Chapter 7

"Help! Help!" Hilda suddenly screamed after seeing Joana drown in the bathtub. The woman quickly lifted Joana's head. She didn't know how to help a drowning person, but at least if her head wasn't in the water, it would stop the water from entering Joana's body.

The people who heard Hilda's scream immediately came. They were just as shocked to see Joana sinking herself into the bathtub.

Maria immediately approached and helped remove Joana's body from the bathtub. "Quickly call an ambulance!" she told Hilda.

A guard who heard Hilda's screams from outside finally came to help. "What is this?" asked the guard.

"This girl wants to die," answered Maria.

The guard's eyes dimmed for a few seconds as he regretted obeying Jeremy's orders. As a result, a girl died in a villa that was initially just a magnificent uninhabited building.

It wasn't long before Hilda came back and asked, "Does Mr. Jeremy also need to be contacted?"

Immediately Maria and the guard stared at Hilda in silence. But a moment later, Maria said, "Just call. He needs to know what happened to this girl."

***

Jeremy had just arrived at a house much grander than the villa Joana lived in. He was prepared to be scolded by his uncle again because he had not been home for several days.

"Where have you been?"

Jeremy's footsteps halted when someone in his wheelchair appeared behind the living room wall. Jeremy put on a big smile and tried to be excellent. "Hello, Uncle Ben. Why aren't you sleeping? Let me walk you to your room." Jeremy pushed the wheelchair slowly.

They arrived at a large room, and Jeremy helped his uncle lie down on the bed. "Good night, uncle," Jeremy said instead of avoiding his uncle's tirade.

"Wait," Benito stopped before Jeremy actually left.

Jeremy was forced to stop in his tracks. He turned around and stopped trying to escape. "Yes, uncle?"

"Why don't you come home?" asked Benito.

"Of course, it's work, uncle," Jeremy answered.

"Usually, you always make time to go home no matter how busy your work is," Benito raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, our company has been taking up much of my time lately," Jeremy said.

Benito looked at his nephew for a moment, "You're not causing trouble, are you?" he asked.

Jeremy chuckled, "Uncle, I'm not a kid anymore. I can handle everything on my own now," he said.

Benito sighed, "Uncle knows that, son. Uncle is only worried about you," he said softly.

Jeremy smiled, "You don't have to worry about me. I can take good care of myself," he replied.

"There's something I want to ask you," Benito looked at Jeremy's face.

"What's that?" Jeremy looked curious.

"When are you getting married?" asked Benito.

Jeremy was silent for a moment, "aren't there any other questions?"

"You said you're not a child anymore. That means you're an adult, aren't you mature too? Why don't you introduce your future wife to uncle?" Benito said.

Jeremy chuckled again, looking away as if he didn't want to continue the conversation.

"There are a lot of women who approach you. Aren't there any that interest you?" asked Benito.

"Yes, uncle," Jeremy answered shortly, looking at his uncle seriously.

"Don't tell that supermodel. Uncle doesn't like her, um, what's her name?" asked Benito.

"Ellanor," Jeremy answered, "what's wrong with her?" he asked.

"You ask why?" Benito frowned, "Aren't you ashamed to have a wife who likes to show off her body shape and is seen by many people? I wonder how she can become a top model in that way," said Benito.

Jeremy smiled faintly, "it's because of the demands of the job, uncle," he defended.

"Yes, uncle knows that, but how can she attend your birthday in a dress like…." Benito was at a loss for words to describe Ellanor. "She's dressed, but it's like she's not dressed, you understand?" he continued.

Jeremy chuckled, amused, "Don't worry, we're just friends," he said.

"Are you sure he doesn't seem to think so?" thought Benito.

"Don't worry, Uncle, I know which women are good and which are not," said Jeremy.

Benito breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank God, you're not a child anymore, uncle. Is getting increasingly impatient to see you get married before uncle dies," he said.

"Uncle, how many times have I told you not to say things like that," Jeremy complained.

"Uncle just feels like I'm getting older every day, so I'm afraid he won't have the chance to see you married," Benito replied.

Suddenly Jeremy's phone rang, and his face turned serious as he answered the call. "What is it?" asked Benito.

"I have to go now, uncle," said Jeremy hastily.

"Where else are you going?" asked Benito, half-screaming.

"A girl is dying in the villa," Jeremy shouted as he came out of his uncle's room.

"A girl, huh?" Benito muttered as he looked at the door meaningfully, then found a comfortable position and closed his eyes.

***

Jeremy reaches the hospital. Maria and the housekeeper were waiting in the corridor with tense faces.

"How is she now?" asked Jeremy.

"Critical, Sir," answered Maria.

Jeremy's eyes suddenly filled with anger, and he kicked the air. His reaction naturally scared Maria and the guard.

"How could she have tried to end her life when you weren't watching her?" snapped Jeremy.

Maria and the guard bowed their heads, not daring to utter a word. While Jeremy seems to vent his frustrations on the housekeeper and villa keeper, he feels guilty. After all, this happened, and he was the cause.

After calming down, Jeremy sighed and told Maria and the guard to go home.

"Now you guys go home. I'll be here," said Jeremy.

"Why don't you just release her?" said Maria.

Jeremy's eyes lit up and suddenly pinned Maria against the wall, "are you giving me orders? Who do you think you are?"

Maria looked down in fear, "I'm sorry, sir, I just feel sorry for her," she said.

"Listen, whatever the fate is, it's none of your business!" Jeremy emphatically then let go of Maria and half pushed her to get the middle-aged woman out of her way.

Maria and the guard quickly removed themselves from Jeremy's sight before making the man even angrier. When she had gone a little further, Maria looked back at her master meaningfully, then turned again and left.

***

Joanna opened her eyes slowly. She saw the white ceiling above her. Because her vision was still blurry, she thought she was in heaven. Her still pale lips called out to someone, "Sister..."

Then a nurse in white who had been in the room suddenly appeared in front of Joana's eyes. "Thank God you're awake, Madam," she said.

Joana turned to the nurse, "where am I?" she asked weakly.

"You are in the hospital, Madam," replied the nurse.

For a moment, Joana was surprised by the nurse calling her madam. Does she look that old when she's still a girl? But then that feeling was wrapped by her disappointment because she was still alive in this world.

It wasn't long before Jeremy entered the room and looked relieved to see Joana had opened her eyes. "Finally, you've come to your senses," he said.

Joana's eyes that saw Jeremy's presence immediately narrowed. Don't know where to get the energy from, her weak body suddenly got up and held on to the IV pole. "Please, keep him away from me, help me! I don't want to see him!" shouted Joan.

The nurse gently touched Joana's shoulder, "what's the matter, madam? Isn't this your husband? Why don't you want to see him? If there is a problem, you should talk about it carefully and don't retake risky actions like this," said the nurse.

Joana glared and turned to the nurse, "husband?"

***