A Cell's Journey

[A month ago. 10 days after the arrest.]

"Have you plotted a way out here?" Zella threw the ball and catch it at the right interval. Jaina opened up the cups of probiotic milk the officers gave them earlier.

Zella threw the ball, as higher as she could, and caught it with her sweaty hands.

Jaina took a sip of the cultured milk first before turning to her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Way out? You mean, breaking out?" Jaina queried.

"Yeah, breaking out of prison. Is that the first time you heard something like that?"

Zella was curious. The holding cell was small, and a ventilator up at the ceiling was present.

They can actually take turns inspecting everything, but observing Jaina, she isn't the one who would risk her life just because of a desire for freedom.

"No, I mean… how can you break out here? It's impossible to go out of the holding cell and ran. If you want to go through the ventilation of the room, its scorching hot there, Zella, believe me."

Jaina shrugged off the fact. But Zella had reason to escape.

It is two days before they reached her final verdict.

Zella has been waiting for it, whether it's death penalty by lethal injection, guillotine, or electrocution. Jaina sighed, contemplating her question.

"You have two days left before the final verdict, am I right? Is that why you're doing this?" She's too intelligent not to catch up. Zella nodded. Jaina got it right.

She threw the small cup to the trash bin on the corner. Zella licked her lips, rushing to finish her milk, too, and observed the officers patrolling the area.

It's impossible to go out here without a plan.

"You need a plan, Zella, if you want to break out of this penitentiary and not be able to get that death penalty. I bet it's too painful than having 60 years repentance inside the prison."

"It is. They could electrocute me, inject me with poison, or behead me. Those are the traditional," Zella uttered. She threw her small cup, too, and it shoot.

Jaina propped her elbows in her knees, turning to the ventilator, wondering if they can open it at night.

"We should plot the way in a small paper. We could analyze it from there."

…

[Present time.]

"Kiss me if you need to prove our love. I can't seem… to remember everything." Leo's lips turned pale. Zella was an observant.

That slight change in his lips grew a suspicion in her.

Why would he hesitate to kiss his wife? Is she really his wife?

Leo didn't even know what to have as an excuse. This time, he should be reckless.

He approached her, closing the gap, placing his hands in his waist, pulling her closer to him.

Zella got surprised, and looked up. His charm exuded through those smoldering eyes. Even though he's not glaring, it looked at her with attention. Zella caught her breath.

She tiptoed one of her foot. Leo brought his hand to her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear.

A feather light touch and it turned her on.

Why do Zella feel he was skeptical with his every move? Like he doesn't want to touch her?

Leo didn't desire to have a romantic relationship for now. But Zella came, and he had to act as a husband taking care of his wife.

Besides, if he let Zella out of the mansion, they're going to take the blame of hiding a death convict fugitive inside their house.

The Cassanos will guarantee a guillotine death. This is all for their safety.

"Like this…" Leo leaned in.

Before he can even close the gap, loud footsteps came, and called his name. It's just the right timing.

Zella didn't even blink, staring at his chiseled jaw, recovering. His breath reached Zella's lips, and it lingered there.

Randall, rushing to the living room with his tablet's screen opened. As soon as he saw the lovebirds' moment, he turned around.

It was a coincidence.

Randall cleared his throat. Zella took a step back from Leo, and he pursed his lips.

He hissed, asking, "What is it? Do you have an important thing to say?"

His voice is annoyed. He isn't lying. He must be… saying the truth.

Zella stared at the crease of his forehead. The interruption they had for a moment earlier made her desires grew more.

Randall answered, "I have an important document to show you, master."

Leo turned back to Zella. He touched both of her elbows, soothing it, saying, "Let's sleep together tonight."

Leo put on a sweet smile. He went away, slapping Randall's back, dragging him upstairs.

Zella didn't know what just happened. The only thing racing in her mind was how he held his waist steadily. He leaned in without hesitation.

Without the interruption, they must have been kissing right now.

Zella cleared her throat. Turning to the pictures, asking, "Why is my husband too hot in person and in picture?"

…

"What are the two of you doing earlier? It's too gross." Leo smirked, sat down on his chair again, and nodded at the tablet.

Randall won't stop blabbering about the fake love they're doing. Leo rolled his eyes, and scratched the back of his head.

"You were having a time there while the Telamur released a silver notice," Randall showed the article right in his tablet, and Leo's face turned white.

Turning to his colleague, he got horrified. Randall placed the tablet down, looking at the silver notice in the headline, and her face… Zella's face.

"This is only exclusive news for Telamur. The Calvorite doesn't have anything to do with it. You don't have to worry about the censor since… the spies of Telamur and we, Cassanos, needed to take care of it." If they needed to take care of it, they have done the job.

Leo swung Zella under his wing, giving him the title as his wife. He pinched the bridge of his nose as Randall read the details, and the award was pretty big.

"So we're expecting a call from Jeremy and Sam, am I right?" Randall nodded.

Leo stood up from his chair, staring at the skyscrapers, and was clueless of what to do.

Randall shut the tablet off, uttering, "For sure, your plan is still the same. It's to hide Zella in this mansion and made him your wife. What are your plans if she ever went out of the mansion without your permission?"

"She won't be able to do that. Her eyes painted with fear, Randall. Earlier, when I'm about to kiss her, I've known for sure she'd take a step back." Leo turned to Randall, and tapped his fingers at the window frame.

He leaned his hip at the wall.

"She's testing me for everything. She claimed the memories she had was foreign to her. And she's right, Zella is her name, but I gave birth to Laina. Who would have been happy with that, right?" Leo shrugged.

He doesn't have a cold heart to abandon the woman and hand her over to the police. She's a death convict, accused with no evidence, and suffered in penitentiary state for a month.

"Do you think there's a reason she escaped the prison and the borders?" Randall has been thinking that for three straight days.

As the one responsible for bringing Zella to their mansion, he must find out the answer. Leo sighed, gazing at his colleague.

"It must be. Idris isn't that really good when it comes to rules and regulations. Yunis have become greedy as the day passed. What I know is that Louise Shelton, her daughter, argued with her mother all the time. It's just the news I got from eavesdropping with Jeremy and Sam. The center of Idris is a mess, perhaps," Leo explained.

Randall took a seat down on the couch, propping his elbows upon his knees, and stared at his reflection at the coffee table.

"Zella must have escaped the prison to dodge the punishment away. It must be either of the three. It's explainable, Leo, but…"

The Tempus Moneda! How did she deactivate it?!

Randall and Leo widened their eyes. He slowly approached his colleague, and pointed at him.

"That's it. She deactivated the Tempus Moneda, and went away from prison with a plan of escape route. No prisoners will be able to pass the borders if they didn't deactivate the…"

"Tempus Moneda."

"Tempus Moneda."

Leo and Randall both said the word. Good thing the Calvorite didn't adapt the time chips. Or else, Yunis will be able to control the Idris.

It's good the Calvorite stayed true to their principles, and let the people live with freedom.

"We need to have plans about Zella. We couldn't afford to get captured."

…

[A month ago. 11 days after the arrest.]

"Oh, I remember, Jaina. You don't have the right to escape a penitentiary state unless you deactivate your Tempus Moneda." Jaina placed down the book, and her eyes widened.

They both turned to the time chip clicking at their wrist, lighting up in their face.

Every day it's refilled, so they don't have to worry about running the time out of their life.

"Yeah, Zella. Even if we have plans to go out of the ventilation, it wouldn't work. The police would detect the loss of Tempus Moneda location. We need a high-tech code to deactivate this thing." Jaina stared at it.

She soothed her wrist, annoyed by how the time synchronized with her pulse.

"Let's deactivate it first before breaking out."