Chapter 16: Five Minutes

Meanwhile, Chris was worried after he could not locate Xavier the entire day. He went missing from his tracker software.

"Calm down, Chris. This is not the first time that he did this." Rupert said and tossed him a can of beer. Just like Xavier, they decided not to report to the office.

"What about Brian? Did he follow him?"

"Yes. He is on standby. Wherever they are right now, I'm sure there's no phone reception. I did receive the message that they're participating in a mountain climbing activity." Rupert was rather calm.

"What? And he brought Zarah with him? Unbelievable!" Chris became worried even more.

"If you're worried about Zarah, then don't. She's safer around him." Rupert said meaningfully which intrigued Chris.

"Wait, do you know something that I don't know?"

Rupert only smiled and teased his cousin, "I do know something. However, I won't say anything."

"Tsk! You don't have to bait me. I know Xavier had a secret crush on Zarah. I mean, isn't it obvious?"

Chris saw Xavier looking at Zarah when he thought that no one was watching him. Rupert saw it, too.

And no woman received this much attention from Xavier.

He even asked Rupert to investigate Zarah secretly and Chris knew about this, too.

However, Rupert knew something much deeper that he hadn't told Xavier yet.

He was secretly hoping that nothing bad would happen to them while they were on this camping trip.

He was also hoping that Zarah would be able to give Xavier the comfort he needed.

Back at the campsite, they found out that they didn't have to cook their dinner as the organizer had already arranged everything. The campsite had a group of certified chefs who would be cooking their first and last meal in the mountain.

The head chef recognized Xavier and so the latter greeted the former with a deep bow, "Master Xavier!"

"Cali." He greeted him back and pulled his shoulder up to stop bowing and added, "You're no longer serving the family. I'm no longer your Master."

"No. You'll always be my master, Master Xavier." Since he insisted, Xavier had no other choice but to let him be.

Then, Cali's eyes flickered after he remembered something very important and so he said, "Today is the nth year of Madam Abigail's death, right?"

Xavier was silent but the grief in his eyes was very visible.

Just then, Zarah approached them and wanted to volunteer since there was nothing she could do at the campsite.

However, Cali declined her offer and told her to accompany Xavier instead. However, Xavier left Zarah behind and the latter had no other choice but to follow him.

Zarah saw him heading to the forest and so she tried to stop him.

"Hey come back! You're not allowed to wander outside the campsite!" Their tour guide also called them out but Cali stopped him, "It's fine. Master Xavier knew the ins and outs of this forest well. He won't get lost."

"Do you know them, Chef?"

"Yes. They're my guests."

"Then, should I tell the Chief about this?" Cali was their village chief's only son and his guest was automatically the tribe's guest and deserved a warm welcome.

"There's no need to inform Father. He's here to celebrate the death of his mother."

Meanwhile, Xavier and Zarah reached the other side of the forest which was a small clearing, and beside it was a cliff.

"Go back! I want to be alone." He said. Zarah wanted to obey him but he saw him walking toward the cliff.

"Xavier! What are you doing? Come back here!" She shouted but he didn't listen and walked dangerously near the edge.

Zarah's heart almost jumped out of her chest when she saw him attempting to jump.

"Xavier!" She called out his name in shock.

"Stay where you are! Don't come closer or I'll jump!", he replied, which shocked Zarah.

What's going on?

Zarah could hear the sorrow in his voice which she was unfamiliar with.

"We can talk about your problem, you know." Zarah softly spoke as she didn't want to agitate him.

"I'll be fine. Just go back," he said, which angered her.

"Then, why did you bring me here? Did you bring me to watch you jump and kill yourself?!"

Xavier turned around and looked at her with a complicated expression.

It seems to her that talking gently won't work for this man. He had to be confronted so he would realize what he was doing.

Xavier's eyes were hiding a ton of secrets that wanted to be known but he was holding them back.

"This is simply the repayment of what you owed me last night. Your service is no longer needed, I'll ask Cali to send you back," he told her however, it didn't help to calm her down.

If he was only messing with her, then she should congratulate him.

Why did he bring her with him? Xavier did not directly answer her question.

The question could also be asked to her. Why did she agree to come with him? Had she rejected him, she would be having none of his b***s**ts.

She didn't expect that he had many ways to mess with her and it looked like she always became his willing victim. She had fallen on his tricks again. She should have learned her lesson from day one.

Nothing good would come out of this man to her.

"You know what? You're such an arrogant, egoistic, cold, meanest, and most selfish man that I have ever known! If you want to kill yourself, then jump! However, I won't be there to watch you do that."

Zarah then turned her back and was about to leave when she heard Xavier, "Wait!"

Zarah turned around and she saw Xavier walking toward her.

The next moment, he pulled her closer and hugged her.

Zarah froze in place as she didn't expect it to happen. However, after a few seconds passed, she wanted to push him away.

However, she stopped when heard how vulnerable he was when he said, "Five minutes and I'll let go."

She didn't know why but her body stopped resisting and her mind even wanted to comfort him especially when he felt how tense he was.

Her hand seemed to have a mind of its own and they wrapped around his back. Xavier jolted as he didn't expect that Zarah would hug him back. However, instead of rejecting it, he welcomed her warmth.

He never thought that all he needed was Zarah's hug until she gave it to him.

The tension in his body vanished together with the grief he felt.

The wind blew and the leaves fell on them. The sounds of nature were like beautiful melodies in their ears and calmed them both.

Xavier kept his word and after five minutes, he did let go. He stepped back and kept his distance from her.

Zarah suddenly felt awkward while looking at him. She expected that he would say mean words to her but Xavier was silent.

"Thank you."

'Wait what?' Xavier thanked her!

"Yo--u're wel--come." Zarah stammered as she still could not believe it.

Xavier turned around and looked at the cliff. 

"My mom was never shy about sharing his passion for nature. It has been our dream to have this trip together."

He was born with a condition that gave him weaker muscles since birth. He was bound to a wheelchair for years and could not do anything without someone's help. He had been in and out of the hospital for therapy and treatment.

And now that he had overcome that illness, his mother was no longer by his side.

"Today's my birthday. I should be happy but I couldn't since I also lost her on this day."

Zarah was rendered speechless after she heard him. She had no idea how to comfort him now that she knew how deep his pain was. However, she still tried.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You don't have to. It's not your fault that mom died. It's my father's fault." Anger and bitterness were evident in his voice.

"Then I now have the reason to apologize on his behalf." Since she treated Isaiah as her father, as his daughter, she should apologize to him.

"Why? Why would you do that for him? Trust me, he's not worthy of any of this." Xavier bitterly said which didn't go well with Zarah.

"You can't always judge a person based on his faulty past. Old Man had deeply regretted what he did. Can't you forgive him this time?" Zarah didn't know what exactly happened but she saw how remorseful Isaiah was.

Zarah suddenly found her new mission to reconcile the father and son.

She knew how much Isaiah cared for his sons. After his return, he tried to fix his relationship with his two sons but he failed.

The resentment they felt for their father overshadowed their feelings for him. What they cared about were his money and his will.

It's not too late to patch the relationship between these two, right?

"He's at the hospital fighting for his life and there's a chance that he might not wake up." She tried to change his mind.

Xavier looked at her with a complicated gaze. Zarah saw how he gulped the lump in his throat like it was poison.

Though there were no tears in his eyes, she could feel his pain.

"I don't think I can. Now that you mentioned him, I have no recollection that he visited me in the hospital." Xavier was full of bitterness in his heart.

Somehow Zarah could understand his pain but she was determined to fulfill her mission.

"The first time that I saw him was during my mother's funeral. Because of him, my mother died." Xavier confessed with a bitter smile.

Isaiah did confess how horrible of a father he was to his sons. And he didn't want to make the same mistake and wanted to raise her right.

"How was he the reason for her death? Did he kill her?" Zarah blurted out and she instantly regretted what she said.

"Yes, he did not pull the trigger. However, he covered up the murder and made it look like it was an accident."

He hated his father for choosing to protect her mother's killer rather than seeking justice for her.

Zarah did not realize how complicated the situation was and how deep his resentment toward Isaiah was.

"Old man probably had his reasons why he did that." Zarah tried to defend Isaiah as she thought what Xavier said was impossible.

"Stop acting like you know my father's way of thinking, Zarah. I thought you understood me better because you are an orphan yourself."

Xavier considered himself an orphan from the moment his mother died. Isaiah did try to reach out to him but the resentment he felt had surpassed the longing of a child to have a father.

Zarah was stunned to hear what he said. She had no words to refute him. She knew deep inside she never longed to meet them.

It was hard to feel toward the people that she never looked forward to seeing or meeting.

She didn't even care if they were still alive or buried six feet underground. She only knew what parenthood means from Isaiah.

Zarah's silence made Xavier feel a little guilty. He decided to leave first before he could say any painful words to her.

"Head first. I'll go back later."

The cliff was not far from the campsite. He thought that she could go back on her own.

Zarah watched Xavier's departure. She did not follow him this time as she knew that he needed time alone.

***