Chapter 28: Phone

I made sure my phones were turned off and placed them on the bedside table. Part of me is pushing me to doubt Neuron but part of me too still wants to believe he is sincere and true to me all this time. But I guess, I don't have the right to fret over sincerity because I'm the one who intentionally approached him for my mission, right?

I'm sitting on the island counter while Isagani is cooking our lunch. I'm spacing out. I don't know what to feel, I don't know what to believe anymore.

"Are you okay?" Isagani pulled me out of my reverie.

"Yah," I unconvincingly replied.

He laid a simple single dish for lunch in front of me. He took off the yellow apron and hung it at the back of his chair then he sat down. "What's the matter?"

"Can you accompany me?"

"To where?"

"I think my phone is tapped."

"Which phone?"

"I don't know."

I rubbed my forehead out of frustration.

"What if Neuron really did tap my phone? What if he is spying on me all this time?" This is making me paranoid.

"Are you afraid we will fail our mission?"

"No!" I exclaimed in dread. "I'm scared I might get hurt."

His forehead creased. I was even shocked by what I said. But I admit it's true.

"I think--" I found it hard to say. "I feel like it will really hurt me if I find out he's lying to me all this time."

Isagani stared at me like he just realized just how close the prince and I have gotten. Even I, myself, didn't know I would come to care this much for the prince.

It never occurred to me that Neuron could've been pretending all this time. I never questioned his sincerity. To me, he is true from the get-go. I've always thought I was the one deceiving him, and I felt bad about it.

Why didn't I ever think he could be lying?

Why did I take everything for what they appear to be?

I finally realized now. I think it's not me who gained Neuron's trust. It was he who gained my trust. I did fall into my own trap.

Maybe I wasn't the player. Maybe I was the one being played with.

My anxiety halted when I heard the doorbell ring.

Isagani and I exchanged glances. "Who's here?"

He just shrugged his shoulders at me.

I stood up and went to the door to see who rang the doorbell. And I definitely didn't expect a curly stick man to appear in front of my door. Loor, whose code name is Hunt, is actually one of the most skillful soldiers in the camp, no wonder he immediately became a member of Team One six years ago even though he only trained for a few months.

He's really good at combat, and he's a perfect shooter. He is also good at assisting the team during missions. But despite his impressive combat skills, he has this contrasting disposition. He's always cheerful, he's talkative, and has this goofy personality.

"F--king goodness! Glad you're here!" he exclaimed.

I looked around. "Where are the others? Why are you back so soon?"

He smiled widely. "I came back to get my phone."

"What?"

"I forgot to bring my phone so I came back."

I shook my head. Seems like I'm not the only one who forgets things.

I let him in.

"Where is Gulu, though? Did you leave him alone?"

He snickered and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Don't you worry," he whispered. "He's having the time of his life right now."

He also has this flirty trait when it comes to girls.

I immediately twisted his arm on the back and that made him whimper in pain. "Ah! Ah! That hurts!"

"Who told you that you could touch me?" I twisted his arm harder and that made him groan in pain even more.

"Alright, alright! Ah!"

I let him go and he immediately glared at me. "What a nice way to push a guy away!"

I smirked. "Serves you right."

He hissed and I just chuckled. "Have you seen my phone, by the way? I can't seem to remember where I put it."

"No, do you want me to help you find it?" I offered to help him.

"What's going on here?"

Loor and I both turned our heads to Isagani who just came.

"So you two are here?" Loor suddenly sounded like he's teasing. He looks so annoying especially that he's raising his eyebrows up and down in the most annoying manner. "Why? Because no one else is here? Do you have to spend the day together, inside this apartment? Doing the kinky? With no one watching--AH!"

I hit the back of his head. "You dumbass, get what you're here for and shut your f--king mouth, or else I will rip it."

He motioned like he's zipping his mouth and immediately left us, probably to find his phone.

"Why's he back here?" Isagani asked.

"He forgot his phone," I answered.

"Hey curly stick man!" I shouted. "We'll be in the kitchen! Tell us if you're leaving!"

"OKAAAAY!" I heard him shout back from wherever he is right now.

Isagani and I both went back to the kitchen to eat our lunch. And moments later, Loor came.

He showed us his phone. "Found it. Now I'm gonna get back to having fun, fellas! You two can do whatever you want here." He put his hand on his mouth like he's whispering. "No one will know."

And I would've thrown at him the spoon I was holding if Isagani didn't stop me.

And without even waving us goodbye, he left. The nerve! That jerk!

I gave Isagani an awkward glint. Why does Loor have to make things more awkward?

--

My heart was racing fast as Isagani and I entered the tech shop. As soon as we entered, I stopped walking because of my anxiety.

I'm scared...

"Uhmm, let's go back later. Later.."

I was about to go out when Isagani held my hand to stop me from walking out.

"We're already here," he softly said. "And if you were really tapped, don't you think it's better to know now? You do realize this could destroy Soma, right?"

"I trust Neuron. I trust him. He wouldn't do that to me!"

Isagani was silent for a couple of seconds like he's trying to find the right words to say. "If you trust him, you wouldn't even think he would spy on you."

That shut me up.

"And trust needs a crisis to either crumble or get stronger."

He slightly dragged me to force me to get inside.

The shop owner was very kind and courteous when he welcomed us and asked what service we wanted from the shop. I explained to him that I think my phone is tapped and I want him to check if it really was tapped.

When the owner was checking the two phones, I roamed my eyes around the shop. And then I saw a familiar picture. There was a single framed picture in the owner's office. It's a framed picture of the Gruna palace.

I tugged at Isagani to tell him about the picture silently. We exchanged looks.

It seems like the owner likes the Grunas.

Not long after, the owner was finally able to check the phones. He laid my real phone in front of me. My heart is racing and it's so loud that it's making me almost deaf. I'm having chills and it's making me so uneasy.

Please.. please.. say it's not tapped...

But the next words I heard made me drop my whole body on the chair because it feels like I lost all my strength.

"It's tapped, ma'am."

No... no...

"Just like what you suspected ma'am, your phone was installed with spy software."

The news totally wrecked me.

But how? Did Neuron find out I was using two phones? And if he did, when did he find out? Is Soma busted? Am I busted?

"I will remove the software--"

"No! Don't." Isagani butted in.

I gave him a confused look. He stared back at me. "Just leave it as it is. Trust me on this."

I nodded my head at him. I don't know what Isagani has in mind, but I decided to follow his lead for now. After we finished at the tech shop, Isagani and I went to a nearby coffee shop.

"Are you okay?" Isagani tapped my shoulder.

"What am I gonna do?" I stared at the two phones on the table. My real phone, the one that is tapped, is switched off. The other is not.

"If it was really the prince, let's pretend we didn't know about it. We might be able to use this to our advantage. Just always be careful and talk away from your phone or switch it off if you wanna talk about Soma."

I nodded my head.

I looked at the menu and then winced. There's no way we could afford even a cup of coffee. The prices are ridiculous!

A server came to take our order. And I politely said, "We will order later." So the server left.

But actually, we will not. It's a waste of mah.

"You can order, I don't really like coffees and such."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Don't lie, okay? We've been together in the camp for as long as I can remember. And we've been in the same team for years."

He loves coffee so much. He can't go on a day without having coffee. And I know the aroma of coffee surrounding the place is making him crave coffee but he's suppressing it telling me to order so we could save money.

He chuckled. "Fine, then let's not order."

"This place is ridiculous. Even a glass of water is pricey. Like what the f--k."

Isagani immediately stood up and reached his hand across the table to cover my mouth. We both looked at the customers looking in our way. I must've said that too loudly.

"This is why I hate this kingdom. Good things, good food, good shops, good places are always too expensive for poor people," I complained in a more composed manner.

"Isn't that why you've come this far?"

I stopped because of what he said.

Why have I come this far? Sometimes I forget why I am in this war. My memory of my parent's death is as vivid to me as neon colors like it just happened yesterday.

But the pain, it's hard to remember and maintain the same intensity of the pain, because, in the process of doing so, it's straining me, making me tired and less angry.

But seeing poor people suffer, seeing corruption here and there, burns up my desire again to bring down Mirando.

Maybe Isagani is right, it's the reason why I've come this far.

We both stared down at the phone ringing that was on the table. It's my phone, the one I use for Neuron. And if it's ringing, that means he is calling. Who else will when it's only Neuron who knows the number?

I answered the phone. "Hello."

"Where are you?"

Before I knew he tapped me, my heart would skip a beat whenever he called. But now, I don't know, it feels--

It hurts.

Especially that he's asking me where I am. Because he doesn't know. Because my real phone is turned off, that's why he can't check.

"In my apartment," I lied.

Isagani eyed me like he's curious about what we were talking about. I placed my index finger on my lips to tell him to never make a sound while I'm on the phone.

"Alone?"

"Yah, alone."

"Can you tell me the address of the club you will be going to tonight?"

"Why?"

"I will pick you up."

"What? Why? I can go home with my friends." My tone came out to be a little annoyed.

"You're sleeping with me tonight."

"What?! That's it? You won't even ask if I want to sleep in your apartment?"

"Why? Did you even think what I would feel when you kissed that guy?" I automatically glanced at Isagani when Neuron said that.

I want to retaliate but I can't. He threw an argument I cannot win against.

"There's no way I'm letting you sleep in the same house with him."

"Neuron, it could be my last day with them. Can't you just let this pass?"

"No," came his firm answer. "You're sleeping with me tonight. That's final. And this is me being mad, Rathna."

I closed my eyes out of frustration.

"So tell me which club."

"Don't worry, I will bring my phone so you'll probably find out." I sounded too sarcastic.

"What?" he asked like he's really confused.

Pretender!

"I mean, I don't know yet which club the guys want. I will call you."

"Alright." He sighed heavily.

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" I asked out of concern. He seems to be having a hard time.

"His Majesty almost lifted my title as a prince."

"Just because you used the tower?" I cried in disbelief.

"It's not about the tower, lady. It's about the prince breaking the law."

"Are you okay?"

He sighed again. "I wanna see you but I'm being punished right now with loads and loads of paperwork."

I chuckled. "So much for being a royal."

"That's why think and think again, Rathna."

"About what?"

"Staying with me. If you really want a lover who is responsible for an entire kingdom."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, I gave you a chance to run away many times, but you didn't. So you'll just have to deal with it."

Unknowingly, I laughed loudly and that made me look at Isagani and the people around frowning at my loudness. I pressed my lips together.

I can't believe I'm still laughing right now because of Neuron even after knowing everything!

I heard someone talk with Neuron on the other line. Then he said, "Hey, love, I gotta hang up."

"Alright. Don't overwork, Sir."

"I won't. Or maybe I should. If I get sick, you'd take care of me. An enticing benefit."

I smiled again. He just knows all the words to say to make me smile. And I hate that.

When the call ended, I faced Isagani. And I could sense a dark aura surrounding him. He looked like he's in a bad mood. I must've been on the phone for too long.

"Sorry about that."

"Let's go," he suddenly said and stood up.

"Uhmm, where?"

"Why? Do you wanna just stay here without even ordering? That's a waste of electricity for the business." He sounded grumpy all of a sudden.

"Why would being here, a waste of electricity?"

"You're adding carbon dioxide and friction." He pointed to the air purifier and air conditioner.

I automatically covered my mouth and nose to stop releasing carbon dioxide. Then I realized, why would I?

This guy! Why would he use carbon dioxide and friction to pick on me?!

He left the coffee shop first so I immediately followed him. We went back to Hermit Homes and instead of calling for a golf cart, we decided to walk around the compound.

Isagani was silent the entire time. And it's making me feel awkward.

"I'm jealous." He finally broke the long-dead silence between us.

I couldn't give an answer. What am I supposed to say?

"I wanna pretend and act cool, but I just can't. It's driving me crazy thinking you could've been mine if I didn't hesitate for a long time. That I could be the reason you're laughing. That I could be the one making you smile."

"I'm-- I'm sorry." Those are the only words I could say.

"My offer will still stand until the moment you take it. If you want to, anytime, I will run away with you."

At that moment, I couldn't do anything but feel sorry for him.