Terrence Jade Leonardo entered Timothy's spacious office and sat slowly on one of the chairs in front of his desk. He was carrying a thick Manila envelope which contains another report from the DEC people regarding the case of the Dela Vegas of the north.
"Anything new? Did they found the daughter?" The young CEO asked his engineer best friend forwardly.
In response, the young engineer shook his head. "No and they can't get anything about her. No legal papers or even school records could be found. They told me that it seemed someone was hindering all their efforts. The woman who promised the photograph disappeared then later on, they found out that she was out of town. According to one of her nieces, she went back in her hometown in the mountainous area of Candon, Ilocos Sur so they weren't able to meet her." He explained.
From the corner of his eyes, he studied his best friend's face. "Dude tell me, what is your real plan after you find the daughter? What do you want from her?" Terrence asked.
Now that Timothy was happy, suddenly it seemed that his effort in finding his deceased brother's intended was a waste of time. "Truthfully TJ, before I wanted to find her because I wanted closure. I wanted to know the reason why they didn't even bother to show up at my brother's wake nor to his interment. Why didn't they initiate a talk after my brother died? They just disappeared and since then, they never made any communication with our family." He began.
"Nicholas took his own life because of that stupid arrangement and the other party's sudden disappearance was a big question to me. In a way his intended was a part of the whole tragedy so I wanted to see her. I wanted to know if she's happy? If she's well? Back then, I always thought that she must pay, she needed to suffer just like the way we suffered. She doesn't deserve to live a happy life. Nicholas died so she should suffer, too." Timothy stared at his best friend, silently asking if he got his sentiment.
"That's insane, man!" Terrence blurted out so he raised his hand to cut his friend's words.
When the young engineer nodded his head he pushed on. "I know but I guess, I wanted someone to blame then since I was unhappy. From our investigation and my calculations, the woman would be far older than Nick, my brother was 17 then so she must be 21 or 22 then or even older. I couldn't accept that the woman got to live her life while my brother didn't. But today, all were lighter and easier in a flash. The heaviness disappeared so I'm having second thought if we should continue this or not. What do you think?" He asked.
The young man knew the reason of his best friend's sudden change of heart but he kept it to himself. "Just a thought Tim, I don't think that you should blame your brother's intended for his death. For all we know, maybe they are both victims here. It's between your parents so give the woman the benefit of the doubt, man, in the spirit of fairness."
In times like this, expect Terrence to the the voice of reason and this was the main reason why the two men are best of friends.
"And please stop this investigation. I guess, it's time for you to let go man. If you need closure then by all means find the woman but please don't blame all these on her." He didn't know what possessed him to say these words but he was glad he have said them.
"Thank you, TJ. I guess your right." He replied while nodding his head. Voicing out his acceptance and approval made him feel a lot lighter and happier.
"So what do we do with this?" Terrence inquired while waving the Manila envelope.
The young CEO smiled and reached for it. "I need to keep these files and keep it a secret. After all, no one knew that I was conducting investigation about this matter." He opened one of his drawers and put the envelope inside. Afterwards, he locked it and shoved the key inside his dark pant's pocket.
A light knock sounded from the door, it was Sabina. "Tim, your mother called and she's asking you to call her asap." She said formally.
"Hi, Sab. Didn't see you on my way in." Terrence Jade greeted the gorgeous young woman.
In response she smiled. "I had to go down and get something from my car." She replied in a friendly tone then she darted her gaze again to his fiancé.
When she saw that the young CEO was still standing and unmoving she opened her mouth again. "Tim, better call your mother, she sounded panicky and a bit disoriented." She muttered truly concerned with the state of her fiancé's mother.
But albeit her reminder Timothy just waved his hand in dismissal. "I'll call her later. Why don't you join us, mahal?" He grinned and motioned her to come in.
In refusal, the young woman shook her head. "Tim, it's still office hours." She said in a light scolding tone. "And please, call your mother. She might get the notion that you didn't get her message and as of now the last thing I wanted from her is another misconception." She added authoritatively but still with an angelic smile on her face.
In surrender, the young heir raised his hands. "Alright, chill. I'll call her now." He reached for the office telephone quickly and dialed his mother's mobile number.
While Terrence murmured, too low that the two of them only could hear it. "Whipped! You're definitely whipped man!" He teased still grinning like mad. Nowadays, the kind engineer enjoyed teasing his best friend, things that never happened before.
But his wide smile was replaced with alarm when he saw his best friend's expression. Timothy's face was ashen and his eyes appeared unfocused and a bit glassy. "What is it?" The young engineer inquired hastily, immediately he knew that something wasn't right.
"It's Darcy, she tried to bleed herself to death. She's at the Medical Capitol right now." The young heir replied truthfully as he put down the phone on it's cradle and collapsed on his chair.
Due to shock, the petite woman covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound of the awful gasp that had escaped voluntarily from her lips. "God, that's terrible." Her breath hitched.
Upon hearing this, Timothy looked at his fiancée, the woman appeared genuinely worried and concerned.
"Go to her, Tim. She needs you." That's the only thing Sabina managed to say before the two men hastily left the office.
"Come on, man. I'll drive you." Terrence offered.
∞∞∞
As the duo arrived at the hospital, they found Bianca Sebastian, crying daintily at Darcy's bedside while the latter was lying in bed, looking very weak and exceptionally pale. One of her wrists was heavily bandaged with a tinge of blood visible on the layers of sterile gauze covering it.
Guilt and shame suddenly consumed the young architect so slowly he took the chair on the other side of the woman's hospital bed. Gently, he reached for her unbind hand and squeezed it lightly. "What have you done, Darcy?" He asked, his tone regretful and distraught.
A loud sniff broke the room's quietness. "Her chauffeur and yaya found her this afternoon in her bedroom soaked in her own blood. The heart aches and loneliness were too much for her so she chose death than to be alone and helpless." The matriarch muttered with tears in her eyes.
Both the men knew that her words were too melodramatic and exaggerated but Timothy and Terrence chose to ignore them.
"She was already here at the hospital when her yaya called me. When you decided to vanish her out of your life, she became miserable until this. You are perfectly aware that besides us, she has no one here since her family was overseas. Good thing her yaya was using her head." Timothy's mother continued to explain in between ridiculously loud sobs and sniffs.
The two young men was left speechless, all they managed to do was nod and shake their heads.
After several hours of silent vigil, the matriarch stood up. "Tim, I need to go to the hospital cafeteria, do you want something? Coffee, sandwich? It's almost dinner time." Bianca Sebastian quipped as she fixed her dark trouser.
Before the young heir could answer, his mobile phone rang loudly. "And for the love of all that is holy, turn your cell phone off. If it keeps on ringing, my poor girl might get upset." His mother snapped while Timothy turned off his mobile phone.
"Or much better, give it to me. I'll hold it for you so you can concentrate in taking care of Darcy." Bianca added and without any violent reaction or questions the young heir complied with his mother's request.
The older woman then turned to leave. "I will go with you, auntie." Hastily, the young engineer followed the matriarch out of the silent hospital room.
As soon as the door closed, Darcy opened her eyes. "You here, you came." She said in a raspy weak voice as tears flowed freely from her eyes.
"Hey, don't cry. It'll stress you out." Timothy automatically reached for her hand again and squeezed it lightly.
But the weak woman continued to bawled her eyes out as she stared on the young man's handsome face. "I thought you had left me for good." She mumbled.
Feeling overly guilty, the young heir shook his head. "I'm still your friend and why do you have to resort on things like ha?" His tone was scolding and angry but in a sort of big brotherly way.
The woman lying on the bed averted her eyes and looked out side the window. "I don't want to be your friend. I want more than that and you know that." She admitted boldly.
A distress sigh left Timothy. "We have talked about this more times than what is necessary Darcy. I can't give you what you want and you know why." He muttered in a controlled tone so as not to upset the weak woman.
"But I love you, Tim." The woman returned her eyes to Timothy and leaned to squeezed his hand.
"Tim, my life without you is worthless and agonizing. It's too much and I can't live seeing you with other woman so it's better this way. No sleepless nights, no pain and no heartaches." She pulled out her hands from the young man's grasp and wiped her tears.
Timothy ran a frustrated hand over his head. "What kind of reasoning is that, ha? You're an attractive 28-year old woman so I'm sure you can find someone else. Darcy, you have to understand that I'm already engaged. In less than a year I'm going to be a married man and you have to accept that. I love my fiancée and I'm going to marry her no matter what. I'm certain....."
But his lengthy explanation was cut by Darcy's abrupt violent outburst. One moment she was quiet, crying and weak and now all of a sudden she was furious and on the verge of hysteria.
"No! No! No!" The woman began to screamed as she pulled the thick bandages from her left wrist exposing the fresh deep cuts on it. Timothy's eyes widened, Darcy had cut her wrist multiple times and seeing her wounds made him feel beyond guilty.
The crying woman continued to trash around. "You can't marry that woman, it should be me Tim. Me! Only me!" She yelled while yanking all the tiny tubes attached to her hands.
In no time her wrist and hospital gown were soaked in her own blood again but the woman had no intention of stopping. "If you really want to marry that woman then go on and leave me alone. Let me die, this is way better. I want to die, let me be, please." She begged as she collapsed in her bloody bed, still wailing loudly.
In total panic, the young man embraced the hysterical woman tightly to prevent her from harming herself again. He pulled her in his arms while shouting loudly for help.
Within seconds help came, doctors and nurses flooded the hospital room and bind the screaming woman. Little by little, the doctors was able to subdue the hysterical woman.
After a few minutes Bianca and Terrence followed, both pale and worried. "What happened?" The matriarch asked while looking at the doctors and to her son.
"So much blood, oh my God." She murmured as her knees weakened and buckled down. Fortunately, Terrence was there to catch her.
Gradually, the kind engineer ushered the older woman to a nearby couch. "Here, auntie. Relax, okay? The doctor's are here. Don't worry." He stated in a calm voice while he looked at his architect best friend with questioning gaze.
Discreetly, Timothy shook his head while he was still holding the now slightly pacified woman. For half an hour, the nurses patiently tended to Darcy's multiple wounds again.
After the last nurse had walked out of the room, Bianca immediately moved closer to Darcy's bed. The younger woman was now lying down, flat on her back staring at the white ceiling while Timothy was now sitting again on his chair earlier.
"What happened, Tim? What caused her hysteria? Did you say something that made her upset? Tell me!" Bianca Sebastian asked her quiet son in a hard stern voice.
Then she darted her eyes towards the younger woman, it looked like she was in twilight, maybe it was from the blood loss again or from the shots given to her by her doctors.
But to everyone's alarm, the weak woman on the bed still managed to talk. "He's still marrying the whore!" She huffed.
"Darcy!" Both Timothy and Terrence scolded.
"See, mama Bianca? I'm already in my deathbed but it's still her, still that woman." She said in her quivering voice. She looked sleepy but the woman still managed to say nasty things.
The matriarch glared at the men. "Don't mind them my dear. Sleep now and take some rest." She said in a soothing tone.
As soon as Darcy closed her eyes, Bianca Sebastian faced her son again with a vicious look. "How dare you talked about that woman here! Are you really out of you mind? What's happening to you?" She hissed.
"Ma! I need her to understand. I don't want to give her false hope, okay?" He rationalized.
"But can't you wait until she's well?" His mother muttered under her breath, careful not to wake Darcy up.
Tired and defeated, the young heir shook his head. "She brought up the topic, alright? I just told her the truth! She's a grown woman, ma. Stop treating her like a delicate teenage girl, she's old enough to be a mother for crying out loud." He almost yelled.
"Timothy! Keep it down, will you?" His mother scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.
"She almost died, which part of that can't you understand? Who are you, really?" Bianca Sebastian asked in a pained tone.
"Ma, not now. Please!" Timothy begged.
∞∞∞
It was already 1:00 o'clock in the morning but Timothy wasn't home yet. It was almost 10 hours since they left to visit Darcy in the hospital but up until now there was no news from him.
Sabina was used to Timothy being clingy and phone freak and now his silence was beginning to worry her. The young man's mobile phone was out of reach and until now, he hasn't answered any of her messages.
She had also tried calling Terrence but the former wasn't answering his mobile phone and like the young heir, he too, wasn't answering all her messages.
Sabina hated to be kept in the dark, she tends to overthink when things like this happens. Well, all women often do.
Due to extreme anxiety, the young woman decided to wait in the living room. She turned on all the lights and started to read. But not a single word could penetrate her tense mind so after a few more minutes of trying, she gave up.
She let go of the science magazine in her hand and sat at her couch staring at the brightly lit ceiling. All sort of negative scenarios were now flashing inside her head.
And knowing how scheming the matriarch was, didn't help at all. Badly, she needed to talk to her fiancé. The fear that these all could be orchestrated kept nagging her and no one could blame her for thinking this way. After all, it was Bianca Sebastian who called.
Then the young woman's thoughts suddenly shifted to her own family, the family she missed terribly. Her brother Jacob, called earlier and asked her if she could make time to meet him.
A tiny ray of hope sprang from her heart the moment she heard her sibling's deep voice. Without looking at her schedule she immediately said yes. There was something inside her, telling her that seeing her brother will definitely do her good. And she was praying and hoping that she was right.
Two hours have passed but still there's no Timothy. Sabina's eyes gradually drooped until they finally closed as sleep claimed the gorgeous biologist.
It was not until 4:00 o'clock the following morning when the door of the Cradle opened and Timothy entered.
The young heir looked tired and sleep-deprived. He was about to go straight to their room when he noticed his fiancée sleeping on one of the long couches in the living area.
Slowly, the young man padded silently towards the sleeping woman. He stared at her long and hard. It was obvious that the young man was torn inside, his eyes were unfocused and distant.
But when his hand came in contact with the sleeping woman's skin, his aura brightened in a snap. "Mahal, I'm home. Sab, Sab!" He shook her gently until the petite biologist opened her eyes.
As soon as her vision caught Timothy, she quickly sat up. "Hey, have you eaten?" She asked while rubbing her eyes to drive the sleepiness away.
"Yes, why did you sleep here? You don't have to wait for me." He answered softly but his tone was slightly scolding.
Sabina waved in a dismissive gesture. "It's alright. You're not answering your phone, calls and messages, and it made me worry." She admitted while studying Timothy's appearance. She noted that his eyes were unfocused and a little red.
Maybe due to sleep deprivation, she speculated.
Timothy sat beside her, his hand twisted on his lap. "I'm sorry, I'm out of batteries and I left my phone in the car plus mama is really devastated and I couldn't leave her." He lied to avoid unnecessary fuss.
The man didn't mention Darcy's condition even once so Sabina took the liberty of asking him. She was really concerned with her state and she wanted to know if she was okay. "How was she?"
"Not good. She tried to end her life by cutting her left wrist and she lost consciousness due to blood loss but she's stable now. I'm just here to get a few change of clothing, I need to get back at the hospital before she wakes up. Or else she might cry and get upset again." He explained.
"Oh," the petite woman was unable to say something more.
"All I have is less than an hour." Timothy added.
She totally understood what was happening but this didn't help the deep pain that she felt upon hearing Timothy's words. His agitation and weariness spoke volume of his feelings. But being a righteous individual, she remained quiet. She didn't say a word she just nodded her head and tried to swallow the lump in her throat.
"I hope you understand, mahal. Darcy's parents were agitated and grief-stricken even her younger brother in the United States was asked to go home. Her family needed support so I have to be there with them." The sleep-deprived man explained further.
Again, the woman remained silent, she just watched the young man's every movement. She saw how worried he was as he ran a frustrated hand against his already messy hair over and over again. After few minutes he stood up and without a word trudged towards their bedroom.
The young biologist followed silently until they reached the inside of their bedroom. She continued to watch him quietly as he packed his bag. He was a bit disoriented and shaking so in the end she offered to help. She couldn't stand seeing him like this so even with an extremely heavy heart she assisted him.
They finished packing without any exchange of words and when Timothy entered the bathroom to take a short shower, Sabina hastily climbed to bed and faked a sleep.
She didn't want to say good bye to him, she wanted him to stay and get at least 3 to 4 hours of sleep but with the way he was acting Sabina was quite sure that no words could persuade him to stay.
The woman was aware that it was a bit selfish on her part to feel jealous but she was helpless. She was really jealous, Timothy's puzzling behavior made her feel unimportant and invisible.
The young heir didn't even kiss her nor asked if she had eaten already. He didn't even asked if she's alright, when he arrived. And these small things added to the pain she was experiencing. Without any warning tears leaked from her eyes and being truly hurt she lets them.
Her face was already soaked in tears when the door to the bathroom opened. In haste, she wiped her tears discreetly and continued to pretend to be asleep. She peeked with one eye and saw her fiancé dressing up.
So he's really leaving, she thought painfully.
Her mind went blank with all the pain and jealousy she was feeling until she felt the mattress dipped.
An icy hand caressed her hair and an equally cold lips planted a soft kiss against her temple. "I'm sorry, Sab! Good night." The young heir murmured lowly.
Why is he apologizing? She screamed inwardly. Her mind was running wildly but she tried to calm herself down.
Quit it, Sab. She was his childhood friend and former best friend so this is just normal. Don't be selfish and unreasonable. She scolded herself silently.
But albeit all her analogy and self assurance the pain remained. In a flash, the tears were back. This time, soaking her pillow and cold comforter.
The young woman cried the remaining wee hours of the morning but the excruciating pain was still there, in fact it has intensified with each passing minutes.
∞∞∞
The next day, no Timothy was seen in the office. There were no calls nor text messages all Sabina received was a cc of an electronic mail addressed to the human resources department saying that he'll be unavailable for the next couple of days and that he was assigning Terrence as the officer in charge in his absence.
Again, this behavior hurt Sabina but she tried to be reasonable. She kept on reminding herself that Timothy was also worried and in shock.
She also tried to act unaffected but by lunch time she couldn't take it anymore. Since yesterday, Timothy hadn't call her or send her even a short message. But albeit all these, she fished her iPhone from her drawer and sent a short message to Timothy.
[Hi mahal, don't skip lunch and please try to get enough sleep.]
As soon as she send the message, her heart began to beat double time and when she heard her iPhone's message alert tone her heart soared high but it crashed landed immediately when she read Timothy's ultra short reply.
[k]
The single-letter message sent Sabina into the pit of jealously. It may appeared childish and a bit selfish but she couldn't help but feel neglected and taken for granted. The turmoil inside her made her want to cry but she tried her hardest to pacify herself.
Nothing followed the short message, no hi nor hellos. By mid afternoon she was already wallowing in self pity and her chest was constricting tightly due to the pain gripping it.
After another hour of self restrain, the young woman gave up. She gathered her things and dialed Terrence office local extension number. On the second ring, she heard the young engineer's tired voice.
"Hello?" He greeted tentatively,
"Hey TJ, it's Sabina. I'm wondering if I could get off early, my migraine is really killing me." She lied, voice quivering from the emotional torment.
"Sure, Sab! Can you drive? I could drive you home if you want." The young man offered cordially.
Sabina felt neglected more than ever because of the young engineer's offer. "No need, I can drive myself home. Thank you, TJ." She stated.
A short pause followed. "Oh, okay. Drive safe, Sab!" The officer in charge reminded.
"Sure, bye Engr. Leonardo." She ended the call formally.
"Bye, Miss De la Vega."
That night Sabina waited until pass midnight but Timothy didn't come home and same as the other day her calls and messages were left unanswered.