Chapter 25: Dilemma

Zarah looked at Thomas' hands and feet. She noticed that they were painted alternately.

Zarah then remembered the similar pattern inside Isaiah's ICU room.

"What's wrong, Miss?" Mr. McGuire asked her.

"Nothing," Zarah answered. She suddenly became suspicious but she did not inform Mr. McGuire about it until she confirmed her suspicion.

Zarah left the police station and decided to go back to the hospital. As she arrived, she saw Nikolai and Franklin by the door. They were arguing with the guards.

"What are you both doing here?" She asked them at the same time she became alert.

"We are here to visit our father. However, these d*mn nincompoops will not let us in!" Nikolai answered her.

"Are you banning us to visit our father?" Franklin asked.

Just then, Elliott arrived with the attorney.

"Atty. Mendez, why are you here?" She asked him.

Atty. Mendez then opened his bag and pulled out a two-page document from it.

"Chairman Stevens has filed a temporary restraining order against Mr. Nikolai Stevens and Mr. Franklin Stevens."

"On what grounds?!" Nikolai angrily asked while snatching the document from him.

"Chairman Stevens thinks that you both are highly dangerous around him and Miss Zarah."

Franklin then leaned to Nikolai and whispered, "Does he know something?"

"My client felt unsafe around you. Effective today, you both are not allowed to be near him or her." Atty. Mendez said.

"What? We won't accept this! We are his children! We should be in there!" Nikolai angrily protested. However, he didn't have a choice.

Atty. Mendez smirked and smiled meaningfully. "If you won't honor the TRO, then I'm afraid we will call the police and you both will be dragged away from here."

Both Nikolai and Franklin angrily looked at Zarah.

"What did you do? What did you say to Dad that forced him to issue a temporary restraining on us?!"

Zarah did nothing. She was innocent.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply, Nikolai." She honestly said. Though she was telling the truth, they did not believe her.

"You're only an adopted. How dare you act like one of the legitimate children of our father? He only picked you up from the orphanage! We don't even know if your parents are criminals!" Nikolai criticized Zarah for being adopted.

"Remember this, Zarah, no matter how hard you dressed in decent clothes, you're still a nobody in our eyes! You will never be a Stevens. You're still a piece of garbage that belongs to the trash bin." Franklin added in support of his brother's statement.

Zarah listened to their belittling words and she showed no reaction at all. This was not the first time that they had belittled her with the same adjectives and words.

They should use another sentence next time. Perhaps they'd get the reaction they wanted from her.

"I never said that I wanted to be a Stevens, Franklin. Don't you know shame? If you know what shame is, you better leave this place and stay away from my father."

"Ha! How dare you claim him as your father?! You have no rights!"

"I have the rights because I am legally adopted. How about you both? What rights do you have?" Zarah asked them.

Like what she expected to see, the two brothers were shocked to hear her.

She smirked inwardly and decided to enter the room and leave them behind.

It's up to Atty. Mendez and Elliot on what to do with those two brothers. They should be taught a lesson.

As she entered, she saw that Isaiah was awake and was listening to the conversation outside.

"Old Man, are you okay?" She worriedly asked and Isaiah showed a soft smile together with a weak nod.

"Yes, I'm okay now that you're here." Zarah's heart turned soft after hearing these words from him. She grabbed his hands and hold them.

She then let go as she thought of wiping Isaiah's arms.

She grabbed the clean basin and a clean towel and then went to the bathroom to fill it with lukewarm water.

"You don't have to do this, Zarah. A nurse can do this job for me."

"I want to, Old Man. Now, just stay still while I do it for you. You should listen to Dr. Miller and stop talking." Zarah said and Isaiah let out a soft chuckle.

Zarah went on and wiped Isaiah's arms.

"Zarah, what happened to Thomas?" He softly asked and she knew she had to be honest and so she answered, "He committed suicide and died, Old Man."

"Such a shame. He's such a good nurse. I liked him as my nurse, you know. May his soul rest in peace." Isaiah commented.

"I know. And I liked him, too. I trusted him, Old Man, and treated him like a friend." She confessed what she truly felt.

"We have to give him the justice he deserved," she added.

"I agree but be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you," he reminded her. Zarah then grabbed his hands and squeezed 'em gently.

"Don't worry Old Man. Our people will be there with me." What she meant were Mr. McGuire and others.

Zarah then continued wiping his arms.

"I should have done this from the beginning, Zarah. Did they make things difficult for you while I was in a coma?" He asked after he thought of his two eldest sons and how they treated Zarah.

He shouldn't have allowed them to bully her.

"Other than giving up the restaurant, they stopped making things difficult for me." She honestly answered him.

"I'm going to take it back for you, Zarah. It's yours. It's my graduation gift for you." Isaiah was still brokenhearted to hear about this.

Zarah was contemplating whether she should tell Isaiah the truth that Xavier now owned it.

"Is there anything wrong, Zarah?" He weakly asked.

"There's nothing wrong, Old Man."

Zarah then heard a sigh from Isaiah and then he said, "I truly miss the old days, Zarah."

"Me, too."

"Then, can we go home tomorrow?" He pleadingly asked her.

Zarah didn't agree when he asked her first. So, he was asking her again.

"Zarah, God knows how much I wanted to stay by your side," he said and then continued in his mind, 'I wish we have met sooner so I could enjoy your company as my daughter.'

Zarah was the daughter that he never had. She brought a breath of fresh air into his life.

Zarah saw the tiredness and desperation in Isaiah's eyes and it crushed her heart. It would be very selfish of her if she wouldn't let go of him.

"I still need you, Old Man." Isaiah shook his head in response and replied, "No, dear. I have already taught you everything that I knew. You're more than ready to face the world."

Zarah shook her head in disagreement while trying to hold back her tears, "That's not what I mean Old Man. I need your warmth. Your fatherly love and care."

"Zarah, you're strong. You can make it even without me."

Life is short and his time was near. He hoped that Zarah would accept this sooner so it would also be not hard for him to leave.

"What about Xavier? He needs you, Old Man." She suddenly asked. Zarah regretted it as Isaiah became sadder.

"I failed him many times. I don't think he would ever see me in this life."

He had already accepted that Xavier might not forgive him for what he did to him and his mother.

"I have failed Abigail, too. I failed to protect her." Isaiah shed tears as he thought of his second wife.

"Shhh!" Zarah hushed and said, "It's okay, Old Man. It's not your fault."

He vowed to make things right for his son before he left in this world for good.

After she finished wiping him, the time for Isaiah to eat his dinner came. Zarah put the food in his feeding tube.

After dinner was over, Isaiah said he wanted to rest.

He also wanted to give her time to think about what he said.

Zarah found herself sitting on the bench located at the back of the hospital.

The sky was getting darker and the weather was getting colder. However, both her heart and mind were in chaos.

She grabbed her phone and she didn't know why but she dialed Xavier's number and called it.

Xavier was in a meeting when he received Zarah's call. He waved his hand to pause the meeting and left the conference room.

"Fifteen minutes break," Rupert said and everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Zarah cleared her throat and asked, "Are you busy?"

"No. What's wrong?" He asked while walking down the hallway.

"CEO Lockhart, where are you going?" Rupert called behind him. He put the call on hold and said, "Go back and resume the meeting without me."

'What?!'

"May I know where are you going, Master?" He asked.

"Somewhere." He simply said and then walked away and returned to Zarah who was for some reason, did not drop the call.

Zarah did not know why she didn't drop the call though.

Chris saw him leaving and so he followed him.

"Are you there?" He asked and Zarah responded with a faint, "Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at St. George Hospital. Are you sure that you want to come?" Zarah had to ask as she knew he was mad with Isaiah.

"Wait for me. I'll be there."

"Okay."

Zarah didn't know why she called Xavier. Perhaps because it was Isaiah. She was probably hoping to convince him to convince his father to fight.

Or maybe she just wanted him to know what Isaiah wanted.

She thought that he could understand her better.

While waiting, she also sent Olivia a message about what happened.

A few seconds after she sent the message, Olivia called her.

"Zaza, I'm sorry I could not come to comfort you personally. I'm out of town for a project. I wasn't able to inform you because I was informed at the last minute." Olivia felt bad.

"Oh no! It's fine." Zarah reassured her but she frowned as she had no idea of what Olivia was up to.

"I'll ask Trixie to come to you instead."

Zarah's eyes lit up when she heard Trixie's name.

"Really? She's here?"

"Her flight was delayed and so she would be in Oakridge City after an hour."

"Oh!"

"I'm sorry that I couldn't make it, Zaza," Olivia repeated her sorry.

"It's fine, Liv. Just do your business and come back safely, okay?" She said. Zarah could not afford to lose another person close to her. She might appear strong on the outside, but when it came to the people she valued and cared for, her heart was soft.

"I promise that I will."

Zarah ended the call and waited for Xavier to arrive.

After thirty minutes, Zarah heard footsteps coming her way.

When she looked up, she saw Xavier's handsome face who was looking at her with concern. However, it disappeared even before she could comment on it.

***