Chapter 112

He was very upset when Jaden Gabe left for Europe the night before. He thought Jaden Gabe would come into the room to say goodbye, to reassure him and tell him that his trip to another country was important and that he would come back soon. But Jaden Gabe's shadow never returned to the room. If he hadn't heard the car leave, he wouldn't have known that Jaden Gabe had left. He saw Lucille looking at him sadly on the stairs. He ignored her and went back to the room to vent his frustration. Two days passed without any word from Jaden Gabe. Finally, Pearly was the first to give in and swallow her pride. She didn't know the reason for Jaden Gabe's sudden coldness towards her, or if he was really cold or just busy. She was clueless about what was happening. But she couldn't stand it. She called the Vox mansion's landline in Europe and also tried Jaden Gabe's cell phone number when he was there. But no one answered her. All her attempts to talk to him ended in an end call. "Maybe he's just busy, understand..." she reassured herself. But she couldn't be at ease. She couldn't sleep or eat properly because she kept thinking about why Jaden Gabe didn't call or check on her. Her graduation was approaching, would he make it? He promised he wouldn't miss that important day in her life. "He will come," she told herself. But Pearly's graduation night arrived without a single Vox showing up. She didn't receive a call or even a text message from him. "Are you okay?" Judas asked her. She looked at her childhood friend. Judas looked very handsome in his blue polo shirt and denim jeans. He arrived early at Pearly's boarding house to pick her up. "I'll take care of that." He took the bouquet of red roses from her. Her graduation was over. Not a single Vox showed up. Even though she wanted to be happy, Pearly felt incomplete. She was upset with Helios, Lander, Criss, and especially with Jaden Gabe. They were the ones she expected to come that night. But none of them came. Jaden Gabe didn't show up. "Hey, smile." Judas put his arm around her. "Let's go eat?" She nodded. She was also hungry. "I'll treat you to any expensive restaurant. I'm so proud of you."

"T-thank you, Judas..." she said sadly. It was good that Judas didn't forget about her and didn't ignore her. "Smile, hey!" He lifted her chin. "It's a waste of your perfect makeup if you frown. Even if you didn't get a medal, at least you graduated, right? I'm sure wherever your Aunt Pat and Ate Geovanna are, they're happy for you." She tried to smile. "Geez!" Pearly turned to her friends who were coming. "He's your boyfriend!" Her friends surrounded her and Judas. Judas just smiled and didn't try to correct her friends' assumptions. Her friends quickly got along with Judas, as he was good at charming people. In a short time, he was already joking around with Hariet. In her disappointment with Jaden Gabe, she didn't correct her friends' assumptions about her relationship with Judas. When her friends said goodbye, Judas invited her to leave. "I'll just take you home later, okay?" He still had his arm around her. After their dinner, she asked Judas to take her to her boarding house. She was feeling very tired. Judas didn't bother her anymore, as if he understood her situation. But before he left, he kissed her on the forehead. "Don't forget, I'm here, Ulikba," he said with a smile. "Your speech was almost perfect, I was almost touched, but you still insulted me at the end." She glared at him, although she was smiling. "I was just trying to make you laugh, you're too serious." When Judas left, Pearly was once again consumed by sadness. She felt more alone now. The next day, she went back to Dalisay. Judas picked her up early from her boarding house. He didn't come inside the villa with her because he said he had something important to take care of. She was surprised to find out that Jaden Gabe had already returned. He didn't even bother to call or text her! She was upset with him, but she also missed him. She ran to their room and found him packing his things in the closet. "You're home already..." She couldn't hide her excitement when she saw him. She wanted to hug and kiss him. She wanted to ask him questions, scold him, and finally tell him that she still loved him. But she couldn't do any of that because of the coldness he was showing. He just looked at her. He didn't say anything to her. He looked very tired. Maybe he's just tired... he's just tired... she kept telling herself that in her mind. Maybe he'll talk to her later, show affection, and apologize to her. And of course, she would forgive him right away and hug him tightly. A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Lucille slowly opened the door and peeked in. "I cooked lunch, let's eat first. Helios is downstairs, he said he wants to talk to Pearly." She nodded. She planned to wait for Jaden Gabe so they could go down together, but she bit her lower lip as Jaden Gabe passed her. He left the room first and left her standing there alone. At the long table in the dining room of the old Vox mansion, everyone was eating in silence. Lucille was just sipping her wine. She wasn't eating. Lander was back, but he was quiet next to Lucille. It was obvious that the two of them still hadn't made up. Criss was constantly looking at his cell phone while eating. He seemed absent-minded. There were times when he almost put his iPhone in his mouth. Helios was smiling. He seemed very inspired while eating. He seemed to be getting younger and more handsome. He looked younger than the triplets. If you thought about it, the triplets were in their mid-twenties, and Helios was in his early twenties. He looked like he was only twenty-two years old. Jaden Gabe, who was in front of her, was busy eating. He was very careful and deliberate with each bite. He didn't even look at her. When Helios cleared his throat, they all looked at him. He was looking at Pearly.

"Congratulations, Pearly." "Thank you..."

"I am very sorry I couldn't come, I had a very important—I meant, I had something important to take care of last night." "It's okay, Helios..." "Hey, congrats." Criss seemed to remember only then. He winked at her. "Pass the soy sauce, will you?" Lander and Lucille just looked at her. Meanwhile, Jaden Gabe was still busy cutting the steak on his plate. It was as if he had his own world. Pearly was hurt because she still wanted to look at him, even though his eyes were very elusive. "Criss, accompany Pearly to find a car she likes. Buy it for her, I'll take care of the payment. No matter how much, we need to make up for ignoring her at her graduation." Her eyes widened. She had been refusing to let the Vaughn’s buy her a car for a long time, but it seemed that Helios was determined to buy her one this time. After all, a car was better than buying her a mansion or a private jet!

"Alright." Criss grinned at her. "I'll take care of the air freshener for your future car, 'Neng."

"Thank you, I can buy that myself." She glared at him. Soon, Criss was busy with his cell phone again. He was smiling, as if he was trying to charm someone through a text.

"So what's your plan now?" Helios spoke to her again, looking at her. "You can start working at the hospital anytime. If you want to continue studying to become a doctor, just let me know. You can study in America or wherever you want." "No, thank you..." she replied shyly. "When will you start working at the hospital? I heard they need new nurses there now." That was his offer to her. It was a big opportunity to get into the big hospital under the Voxes. But that hospital was located in Manila. Pearly didn't want to work far from Dalisay until she and Jaden Gabe had a proper conversation. She was waiting for Jaden Gabe to speak in front of her, but he remained silent. "You need to stay in Manila when you start working at the hospital, Pearly," Helios said. "Do you want to take a break first? Go on vacation to another country? You'll get bored here at the mansion." She shook her head. Why did Helios want her to leave so badly? That wasn't what she needed. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave without being okay with Jaden Gabe. She tried to think of a good reason to delay working at the hospital. "I don't think I can go to Manila right now, because I left my boarding house. It will take a while to find a safe and decent apartment near the hospital, so maybe I'll start looking next month—" She didn't finish what she was saying because Jaden Gabe cleared his throat. He was looking at Helios, not at her. "She can stay at Montemayor Condominium in QC." Pearly was speechless. "Yeah," Helios nodded. "We have four units there. You can use whichever one you like. Or I can buy you your own unit. Montemayor Condominium is safe, it's known for its tight security, we won't worry about you, mi Zara." "If you don't like it there, our private people can look for an apartment for you." Jaden Gabe said again, still not looking at her. "I'll give orders later, and Pearly can go to Manila as soon as possible."

"Good." Helios smiled at her. "Jaden Gabe will take care of everything. You don't need to stay here for the whole vacation, you'll be able to adjust better in Manila if you're going to start working at the hospital." "But I don't want to..." she wanted to cry, especially when she saw how serious Jaden Gabe was. He was serious about wanting her to disappear from his sight. He was serious about dismissing her! Why was Jaden Gabe like this? What did she do wrong? Didn't he love her anymore? In the end, Pearly couldn't stop herself. She started to cry and sob. Everyone at the dining table looked at her. She tried to stop herself from crying, but she couldn't. Her sobs and tears seemed to have a life of their own. Until her crying turned into wailing. She was surprised when Jaden Gabe suddenly stood up and pulled her away from her seat. "J-Jaden Gabe?" She was stunned when he hugged her. In an instant, he took her away from that place.