Jaxon smirked at him as if he was teasing Levi even more so I focused my gaze on him, waiting for him to turn his gaze to me to at least signal to him but he didn’t.
“Chill, Lev. I will not take her away from you because I am not like you. I’m here to help Lorraine,” he teased him so I held Levi’s hand.
His dad's eyes even caught my eye so I was left speechless.
“Enough of this, you two. Up to this point, you two are like that,” Tita Criselda scolded them and Maxim just laughed.
"What else do you expect, aunt? Every time the two meet, it's like they always want to fight each other," Maxim said and she laughed at them. Celine also laughed while Acel was just shaking her head.
“I don’t have time for you, Jaxon. If you want to help, just do it, it’s not as much as you say,” Levi coldly said to him then turned to his parents.
“We'll go ahead, ma. You take care of Asteria first. Please, call us if there’s something wrong,” he said goodbye to the two elders and then kissed them.
I also said goodbye to them without looking at Levi’s dad. Fortunately, no one noticed so I shrugged past it.
When we got to the condo, I quickly took a shower and changed clothes. It was eight o'clock in the evening and I felt like I was being pulled up by the bed. I’ve been awake and tired for a few nights and I know I’m not the only one feeling that way. When I got out of the bathroom, I found Levi lying on the bed. One of its arms rested over his eye and he seemed to be asleep. He was still wearing shoes so I approached his feet and slowly removed them then crawled toward him.
It's every breath is heavy. One of his hands rested on his chest so I took it and gently kissed it. It suddenly moved and tilted to face me. There was no other light but the lampshade on the side table hitting his face. I saw how he smiled at me but it didn’t reach his eyes which is now tender.
"You have a problem," he stated and prompted me to approach him which I did as well.
“Tell me, Rae. Don’t hide anything from me because I know everything,” he said threateningly to me so I laughed.
I averted my gaze from him. I look at the ceiling and heave a sigh. I felt his hand rest on my head and he pulled me towards him. The side of my head hit his chin.
“I’m planning to re-open my father’s case,” I began. “He died in a car accident a decade ago. The one who ran into him ran after him. He would have been alive if he had been taken to the hospital immediately,” I continued.
I suddenly felt my chest tighten at what I said. I remember how he fought back in those days. Still wanted to live because he felt that what he had done for us was not enough, he even asked me to tell the doctors to revive him in case he died. He asked for that several times because he also lost his pulse several times. When he felt that he would not last long, he talked to me. He was apologizing to me for passing me his responsibilities because I was the eldest. He knew I would put family before anything but I let him down in that part when they both died without me by their side.
“I want to give him justice. Help me, Levi,” I said shyly to him, trying to hide the pain in my voice.
I felt him kiss my head and hug me so tightly that I let myself hug him. I could hear his strong but slow heartbeat because I was just there. This man is tall and I am just up there. It’s like how far apart we are from each other I think, that’s why hIS dad doesn’t like me.
“Of course, I will help you. Let’s re-open the case. I can give you a good lawyer, I know someone. Do you know who ran into him?” It almost whispered to me. His voice was hoarse so I hugged him even more.
It’s so good to be enslaved by your arms, Levi. I don’t want to end this anymore.
“Ask your dad, he knows,” I simply uttered to him.
-
The next morning, we went back to the hospital together. I stayed downstairs for a while because the doctor talked to me about those who donated blood for Ria and Levi was already upstairs. I found out that Levi matched his daughter's bone marrow tissue so I almost jumped for joy as I took the elevator to the 5th floor.
When the elevator opened, Tito Saldy and his sharp gaze immediately appeared on me. It included a big man who I guess was also army based on his dress and posture.
"Let's talk, Astraea," he told me authoritatively so my forehead furrowed.
I couldn't even answer when the man with him immediately guided me to where. When we got to the waiting area on that floor, I was about to sit in front of this old man.
“Do you need anything, Mr. Acuzar?” I asked him a sarcastic question but he didn't even look at me instead he pulled out a paper.
"How much do you need to keep quiet?"
My jaw dropped when I heard that from him. I wanted to laugh because I thought it was just a joke but it was serious and even scary it looked so I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Fifty million pesos for Astraea Lumiere Laxamana," he said without emotion so my eyes widened.
I was almost deaf to what he said. I can already feel my heart leap because of what he said. It's too much money! Why does he offer it to me as if it were so effortless? Are they really that rich?
“W-what?"
“I’m giving you fifty million pesos just to make you shut up, Rae. Don’t reopen your father’s case and don’t ever tell Levi about it," he told me emphatically.
I immediately closed my mouth when I heard that. Anger quickly replaced the shock I was feeling. Does it buy justice for my dad?