2025-01-11 02:15:01The funeral house was located at the southern end of the Catholic Mid-west district church. Neither Jason nor his wife was a devoted church goer but as the church owned the only funeral house which was allowed to exist in the southern province of Arkwrath, it made sense to bury the deceased in the ways of the people. The way of the people required the widow of the deceased to be present during the funeral ceremony at the church but not at the graveyard during the burial.
Even though Dee had never regarded black as a colour fit for her body, she was shrouded in a knee-length black silk dress flattering her hourglass figure at the funeral with a tiny shawl hanging loosely on her shoulders. The funeral ceremony was packed with people she could not recall knowing or seeing until that day especially the several men who were all suited up. Dee was too lost in the myriad of the thoughts of losing her husband and the euphoria of false freedom she knew she never wanted when she was called to read her tribute to Jason. The last few days had passed by in a blur as she remembered how a single call shattered her heart. She was not sure whether she loved him or not any more until that evening. Dee realized that she did not love him anymore as a husband but she wanted him as a father for his daughter who she was looking to abandon with him to start a new family with ZacXavi. She however knew that she had to keep up a loving widowed wife front for a show and here she was in a church about to read the tribute about a loving husband whose death had shattered her whole world. ‘My whole world, my ass’ , she thought. As she felt her lips curling into a sneer, she effortlessly masked it with a sniff while dabbing her nose with a black silk napkin. As she stood up to approach the pulpit, she did something that shocked herself and Luke, Miss Lily, Daisy and ZacXavi. She burst into an uncontrollable stream of tears. She continued this show for more than a minute that she appeared inconsolable even though her sister and her mom were sitted on her sides holding her hands in theirs. Successfully, Dee failed to read the tribute that she never wrote as she was escorted out of the church by her mom and sister as the funeral ceremony continued with others reading their tributes. The last few days after she was told he was hit by a fire truck was a blur because she had to submerge herself in heavy doses of her medications because of her anxiety issues which however had nothing to do with Jason’s death. Rather, she was concerned about whom is capable of taking care of her daughter whom she loved enough to want a good and stable life for. She had zoned out until she felt the car come to a sudden stop outside the cemetery which was about 3 kilometers from the funeral house. ‘Good Riddance to bad rubbish’, she thought as she stepped out of the car. As a widow was not allowed to watch her deceased husband being lowered into the earth, she was led to a garden few meters away. She found the garden surprisingly comforting in the midst of the gloomy cloud which had shrouded every soul present at the cemetery. ‘Including the dead’, she thought smiling lazily while starring at the darkened statue of previously white angels who now had broken wings. She turned suddenly as she heard a twig break behind her. ‘Hey beauty’, ZacXavi said while brandishing his newly installed veneers. ‘Hey’, Dee replied with a tired voice. ‘You sure know that your performance is an Oscar winning one, right?', he said while patting the tip of her waist length blonde hair, the only contrasting colour to what she had on asides her skin colour which was blush pink. Beside her was jason’s boss who comforted her while whispering to her that she deserved an Oscar for her performance. ‘They would actually think that you actually loved Jason.’ he continued. ‘I did!’, she said almost screaming with tears choking her voice. ZacXavi was more than speechless and merely laughed quietly as he turned back towards Jason’s final resting place where the burial was ongoing. Dee felt a hand wrap around her shoulder few minutes after she heard ZacXavi’s retreating steps and looked sideways to see who it was. It was the woman that Jason fondly referred to as Aunt May. She handed out a handkerchief to Dee to clean the tears streaming down her face. It was only then did Dee realize that she had been crying. The woman said nothing as she held Dee to her body while looking into the far distance. She had always been emotionless and she still is. As Dee continued to cry without holding back, Aunt May he hugged her tighter and said something that sent shivers down Dee’s spine and halted her tears and award winning performances.‘He loved you, you did not. He worshipped you, he never cheated but you did. He was willing to forgive you but he is dead now.’ Dee instantly pulled out of her arms before she finished talkingand took 2 steps away from her. Aunt May merely shook her head before adding her last words, ‘To you.’ Zacxavi who had been watching her and the woman can only be amused on how good of an actress Dee was. ‘Maybe she loved him or not. That’s her business. I have her all to myself now’, He thought as he moved towards her again and saw that her expression had changed. ZacXavi was interested in taunting Dee again but the look on her face stopped his thought as well as his walk to where she was. He could not decipher whether she was angry, sad or both. ‘That’s enough drama for today’, he thought as he quickly masked the smile forming on his lips with an emotionless face. As he turned towards the parking lot of the church, he felt a pair of eyes on his back. He looked back and saw Dee looking at him. This time around, he made no effort to mask the smile forming at the corner of his lips as he winked at Dee while licking his lower lips at the same time. Dee did not know how to react. She was more shocked than pleased with his actions. She quickly looked around to ensure that no one saw him do that. And unfortunately, she saw an oddly familiar pair of eyes in the crowd looking straight at her and the direction of ZacXavi. The lower part of his face was however covered with a black nose mask like a K-Drama star. The physique was indisputably his as she knew how breathtaking he looked in black on black. She looked down hurriedly as she felt her heart beating faster than normal as her head started to ache. She thought she might be hallucinating as she shook her head to get the face as well as the ache out of her head. Dee looked up again towards where she had seen him. He was still there with his arms at akimbo and his eyes were fixed on her figure. Dee’s heart could no longer absorb the stares as she only remembered crashing into the damp bush of finely trimmed chrysanthemum as she lost consciousness.
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Dee woke up in her bed with a throbbing ache in the right side of her head which made her wince inaudibly as she struggled to open her eyes. The curtains of her room had been left wide open and she could see the sun setting across the horizon. She had always loved watching the sunset especially when she sits by the pool of hers’ and Jason’s mansion which they lost to a deadly loan shark whose constant threat made them escape the city for her parents’. Jason had however never provided her with answers to the question of what he used the money for. She closed her eyes again as she felt the numbing ache returning with extra throbs. Dee caught herself drifting into dreamland again until she felt something warm snuggling close to her body. She instantly opened her eyes and turned her head to check what it was. It was then that she realized that Ria was sleeping beside her on the bed. She wondered why Ria was sleeping beside her as she rarely sleeps in the room with her without her father
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Sidney, who was coincidentally the doctor assigned to Dee told her that she was indeed pregnant. He confirmed that it was the pregnancy coupled with stress that succeeded in shutting her body down several times. She, however, did not react in any way to the news as it merely confirmed her fears. She knew she could not tell Danny as he was not interested in having a child as he wanted to be hundred percent child-free. Telling her sister, she knew will spell doom for the whole family and ruin her sister’s happy marriage. Dee wanted an easy way out. As soon as Dee left the hospital after 6 days of medical care and attention, she began to seek the easy ways out of a lifetime burden and the evidence of her unfaithfulness. She knew Jason would automatically be identified father of the baby but a living being had to take responsibility because she knew she was too broke to cater for a pregnancy talk more of a child. ‘ZacXavi is the easy way out.’, she thought as she picked up her phone l
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Jason did not realize how much time he had spent under the drizzling shower as he turned it off and proceeded to dry his body with a rag-like brownish white towel abandoned for his own personal usage.‘Beggars ain't choosers’, he thought as he recalled the fast-paced episode he was casted in few minutes earlier. His wife was the female lead, the villain in his story since 3 years ago. It began at exactly 6:54 AM when Diane couldn't hold it in any longer.Her ‘uplifting’ early morning monologues of his extent of uselessness which had replaced his cup of iced Americano coffee served cold were enacted just like he hated them. He should have gotten used to it by now but his mind is set on the notion that she'll change for good. ‘Once I get my promotion as the head deliverer. More money, more time for Dee and my Ria Thered be enough for a trip to Miami Beach for Dee's birthday She'd be happy. We'll be happy. One big happy family again I should take a loan to get a house in her name. Tha
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Dee thought she was glad that he was nowhere to be found 3 days after the incident but by the sunset of the third day, she could feel her anxiety level spike up beyond what she could control without her medications. Her anxiety issues which got diagnosed when she was 16 years old had worsened over the years until she met Jason. She was almost 22 years old when she met him and just 2 days before her 23rd birthday, she discovered she was pregnant with Ria. Since that day, her breakdowns occasionally made its grand appearance whenever she’s extremely stressed. ‘Where is he… where is he… where is he… where is Jason?’, She whispered repeatedly as she paced around her bed while pulling at her hair unconsciously. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the room while staring into the wall as the feeling descended on her again felt as though her throat was closing up as she felt the floor beneath her feet quake slowly. As Dee struggled to steady her feet while reaching for the bed, she heard
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Sidney, who was coincidentally the doctor assigned to Dee told her that she was indeed pregnant. He confirmed that it was the pregnancy coupled with stress that succeeded in shutting her body down several times. She, however, did not react in any way to the news as it merely confirmed her fears. She knew she could not tell Danny as he was not interested in having a child as he wanted to be hundred percent child-free. Telling her sister, she knew will spell doom for the whole family and ruin her sister’s happy marriage. Dee wanted an easy way out. As soon as Dee left the hospital after 6 days of medical care and attention, she began to seek the easy ways out of a lifetime burden and the evidence of her unfaithfulness. She knew Jason would automatically be identified father of the baby but a living being had to take responsibility because she knew she was too broke to cater for a pregnancy talk more of a child. ‘ZacXavi is the easy way out.’, she thought as she picked up her phone l
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Dee woke up in her bed with a throbbing ache in the right side of her head which made her wince inaudibly as she struggled to open her eyes. The curtains of her room had been left wide open and she could see the sun setting across the horizon. She had always loved watching the sunset especially when she sits by the pool of hers’ and Jason’s mansion which they lost to a deadly loan shark whose constant threat made them escape the city for her parents’. Jason had however never provided her with answers to the question of what he used the money for. She closed her eyes again as she felt the numbing ache returning with extra throbs. Dee caught herself drifting into dreamland again until she felt something warm snuggling close to her body. She instantly opened her eyes and turned her head to check what it was. It was then that she realized that Ria was sleeping beside her on the bed. She wondered why Ria was sleeping beside her as she rarely sleeps in the room with her without her father
CHAPTER 6
The funeral house was located at the southern end of the Catholic Mid-west district church. Neither Jason nor his wife was a devoted church goer but as the church owned the only funeral house which was allowed to exist in the southern province of Arkwrath, it made sense to bury the deceased in the ways of the people. The way of the people required the widow of the deceased to be present during the funeral ceremony at the church but not at the graveyard during the burial. Even though Dee had never regarded black as a colour fit for her body, she was shrouded in a knee-length black silk dress flattering her hourglass figure at the funeral with a tiny shawl hanging loosely on her shoulders. The funeral ceremony was packed with people she could not recall knowing or seeing until that day especially the several men who were all suited up. Dee was too lost in the myriad of the thoughts of losing her husband and the euphoria of false freedom she knew she never wanted when she was called to
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Dee thought she was glad that he was nowhere to be found 3 days after the incident but by the sunset of the third day, she could feel her anxiety level spike up beyond what she could control without her medications. Her anxiety issues which got diagnosed when she was 16 years old had worsened over the years until she met Jason. She was almost 22 years old when she met him and just 2 days before her 23rd birthday, she discovered she was pregnant with Ria. Since that day, her breakdowns occasionally made its grand appearance whenever she’s extremely stressed. ‘Where is he… where is he… where is he… where is Jason?’, She whispered repeatedly as she paced around her bed while pulling at her hair unconsciously. She stopped suddenly in the middle of the room while staring into the wall as the feeling descended on her again felt as though her throat was closing up as she felt the floor beneath her feet quake slowly. As Dee struggled to steady her feet while reaching for the bed, she heard
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‘Watch out man!’ Iglesias called out behind Jason as he almost bumped into one of the waiters exiting the kitchen with a breakfast box. Jason heard nothing. All he wanted to do was flee. It was not until he exited the building through the back door that he realized that his keys were not in his pocket and he was still wearing his work clothes. ‘I’d rather dump them in a trashcan rather than return them anyways.’, he thought.He had momentarily forgotten what he had just witnessed as the ache in his head made it difficult for his thoughts to conjure. Jason whimpered as he felt his head throbbing as the scene and exchange of dialogues came rushing back. He felt his stomach churn as though he was hungry and nauseous at the same time. As he held unto the delivery boxes stacked by the door in order to relief himself of his aches, he heard the door open behind him. He did not turn because he knew that whosoever it could be was probably out to mock him. Then he heard the familiar voice
CHAPTER 3
After the first 3 rounds of delivery, the delivery van started emitting thick smoke from the exhaust pipe as he made his way back to pick up the next batch of pastries and beverages. ‘This Thursday sure has something up its sleeves.’ Jason thought wearily and felt obligated to report the boss directly as he had been instructed to do so whenever the vehicles develop hiccups.As soon as he parked the van and made his way to his boss's office, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand in their roots. Jason had learnt to pay attention to this rush of dread but at that moment he had zeroed in his mind on what he had to do.‘Yo man! What's up with the van?’, The 6 feet tall brown skin security guarding the parking lot asked approached the van.‘I really don't know.’ Jason replied dismissively as he exited the van.‘You should be careful with our boss's babies. He doesn't like them bothered.’ The well- built and taller security with a strong German look and accent chipped in. ‘You shou
CHAPTER 2
It was already few minutes past 8AM when Jason reached Xavi Cafe and fillings. He knew he was late and had to face his boss and not the present head deliverer, Jones. Jones was a 65 years old Irish-Latino sturdy man who looks like he took 20 years off his age with his pinkish baby like skin, grey iris and black hair. Jason believes that Jones understood him better than anyone else.‘I know I'm safe with him. I hope he is able to convince the boss.', Jason thought as he drove into the garage. As soon as he parked his scooter in the general section, he spotted his boss' car in the reserved corner his brain sent a shiver down his spine. He felt a throbbing pang in his heart as he turned off the ignition. He harbored the thought that he might one day have a cardiac arrest as a result of the shocks his heart receive from the fear of his boss. He had secretly hoped that his boss would not be at work so early.‘Past 8 isn't so early if you asked me’, he reminded himself. ‘Well, here goes not
CHAPTER 1
Jason did not realize how much time he had spent under the drizzling shower as he turned it off and proceeded to dry his body with a rag-like brownish white towel abandoned for his own personal usage.‘Beggars ain't choosers’, he thought as he recalled the fast-paced episode he was casted in few minutes earlier. His wife was the female lead, the villain in his story since 3 years ago. It began at exactly 6:54 AM when Diane couldn't hold it in any longer.Her ‘uplifting’ early morning monologues of his extent of uselessness which had replaced his cup of iced Americano coffee served cold were enacted just like he hated them. He should have gotten used to it by now but his mind is set on the notion that she'll change for good. ‘Once I get my promotion as the head deliverer. More money, more time for Dee and my Ria Thered be enough for a trip to Miami Beach for Dee's birthday She'd be happy. We'll be happy. One big happy family again I should take a loan to get a house in her name. Tha
