Chapter 7 - Am I forgiven?

Rhydian regretted what he said the second it left his mouth. He wanted to apologize right away but he wanted Isana to know that he didn't need her as much as she needed him. But Isana knew that. She just didn't want to let go of her useless pride.

It had hurt her many times in the past too. But she was yet to let it go. She couldn't let it go. It was one of the pieces that made her who she was.

Isana watched Rhydian storm out. 'He'll be back soon.' She thought to herself and went back to doing her work. But he didn't come at all. Till it was time to go home, Rhydian didn't show up. He wasn't loitering around the office either. Isana quickly packed her bags and said her goodbyes. She went home at the maximum speed she could, in hopes to find him there.

But he wasn't there either. 'Where is he?' She racked her head about any places he could have gone to.

She changed her clothes into casual ones after a quick shower. She had to find him. And apologize. She shouldn't have kept her stupid pride and should have calmly explained everything. She wasn't in the wrong but neither was she right.

"I have to find him first," Isana mumbled as she fumbled to grab the things she needed. After getting everything she headed straight to her Jeep.

"Where could he have gone?' The one thought swirled through her head while she drove, unconsciously taking herself to a nostalgic place.

When she parked her car and got out, she was surprised to find herself at her secret spot where she used to come all the time when she was younger.

'I used to come here with-' Isana found her eyes watering and she shook her head.

"No more sadness. The disappearance of one person is enough." Isana's expression changed into an even more emotionless one.

"My, my. See who we have here."

Isana spun around to find out who she was being addressed by.

"What are you doing here?" Isana growled.

"The kitty is so fierce. I'm so scared..." They spoke sarcastically. "Your dog isn't here to protect you today."

Isana found herself glaring at her brother's right-hand man, Leonard. She wasn't afraid of him but she hated him. He was one of the reasons her brother grew apart from her and began hating her.

"I guess a dog does have it in him to recognize a fellow dog." Isana spat.

"You'll regret your words soon," Leonard smirked and stepped aside. Isana saw Rhydian approach her from behind him.

For a second, a plain second, her mind filled up with questions. Ones she had no answers to. What was he doing there? Why was he with Leonard? Did they know each other? Did Rhydian know her brother? Was he a spy? Was he lying to her all the time-

"Isana, run away-" Rhydian shouted as Leonard kicked him in the gut and he let out a groan.

"Rhydian? What's wrong?" Isana took a step forward.

"Don't come any closer!" Rhydian sounded like he was in pain. 'What happened?' Isana thought. She noticed that Rhydian's hands were tied behind him.

'Damn it! I can't do anything!' Isana had nothing with her. All she had was her car, parked a few steps away.

"What do you want, Leonard?" Isana decided to give in. She had no other option.

"Give me the USB."

"What USB?"

"Don't act dumb. You know what I'm talking about."

Isana glared at him as she reached out to her pockets. She pulled out a USB and threw it at Leonard who caught it flawlessly. He whispered something in Rhydian's ears and then pushed him towards Isana.

"Here. A little gift." Leonard threw something towards Isana. Rhydian quickly pushed Isana out of the way of the sharp object.

Isana picked up the knife and used it to cut the ropes that tied Rhydian's hands.

"Isana, I-"

"Save the talk for later. Let's just go home." Isana was tired but Rhydian felt hurt by her words even though he knew she didn't mean it in a bad way.

The drive back home was a silent one, except for the radio going on.

'Bzz...There has been a robbery at National CC Bank....The police are yet to find clues about the culprints. It was a highly coordinated robbery and the police believe there was someone working with the robbers from the inside...Bzz'

Rhydian noticed Isana lips purse together with a frown as they heard the news. Her eyes looked guilty and a bit sad.

"Was that USB-" Rhydian tried to ask even though he knew he'd be shut out.

"Yeah." Isana answered. Rhydian gave a small smile, happy that Isana wasn't ignoring him.

At a secluded area.

"It's done, boss."

"Isana actually did it, didn't she?"

"Yes. But it took some force to do so. Rhydian, on the other hand, is someone we have to be wary of now-" Leonard had a serious tone.

"Why so? We've know him for so long. Is his acting that good?" The man chuckled.

"Boss. No, Izan. I think he's not acting."

Izan glared at Leonard when his name was mentioned. "What do you mean? Explain."

When they reached the apartment, the silence felt more awkward than it was in the car. There was no radio to cover up the silence.

"Once we get fresh, I want to know everything that happened. Is that okay?" Isana asked softly. She just wanted to say sorry right away but she couldn't bring herself to. It felt like he would think she said it just to make their relationship normal and not out of guilt.

Rhydian nodded. He felt a distance growing between them and he knew that just apologising would make it better but he thought that if he apologized right now, it wouldn't come off as a sincere apology.

After they both finished freshening up, they sat on the sofa and the silence was almost deafening until Isana spoke up.

"So, how did you and Leonard meet?"

"I'll be honest with you." Rhydian said straight away. "You may think I probably am deceiving you, and you're right to think that way. Cause I don't know it myself."

"What do you mean?"

"I think I know your brother and his men." Rhydian didn't reveal anything else. He didn't want to burden Isana with any more information that could make her think of him as her enemy.

"I suspected so." Isana looked deep in thought. She knew that Rhydian wasn't lying but she also knew that he wasn't saying everything. But just like she couldn't trust him, he couldn't trust her, is what Isana thought. But in reality, Rhydian trusted Isana the most.

"But why do you think so?" Isana asked. She trying to get the most information out of him. The more she knew, the more advantage she could have.

"Because when I saw Jesse I knew him. Well, not exactly. It was more like a deja vu kind of thing. And the time It talked to your brother? He talked to me like I knew him."

"What did you talk about?" Isana shot threw. She had to know but when she saw Rhydian's uncomfortable face she laughed.

"You know....you can just say no."

"But I want to tell you everything I can. So, that you can trust me at least a little."

This was a blow to the heart for Isana. She trusted Rhydian. More than she aught to have. But maybe she didn't show it.

"I trust you, Rhydian. More like, I want to trust you. But it's not easy."

Rhydian nodded. He felt the distance between them widen a bit more. Even though they resolved a bit of the misunderstanding, it felt like they just had more questions than when they started.

"It's getting late."

"Maybe I can cook something for you?" Rhydian asked hopefully. He could maybe lighten the atmosphere.

Isana was uncomfortable with how hopeful he sounded. "No. It's alright. Do you mind if I cook?"

"Yeah. Go ahead. Don't even need to ask. It's your place," Rhydian said with a tint of sadness on his face.

"I'm sorry," Isana mumbled. She knew that Rhydian couldn't hear it. It was just for the tiniest bit of relief she could get.

Rhydian went into his room and laid down on the bed. He was thinking about a lot of things. He hadn't apologized to Isana, neither had he told her how Leonard got hold of him nor the things that took place. He knew he didn't have to tell her. But he also knew he'd feel better if he did, for some reason.

Isana was just making an omelet. She just wanted to sleep but she was hungry and it's not that she knew any complicated dishes anyway.

They had a peaceful dinner watching some action-comedy movie that was on TV. Both of them laughed even though the awkward distance persisted after dinner.

"You should go sleep. I'll wash the dishes. There's no way I can poison you by washing dishes-"

"Then I'll stay here while you wash. I-"

"Yeah. I'd like the company." Rhydian didn't want to hear her say she didn't trust him.

After washing the dishes, they both went to sleep. It took a while for both of them, but they dozed off soon and it was sleep without any nightmares for once.

But the question lingered, even in their subconscious minds.

'Am I forgiven for what happed in the office?'