.

Stephen was still in the back seat, watching them go.

As Rock passed, he shouted without slowing down. "Keys are in the car - park it and call Miss Gwendolyn and the others...."

And then - he was gone.

Gone with Regal, into the hospital through the emergency doors.

The automatic doors of the hospital slid open, as his shoes squeaked slightly against the floor as he sprinted past the waiting area.

?!!The reception desk staff flinched as Regal reached the front desk and slammed both hands on the counter. "Seren Seraphsail, and Kenau Reeves, emergency intake, where are they?"

Rock had already caught up behind him.

The receptionist sighed as if she was used to these kinds of things, but did some searching on the computer and responded.

"They, uh, they came in about twenty minutes ago, brought in by ambulance, one moment, sir."

She added gentler this time. "She is in trauma assessment, Room 3-B, still being evaluated, no visitors yet, I am sorry—"

But Regal didn’t wait.

He turned and started walking down the corridor, only to be stopped by a young male orderly who stepped directly in front of him. "Sir, you can’t go that way, family members have to wait for clearance."

"I am HER family." Regal snapped, barely holding himself together. "Can I see her?"

Rock, still being sane, placed a firm hand on his Boss’s arm. "Regal.... Stop."

Regal’s chest was heaving, his jaw clenched, his eyes darted toward the hallway behind the orderly, searching for an exit.

Rock leaned closer. "We will wait, for now, let them do their job."

Suddenly, the receptionist stood up, her expression was unreadable, one Regal would come to resent deeply: that practiced neutrality of someone who deals in tragedies every day.

"Block S - Corridor 9." She said, her voice clipped but not unkind. "...and about their condition, the doctor will be present there to speak to you shortly."

Regal didn’t wait to hear the rest.

.

....

[To be continued...]

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