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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Claimed by the billionaire at the altar: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

96 Kabanata

71

My eyes stung as I made my way out of the hallway. I had embarrassed myself in front of everyone, I was an emotional mess.I wiped my tears frantically. It was time to go home. I had had more than enough for one day. “Jane,”I could hear Zac’s voice calling after me but I didn’t turn back. This was what he wanted right? To humiliate me in front of everyone and to cry just like I did in high school. “Jane, what is wrong with you?” He asked angrily When I got to an empty office, he grabbed my arm and I pushed him away. “You want to know what my problem is?” I cried. “You’re my problem. Stay the fuck away from me.”He reaches for me again but I move back. It’s almost like he’s aware of what he can do to me, a simple touch can make me go crazy. “If you touch me again, I’m going to slap you!”Just like him, I was taken aback by how harsh I was but I had had enough of him. It was always Zac this, Zac that. He was everywhere, always in my thoughts and even in my dreams too. “Why

72

I was still hot from my moment with Zac when Nate called to tell me he was downstairs and he had something really important to discuss. I knew it had something to do with the wedding and I really hoped he’d let it go for now. It wasn’t his place to inform my parents about the wedding I didn’t approve of. I reapplied my lipgloss and steadied my breathing before going to the parking lot to see him. Guilt was written all over my face. I had almost cheated on my fiance and I felt no remorse, if anything, I was kind of upset that he called, ruining the moment.I imagined Dr Harrison typing a long paragraph, expressing her disapproval. “Hi,” I breathed out as I got into Nate’s car.I avoided eye contact. “Hey honey,”He placed a kiss on my lips and I almost fainted. I wished it was Zac. Nate leaned in for another kiss, I didn’t pull back but when I closed my eyes, all I could see was Zac. “How have you been?”I gave him a simple answer, avoiding all the craziness. “When were you go

73

I was sixteen again, having milkshake dumped on me, crying because of Zac’s betrayal. I swore I’ll never let the same thing happen to me again but here I was, in the office toilet, crying my eyeballs out. For years, I was cautious when it came to opening my heart to someone and even friendships. When Nate came along, it took a lot of time to accept him and to believe not everyone was trying to stab me in the back. How could I have been fooled twice? All this time, i believed that I was the bad person for judging him. Maybe he felt guilty for treating me like I didn’t matter, that’s why he paid my bills and school fees. He almost kissed me today, how could he do that when he was still seeing Olivia? He was a brilliant actor for sure. I looked at the picture again, I had taken it from Nate. Zac didn’t look like he didn’t want to be there, he didn’t have his usual scowl on his face. How did I think he could love me when him and Olivia looked like a power couple? They were meant for

74

I’ve never imagined a life without papa. He was everything to me, he was always there. When I learnt to ride a bike, when I cried because of a boy, when I was overwhelmed with school work, papa was always there. The concept of papa dying was foreign to me, I just never thought about it. What was I going to do without him? Was life worth living without him? I rushed to the hospital after mama's phone call, Zac by my side. As if my day couldn’t get any worse.Mama was pacing around. If you knew mama, then you knew she paid great attention to her looks. Unlike me, her hair was always done, her fingers and toes were well kept no matter how hard she worked. The woman's pacing was different from my mother. She had lost so much weight, how had I not noticed? I had been so consumed with my own problems that I failed to see that my family was suffering. Mama's hair was a mess, her clothes were mismatched and she looked like she had been crying for days. “Mama,” I cried as I rushed to her,

75

It had been three hours since I arrived at the hospital. There were no updates from the doctors or nurses. All I could see was them running in and out of the theater. Mama had cried herself to sleep and me, I just stared into empty space. I was still in shock from everything that had happened to me in one day. I thought of Zac and Nate often but I was very upset at the two of them. They were supposed to offer me comfort, not cause a scene at the hospital. Not only was I the daughter of the man in the theater, I was also the girl who had two men fight over her.I wrote mama a little note, telling her I’d be back soon. I needed to take a walk to clear my head. As much as I had so much faith in the doctors at Gonzales hospital, I was very scared that they’d have bad news for us. Zac ensured that the best surgeons were on our case which I was grateful for but it didn’t mean I wasn’t done with him.I stepped out of the hospital, feeling some fresh air for the first time that day. Gonza

76

Zac and I had been sitting in silence for almost an hour. With each minute that passed, I couldn’t help but think that papa had died. Zac shared the same fear but he couldn’t say much. He made sure the best cardiologist was on my fathers case but there was only much he could do. “I found him,” he said, his eyes still fixed on the stars “Who?” I raised a brow “My father,” he sighed. “He was in his study. I had just come back from school, he promised to take me to the park. There he was, his head bent on his desk. It was weird because he never slept in his study no matter how tired he was. I tried waking him up but he wouldn’t wake up. I screamed for help. When we got to the hospital, they said we brought him in too late. Everytime, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I had come home earlier. I blame myself because I came home thirty minutes late, if I had come home on time he’d probably still be alive,”I stared at him with so much pity. I couldn’t imagine how dif

77

Zac and I ran to the ward, holding hands. I’ve never felt so much relief in my life. Papa was alive!We met mama talking to a doctor. “Your father is a fighter,” he said to me. “I’m shocked he pulled through. You’ll be able to see him in a few minutes,”Zac shook hands with the doctor and he proceeded to appreciate the team. “I thought you had gone home,” mama said as soon as we were alone.Zac shook his head shyly. It was the first time I’ve ever seen him shy. When he was around my parents, he avoided eye contact with them and he was always respectful. “No, I didn’t want to leave you guys all by yourself,” he saidMama’s eyes moved to our hands, only then did I realize we were still holding hands. “So,” she folded her arms. “What’s going on between the two of you?” “Nothing!” We said at the same timeMama frowned. “Do you think I’m a fool? I see the way you look at each other. You’re always stealing glances at each other like you’re teenagers. Is Nate aware of this?”I sw

78

By midnight, Zac and I decided to go home. Papa was stable, mama offered to stay with him the whole night and I’ll take over in the afternoon.After my conversation with Zac, I avoided him. I tried to distract myself with other things like reading a book or talking to the nurses at the hospital. I wished I could talk to Dr Harisson about recent developments. There was no hope for me and Zac but still, I daydreamed about him and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. “What happened?” Mr Vincent asked as we got into the car.Mr Vincent didn’t read the gossip blogs so he wasn’t aware that Zac and Nate fought. “Nothing, I’m fine,” Zac mumbled.Mr Vincent looked at me, his eyes accusing but I shrugged. He began driving, a disapproving scowl etched on his face. A few minutes later, my phone rang. It was Nate. I sighed with relief, I tried contacting him and his parents but I was able to get neither. “Nate, are you okay?” I shut as I answered the phone. “I’ve been worried,”I was aware

79

I lay awake in bed, a million thoughts running through my head. I just kissed Zac freaking Gonzales. No, he kissed me but I kissed him back and honest to God, it was the best kiss in my entire life. I’ve never felt my body come alive as much as it did. For years, I imagined what it felt like to kiss him and my imagination did no justice. He was a perfect kisser, the right amount of pressure, everything about him was perfect. It was a simple and gentle kiss but my body needed more. When he broke the kiss, I couldn’t hide my disappointment. He simply smiled and said goodnight. I wondered if he could hear my heart beat. I had just proved his point, I wanted him more than anything else.I sighed as I traced the rims of my engagement ring with my fingers. I’d have to tell Nate about this. Kissing another man was a big deal, it was always going to carry the guilt in my heart. He called me a few times but I ignored it. What was I going to say? I had a session with Dr Harrison later in

80

Mr Vincent dropped me off at the hospital. On the way there, I stopped by the store and got all of papa’s favorite things. His favorite food, CDs from his favorite artists and a lot more. Going through this taught me to appreciate him and mama more, I was going to do that every single day. Papa's room was filled with flowers and cards from employees and friends. What I didn’t expect was Nate and his family. I avoided eye contact with them and moved to papa’s side. I kissed his cheek and gave him a long hug. When we broke apart, he smiled and that brought tears to my eyes. “I see you’ve been causing a lot of trouble around here,” he half whispered, half laughed. “I leave you for just a few hours and everyone is talking about you,”I laughed, this was papa. He’d make a joke, not caring what had happened. “Good afternoon Mr and Mrs Russell,” I said, turning to my in-laws.Neither of us smiled, there was nothing to smile about. Nate was by their side, he had a cast on his arm and

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