Jala Cinta Sang Mantan

The sound of laughter, chit-chat, and classical music echoed in Zane’s ears as he walked into the hall, behind Damion Briggs, his wife, Deborah Briggs, and his brothers and three kids.

The moment they arrived and stepped inside, Zane could feel others' eyes on him, but he kept his gaze ahead, ignoring the whispers as people's eyes followed him.

When they reached a couple of well-dressed guys, Mr. Briggs stopped, forcing a smile as he said, “Arthur, Cyrus, Theodore, and Christopher, it's good to see you four.” 

“You got an invite to Mr. Alfred's retirement party? How lovely,” Arthur said with a dash of sarcasm in his tone.

Looking over at the Briggs family, a foreigner who had recently entered the country and established his company there, said with a genuine smile, “These must be your children-”

“Yes. This is Theo, Sophie, and Leon Briggs.” Damion said with pride in his eyes.

When Zane subconsciously locked eyes with Christopher, he sighed and calmly uttered, “Zane... I am Zane Briggs.”

“Yeah, that's Damion’s Bastard,” Arthur added with a smug. “He just returned to the country.” 

A faint laugh broke out between Arthur, Cyrus, and Theodore as they stared at their business rival’s face, and Damion frowned at the cocky smirk they were giving him.

But since they were at the retirement party of the most powerful business Tycoon in the country, Briggs knew not to scold his son in public since they had enough rumors going around as it was.

“Where is Mr. Alfred anyways?” Mr. Briggs casually asked to change the subject.

“The old man does not feel too well... At least that is what his secretary told us.” Christopher replied.

Before anyone else can respond, Arthur interrupted, “After ruling the world of business and politics for so many years, I can not believe that poor health is what finally took him down.”

“That doesn't change the fact that he still holds so much power. Even without him sitting in an office, his status makes him an influential figure around the globe and his reputation is still powerful as before.” Cyrus injected into the conversation.

The feeling of people's eyes on Zane made him uncomfortable, and the way he felt invisible as Mr. Briggs, Deborah, and their children broke out into a conversation with Theodore and the others made the feeling of discomfort worse for him. 

So, he casually shoved his hands into his pockets and walked out, annoyed that he even forced his father to let him come, thinking it was going to help him get more business connections.

As Zane went outside to look for some fresh air and quiet, he found himself looking at the sky, where he saw a shooting star that quickly disappeared into the clouds and then he heard a calm voice behind him, “Young man, is the party that boring?”

Startled by those words, Zane gazed around, and finally, his sight rested on a wheelchair, and sitting in it was an old man, his hair and beard were almost silver white, with eyes that were a clear blue color, dressed in an expensive looking black suit.

Knowing the rumors of exactly who the host of this Party was, Zane didn't want a stranger to think that he was looking down on Mr. Alfred event, and immediately bow slightly, saying humbly, “The party is perfection, but my personal problems won't let me enjoy such a magnificent event that has been planned.”

The old man chuckled lightly before speaking, “The night is calm, but it's lonely out here, so humor me with these problems of yours that have distracted you so much from having fun.”

The old man had this gentle look on his face that made Zane feel a sense of sincerity from him, so he sighed, mumbling, “Are you sure that you are okay with me boring you?”

“I am already bored. It doesn't get worse than this.” The old fellow chuckled,  making Zane laugh a bit himself.

Then it went silent for a moment between both men before Zane said, “I was sent out of the country at a young age, and I came back two weeks ago, only to get labeled by my father, his wife, my half-siblings, and uncles as Damion Briggs’ bastard.”

“Oh, you are Mr. Briggs’s bastard that has caused such an uproar of rumors in the business world recently?” The old man said, sarcasm dripping from each word. “When I heard that Briggs had another son that we all didn't know about… I was like, ‘That’s something you don’t get to hear every day.”

When Zane looked at the old man, he knew that he couldn't feel anger toward him because he understood the man didn't mean anything bad about it.

“How old are you, boy?” The old man asked.

“Twenty-four,” Zane answered to be respectful.

“How come no one knew about your existence until a week ago when your father acknowledged you? Have you been living under a rock?” 

“Because...!” 

Not wanting his anger to ruin the atmosphere, Zane stopped himself, and instead spoke calmly, trying to remain composed despite feeling irritated and hurt inside.

“I was five when my mother died. I remember her being sickly all through that stage of my life. So she and I never left the house, and Damion never used to let outsiders see me or allow me to go out, not even to attend school… Like I was this secret he was scared of people knowing about.” Zane paused. “My mother couldn't do anything about it... She couldn't even feed or do anything for herself.”

Silence fell upon them once again, as Zane turned his head away from the elderly gentleman, who was observing him quietly.

“Just a few months after her death, my father brought in his secret mistress and their two sons. Afterward, I suddenly caught an sickness that seemed incurable, and I had been on bed-rest for most of my teen years…” Zane paused before chuckling bitterly, as tears started to roll down his cheeks slowly before he wiped them. 

Sniffing back his tears as Zane's face turned stone cold, he continued, “I was invisible to Damion just like my mother was for all those years. Finally, after years of agonizing pain, he sent me abroad because I was too much of a burden to him and his perfect family. I was left to die in an unknown country while Damion and his mistress enjoyed their life, and I would have if doctor Ben had not treated me back to health…”

A faint, bitter laugh left Zane’s lips as he ran his hand through his hair, saying, “Just for me to return to the country recently to find out that they have flipped the script, making me the bastard when my mother was legally married to Damion all through before her passing… She wasn't using Grimes as her last name, but Briggs...”

As a sigh passed his lip, Zane gazed at the sky and mumbled, “I don't know much about my parent's history because my mother could barely talk, but I saw the wedding photos when they eloped, and her ring stayed on her finger till her last breath.”

“You are a Grimes?” The old man suddenly asked in a serious tone.

It took Zane a moment to hold back his emotions and then nodded his head, saying, “Yes.”

Another moment of silence passed between them until the old man finally spoke, “Who’s your mother, boy?”

“Rosalie Grimes,” Zane responded.

Suddenly, something flashed in the old man’s eyes, and he looked away from Zane, gazing at the cloud with a sigh.

Feeling the shift in the atmosphere between the old man and him, Zane sighed silently, and then said, “It was nice talking to you, sir. But I should head inside. Excuse me.” 

Taking the old man's prolonged silence as an answer, Zane turned on his heels and headed into the mansion, walking past a slender-looking man, who gave him a side-eye before walking off in another direction.

The silence in the Briggs mansion was broken a couple of hours later when the front door opened, and Damion walked in, rage glowing in his brown orbs.

The last person to step through the doorway was Zane, and the moment he shut the door, he heard Deborah mumble in frustration, “I can't believe we didn't get to meet Mr. Alfred. How are we going to-”

The harsh look from her husband made her stop mid-sentence, and Mr. Briggs darted his eyes on Zane, his expression even harsher than before.

“Why don't you know how to shut your mouth?! Huh?!” He lashed out, but Zane didn't flinch under his intense scowl, just glaring right back at him. “When are you going to learn your place in my damn house, as a bastard, and only that!” 

The number of times Zane had heard that word within just a spin of a few days had made him numb to it, and he just stood there, staring at his father blankly, with the coldest of looks on his face.

Like their father had paved the way for them to ridicule their half-brother, Leon frowned as he sneered, “That’s why we warned you against allowing him back into the country...”

Narrowing her eyes, Sophia taunted, “Why didn't you stay overseas? Instead, you had to force yourself back into our family. Introducing yourself as a Brigg. What a leech… sticking on our family name for our wealth like a golddigger.”

“Honey, you see how people are mocking our family now. I know you first went against all of our pleas to not acknowledge him as yours if he came back... But don't you think it's time that you have a different opinion on this matter?” Deborah said softly with this pitiful look on her face.

“Honestly, all he has done so far since you recognized him as your son is to cause problems for this family and bring shame and dishonor to our whole name.” Theo scoffed.

“You saw the way that jerk Arthur mocked my brother in front of his business rivals because of his unruly attitude tonight,” Jason said, Damion’s brother in a sympathetic tone.

“He and his absurd behavior is the reason ridiculous rumors of our family are flying everywhere,” Austin, Mr. Briggs’ second brother complained. “We don't even know what more they are saying behind Father's back if they are bold enough to laugh in his face?”

“Zane!” Mr. Briggs suddenly yelled, causing the room to fall dead silent after his outburst. “Get out of my house! I don't want to see your face until tomorrow morning!”

Looking over at his wife, Mr. Briggs scowled and lashed out, “Tell the servants that he's not allowed to sleep in the worker's quarters either!”

“Yes, honey.” Deborah hastily answered.

When his glare met Zane's calm eyes, Damion shouted again, “Get the hell out of my house!”

Silently, Zane turned on his heel and walked out the door, heading for the gate as he tried to get an Uber to come to pick him up and take him to a hotel.

The loud rumble of thunderstorms made Zane look up at the sky darkening, and then a drop of water dipped on his face, making him frown.

immediately, he dialed the Uber while hurrying for the gate, but when he got there, it was closed and locked and the gatekeeper wasn't outside.

“Dicken!” Zane screamed, running to his quarter, and then started beating on the door. “Open up! I need to leave!”

Even though Zane knew that Dicken was inside, he got no response, and the rain continued pulling down heavily, soaking his hair and clothes.

Suddenly, lightning lit up the sky, and the sound of thunder echoed, making Zane clench his fist, and he growled, cursing under his breath.

As the rain beat upon his body, Zane gazed around the yard, desperately looking for somewhere to take refuge for the night, realizing that he had caged himself in a nightmare, and yet, he wasn't really to wake up from it just yet, not until he had done what he came for.