KATE held her breath as she walked down the staircase. She was halfway to the living room when she saw Jan’s family together with the detectives in charge of her husband’s case. She took a deep breath before sauntering towards them.
“Katherine,” Fernan greeted and nodded somberly.
She gazed at everyone before sitting on the one-seater sofa.
“H-how’s the investigation going?” Kate swallowed the lump that started to form in her throat.
Her thoughts about Jan always made her mind restless. If truth be told, she never had a decent sleep since he was gone. She spent all those sleepless nights crying and begging God to make a way so he could return. Kate tried her best to think of only the good ones, but it was hard whenever she would glance at the empty side of the bed. And now, in the middle of chaos… she was pregnant.
The detective cleared his throat. “We still couldn’t find any lead that will lead us to either the suspect or your husband.”
“There must be another getaway car,” Jan’s father said. “They can’t just drag him somewhere without being noticed by onlookers. The crime happened early in the morning.”
“You’re right, Sir. There could be. But the problem is… if there’s really another getaway car, we couldn’t find any clue. The Uber car was abandoned in a place where there’s no CCTV, and it’s less likely to be crowded with people.”
“How about the interrogation?” Jan’s mother asked. “Well…” The detective sighed. “Out of those people that you told us to interrogate, we already talked to half of them. Upon checking their alibis, it all checked out. It’s still ongoing for the other half.”
“Oh, God… Tell me, my son isn’t dead….” Jan’s mother buried her face in her palm and started crying.
“Martina… please, don’t say that.” Jan’s father went beside his wife and gently caressed her back to comfort her.
Kate felt her body shaking as she remained in her seat. The thought that her husband might have been dead scared her. He would come back. And she would never stop praying for his safety until he returned to them in one piece. She was still looking forward to that day that she and Jan were happily living together, raising their children.
“Are you alright, Katherine?”
She flinched when she felt Fernan’s hand land on her shoulder.
“I… I just don’t know what to do, Fernan. I want to go out there and look for him, but I didn’t know where I should begin,” she said in between her sobs. “I didn’t even know why this is happening… I’m—”
Kate could no longer hold herself. She burst into tears.
Jan’s brother went in front of her and crouched.
“Listen to me, Katherine… The police are doing their best to find him. They won’t stop. I promise you that.” Fernan cupped her hand.
“We have to go now,” the detective said afterwards. “We’ll keep you posted if there’s any lead.”
“Thank you, Detective.” Fernan stood up and walked them out of the house.
THOUGH Kate was not feeling well, she still went to the office to work. She just could not show everyone, especially her Aunt Bernice, that the turn of events made her weak. She was afraid her aunt might see that as an opportunity to attack.
She raised her head when she heard a knock on the door.
“Yes, Bianca?”
Her secretary winced.
“Your aunt is here. I already told her that you’re busy, but she keeps insisting that she’ll see you. She said she has something you needed badly,” Bianca whispered and glanced in the direction of the door.
She exhaled sharply and closed the folder.
“Send her in.”
“A-are you sure?” Her secretary looked at her intently.
Kate just nodded slowly in response.
“A-alright.”
Bianca rushed to the door and opened it.
Aunt Bernice came in, carrying a paper bag in one hand. She managed to flash a sad expression. However, she knew better. This aunt of her was a two-faced creature.
Kate leaned against her seat.
“Why are you here, Auntie? I can’t remember that I summoned you.”
“Oh, dear.” Aunt Bernice put the paper bag down on her table and clasped her hands. “I brought you some chamomile tea. I read somewhere that it’s good to drink it before going to bed for a good night’s sleep. I bet you’re having difficulty in sleeping since your husband went missing. How’s the investigation going?”
Her aunt sat on the edge of her table, making her raise her brow. This aunt of hers was really unbelievable. She has no shame at all.
Kate cleared her throat and pulled the paper bag. She peeked through it and saw that her aunt had brought her a lot.
“This is too much.”
“Well, I thought you need more… You know, we never know—”
“I would appreciate it if you came here to show your concern and not the other way around, Auntie. Because to tell you… honestly… I have no time to deal with your shit,” Kate said in a firm tone. It was the very first time she that blunt towards someone.
Her aunt opened her mouth and scoffed.
“Look at you, showing that true colors of yours—”
“I don’t get it why until now you haven’t mastered the rules yet, Auntie. If you’re good to me, then I’ll be better. But if you continue to be bad towards me, you’re giving me with no choice but to treat you worst.”
Aunt Bernice’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh, my… you’re just a scaredy cub when you left me, Kate. Jan really raised you into a tigress, huh.”
Kate pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
“You know what, Auntie… you should leave before I call the security to drag you out of my office.”
Aunt Bernice sneered and stood up. But just when she was about to reach the doorknob, a thought crossed her mind.
“You didn’t do anything, right, Auntie?”
She halted and immediately turned to face her.
“Are you accusing me, Kate?” Her aunt raised a brow.
“I was just… asking.”
Aunt Bernice folded her arms across her chest.
“Well, it sounds to me that you’re accusing me as if I have something to do with what happened to your husband,” her aunt said through gritted teeth.
“I couldn’t stop from thinking that you might have a grudge against my husband. We both know that what happened to you is all because of Jan.”
Aunt Bernice shook her head and scoffed.
“It’s good that you know what your husband had done to me. But I’m sorry to take your hope away. I’m innocent, Kate. I’ve never done such a thing. I don’t even have the means.”
She could no longer counter her aunt’s words because she had already stormed out of the room. Kate heaved a sigh and was about to go back to work when she heard another knock at the door. Fernan came in after a few moments.
“F-Fernan, what are you doing here?” She immediately stood up and sauntered towards him.
He pocketed his hands and sighed.
“Mom called me and said I should check on you. You know what, it’s okay if you skip going to the office. You can work at home for the meantime—”
“I can’t stay at home, Fernan.” Kate shook her head. “If I stayed confined inside its walls, I’ll just… keep myself thinking about Jan. At least, when I’m here, I get busy with work and online classes… I can somehow forget about what happened.”
“Well… you’re right. And I think I must not stop you from doing things that will keep you—”
“Fernan, be honest with me… Do you think Jan will still come back? Do you think he’s dead?”
She tried her best to suppress her tears, but she just could not do that. Her tears fell automatically whenever she would think about her husband.
“We’re all hoping that he’s still alive, Katherine.” He heaved a sigh. “But right now, that there’s no lead that could conclude that my brother’s still alive… I…”
“If he’s dead… will your family still let me live in the estate?” Kate asked somberly.
“What makes you think that we’ll kick you out of your home, Katherine?” Fernan grasped her arms. “Come on… you’re my brother’s wife. You’re part of the family.”
“I really need a home and a family to lean on. And my child needs it the most….” Her words trailed off.
His eyes grew wider.
“Y-your child? Katherine… you mean—”
“I’m… pregnant, Fernan.” She burst into tears. “I… I just learned about it this morning before you and the police came to the house.”
“Oh… God. Did you tell Mom and Dad?”
“I… I haven’t told anyone yet except my friend who’s with me. And of course, now you know.”
Fernan caressed her arms.
“Hush… Katherine. You know crying is not good for the baby.”
“Yes. I know. But I can’t help it….”
He pulled her for a hug.
JAN checked in at the same hotel where his brother was staying. He emptied the envelope the moment they got it and looked at its content one by one. He caressed his chin and looked at her afterwards. “When did you get all of these, Katherine?” “Steel delivered them to me before your dad died. I… I decided to keep it hidden at my family’s ancestral house in the meantime.” “And are you carrying them now? Are you going to give them to my brother?” “No…” Kate shook her head and clasped her hands. “Winona called me. She told me there’s a possibility that you’ll come here to see your brother. And she was right… I have it with me because… I want to show it to you in front of your brother and—” “You don’t have to do that, Katherine.” Jan rose from his seat and sauntered towards her. he held her by the arms and looked at her straight in the eyes. “What’s between Fernan and me will remain between us. I don’t want you to involve yourself with that. Do yo
KATE was biting her nail anxiously as she paced back and forth in the living room.“Dear, could you please stop doing that? I’m starting to get dizzy seeing you pacing like that,” Nana Talia told her and sighed. She even lightly hit her leg with her cane.“I can’t help it, Nana… I’m worried why Angelique and Mom still haven’t arrived here at this hour!” She was almost hysterical when she said that. “Their plane landed at ten this morning. It was already two in the afternoon!”“Then why don’t you call Madam Martina and ask her where they are now instead of worrying here?” Her nanny leaned against her seat and massaged her forehead. “You’re not just making my head dizzy. Now it throbs.”“Right.” Kate fished her phone frantically from her pocket and called Jan’s mother.The other line kept ringing until she heard the operator say th
KATE was cooking fried rice in the kitchen when her nanny came in from the backdoor. She was followed by the cook, who carried the freshly picked crops from the vegetable garden.The cook rushed to her immediately. “Madam, you should’ve—”“No, it’s alright.” She flashed a smile and continued mixing the fried rice in the wok.Her nanny went beside her and nudged her to the side.“Your aura’s looking exceptionally happy today, dear. Did something good happen?” asked Nana Talia.“Well…” Kate turned off the stove. “Jan finally came out of the guestroom, and he requested some fried rice for breakfast, so I cooked for him.”“Oh!” Her nanny’s eyes glowed. “You did it, Kate! It worked!” Nana Talia tapped her back. “Well done, dear.”“Thank you, Nana.”She poured the fried rice into a bowl and
JAN’s mother decided to hold a one-day funeral for his father. After that, he was taken to his final resting place. Fernan did not show up, and Kate only heard from Winona that he had been locking himself inside his hotel suite and would not talk to anyone. She knew what he did was wrong, but then… she could not help but worry about him. Fernan’s situation was not easy, and there was a possibility that his mental state was at stake. She wanted to check on him, but a lot of reasons were holding her back. In the end, Kate decided not to see him and just wait until their paths crossed again. And as for her husband, Jan was another problem. He had been locking himself inside the guestroom. He has barely eaten a decent meal since his dad died and only filled his stomach with different liquors his hand would have a hold. The Villamar brother’s coping mechanism was too far from their mother’s. After her husband’s funeral, Madam Martina went on a vacatio
KATE was at the venue of their company’s commercial shoot that day. She left her phone in the car and eventually forgot to get it, for she was too occupied with supervising the shoot.“Is it alright if we retake that one? I think it will look better if we take the shot from the left angle. What do you think?” she told the director.“Oh, Katherine! You do have a good eye!” the director said after taking another look at the video they shot. “Let’s roll another take of this one.”The director immediately prepared for another shoot.She sat on a bench as she waited for the shoot to happen. That was when her secretary came to her, rushing.“Is there something wrong?” Bianca handed her her phone. “A call from your in-laws’ residence, Ma’am. It’s urgent.”“Hello…” Kate said nervously. Could it be that something happened to her husband again?
KATE hid the file folder in her family’s ancestral home before going to Jan’s parents’ place. She had to hide it somewhere far from everyone who must not see it in the meantime. She must keep the secret until the right opportunity to tell everyone comes. His family had been through a lot lately; she did not have the heart to add another problem.She dipped herself in the bathtub while enjoying a bottle of champagne, hoping that it would relax her mind and body. It was her only escape since she could not go somewhere far away to unwind.“This is one of the things that I miss about you.”Her gaze reverted to the door when she heard Jan’s voice. She found him leaning against the doorframe. His eyes were glistening with admiration as though she was the most beautiful woman in the world.“If you’re going to join me for a bath, please turn off the light.” She took a huge gulp of champagne.“And