Chapter 9: Chaos

Trina's POV

"I want to take this opportunity to formally introduce my son, the real owner of Ashton University, Zephyr Romeo Anderson." We all turned to look at Zep as he walked up to the stage with a poker face and approached his father.

The crowd erupted, especially the women. He stood there for a few minutes, and I saw him whisper something to his father before his gaze shifted toward me.

I couldn't help but wonder at the sadness and fear in his eyes.

"Let's start the event!" That was all he said before stepping down.

"Trina!" Gail called, sweating and out of breath.

"I've been looking for you, Pat's getting mad," she said, rolling her eyes as I followed her.

"Where the hell have you been?! We've been looking for you!" Pat yelled when I reached the backstage.

"Don't worry, I'm not running away," I said, and he just shot me a glare.

The MC spoke again, and the longer I waited, the faster my heartbeat became. I massaged my hands to calm the trembling.

"Let's welcome, Trina Salvador!" I heard the MC say as I focused on memorizing the lyrics to avoid making a mistake.

I stepped onto the stage and glanced at the crowd. Some people cheered and clapped, while others seemed indifferent. My gaze fell on the front row—Zep and his father. They were both staring at me, which only added to my anxiety.

The MC smiled and handed me the microphone, which I shakily took.

I closed my eyes for a moment, and when I opened them, the music began.

~I'm jealous of the rain

That falls upon your skin.

The crowd went silent as I started singing.

~It's closer than my hands have been, I'm jealous of the rain, I'm jealous of the wind, that ripples through your clothes.

This song reminded me of Dad, even though I never met him, I still dedicated it to him.

~It's closer than your shadow

Oh, I'm jealous of the wind.

Zep's father was staring at me intensely, and I locked eyes with him as I sang.

~Cause I wished you the best of all this world could give

And I told you when you left me

There's nothing to forgive

But I always thought you'd come back tell me all you found was heartbreak and misery…

Tears started to fall, but I fought to keep my voice steady.

~It's hard for me to say

I'm jealous of the way

You're happy without me.

~It's hard for me to say

I'm jealous of the way

You're happy without me.

The song ended, and for a moment, it was as if an angel passed by because the silence was so profound.

"Thank you!" I said to the crowd, and they erupted into applause, which made me smile.

Some people even shouted that I was amazing.

"Wow! What an amazing voice!" The MC said as he took the microphone from me.

I was still looking at the crowd when I noticed something strange in the back.

It seemed like there was chaos among the guards.

I was about to step down from the stage when I was knocked down by a loud explosion.

I felt the impact sharply. What was happening?

The crowd panicked, running in all directions. The happy shouts were replaced by screams and cries.

I couldn't stand because I was in shock, and my heart sank when I saw that a large part of the building where our classroom was had caught fire. I also heard gunshots.

"Trina. Let's go!" Someone grabbed me and we ran together.

"W-What's happening, Zep?" I asked, but we kept running.

"They're after us, I'll explain later." We finally reached the gate, and I looked behind us. There were men with guns chasing us.

"Trina, don't look back," Zep shouted. I screamed when I heard a gunshot ring out, and at the same time, Zep let go of my hand and collapsed to the ground.

I covered my mouth, tears streaming down my face as I saw him lying motionless, blood pouring from his body.

Trina's POV

"Z-Zep?" I held his face with trembling hands. I sighed in relief when he slowly opened his eyes.

"T-Trina," he whispered as he gently touched my face.

"M-My love, you need to leave." I looked behind me and saw that the men were getting closer, one aiming a gun at me.

I shut my eyes, fearing it was the end.

Then, I heard a gunshot—not from the man, but from Zep's father. I saw the men who were chasing us fall to the ground.

"Get the f*ck out of the way!" Zep's father yelled as he made a way for us. His men quickly lifted Zep and placed him in the car.

I started running to follow the car, unable to calm down until I was sure Zep was safe.

A taxi happened to pass by, and I immediately got in.

"Follow that car," I told the driver, pointing at Zep's vehicle.

I thought they were taking him to the hospital, but I was wrong. I also considered they might take him to their mansion, but we were headed in a different direction.

We drove for about 30 minutes before the car stopped at a large house, far from civilization.

I quickly got out of the taxi and crouched behind it, trying not to be noticed.

Why did they bring Zep here?

There were guards with guns everywhere, and when they saw Zep being carried in, they rushed to assist.

They quickly brought him inside, signaling for me to follow.

I knew it was dangerous, but I couldn't rest until I was sure Zep was alive.

I hid behind a bush when one of the guards looked in my direction.

My heart pounded faster as he approached, and I held my breath, trying not to make a sound.

"Who's there?!" he shouted, and I flinched.

"Meow!" I nearly screamed as a cat suddenly jumped out from behind my hiding spot.

"Just a cat," he muttered before going back to his post.

Saved by the cat!

I sat behind a large tree in front of the house, trying to think of a way to get inside unnoticed.

I peeked to see what they were doing, but froze when I felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed to the back of my head.

"Nice to see you here, Trina," Zep's father said. His men pulled me to my feet and dragged me inside.

Despite my fear, I tried to speak.

"W-Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"

"You love my son so much. Even though it's dangerous, you still followed him." He didn't answer my question.

"Manang, prepare some juice!" he called out to a maid.

I looked around, noticing the state of the house—it didn't even feel like a home. Some of the furniture was covered with white cloth, a sign that no one had lived here for a long time.

I swallowed nervously when I saw the armed men surrounding us.

"Scared, huh?" He smirked and sat on the sofa.

"Have a seat, beautiful lady," he gestured for me to sit opposite him.

"I just have one question, what happened earlier?"

"You don't need to know. It's for your own safety." A maid set two glasses of juice in front of us.

"I want to see Zep," I said, gathering my courage.

"He's fine, don't worry," he replied seriously and took a sip of his juice.

I grabbed my juice and drank it.

"Are you my son's girlfriend?" he suddenly asked, making me choke on my drink.

"N-No, I have a boyfriend," I answered quickly.

He grinned, then asked again.

"What's his name?"

"Romeo Dela Torre."

"I see, you're easy to fool."

"Excuse me?" I furrowed my brows, confused by his words. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head.

I looked at my juice, which was almost finished, and realized something.

I glanced at him, and he laughed.

"W-What did you put in my drink?" My vision started to blur, but before I lost consciousness, I heard him speak.

"I'm doing this for my son, because I don't want him to become a demon because of me. Sorry, Trina. You can't be with my son. I don't want him to hurt you like he did to the other women."

To be continued.