Chapter 44: Final Goodbye

Meanwhile, Nicole confronted her husband as soon as they entered the car.

"What did Xavier mean by kicking us out from Father-in-law's funeral?"

"I'm not a legitimate Stevens son. Mom cheated on Dad with our gardener and had me. But Mom made sure that no one will find out about this."

"What?!" Nicole could not believe it. Even his two sons became silent.

"Why? Why did you tell me this now? How dare you hide this from me?!"

"Why? Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters! What will happen to us, now? Please tell me that our sons will inherit something." Nicole pleaded.

She came from a middle-class family and they didn't have anything to their name aside from the old house her parents left for her after they died.

And if Franklin was not a real Stevens, he might be cut out from the inheritance including his two sons.

She looked at Ken and Jeremy who remained silent in the back seat.

However, the next second, Jeremy came out of the car and closed the door with a bang.

Ken followed his brother seconds after.

Nicole came out to follow her sons leaving Franklin devastated and frustrated at the same time.

Like who wouldn't?

Franklin had no other choice but to drive the car. He knew about his wife's temper. His sons...well, they could manage to go back so he was not worried.

He had to inform his mother who was living overseas about this development.

He grabbed his phone and called his mother, Carla Kent.

Carla was already 80 years old and was staying with her sister in another country.

He tried to call but there was no luck.

That was when he realized the time zone differences. So, he decided to leave a message.

Meanwhile, the mourners who wanted to pay their final respect continued coming until the last day of the public viewing.

Just like on day one, Zarah continued standing beside Isaiah's casket from morning until midnight. This was the least that she could do.

She'd leave to take a break for quick meals. She didn't skip meals after what Xavier did last time.

As Xavier said, it would take time for her to fully accept this new reality. However, he kept on reminding her that Isaiah's passing must not also be the end of her.

Life should not stop but continue.

And just like magic, she was able to little by little recover some parts of her that she thought she had lost that day.

The girls' presence, especially Xavier became her comfort during the time that she needed the most.

Zarah didn't realize that she had become more comfortable around Xavier as the day passed by.

Even the girls realized how Zarah responded when Xavier was around even though she tried her best to maintain a safe distance between them.

They knew that it was inappropriate to confront Zarah about this.

Hope, who would come over after shifts to join them, was also silent about this. She'd deny that she knew something other than stating the obvious that Zarah and Xavier looked good together.

Hope did say that she knew Xavier and they were friends but she'd side with Zarah no matter what.

Zarah continued standing by Isaiah's side when the new visitors arrived.

"Oh no! Liv, emergency." Trixie said after seeing both of their parents together with Josh and Natalie at the entrance of the chapel.

Olivia saw them too and so she became worried for Zarah, "I'll go to Zarah. Tell Josh to behave."

"Zaza, my parents are here. And they're with Josh and Natalie." She anxiously said but Zarah looked calm.

She didn't look in their direction but glued her gaze to the casket.

"Do you want me to chase the two out?" Olivia offered.

"It's fine. This is not about me. They're here for Dad." Zarah calmly said.

Whatever antics Josh and Natalie were trying to do, she had no interest whatsoever.

And besides, they could not bring her more pain, right? She thought Josh's cheating on her with Natalie and their breakup was painful but Isaiah's death was more painful than that.

Zarah's heart had become numb to pain.

"Okay."

Mr. and Mrs. Irving approached the casket and said their final goodbye. Though they had broken up with his son, Mr. Irving still gave Zarah a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Zarah. I hope you're coping well."

"Thanks, Uncle Noel."

Meanwhile, Mrs. Irving only snubbed Zarah and wanted to go and find their seat.

Natalie on the other hand only gave a single glance to Isaiah.

"Condolences," Josh told Zarah. He wanted to hug her but she stepped away to avoid him right away.

Meanwhile, Natalie tugged the hem of his shirt when he attempted to get closer to Zarah.

However, she let go when he glared at her.

"Thank you."

Josh felt angry after he saw that Zarah's gaze was empty and cold when she looked at him.

Yes, Zarah didn't avoid eye contact as she was not guilty at all.

She also saw what happened and she frowned. However, whatever was going on between them we no longer her business, so she just shrugged it off.

She also tolerated Natalie's hateful glares at her as they were completely harmless anyways.

"Dad. Why don't you all sit down first?", Trixie told her father and Mr.Irving got the clue and brought his wife to their seats.

He looked around and saw a few people whom he recognized. Some were his competitors in business while others were his business partners.

Isaiah's funeral also became a perfect place for businessmen to socialize and broaden their network of friends. However, they decided to not talk about business with due respect to the dead.

Mr. Irving thought that it was a perfect opportunity for his son to connect with these people.

"Josh, let's go." He told his son.

Josh, whose gaze was fixed on Zarah reluctantly got up and followed his dad.

While they were walking to approach their target group, he decided to comment on what Josh was doing.

"You've hurt her, son. And now she's gotten over you. Therefore, you have to take responsibility for your mistake by owning it up and letting her be. Stop creating more trouble for the family."

Josh wanted to object to it but he had no other choice but to say that he would do what his father was telling him to do. "I understand, Dad."

"Good."

"Now, what's the score between you and Natalie? Are you two getting back together?"

"No."

"Then, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean, Dad?" Josh asked in confusion.

"Natalie's not a bad option, Son. At least, she's the granddaughter of the second largest pharmaceutical company in the country."

Yes. Paula's family was that rich.

When it came to wealth and influence, their wealth was on par with the Stevens.

"But have you forgotten that her grandmother belittled our family, Dad?" He asked him.

"That was in the past, son. You have to show her that you're no longer the old you. And besides, our company had grown exponentially over the past years. And we became the second-richest family in Oakridge City." Noel said and smiled as they got closer to the group.

Mrs. Irving was with her friends to kill boredom while waiting for this to be over.

They started talking about the things that they had missed over the past years. After coming back overseas, Mrs. Irving became the center of attention, and oh boy, she loved it.

She told them everything that happened to her life while they were staying there and never missed a single detail.

For two hours, the spotlight was on her. However, it stopped when one of her friends looked in Zarah's direction.

"How long has she been standing there?" She asked.

After the attention shifted to Zarah, Mrs. Irving became pissed off.

"She has been standing there for hours. She was already there when I arrived with my husband." Her other friend answered.

"Tsk. She's so loyal to her adoptive father."

At least they knew her identity now.

"That's right! They're probably so close. She won't do it if she wasn't, right?"

"I doubt it. I'm sure she's after the money." Mrs. Irving interrupted them.

"Oh my. Your words are so harsh for her, Dahlia."

"I'm just telling the truth. Look at my dear Natalie. She's sitting on the bench. She's one of the legitimate heirs. Therefore, she didn't have to do extreme means to look pitiful to us."

She started spreading rumors about Zarah to them, too.

She labeled Zarah as a bad woman who seduced his son and then introduced Natalie as the daughter-in-law that she would only recognize.

Of course, they'd believe her and their opinion about Zarah changed.

Olivia heard about it and so, she decided to reprimand her mother. "Stop it, mom." She said softly which was enough for them both to hear.

But Mrs. Irving became dramatic and made Olivia's attitude toward her a perfect example of how Zarah became a bad influence on her daughters.

She was making a scene.

Olivia had enough and so she asked Noel to leave before she'd embarrass the entire family even more and ruin the good reputation that he was trying to maintain over the years.

"Dahlia, stop it," he said in disappointment.

Since Mr. Irving interfered, their mother stopped what she was doing and acted like she was being wronged.

"Excuse me, ladies. My wife and I had to go now."

Mrs. Irving reluctantly left her friends with Natalie in tow. Josh also followed them.

As expected, the twins decided to stay which made Mrs. Irving mad but the twins were not bothered by it.

After Josh's incident, the twins decided to move out of the Irving Residence to avoid the drama.

Their mother became worse after Josh's dr*g ov*rd*se. She started banning the twins from seeing Zarah which was impossible to happen.

Three hours later, Xavier arrived after his tiring day at the office.

However, his energy was recharged the moment he saw Zarah standing there.

"How are you?" He asked as soon as he reached her.

"I'm good."

"Have you eaten dinner?"

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"I waited for you," she softly said which caused ripples of emotions inside Xavier's heart.

Xavier tried to contain his happiness and replied to it, "Okay. Then, let's eat."

She looked at Trixie and Olivia and invited them, too.

Though Xavier was unsatisfied to have a third wheel in this dinner, he had no other choice but to let them join them.

They're her friends after all.

"Where's Hope?" Zarah asked him.

"Didn't she send you a message? She said that she won't be joining us tonight."

"She didn't. Why? What happened?" Zarah became worried.

"She's having a fever," he replied.

Zarah then looked at Olivia and Trixie and they both understood what that look meant.

"Okay. I'll go and check up on her. So don't worry." Olivia volunteered.

Xavier thought that Hope would be happy to know that Zarah was worried about her. However, he was also inwardly scolding her for making Zarah worry.

"Do you know where she lived?" Xavier asked Olivia.

"Yes. I joined her housewarming party last time."

"Good. Well, I already assigned someone to be her sitter. So it's up to you if you still wanted to go or not."

"I'll still go. Hope is my friend." Olivia insisted.

"Yes. Oh my gosh. I miss her smile and quirkiness." Trixie expressed, too.

"You seemed close with Hope," Zarah commented and the twins looked at her and then at Xavier.

"I know that it's not my story to tell but Hope is a runaway. I took her in and decided to treat her like my little sister." Xavier explained and Zarah felt relief as she took a deep breath.

She didn't realize she was holding her breath while anticipating his answer to her question.

"Why? Is there a problem with it?" He asked her back.

"No. None at all." She immediately dismissed it. And thought about what Xavier revealed. "But I didn't expect that she has this kind of story."

Hope was like the sunshine that would light up the entire room once she stepped in.

It's so ironic that the person who owned the brightest smile was hiding this kind of secret.

She suddenly felt sorry for Hope. She realized that she had not fully known her. She hadn't fully heard her story.

"She did say that she came here to look for her sister."

If Hope would want to, she could be her sister.

Like they're the same age. So it'd be more fun, right?

"Yes. And I'm helping her."

"Oh."

"We want to help, too." Trixie volunteered.

"It's fine. I think she found her."

"Oh! Do you know who?" Zarah asked and Xavier looked at her meaningfully.

"I don't. She didn't tell me."

Zarah felt upset all of a sudden.

"I know she'll share with you about this when she's ready."

.....

The last day of the funeral finally came. Everyone was given the chance to say their final goodbyes before Isaiah's body would be taken for cremation.

After an hour, the public viewing concluded and the guards took Isaiah's casket and carried it to the back of the chapel where the crematorium was found.

Zarah watched as the casket was pushed inside after the metals attached to the sides were removed one by one.

Xavier's hold on Zarah tightened after they closed the crematorium and the process started.

Zarah tried her best to not shed a tear. Isaiah told her in his letter that he didn't want her to cry. He'd rather want to see her smile as she bid him her final goodbye.

She did try to smile even though it was hard.

After six hours, the beautiful royal blue urn with gold lining on the rims of the cover and the mouth was given to Zarah.

As she received it, a few drops of tears escaped from her eyes, and Xavier was prepared to wipe them.

***