CHAPTER 18

"I'll be fine," I told him. I know he was worried. He was the one who witnessed me crying the whole time and I know he just didn't want to be absent when I break down. But if it's about work, we can't help it. He also cannot bring me back since it's a 3 hours drive and it's my parents' funeral.

"I don't want to leave you," he said. I looked at him and couldn't help but be amazed by how much he cared for me.

"I'll be fine, there's a lot of people in here, I'll be fine," I assured him. "There's Ali, Tita Leah, Airah-- and you can call me so you don't have to worry. "

"I'll move the meeting tomorrow," he said and stood up. he took his phone out of his pocket and started dialing a number. I went up and snatched his phone from him and I ended the call.

"It was urgent so it must be important," I said. "You have to go home, Zach," I said. He didn't say anything and sighed.

"I'll be back later, I promise--"

"You'll be back tomorrow, don't exhaust yourself driving another 3 hours to come here, I'm fine, really," I told him assuring him that everything will be alright.

I had already stopped crying and I don't think he'd have to worry this much about me. I know I will be fine. I am fine by myself.

He had no other choice but to come back home. He left after planting a kiss on my forehead and when he got to the car, he texted me.

From: Zach

[I'll be back,]

I continued entertaining the guests to keep myself busy and also to make Tita Leah rest because she has been at it since last night. The flowers almost doubled up in the hallway the view is all white. I didn't expect my parents to be this popular. I didn't think they'd have this many friends to the point that I'd get exhausted after a few minutes of greeting people. Our house is huge and the front yard was full of people, inside where the caskets were displayed was also full with people and so as most of our house' first floor.

We didn't invite the guests to the second floor since the rooms were all in there. I looked downstairs from the upper stairs and saw the crowd and thought that it'd be beneficial for me to keep myself busy like this to stop crying and thinking about it and tend to think ridiculous things again because Zach wasn't here and if I start crying, I'd have to deal with it myself.

Zach has been texting me so I have to bring my phone everywhere since he checks on me every time.

I ate dinner with Tita Leah and Aira who decided to stay longer than her parents but she left at 10 pm. I was alone because Ali was nowhere to be found. I still haven't talked to him about those years that he left us and how he has been doing ever since.

We both still have a lot to talk about. the company left by my parents, the properties, and everything. So I looked for him and saw him in his old room. Thank God I told Tita Leah that I'll come upstairs to take a rest and I won't have to worry about who will be greeting the people downstairs.

"Hey," I said and knocked after opening the door and saw him on his old bed looking at the place. He must be feeling nostalgic. He had left for years and I know my parents didn't change a bit in this room. Thinking that they never replaced the contents in this room even after he left hurt me. Because for me, they didn't touch the room because they still think he would come back. And he did but in an unexpected situation.

"You need to rest, don't push yourself too much, you're pregnant," he told me. I stepped into his room and sat on the gray sofa in front of his bed to face him. It was already late but I still want to talk to him.

"How are you?" I asked him knowing that it was out of his own topic about my pregnancy.

"Are talking about all those years?" he asked and put his hand on the back side of the bed and leaned on it. I didn't answer. "Well," he said. "I'm fine,"

"That's all?' I asked him and he chuckled. After a moment of silence and he started talking.

"You had a hard time," he said,

"With what?"

"Dealing with the both of them," something in my throat started to stop me from speaking and I paused. "I'm sorry," he said.

I didn't blame him. I never did. Even though sometimes, I think that if he never left, it would be easier for me. They would never force me to change my career plans and maybe I have been loved a little and my arts were never criticized. But measuring how much I have suffered instead of him and thinking of him suffering from those things for me, I could never blame him for leaving.

He chose himself over me and if I were him, I think I would do that too.

We were not selfish, we just suffered enough for us to think about choosing ourselves for a change. We weren't bad children., we just had parents who wants us to do the same as they want. Do what you were told to do or leave. That's all.

But we can't blame our parents for thinking about what was best for the both of us. But we just turned out to be thinking the opposite ways and we clashed.

"It wasn't that bad," I lied. He smirked as if he knew I was lying.

"I kept in contact with our maids, I know everything. And what happened on that night they found out you were pregnant,' he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him. He seemed to know something I didn't know. And I am curious what it was because he was talking about me and Zach.

"It's too soon to tell you," he said, "Don't mind it,"

I left the room after pursuing him to tell me for minutes. And the last thing that he said made me ever curious about what it was. "I don't like your husband,' he said.

I don't know what it was and I have no idea. I wanted to think more about it but I am afraid to jump to conclusions and break down.

I went back to my room and came in to find out my phone was ringing. I immediately took it and answered the call coming from Zach. "Hey, I'm sorry, I went out and left the phone," I said. I left it earlier when I stopped by my room before going to Ali's.

"Hey, Are you alright? Why are you still awake?" he asked me.

"I had a conversation with Ali,' I told him."Done with the meeting?" I asked him.

I don't know what Ali meant when he said he didn't like him. I wanted to tell him that he must be thinking the opposite thing but he seems to know something that I don't. It must be coming from that thing and I just can't ask Zach what it was all about.

We talked for a bit and he ended the call by saying I should get proper rest. I took a shower and went to the bed to get some sleep. I stared at the ceiling for no reason thinking that I would get sleepy faster that way but things came into my mind.

My parent's faces flashed n my eyes so I closed my eyes and tried to get myself to sleep but I couldn't. I know I shouldn't be sleeping this late but I couldn't help it.

I kept on thinking that I am all alone right now because my parents are gone.

I wasn't a dependent person but after thinking that my parents are gone, I was horrified that I'd have to get through things alone.

This happens to me all the time. My anxiety keeps me from thinking the right thing and when this happens, I wouldn't get to sleep at all and I start crying for stupid reasons. I felt weak. I couldn't even move on the bed because I felt like every move was heavy.

I tried to fix it with my breathing but doesn't work. I was suddenly stressed by the fact that I am all alone right now. I couldn't rely upon my parents and I am horrified about it even though they were never really the people I have relied on in the past.

When I noticed it was all just getting worst, I immediately dialed Zach on face time and saw him getting ready to sleep alone on the bed of his room. "I told you to sleep," he said.

"I can't sleep," I said.

"Are you okay?" he asked right away.

I looked at his face on the screen and suddenly feel like I want to cry. "No," I admit.

Why am I suddenly feeling all those feelings from this morning and last night? And it was all doubled and I felt awful to the point that I just want to cry lots and lots of tears.

My voice broke what I said 'no' and he already knew that I was crying.

Mom and Dad's passing haunted me down and I cannot help but cry like how I did earlier when I first saw their bodies in the casket.

I heard scratches and the sound of the door closing on the other side and when I looked back at the screen, I saw Zach walking out of the house with his jacket. He's coming.

I saw him but I didn't stop him. I want him to come right now. I regret letting him leave.

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3rd PERSON'S POV

When Xhyrah found out that Zach is coming, he somehow got to calm herself down and immediately got to sleep unconsciously with her camera on and Zach seeing she had already gone to sleep. Zach didn't stop and continued driving 3 hours back to Xhyrah's house to see her.

He had been worried since earlier. He knew this was going to happen.

He came to their house and noticed there are fewer people there. Well, it was already 3 am when he got there. He was about to walk straight upstairs because he couldn't see anyone whom he would like to notify that he was here other than Xhyrah.

But then, he saw the gloomy eyes of his wife's brother coming from the other end of the stairs. He has been giving him that kind of expression since earlier and he had only found out when he told him the reason.

"I thought you came home," said Alester who was just the same age as him.

"I came back, obviously,' he said that making the other guy smirked. Everything was quiet and you cannot hear a single sound coming from downstairs the hallways on the second floor were deserted so it seemed like they were the only people in that house.

"Now that my parents are gone, you can do everything you want with Xhyrah," Alester started talking,

"I am not leaving her," Zach replied.

"You are way too smart to be caught in a blackmail Mr. Alfonso," Alester teased him.

"Exactly. You don't know anything about it, so just shut up,"

"I told her already," Zach immediately darted Alester with his eyes and saw the man smirking with his reaction. "Kidding, I couldn't hurt my sister so I want you to tell her yourself,"

"She's not going to know a thing, it is unnecessary to tell her that. Why can't you understand my explanation?"

"Because I doubt that you were a good person," Alester said using a cold tone but it didn't move Zach a bit.

"That is not my problem," Zach countered.

"I don't want my sister having his hopes up for a guy like you who seemed to have married her because he was blackmail--"

"I didn't marry her for that reason. You're wrong so why don't you just shut up?"

"I have eyes around the house that time and they saw it," Alester said pertaining to the maids scattered in the room that night.

"They saw it wrong," Zach said with finality in his words and started marching towards Xhyrah's room angered with what Alester just said to him.

Xhyrah is not the kind of person who immediately wakes up from her sleep when there was a small movement but at that time, he felt someone sit on the bed with her and she immediately knew who it was. "Hey," she said and pulled the guy closer to him. The smell was of course familiar.

It was Zach whom she immediately snuggled in to get more sleep. He didn't say anything and kept on thinking about what Alester said to him. He was angry. He didn't want to lose her over a misunderstanding. It scares him whenever he thinks that that person might say anything to her and she'd immediately jump to conclusions.

He let out a loud sigh and stared at her until he fell asleep. Like how he does every night.