Chapter 9: When Silence Became Too Loud

"By any chance, are you avoiding Zarah?"

"You do not know what you're talking about, sister." Josh evaded the question and then changed the topic. "You know what? I'm tired. Let's call it a night, okay?"

Josh wanted to leave but Olivia stopped him. "I know you met her." She said and Josh halted his steps.

"I know you are recently in contact with her," Olivia added, which made Josh turn around and look at her sister.

Olivia walked to him and said, "Josh, Zarah's not both numb and dumb. What you've done today bothered her so much. As your sister, I hope you'll do the right thing. If you no longer love Zarah, talk to her and ask for a clean breakup rather than cheat behind her back. Zarah's an understanding and selfless person. She'll understand you."

Maybe because the alcohol was in his system or because Olivia's words pierced through him that he was in a daze. On top of that, his eyes looked confused. It was evident that he was lost.

If he was a good boyfriend, he would drop everything that he was doing and go to Zarah after knowing that she was injured.

However, he decided to get drunk with the client instead.

Josh did not say anything and decided to leave Olivia in disappointment. Olivia had no other choice but to leave the hotel, too.

As the siblings left the hotel, Camille was walking in the parking lot with two dangerous men beside her. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were blindfolded. As they reached the black van, the man pushed her inside and closed the door shut. This was the last time that she was seen in Oakridge City.

Meanwhile, back in their apartment, Zarah's eyes became swollen red from crying. She removed the earpiece from her ears and placed it back on her table.

Her eyes darted to the photos displayed on her phone. Someone had sent this to her a few minutes after Olivia left. The notification sound woke her up. She thought that Josh had sent her a message but she was surprised to see these images.

The photo showed Josh who was naked and peacefully sleeping in the arms of another woman. No. It was not Camille but someone else. Someone she knew very well.

Zarah continued crying and stayed there for a while. She only stopped when she heard movements in the living room. She slowly went to her side of the bed and pretended as if nothing happened.

She also turned off her phone before she put it down on the bedside table. She opened the drawer and pulled out a bottle of pills. She uncapped the bottle, poured four of them, and put it in her mouth. No, she was not trying to overdose.

They were pain medicine for her headache. However, she hoped that they would be able to cure the pain she had in her heart.

She wiped her tears using the back of her hand and hid underneath the covers.

When Olivia entered the room, she heaved a sigh of relief after seeing Zarah still in bed and probably sound asleep.

Olivia was still so upset and angry with Josh. Instead of coming back home with her, Josh decided to fly to Sterlington City at the last minute. He was avoiding his responsibilities to Zarah.

Olivia slipped herself underneath the covers and hugged Zarah to sleep.

Zarah's tears continued to stream while she was holding back a sob from her mouth. She didn't want to burden Olivia with her pain.

When the sun finally showed his might in the morning sky, Zarah had no energy to get up.

Zarah phoned Elliott and told him that she won't be reporting to the office which was understandable because she was nursing an injury.

Zarah was in no mood to get up from the bed. She was so unmotivated. She was thankful that Olivia was there to cook her breakfast and take good care of Xander.

Olivia had personal matters that needed her attention so she won't be able to accompany Zarah the entire day.

Being left alone in silence, Zarah realized how lonely and empty she felt.

Zarah usually liked to be alone as that's when she was more productive but this time, she started disliking it.

Since when did silence become this noisy?

She tried giving Josh a chance and so she decided to call him. However, Josh was not picking up. She tried a few times and then sent him a message.

She had never been this vulnerable for a long time. Even when Isaiah got hospitalized, she did not shed many tears.

Zarah started thinking about where their relationship started going downhill. She got so overwhelmed with her emotions that tears started streaming again.

Never once did they have any arguments. Josh was the best boyfriend and partner she could ever ask for. He had been understanding and patient despite her many lapses.

He would always bring her flowers. Take him to dates when they have available time. He proudly showed her off to his friends and sang praises to her.

All of those emotions were genuine and unforced. She could remember their first-anniversary last month. It was the most memorable one. They went to Sterlington City and he formally introduced her to his parents and grandparents.

That's when they became legal to his family. His grandparents even joked about when he would pop up the question.

Josh said that he was ready to propose anytime. He's only waiting for her to be ready.

Those words were like a confirmation that he looked forward to spending his future with her and she felt touched by this because they were on the same page.

Both of them were still young. She's still twenty while he was twenty-four. Josh was a family-oriented man and Zarah loved and admired this side of him.

For someone who grew up without her biological parents, she needed security so that the man she loved would not abandon her or their children in the future. And she felt that Josh could give her that security.

But it turned out that she might not be the person he looked forward to spending the rest of his life with.

Though he did not deny it, from what she heard, his silence when Olivia asked him was already the answer she feared to hear from him. She knew she had lost the battle in his heart, after all, her opponent was someone she could not replace in his heart.

It won't take much longer for Josh to break up things with her after the two reconciled.

Zarah was aware that Josh and that woman had broken up and Josh was not fully over her when he started pursuing her.

Why does heartbreak hurt so much?

She smiled sadly when she remembered what Isaiah once told her, "Fairytale endings aren't real. It's called a fairytale because it's fiction; a product of the author's imagination to satisfy the readers. A sad ending is more realistic than a happy ending because it's where we learned the most."

She knew that Isaiah was only trying to explain the tragic side of a love story. Everyone hoped to have the ideal fairy tale ending. Who wouldn't? And she was so dumb to believe that she'd have a fairy tale ending with Josh.

Maybe she would have a good ending with someone else. Zarah smiled bitterly. Personality-wise, she knew she was hopeless.

Xander must have felt her pain as the feline entered her room and started meowing. Hearing no movement from her, Xander jumped into the bed to check if his fur mama was there.

*Meow!*, he cried when he saw Zarah silently crying. Xander used one of his paws and tapped it on Zarah's hand as if he was checking her. His eyes showed sadness while looking at Zarah.

Zarah immediately scooped him up into her arms and hugged him. Xander then started licking Zarah's face. He then stopped and looked at Zarah to see if she had stopped crying. But when he saw that Zarah was still crying, he continued what he was doing.

Zarah's heart melted after seeing her cat's actions. Hearing that she sobbed, Xander stopped licking and started hugging her.

"Xander, please be a man in your next life and come find me. I'll marry you if that happens." Zarah blabbered and Xander purred in response.

Zarah had to get over this grief on her own. Xander meowed one more time to let her know that he was there for her and that he would never leave her.

Zarah was so clueless about what to do and so she decided to grab her phone and started searching for answers.

It could be the dumbest thing that she ever did but she no longer cared. She was desperate to get over this quickly.

Meanwhile, in the company, Hope heard that Zarah was absent so she felt worried. She should have asked for her mobile number so she could contact her.

However, they were not close. Zarah did not accept her as a friend yet. People like Zarah would take time to warm up to strangers like her.

Inside his office, Xavier was having a video conference with his clients from his other company.

He looked so serious that the atmosphere inside his office looked tense.

Rupert hesitated whether he should enter the office or not. It was evident that Xavier woke up on the wrong side of the bed because the atmosphere around him was heavy.

The meeting ended after an hour and that's when Rupert got inside. He brought documents with him and placed them on his table.

"CEO Lockhart, the company's board of directors wants to schedule an emergency board meeting today." He said.

"What do the old geezers want to do this time? If I'm not mistaken, this is not yet the annual board meeting, right?" Xavier asked with a smirk.

"Yes. Well, they said that they want to meet the CEO who replaced Mr. Nikolai Stevens. They're shocked to know that the CEO had been replaced overnight without prior announcement."

"I see. Well, my official duty has not started yet. Tell them that they have to wait."

"I understand, Mr. Lockhart," Rupert said and was ready to leave when Xavier stopped him.

"Rupert," he called. "Yes, Mr. Lockhart?"

"Ask Miss Jansen to come to the office," Xavier said and Rupert immediately answered, "Miss Jansen is absent today, Sir."

"Is her injury that severe? I never thought that the great Theodore would raise a weak daughter." He then showed his hand that was wrapped around with a bandage. His knuckles were still swollen.

Was he trying to make a point? His and her injuries were completely different.

"It's her doctor's recommendation to take at least a day off, Sir. I have a copy of her medical certificate." Rupert said while trying to defend Zarah.

"If she can't handle an ankle injury, then she should quit this internship. We don't need a weakling like her."

Xavier had become irrational again. However, Rupert was not there to argue with him and so he respectfully bowed his head and left the office.

Being left alone, Xavier tapped the top of his desk. He seemed to be thinking about something. Seconds later, he got up from his seat, fixed his suit, and left the office.

"Mr. Lockhart, where are you going?" Chris, who happened to meet him in the hallway, asked and he answered, "Outside. I won't be coming back today."

"Can you drive?" Chris asked while looking at his hand.

"I'm not a cripple," Xavier said and walked away.

It didn't take him much time before he arrived in the parking lot and walked to his parked Tesla. He hopped in and entered the GPS location before the car's engine started and sped off on the highway.

Meanwhile, Josh's airplane finally landed in Sterlington City.

Both his heart and mind were in a mess. He could not decide on his own and so he hoped to find answers with the help of another person.

He hopped off the plane and got into his car. Thirty minutes later, he pulled over into this neighborhood which was very familiar to him.

He entered the building and skipped the front desk. He boarded the elevator and punched the button on the panel beside the right side of the door.

The elevator opened with a *ding!* and he walked out from it. A few seconds later, he found himself standing in front of the door. As soon as it opened, he was faced with the woman who was the root cause of his predicament.

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