His blood dripped from his hands, and his breathing hurt. The two broken ribs hurt his torso badly as he advanced.

“Just one more hit!” He said through gritted teeth.  

But, the fight didn’t stop as he kept hitting until his eyes opened suddenly in the darkness of his room.

It was just a dream… Barrett feared that he was still in his dream as he looked at his hands.

Barrett’s fingers moved as he smiled nervously.

He shook his head to forget the nightmare. He looked at his sleeping wife and tried to reach out to her.

As though by reaction, the woman moved away from his caress as she slept.

Seeing her like this made Barrett remember his dream again.

How many people had he managed to hurt with his hands?

But I  should be a different man... Barrett thought as he let out a nervous smile.

Barrett went to his closet and took off his shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror. His face was weary from lack of sleep. He looked at his shirtless chest.

He still was still reaped and scarred, like a warrior.

“You have slept less now than in that place!” He said to himself before going to the bathroom.

He got soaked in cold water. This time, he preferred it. Like his bed, the hot water was too soft.

Four years hadn’t gotten him used to this comfortable life. Too quiet, and he likes it.

Once finished with the shower and dressed, Barrett left his room and went straight to his daughters’ room.

Two pink beds placed next to each other sheltered the silent dreams of two beautiful creatures.

As he arrived, he spotted one daughter, sleeping carefree. When he tried to caress her face as if she knew his father’s scent, she smiled and allowed him.

His daughter’s happiness was one of the reasons to continue with his current life.

Barrett raised a brow. It looked like his daughter was smilingly waiting for him.

Barrett grinned. He approached and kissed her forehead. After kneeling right in front of her bed, he asked in a whisper, “What are you doing awake, miss?”

She, smiling, raised her hand to touch her father’s face and said, “I always wake up early, daddy, and I like to see when you come….”

Barrett smiled widely. He grabbed his daughter’s hand to kiss her before he glanced at his other daughter, who was still sleeping.  

“You’re not that identical,” he commented jokingly.

So as not to disturb her sister, the girl giggled quietly. Her father carried her after she clutched his neck. Both left toward the kitchen.

“Pancakes?” Barrett asked, going to the kitchen.

The girl nodded. She glanced at the window before asking, “Daddy, why do you always get up so early?”

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” he softly said.

The smiling girl nodded, and then they both saw how her sister, with her hand on her face, walked out like a small zombie.

“Daddy…” she mumbled sleepily.

Barrett walked towards her and carried her. He asked, “Emily, what are you doing? Wake up now, darling?”

The girl, in incoherent words from sleep, replied, “Melanie is awake, and I want pancakes!”

Barrett nodded, and both were waiting for the pancakes from him as they watched him work.

After a long hour, his wife woke up. The woman was completely messed up while the girls watched the morning cartoons.

Barrett was ready to go to work when he saw his wife. He greeted, “Good morning, darling.”

She looked at him with eyes swollen with disappointment before she grumpily retorted, “What’s good about it?”

Instead of replying, he smiled and looked at his daughters.

He said, “I have to go to work. Take care, girls, and obey your mother!”

“Get them to school on time this time, please,” Barrett said to his wife.

“If you think you can do better than me, why don’t you take them!” She replied sarcastically.

Barrett took a deep breath. He nodded and replied, “Okay, don’t worry. No problem.”

And he, walking, listened to her speak.

“No problem? Of course, there’s a problem. Look at this place. I don’t know how I could leave my family to come to this place… for real!”

The sound of the door closing behind him was reassuring. As he walked, he could not help but mumble, “Maybe if you did something other than spending money...”

As he walked to the bus stop, Barrett sighed. He arrived at work quickly.

“Boss, how are you?” His secretary asked, when she saw him.

“What’s up, Rose?” He replied, waving his hand.

“Boss, why don’t you get a car? Isn’t it better?”

“No, I like the bus, I don’t have to worry about driving, and I can prepare for work perfectly,” he replied casually.

She looked at him as if she didn’t understand anything the man was saying.

“Don’t worry, and I know what I’m doing,” he assured, chuckling.

“That’s clear. I guess,” Rose smilingly replied.

After entering Barrett, he changed and began carrying boxes to load trucks.

His company’s trucks delivered various goods.

Barrett was the owner and president, but he also handled loads.

Rose looked at him funny when he did that, but that’s how Barrett operated his business.

“Boss, why are you doing this? I always ask, but I still don’t understand. You are the owner. You shouldn’t wear yourself out with the load,” Rose remarked. It was her usual comment.

He glanced at her without replying. At that moment, he was dealing with three boxes, and at the same time, he lifted them without a problem.

“That weighs like two hundred kilos, boss!” Rose said, surprised.

Barrett shook his head and replied, “No way, at most like a hundred and twenty kilos.”

His phone rang after hours of work. “Barrett speaking.”

“Mr. Barrett? Are you Barrett Willis?” The voice of the woman on the other end of the receiver sounded nervous.

“Yes, it’s me. How can I help you?”

“We are calling you from the central hospital. We need to inform you that your daughter was admitted to the hospital this morning and is in intensive care!”

A million thoughts crowded his brain at once, and none of them made sense.

He shook his head. Barrett doubtfully asked, “Are you sure she is my daughter?”

“Yes, sir. She came in this morning for a stomach ache, but it’s much more serious than that. I think you should come right away!” The woman said. 

Barrett hung up and told Rose that he would go to the hospital without fully explaining the situation.

The young woman imagined that it was something to do with his daughters because it was the only thing that made the Boss upset.

Melanie was waiting in the hospital when Barrett arrived.

When she saw her father, she ran towards him and hugged him. She said, “Daddy, Emily threw up, and now mommy brought us here!”

“It’s okay, honey, everything is fine. Daddy will take care of everything. You are very brave, and your sister will be fine,” he said as he rubbed his daughter’s head.

Walking a little more, he saw his wife. He approached her and asked, “What happened, Claudia?”

She glared at him and said, “And what the hell would I know? Do I look like a doctor?

Barrett looked at her and felt a huge snap hit her. A small voice in his brain stopped him.

He shook his head and asked, “The doctor hasn’t talked to you?”

She reacted negatively to his presence. Just then, a man with white hair and round glasses entered the hallway with a folder and white.

“Are you Emily’s parents?” The man asked while looking at them.

“Apparently, he’s Emily’s only parent!” Claudia said, glaring at Barrett.

“Can I talk to you alone?” The doctor asked, looking at Barrett.

Barrett kissed the head of his other daughter. He looked at Claudia and asked, “Can you take care of her while I talk to the doctor?”

Claudia looked at the girl and remarked, “I don’t know, maybe I’ll make this one sick too...”

Barrett was angry, but he couldn’t give free rein to his anger. He never should.

He kissed his daughter’s head again and instructed, “Go with mom for a while. Daddy will take care of everything!”

She nodded and walked and took her mother’s hand.

The doctor then looked at Barrett seriously and said, “Mr. Barrett, your daughter, is stable. We induced a coma so that she would not suffer too much from the pain. Her vital signs are fine, but the bacteria that brought her here was only a symptom of a major congenital problem. A genetic disease. I must say.”

“I caused this to my daughter?” Barrett asked suddenly. His mind could not help but wander for a moment.

The doctor shook his head and said, “We can’t be sure without testing, but most likely, this illness comes from your family or your wife’s. In any case, that is not important now. It is a rare disease, but detecting it in children is even worse. Your other daughter shows no symptoms, but it would be good to have her under surveillance. Mr. Barrett, this disease is complicated, and its treatment is long and expensive. You must be ready for the process. I know it is in bad taste, but I must ask, do you have funds for this process?”

Barrett felt stiff. He was really worried, but as long as the doctor said it was curable, there was hope.

He nodded slowly before replying, “Yes, doctor, no problem. I have enough money for the treatment.”

“In this case, I will start the preparations. There is no time to lose, my friend,” the doctor said with utmost seriousness.

Barrett thanked the doctor. He called Rose then.

“Rose, I need you to see how much funds we have in the company’s capital account and also see in the ledger. I need all the money you can collect! ASAP!”

However, his secretary remained silent.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” Barrett asked with a deep frown.

Rose sighed deeply before replying, “But… Boss, there is nothing... your wife, she took everything.”

Barrett felt the ground swallow him up, and at that moment, the voice in his head woke up.