Chapter 28: Realizations

Zarah approached Xavier, who turned around to wipe his tears away as if they were not there.

Zarah hesitated for a while as this was the second time she had seen him in a vulnerable state. She thought he might not want her to see him in this state to protect his image.

However, something deep inside pushed her to take those steps going to him.

'He needs you,' Her conscience spoke to her. She put him in this situation. So, she should be there in the aftermath.

Asking if he was okay might offend Xavier instead of being comforted. It was obvious that he was not okay. So she asked this instead, "Do you want me to leave so you could take a breather?"

And Xavier looked at her and said, "No. Let's go somewhere else." He was almost begging when he said that and Zarah nodded her head.

Xavier walked ahead and Zarah followed behind. Looking at his broad back, Zarah could feel that he was carrying so much weight on them.

She thought that maybe holding his hand could lessen the pain. She slowly reached out her hand but retracted it midway as she thought Xavier might feel uncomfortable.

They were not close, to begin with. The only connection that bound them was Isaiah. Should Isaiah die, she did not know what to do next.

Xavier had a complex character that was hard to read. Therefore, she didn't want to think ahead.

What if she was open to being friends with him but he didn't want to? She didn't want to raise her hopes and got hurt after.

'Why would you get hurt when you're talking about friendship? Perhaps you're expecting something else.' Zarah's conscience kept bugging her so she decided to go back to the present.

This was not what she expected as the outcome when she proposed this to him. She wanted to allow him to heal during the talk. However, after the conversation, the burden he was carrying seemed to double in size.

They found a bench in a hallway where only a few people passed by. Xavier sat down first and Zarah followed.

"You came out pretty emotional. Do you like to share what happened?" Zarah asked him.

Xavier then started telling her what happened inside and she listened attentively. He filtered what he shared with her.

Zarah felt sad after she heard that even Xavier could not make Isaiah change his mind.

The old man had already decided and she had no other choice but to honor his wish.

"Are you okay with it?" He asked as he was worried that Zarah would be upset.

"Yes. And if it's okay with you, you may honor his final wish. I'll help you out if you want to." Zarah said but Xavier nodded and replied, "Okay. Let's do it together."

Xavier heaved a deep sigh. "That was deep," she commented.

"Yeah. Am I an asshole because it was hard for me to forgive him right away?"

"I'm not a psychologist but I don't think you're an asshole. You've been nursing that hurt, that anger, and that grudge inside of you for a very long time. It would be unbelievable if you could easily say that you'd forgiven him just because you have found out something tonight."

Xavier sighed in response as he considered what Zarah told him.

"If I was in your situation, it would be hard for me to forgive him, too. Isaiah's a good and understanding father. He'll understand if you won't forgive him right away."

Xavier felt guilty after hearing what Zarah said. Somehow, he looked at him in a different light. No wonder Zarah had high respect for Isaiah.

He somehow felt jealous as Zarah was able to experience what kind of a father he was. He let other people's words and his anger influenced him.

"We've missed so much time just because of a misunderstanding."

He got the chance to live with him during summer break four years ago. Zarah was not done with high school yet. She was sixteen and he was twenty.

Isaiah had been trying to earn his forgiveness but he was so close-minded during that time.

His anger intensified when Isaiah found out that he was interested in Zarah and the latter was against the idea of him dating his adopted sister.

They even tried to elope. Sad to say they got into a car accident and the rest was history. Isaiah was very disappointed with him and Zarah.

Zarah managed to escape Isaiah's anger as she lost her memory of the entire summer. But Xavier heard his father's lectures and he was immediately sent back to Sterlington City the next day.

Isaiah didn't even let him see Zarah before he left. And that incident increased his hate toward Isaiah.

Aside from that reason, he now had nothing.

He started to regret not giving Isaiah a chance to explain. He felt ashamed of himself.

For the first time, he felt so small.

Xavier closed his eyes as he tried to calm his emotions.

Zarah felt bad seeing him in this state. "It will be fine, Xavier. It is still hard now because it's still fresh. Go home and sleep on it. Hopefully tomorrow, you'll feel better." She said with a sigh.

"Now that you've realized everything, perhaps it's not too late to spend time with Old Man on his final days." She added and Xavier was silent.

"If you're fine with it, I'll ask my men to watch over him through the night. Moreover, I have already hired a nurse who will tend to him tonight."

Zarah was completely surprised to know that he made these arrangements. She didn't even know when he did it. Was it possible that he arranged it after knowing about the incident?

Zarah didn't know that Xavier was this efficient. She planned on staying over the whole night to watch over Isaiah but now that she didn't have to, she could go home and plan on her next move.

"Of course. Do what you wanted to do. I'll settle his discharge papers tomorrow." She said.

Zarah got up and was about to leave when Xavier stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Do you want anything?"

"Where are you going?"

"Home. It's getting late." She said while pointing at the time on her wristwatch.

"Don't go back to your apartment. It's dangerous."

Zarah was surprised to hear this and so she asked, "How did you know that it's dangerous? Do you know something, Xavier?"

Xavier got up and pulled her closer toward him. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ears, "Of course, I have to know why you're not able to come back after an hour earlier. It turned out that you've got yourself in trouble."

"I'm fine. The police won't be able to push me into the corner. I'll make sure that they won't succeed with their plans." Zarah told him and he nodded. He then released her and mumbled a soft, "Sorry."

"Do you need my help?" He offered.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need it for now." Zarah saw him frowning and she thought she was being ungrateful so she added in reassurance, "I'll ask for help if I could not handle it, okay?"

Xavier's expression turned normal as he heard her reassurance.

Zarah also told him that he was staying in their old house at Maple District in the meantime. She didn't disclose why and this got Xavier curious.

Xavier was uncomfortable letting her stay there alone and so an idea popped up in his mind.

"Can I come with you?" He asked which shocked Zarah. He then looked for a believable excuse so Zarah would not refuse him.

"I want to know what kind of life he lived. I want to know more about him," he said. Now, Zarah found it hard to refuse him because she could hear the genuine sadness in his voice.

"I was thinking of inviting Trixie over." She told him honestly and his mood turned sour.

She thought that she might not be able to sleep for the entire night if someone wouldn't sleep beside her.

For the first time, Zarah wanted to sleep so she could take a break from all the thoughts that were bombarding her mind.

She would not be able to concentrate on doing her tasks tonight either so she'd rather sleep.

Olivia calmed her down the last time so she thought that Trixie could do it, too.

However, hearing Xavier's request, she found it hard to refuse him. She felt like she owed this to him.

"But now I changed my mind."

Xavier's mood felt better after she said that.

Zarah and Xavier went down to the hospital lobby where Trixie was waiting for her. Zarah asked him to head to his car first as she'd talk to Trixie first.

Trixie got up and approached her. She then wrapped her arms on her shoulder as they walked slowly to the main entrance.

"Ara, are we leaving now?" She asked her.

"No. Trix. I'll be riding Xavier's car," she replied and Trixie halted from walking.

"His car?! Arah, Liv had told me about him and I agree with her, I don't trust him even one bit. He looked dangerous." Trixie honestly told her.

"I know and I understand your worry. You don't have to trust him, just trust me. I have to do this for my Old Man's wishes. So, I hope you understand, Trix." Zarah almost begged her.

Trixie immediately became helpless after she mentioned that this was for Isaiah.

"Are you sure that you can handle him? I can come with you." She offered.

"No. It's fine. He's pretty sensitive at the moment and I wanted him to take his time. I kind of pushed him in this situation so I have to be responsible." She honestly said.

Trixie had no other choice but to reluctantly agree with it.

"Call me if something happened, okay?"

"No. I know you're tired. You should take a rest tonight, Trix. Let's talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Trixie said with a sigh.

After exchanging tight hugs and good nights, Zarah and Trixie parted ways.

Zarah walked to the parking lot of the hospital while Trixie got inside their family car.

It was such a long day for her and she wanted this to be over so she could take a rest.

Zarah saw Chris sitting in the driver's seat and they exchanged greetings.

"Good evening, Zarah."

"Good evening, Chris! I didn't know that you were here." She said in surprise.

"Well, the boss told me to do something so I was not able to meet you."

Before Zarah could respond to it, Xavier cleared his throat, and the conversation stopped even before they reached the good part.

"Tell him the address."

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