Chapter 13: A Piece Of Motivation To Prevent More Suicidal Attempts

"Breaking News Today. A young woman around the age of twenty-four to twenty-five was found lying at the shore of the Minsory Lagoon this morning."

"She was said to have jumped into the lagoon in a suicide attempt, but had failed to drown after several hours of being inside the large body of water."

"This shocking outcome has been questioned by many, and the police have been carrying out their investigations, as well as the survivor receiving medical care with immediate effect."

"The Governor of Minsory State, Paul Hager, has ordered tightened security across the Twin Mainland Bridge to prevent further incidents like this, and as we speak, visible actions are being taken."

Ryan’s attention was drawn by the news on the TV, and he couldn’t even believe his eyes when he saw the photos being displayed on the screen.

He could clearly remember the color of the dress Michelle wore for their meeting in the bar, and it looked exactly the same!

She called him last night and informed him that she wasn’t going to honor their deal, clearly revealing that she no longer needed all the time he had given her.

Ryan knew that she was definitely planning on committing suicide, although he didn’t know how she was going to do it.

But then, after watching this news, he discovered that she had probably tried to drown herself to death...

But then...

She didn’t die.

The thing was that Ryan didn’t know if she would die or not if she tried committing suicide. He had been thinking about that since the very moment she ended the call in his ears, and now, when he discovered that she was seen alive at the lagoon shore, a certain strong feeling of amazement struck him.

[What were you thinking, Brother? That the twenty-five years of lifespan you bestowed on her would suddenly disappear after she drowned just like that?]

Ryan chuckled without saying a word.

He knew how funny it sounded, and then at the same time, he understood the context.

There was no way she was going to die without the twenty-five years of lifespan being completely used up.

Everything she did. Anything she tried doing to herself to end her life would only result in failure, no matter how hard she tried.

[Lifespan runs through fate, Brother. When you see people’s lifespan, you have to understand that that’s the exact time they have left.]

[Three seconds of lifespan left? They die exactly when the tick reaches zero.]

[Fifty years of lifespan? They live right till then and die when it exactly runs out.]

[Nothing can change it.]

"Hmmm," Ryan sighed and nodded.

"I guess the overthinking is happening because I had already known how much time she had left. It would have surely been a different case otherwise," he added.

[That’s right.]

With that, Ryan didn’t waste time, as he immediately prepared to head out.

His plan for the day was rescheduled at once, as he decided to visit the hospital where Michelle was.

Thanks to the details he got from the eyewitnesses of her rescue, he was able to enter Vitality Hospital quite on time that same morning.

There, inside Patient Room 49, Michelle could be clearly seen lying face-first on the bed.

Ryan noticed her crying, but then that wasn’t the only thing he had noticed.

There was a fresh small wound on her face, which was a result of the suicidal attempt. Ryan didn’t have to ask her about it because he already knew.

Perhaps she hadn’t landed smoothly, or maybe something else had happened to her in the process.

Michelle’s eyes widened when she sighted him as he walked into the room.

She immediately felt an intense grip of tension, as the first thing that had crossed her mind was the fact that she owed him some services.

Big services.

She had tried to kill herself and escape from it, which was very provoking, and she was afraid that Ryan could be coming for an arrest.

But then, at the same time, the fact that he was alone gave her great relief, and even the fact that his face was calm as he approached her.

"Miss Michelle," Ryan greeted.

"I heard what happened, and I have to say I’m sorry about what you might have gone through to take such actions," Ryan added.

Michelle could only stare.

"It’s in the news... If you don’t know. The lady who tried to drown herself in the Minsory Lagoon and miraculously survived," Ryan smiled.

Somehow, those details weren’t something that Michelle was interested in.

It was finally time to settle her thoughts because, till that moment, she couldn’t believe how she had survived hours inside a lagoon without drowning.

"Why am I not dead?" she asked him with a glare.

Ryan only smiled, giving a face that showed that he had expected that question.

"I know I was there for hours. I... I passed out. I knew I was going to die... I was ready," Michelle stated.

"I was really ready to end it," she began to sob, her eyes wetting up.

But then Ryan’s arm came to rest on her shoulders the next moment, as she raised her head to look at him.

"You are not supposed to die until the known time, Miss Michelle. We both know when the time is going to be due, and it will be only then... You will die as you are supposed to, not the way you choose to."

Michelle’s face tightened.

It was crazy how the woman who was so desperate to live was now courting death with all her might.

Ryan hadn’t known why she suddenly wanted to end her own life. He wasn’t going to ask anyway... At least not now.

But he knew that whatever it was, she could get out of it.

"You can continue trying other ways to end it if you want. I’m not going to force you. Also, I don’t think the psychiatrist would be able to convince you enough."

"But I’m going to tell you this, Miss Michelle," Ryan cleared his throat. "Whatever happened, happened. You don’t get to nurse the wound and the pain. You don’t get to punish yourself for it."

"You have been fine. And you will continue to be fine. What is left for you to do now is to stand up on your feet and channel the pain to something else."

"You want to grow? You want to be rich? You want to be great? Famous? Well, here’s the deal."

"You don’t have to work in the supermall any longer. Come work with me. You don’t have to serve the one-year duration payment for the time I sold to you. No, not anymore."

"You are going to work with me as the Manager of the organization, and surely get your opportunity to become a greater version of yourself."

All that time while he spoke, Michelle could only stare and listen.

Something sharp came hitting her mind and brain at the same time, as a lighter weight of her reasoning began to surface.

Why was she trying to kill herself?

Why was she giving up all of a sudden after all these years?

Why was she trying to end her life because of a man that would still live on?

The realization destroyed her grief at once.

"Just think about it, Miss Michelle. You have my contact if you want to hang out," Ryan said as he stood up.

"I have the bills sorted out. The psychiatrist will arrive in an hour’s time," he added.

"Do take care and get well soon. Perhaps we don’t have much time to get started."

Ryan said that and left, leaving the room and leaving Michelle in a cloud of thoughts.

"He is right..."

"He really is right..."

"I have been a fool all these while."