Loving a Believer

Chapter 17: Jealous of Her

"Alam mo ba kung nasaan si Demi ngayon?" I didn't expect his question so I was a bit surprised.

"Yes. Why?" asked with brows furrowed.

"Gusto ko siyang makita. Itinuring ko ring apo si Demi. Gusto ko siyang makita bago man lang ako pumanaw."

Napatigil naman ako at saglit na napatitig sa kanya. Lumingon ako kay Fara at nakita ko kung gaano kaseryoso ang mukha niya habang nakikinig sa amin ni Lolo Max. Kalaunan ay binalik ko muli ang tingin ko kay Lolo Max. "A-are you sure, Lo?" paninigurado ko.

"Yes," Lolo Max said.

I heaved a sigh and nodded my head. "Alright."

***

I dialed Demi's number.

The sky was dark, but because Lolo Max's garden had post lights, I could still see the colorful flowers here. I looked at those as I waited for Demi to answer my call. I wasn't sure if she was already awake at this moment. After a few rings, she answered.

"Hello?" She sounded sleepy.

"Hello, Demi. I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep, but this is just urgent," I said.

"Oh, what is it?"

"Lolo Max wants to see you. We have a reunion on Friday and you need to come here. But don't worry, ako na ang magpapaasikaso sa flight mo para makarating ka kaagad dito," I explained.

"Why he suddenly wants to see me?" she asked.

"You know, he treats you as one of his grandchildren because we were always here in his place when we were young."

"Aww! I miss him."

"Because he is sick, I think he knows that he will die anytime, and he wants to see his grandchildren before he dies."

"What? He's sick?" She was shock.

"Yeah." I sighed.

"All right. Tell him that I'll come. I'll pray for him."

"Thank you."

She heaved a sigh. "For Lolo Max . . ." She paused before she talked again, "Thanks for the invitation. I have to hang up the call now. Bye―"

"Wait," pagpigil ko sa kanya bago pa man niya ibaba ang tawag. I checked my surroundings, making sure that no one could hear me. Nang masiguro kong wala namang tao sa paligid, tinanong ko siya, "How's Shekinah?" I asked.

"Uh, actually, she's looking for you. She misses you."

I felt a pang of pain in my chest because I miss my baby too and I badly wanted to see her and talk to her.

I swallowed before I spoke, "Please call me when she's already awake. I wanna hear her voice," I plead.

"Alright."

"How about her condition. Is she alright?" I worriedly asked.

"Y-yeah. We just visited her doctor yesterday."

"Okay. I'll just wait for your call. Thank you."

I went back inside the mansion and found my cousins having fun in the living room. Fara wasn't there. I knew that my girl cousins weren't still okay with her so she was still not comfortable with them. I didn't know why they couldn't treat Fara as how they had treated Demi.

I went straight to my room because I was sure that Fara was there. The sliding window of the bedroom was open. I saw Fara staring at the moon while she was breastfeeding Eli. Mukhang malalim ang iniisip niya dahil hindi man lang niya napansin ang pagdating ko.

"Fara," I called her. She turned her head to me. She was seated on the bed so I sat beside her. "What were you thinking?" I asked. I had this suspect that she was thinking about Lolo Max's request to invite Demi in our reunion.

"Why did you ask?" she asked back. She gently put Eli on the bed because he was already asleep.

"You were thinking deep," I said.

She faced me. "How did you know where Demi lives?" she asked. I didn't expect her question.

"She was my investor before. Remember when you left me? That was the time that she became one of the investors of the company."

She didn't say something about what I said, instead she asked, "So, she'll be here in our reunion?"

"Yeah. I already talked to her."

"Why do you still have her number?" she sounded like she was nagging me. She even furrowed her brows. Napatitig ako sa kanya dahil doon.

"Because she's a friend of mine," I replied.

"Nag-uusap pa rin kayo?"

I didn't wanna lie, so I confessed, "Yeah. But don't think something bad about it. We're just friends," I explained.

"But she's your ex-lover," inis na sabi niya.

Napatigil ako. Bahagya akong umusod palayo sa kanya para maharap ko siya nang maayos. I couldn't believe that she was still jealous of Demi. Ang tagal na naming kasal.

"Fara, listen. You know that before Demi and I became lovers, we were best friends. We promised to each other that our friendship won't end whatever happens."

"No. I want you to stay away from her," she ordered like she had all the authority, which made my brows met in disbelief.

"What are you saying?" kunot-noong sabi ko.

"Stay away from her," she said.

"What? That's impossible."

"That's possible if you want, unless you don't want to stay away from her." Her brat attitude showed.

I heaved a sigh to calm down myself. "I don't understand why you want me to stay away from her. If it's just because of jealousy, you have nothing to jealous. Again, we're just friends."

She fell silent but her brows were still furrowed. She looked mad. I got worried because I didn't want her to overthink. Nilapitan ko siya at hinaplos ang mukha niya. Napatitig naman siya sa akin.

"Hey, you have nothing to worry. I love you," I softly said, hoping that it would help to remove her insecurities. I understood that she just loved me. That was why she was acting like this. But she had to trust me. If she really loved me, she would trust me.

She later hugged me, and I hugged her back.