Thirty

Several days had passed since Isiaah started finding Maeluthe. He has also been able to enlist the help of his friends, who still repeatedly blame him to this day.

Why didn’t he wait for the woman to explain?

He also wants to understand the pain he feels.

But then, that’s exactly what people who aren’t in his situation would think. They will think that it is easy to listen and easy to open the eyes and ears even if you are also fighting the numbing pain.

‘Maybe, I became selfish when I am hurt,’ he often convinced himself. He doesn’t have time to blame himself or to sulk. He wants to be with Maeluthe. He had promised himself that this would be the last time he would treat the woman like that.

Today, he plans to start the search early, but his friends are just here, keep on disturbing him.

‘‘I’m not coming. That’s final!’’ Isiaah’s loud cry before lying down.

‘‘You gave us no choice, Isiaah Jacinto,’’ Baste said. He was really alarmed. In an instant, he was picked up by his friend as he continued to shout.

His friends are the best. They also have their own problems, but they are still able to take care of Isiaah. He will always be grateful for these guys.

‘‘Put me down! I’m coming! Put me down!’’

As planned, they went to the gym. That’s what his friends are used to. Then they’ll run away from their jobs and work together to find Maeluthe.

They have tried to go to almost every place it is possible to go; the university, the few apartments nearby, the home of a few friends, and the province where she grew up.

Today, they are not sure yet.

In fact, they don’t even have to leave in person and travel. They can order it from well-known private investigators, but Isiaah has not tried it yet. He wanted to find Maeluthe for himself.

After all, he was the one at fault, he was the one who let the woman leave, and he should have worked hard to find her.

He must be really out of his mind. If only he had listened to the woman more and had only thought carefully before speaking, everything would not have been so complicated.

After over an hour of being down inside the gym, Kairus decided to mess around in the sister’s place first. It was just close to the gym, so it wasn’t hard for them to go.

Even if Isiaah didn’t agree with what his friends were doing, he had no choice but to follow before they could do worse to him.

After that incident, he never saw Cyra again. He was no longer interested in finding out, even if she was to blame for what happened to Maeluthe.

He just didn’t anticipate what would happen. It all seemed to go too fast.

‘‘Ashley would be so glad to see me,’’ Baste said proudly when they stepped on the elevator.

Kairus immediately pushed him. ‘‘If my sister is the only one who can marry you, I will make sure no one offers you a contract.’’

‘‘Kairus, brother-in-law—’’

‘‘Fuck you, Sebastian!’’

Isiaah was just shaken by what his friends were doing. He admires Kairus’s continuity in life even though he still hopes that he and Eilythia will meet. The man is very brave.

Ashley shouted at them when they arrived. The men are used to it. Apart from the fact that it is always raining harassment from Baste and Kairus, it also annoys them when they go without warning.

‘‘What a miracle! Why are you here?’’ Ashley was shocked to see them. ‘‘Why is Isai so quiet?’’ She turned around and faced Isiaah.

He just smiled at this sudden question.

‘‘He’s really like that when broken-hearted,’’ Kairus replied.

‘‘Why don’t you just keep quiet like Isai? You’re both totally broken-hearted, right?’’

Kairus stared at his sister like a child before lying on the sofa there. Isiaah took the opportunity to go to the bathroom.

‘‘Kai, you can’t stay. . .’’

Isaiah had already closed the door. That’s why he could no longer hear the arguments. If he only knew, he should have done it earlier to be able to think better.

He shouldn’t linger here. More than anything, he had to find the woman because he was so worried about her. Isiaah did not know how she was or if she was still eating. She has a baby in her womb that needs to be taken care of, so she needs to be more careful.

‘‘But then, I was the one who asked her to leave, right? It was my fault if anything happened to Maeluthe,’’ he told herself.

He just washed his face. Gradually, he became more and more discouraged. Gradually, he became more afraid of what might happen.

He spent a few more minutes in the bathroom before finally coming out.

‘‘Maeluthe? Hey! Maeluthe!’’

Isaiah automatically stiffened when he heard the woman’s name. He didn’t even know what was really going on, but it was as if horses inside him were roaring like they hadn’t stopped racing.

It looked like an angel had passed by the place when Isiaah finally came out of the bathroom next to the kitchen. He could not hear anything inside, so he was so shocked when he saw the woman they had been looking for for a few days right in front of him.

Even Maeluthe was extremely shocked. She could feel the strong and slow throbbing of his chest with every second.

While Isiaah has not yet accepted that in front of him is the woman he has been looking for.

‘‘G-Guys? What’s up?’’ Ashley was the first to speak. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, and even more so, she can’t believe everyone’s reaction.

When the door opened, Brylle appeared with a big grin. That also disappeared immediately when he saw Ashley’s brother, Kairus.

‘‘What are you doing here, dickhead?’’ Kairus immediately teased him.

The two have been in a relationship for a long time, but Kairus still can’t favor the man for the brother. This is how it is with all the men who dare to approach Ashley.

The four easily recovered from the situation. Kairus, Baste returned to the sofa with Brylle but Isiaah and Maeluthe were especially silent with Ashley in the middle.

‘‘Loosen up, everyone! I already thought about what we will do for today–’’

‘‘We’re not even asking,’’ Ashley scolded.

‘‘Really? You won’t be interested when I say we’ll go to the beach?’’

Ashley’s face lit up after ah turned away from her sister. ‘‘Kai, we should go!’’

‘‘I’m in,’’ Kairus said.

‘‘I’ll be forever on my girlfriend’s side,’’ Brylle teased.

‘‘Asshole!’’ Kairus exclaimed.

Maeluthe watched those men as if there aren’t still affected by adolescence by being so naughty. But then, they really light up the mood in that room.

‘‘Maeluthe, if you can, you can join us,’’ Baste said with a big grin.

Maeluthe no longer had to think about what the man was doing.

‘‘That would be cool, too. Are you in, Mae, please?’’

Ashley’s insistence didn’t help either. Surely she wouldn’t disappoint the woman because of the good she had done for her.

She sighed, then turned to Brylle, who was smiling also waiting for her answer.

There is probably nothing to lose, let alone self-conviction.

‘‘Ah. . . alright, I’ll go with you.’’