18 - Marianne

"Of course. I'm okay. Come on, let's head back. Jonah and the rest must be looking for us," I said as I began to pull Jack's arm while trying to hide the worries in my eyes. But as I had expected, Jack didn't budge.

"Tell me the truth," he urged suddenly, his voice graver than it had been the last time he used it.

I swallowed down hard as I forced myself to fight back the panic that was rising inside of me. "Aki-"

"Are you seeing Uncle Benjie again? Is that it?" Jack asked out of the blue, which took me by surprise.

“Huh?” I turned to look at him. What was he saying? Benjie? How did Benjie end up in the middle of this conversation?

"When are you going to realize, Mom? Uncle Benjie likes you, it’s the reason why he doesn’t call you or think of you as an elder sister-in-law despite the fact that you are older than him," Jack expressed while controlling his anger in his voice. "Don’t talk to him from now on. You've given enough help to their family. You are done helping them."

"What are