The Billionaire's Son

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Mallory . . ." Sage touched my hand gently and brought it to his lips. Pumikit siya nang mariin. "Please, baby, talk to me . . ."

My throat is thick. I opened my mouth and tried to speak but no words came out.

"Mal . . ." his voice croaked.

"Mallory!"

I weakly turned my head to see Gideon catching his breath. Tumakbo siya papalapit sa akin at mabilis akong niyakap.

"God, did something happen to you? Are you okay?"

Hindi pa rin ako sumasagot.

"Mallory . . ."

"Just give her some time, please." Sierra butted in, gently untangling Gideon from me. "Let her rest for a bit. Tonight is . . . it's been a long night. You can all come home and we'll go back to the station tomorrow. The police permitted Mallory to go home already."

Masama na ang tingin ni Sage kay Gideon ngunit wala siyang sinabi. He quickly caught my hand and guided me back towards the car.

"Mallory—"

"I'm driving her home." Matigas na wika ni Sage. He glared at Gideon. "Sumabay ka na kay Sierra."

Gideon shot him an unbelievable look. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? Everything's a mess and now you're concerned about your jealousy—"

"Enough!" sigaw ko sa kanilang dalawa. Natahimik si Gideon at Sage. Sierra looks shocked. "Please, just . . . just shut up. I don't need anyone giving me a damn ride tonight! I'll walk alone!"

"Mallory—"

"Alone, I said!" I gritted my teeth angrily and walked away from them. Mabilis akong naglakad sa kabila ng lamig na humahaplos sa aking pisngi at ang panginginig ng aking lalamunan.

Leon . . .  Leon . . . Leon . . . He's gone.

Tumulo ulit ang aking mga luha. The tears blurred my vision as I walked down the empty streets, leading me to a shrine. Huminto ako at nagpalinga-linga. Naupo ako sa sementong hagdanan at isinubsob ang aking mukha sa mga palad.

"Leon . . ." I sobbed.

Leon planted a bullet in his head. I watched him die before my eyes. The gunshot. The pain inflicted on his face. My scream that night. The blood escaping from his head. The way he fell from the rootop.

I knew every little detail about it.

Mas lalong lumakas ang aking iyak. My chest started to hurt. Someone from the club found me crying on the rooftop while a chaos occurred on the ground when a dead body was found.

Tinitigan ko ang aking mga kamay. The blood from the gun is still there. I picked up the gun when Leon fell from the rooftop without realizing what they would think. And now I'm under interrogation.

They are questioning if it was really a suicide or a murder case.

---

"Mal . . ."

I weakly lifted my head up. Sage is standing from a good distance from me with a gloomy expression on his face. Dahan-dahan siyang lumapit sa akin. Hindi ko na namalayan kung ilang oras akong nanatili sa shrine. I didn't even know if I fell asleep in the process.

Sage removed his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Let's go home . . ." he said gently.