Chapter 5 Unexpected

Chapter 5

Minutes later, Raven appeared with a towel, walking seriously towards the pool. He looked as handsome as ever; it was as if he hadn't aged at all. His body was well-toned, clearly from hours spent in the gym.

Zafierra took a deep breath before submerging her body, trying to hide herself from view. "Ma'am Zaf, here's your towel."

As soon as she saw him turn around, she quickly stood up and wrapped the towel around herself, hurriedly walking towards the house and making a beeline for her room.

"Child, what's wrong?" the elderly woman asked with concern as Zafierra rushed past her.

"I'm fine, Mom!" she yelled, speeding up the stairs

"Oh, child, come to the table; dinner is ready," the elderly woman said as she noticed her just coming down.

She simply nodded and walked toward the kitchen, already used to having the three of them at dinner. She sat in her place, facing Raven, who quietly looked at the food. She felt shy because the simple meal laid out on the table, apart from her favorite fried galong-gong, was just a vegetable dish. She was accustomed to the food and was thankful that they didn't complain; they ate whatever was served.

While they were eating, the beautiful Edeng spoke up, "Child, I just wanted to say that I will be going back to the village, and Jessica will go too because her mother misses her."

She couldn't complain, knowing she could cook, even if it was just simple. "How many weeks will you be there, Nay?"

She looked at her sadly, "Maybe three weeks, my child; I have some matters to attend to. Remember the land I mentioned that I sold? Someone has already bought it, and I need to take care of that."

She nodded, "It's okay, Nay. How about you, Jes? How many weeks will you be gone?"

Jessica looked at her shyly, "Ate, can I go with Tiya? I need to take care of Mama because she is sick again."

She looked at the girl with concerned eyes. "It's okay, Jes; take care of your mother. Your mama's health is the most important thing," she replied.

"Thank you, child. Just call me if you need anything," the elderly woman reminded her.

She nodded, "Yes, Nay. When will you leave?" she asked.

"Maybe tomorrow morning so we can arrive in Davao by night," the elderly woman replied. They were from Davao City, along with Jessica.

She simply nodded and continued eating. "Raven, you're staying here, right? You're not leaving?" the elderly woman suddenly asked Raven.

The man paused mid-bite and looked at the elderly woman. "Yes, Nay. I'm just here, and Ma'am Zafierra shouldn't be alone," the man replied politely and continued eating.

After she finished, she quickly cleared her place because she had gotten used to doing this, even when her parents were still alive. "Child, I told you I would handle clearing the table," the elderly woman admonished her.

She looked at her. "It's okay, Nay. You know I'm used to cleaning up after myself," she replied. After washing her plate, she quickly went upstairs to her room and locked the door.

She lingered on her balcony for a moment to catch some fresh air and rest because she was full. She was about to enter her room when she spotted Raven sitting in a chair facing the pool, quietly smoking and seemingly drinking something from a bottle.

Is he drinking alcohol?

She stared at the back of the man for a few minutes before deciding to go into her room to rest.

Raven knew that Zafierra was watching him from her balcony, but he pretended not to notice. He was already struggling to approach her, and he didn't want to scare her off. When he sensed that she had returned to her room, he looked over at her balcony.

He was staying there to watch over her. Sometimes he couldn't help but sneak a glance at her to see if she was sleeping well; it was creepy and weird, but he enjoyed it.

"I will protect you, Zaf. No matter what happens, even if I have to slit that man's throat, I'll do it for you."

The elderly woman and her niece Jessica had left a while ago, but Zafierra was still staring at the gate where they exited. She felt shy about coming down, especially since it was just the two of them, her and Raven. She didn't know how to interact with him.

From the balcony on the second floor, she decided to go down to prepare breakfast. She had chided the elderly woman earlier for wanting to cook, knowing she had to leave in the morning. They might get caught in traffic again on their way to the bus terminal in the city. She had even suggested that Raven drive them, but the elderly woman refused, saying it would just waste gasoline, so they took a taxi.

Before she could enter the kitchen, she heard the stove being turned on, so she frowned and quickly went inside, where she saw a man wearing a pink apron. She laughed as she watched him busy with something on the stove.

"Don't hold it, Zaf. You might fart there," he joked.

She cleared her throat, realizing he knew she was right behind him. "W-what are you doing?" she asked, pretending to be curious.

"What do you think? Can't you see? I'm not kissing this stove, right?"

She swallowed hard at what the man said. "G-go over there; stop saying weird things," she replied and quickly left the kitchen. She decided to watch TV instead, hoping to lessen her anxiety around him. Just as she was about to sit down-

"Miss Zafierra!"

She quickly turned her gaze back to the kitchen at the man's shout. What could he want now?

"Miss Zafierra!" he called again.

She sighed before walking back into the kitchen. "Why? What do you want? Don't shout, Raven," she chided him as he still had his back to her.

"Can you arrange the table, please? I'm getting hungry," he asked while mixing something in the frying pan.

"Okay." She immediately complied with his request, placing a placemat before setting down the plates and utensils on the table. "What do you want to drink? Orange juice or water?" she asked as she walked to the fridge to get the pitcher with juice and water.

"Water, please."

She didn't reply but quickly filled his glass with water while she poured herself some juice. She was used to drinking juice with meals; she rarely drank water when eating out.

After a few minutes, Raven placed the fried rice and hotdogs he cooked on the table, along with some luncheon meat, which was her favorite. "Thank you."

Raven just nodded and quietly ate. The atmosphere shifted from silent to awkward for her. No one was speaking, and all she could hear were the sounds of their plates clinking; it felt like crickets were chirping.

Even though she wanted to eat more, she finished quickly; she couldn't bear the atmosphere between them in the kitchen. "Are you done?"

She quickly turned her gaze to the man. "Y-yes, uhm... Why?" She felt her heart racing as she waited for his response.

"Nothing." He said coldly.

Her eyes widened at the coldness of his voice. "O-okay." She quickly washed her dishes and went up to her room. If she could just lock herself away, she would, but she was bored since there was nothing much to do in her room.

While in her room, her cellphone suddenly rang, and she felt nervous when she checked; it was a call from the electric company where she paid her bills. They only called when it was time to settle the water bill.

"Hello?" she greeted formally.

"Good morning, Miss Zamora. I just wanted to inform you that you can pay the water bill now, or else you will be cut off," the woman said politely.

Her brow furrowed. "Huh? Cut off? Didn't we pay last month?" she asked in surprise.

Laurence had told her that the water bill was fully paid; only the electricity was outstanding. It was impossible for the man to lie about something so important as water.

She heard the woman on the other end sigh.

"You didn't pay last month's bill, Miss," she informed her.

She wanted to scream at the woman but knew it wasn't her fault, as she was just an employee. "Ah, miss, when is the due date?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow. You should pay it in full because if you don't, they will cut off the line."

She leaned against the railing of her balcony in exasperation.

"Ah, s-sure." She quickly ended the call and took a deep breath.

Her chest felt tight again. She had a mother, but she was mistreated. She had a so-called husband, but he didn't care about her.

God, I can't take it anymore.

his best buddy while standing in the garden, holding his phone to his ear

"Bro,"

He took a deep breath, "Bro, have you finished taking care of what I asked you to?" he inquired of his friend Tristan, a lawyer.

"Yeah, don't worry; the personal trustee is on the way. I talked to him and advised him to be careful with what he says."

"Thanks, bro. How's the company?" he asked. He had assigned Tristan to temporarily run the company because of his current situation. He handled the paperwork, while other investors joined him via video calls.

"It's doing fine, bro. I just hope you can come home and run your company personally, and please replace your secretary and the woman in the lobby who annoys me," he complained.

"Yes, I'll do that, bro, but not right now; you know my situation," he replied.

His friend chuckled softly, "So, have you made a move on your girl?" he curiously asked, though he could feel Tristan grinning mischievously, even though he couldn't see it through the phone.

"Shut it, Tris; or else I won't give you one of my properties," he threatened,

To Be Continued...