Chapter 75 - Would you be Happy?

Immediately, Megan stood up and left the coffee shop. Quietly, she followed Javier again wherever he was headed at that time.

Megan continued to tail Javier until they reached the park in front of the Hidalgo Empire building. She was about to approach Javier, but she froze when she saw who was waiting for him.

Even from afar, Javier could see Ava sitting on one of the benches in that park. He didn't mind that Megan had been following him since earlier. As he approached Ava, he immediately sat down beside her.

Javier sighed wearily, feeling the chill of the night air. Ava gazed at him, curious, as if observing his every move.

"What's wrong?" Ava asked, noticing his apparent reluctance to speak.

Javier innocently looked at Ava. "What do you mean? I just wanted to spend time with you," he said.

Ava remained unmoved, continuing to stare at him. Javier smiled and shrugged.

"Geez. I should've brought some beer or coffee," he muttered to himself before glancing at Ava again. "Wait a second. I'll go get some."

Javier was about to leave when Ava immediately grabbed his arm, causing him to look back at her.

"It's okay. Just sit," Ava ordered, still wondering about Javier's true intentions.

Javier didn't reply but simply followed Ava's command. He quietly sat down beside her.

Several seconds passed, enveloped in silence between them. It seemed like they were both trying to sense their own feelings.

Javier's gaze shifted to Ava's hands, resting on her lap as she looked into the distance. After a moment, without hesitation, he reached out and took one of her hands.

Ava was stunned by what he did, while Javier could feel nothing but cold on her hand.

Just like before, her hands were still soft, but it seemed like a lot had changed.

"Your hands have always been cold," Javier said softly.

Ava couldn't discern Javier's thoughts. It seemed like she had no choice but to wait and see what he really wanted to say to her.

"Although you've become the president of a big company, there isn't anything you can do about this," Javier continued.

He then lifted his gaze to meet Ava's, who was still staring at him. He gave her a sad smile and gently squeezed her hand before looking away.

“What used to bother and upset me the most were… your cold hands.”

Once again, Ava remained speechless. She couldn't figure out what to think or do with what the man was doing and saying to her.

Especially when Javier suddenly bowed his head and began to gently blow on her hand to warm it up somehow.

"Javier..." Ava called out to him, but Javier continued with what he was doing.

Before long, Javier's gentle blowing on her hand was replaced by warm tears.

"Javier..." Ava called out to him again, but he didn't even lift his head and remained bowed. Quietly, she cried.

Javier didn't know what to do anymore. He wanted to end this. He was exhausted from fighting and seeking revenge. He just wanted to give everyone, including himself, peace of mind and justice.

So if Ava would give up if he begged her, he would do it. He was ready to make any plea he knew just to make her surrender.

Ava couldn't hold back anymore and she held Javier's face in her hands, turning it towards her. She was surprised to see his tears falling.

"Javier..."

Javier wiped away his tears and let out a bitter laugh. His heart felt heavy. He felt like he was drowning. He felt even more tired.

“I had this thought. When you killed that man and I ran to that dark room… What if… What if I had made you turn yourself in then? If I had made you pay for your crime, what would have happened?” Javier voices out the eerie feeling of his shattered heart.

A tear escaped from Ava's eyes as she turned away from Javier. In an instant, she felt a sudden punch of conscience that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"I would have never left you. I would have waited for you, no matter how long. I would have asked you to marry me. Would you have been happy then?" Javier asked Ava, his pain evident, and then he looked at her.

Ava's tears flowed continuously and uncontrollably in those moments. She couldn't even bring herself to answer Javier's question because she was too overwhelmed with her emotions.

Javier smiled bitterly and looked in the other direction.

“I would probably be too busy, but… once a year, we would travel abroad with Jamilah and Yvo. One day I might even withdraw money from my savings… and buy you a designer bag that you like…” Javier sighed violently.

Ava’s lips trembled as her heart continued to shatter into a million pieces. These things were Javier's dreams for her, not for herself.

From the beginning, Ava had been Javier's dream. Before Ava's world even expanded. Before Ava ever aspired for the moon. Before she was dazzled by wealth and power.

“On your birthdays… we might have steak and wine. Would you be happy then? Wouldn’t you be happier than now at least? That was my thought. Everything went wrong from that moment. I covered up what wasn’t right. Since then you lost…”

Javier has always known that it was all his fault. He was the reason for everything. He was responsible for all the pain and suffering that Megan and the other people involved are experiencing now.

Can he still change this? If he can do something about it, will he win at this point?

“what is right or wrong, what you shouldn’t do, what you must not do, you lost the ability to know the difference. You’ve been moving like a car with no breaks. I’m sorry, Ava…” Javier muttered in his broken voice.

Ava sobbed hardly as she looked at Javier.

“I’m the one who’s made you this way. I thought it was love then. It was my ignorance and arrogance.”

They both continued to cry, overwhelmed by their respective regrets. Javier, once again, looked at Ava and raised his hand to gently stroke her cheek.

"I've made you turn into this monster," Javier uttered, gently wiping away Ava's tears before finally releasing her.

“I was wrong, Ava. I’ve made you this way.”

“Javier…” Ava cried more. She couldn’t utter any words. She couldn’t fathom anything.

Javier held Ava's hand again and gently squeezed it as they continued to cry.

“I will come back to you. Love… I can’t promise to love you, but… I can stay with you forever. As long as you’re not asking for my love, it will be okay. Wherever you go, I will wait for you. I will understand. I will bear with you. I will hang in there. I will hold your hands. I will give you a hug…” Javier halted and caught Ava’s eyes.

“Now you can put down the useless baggage. If you deserve a punishment, you should let yourself be punished. I will wait for you no matter how long it takes. Will you come to me?”

At that moment, Ava finally let out her loud sobs, not responding to Javier's question. It seemed like that was the signal for her to release the weight of her conscience and anger from her heart.

Javier just watched her, silently crying, until he finally embraced her. Both of them cried together, consumed by the twists of their fate. In the distance, Megan could only watch them, her heart quietly breaking.

Javier knows what he deserves in this world. He accepts the consequences of his actions. He knows he doesn't deserve any kind of love in the world he inhabits.

Especially the love Megan offered him. He's willing to sacrifice his own happiness so that Megan can reclaim her peace. He took everything away from her: the smile on her lips, the sparkle in her eyes, the radiance on her face, and the unwavering love she gave him.

He doesn't know how to restore those fully to Megan, but he's willing to sacrifice everything just to find out. He's ready to sacrifice everything for the woman he deeply loves.

Even if they don't spend eternity together. Even if he can only watch her from afar, he'll find contentment in that, as long as Megan is happy and healthy.

As long as Megan no longer sheds tears because of him.

And if Ava still wants him, so that she can stop and leave the life she took from Megan, he's ready to offer himself to her, but not his heart.

***

Yvo held a newspaper, his sharp gaze fixed on Aaron, who was seated at the dining table while Jamilah had just finished preparing the food.

“How come you’re not eating? The food is getting cold.”

"Jamilah, what did you just say to me?" Aaron asked Jamilah, his tone tinged with a hint of threat.

Jamilah furrowed her brow. "How come you’re not eating? The food is getting cold."

"Not that. Before that," Aaron pressed.

Jamilah grinned. "It’s your birthday, isn’t it? I made you special seaweed soup with premium beef. It’s beef labeled not one plus but two plus," she said excitedly.

Aaron looked dismayed at the food in front of him. He ignored it and scanned the entire house.

"Where is Javier?"

Yvo's gaze shifted to Aaron because of his question.

"He’s in the bathroom," Jamilah answered.

"What is he doing in there?" Aaron asked again.

"He must be washing up to get ready for work. Why? What do you need him for?" Yvo answered this time, his gaze sharp.

Aaron's eyes bore into him. "Can’t I even ask?"

"How come you’re not eating?" Jamilah asked Aaron again.

"Stop being fretful! Are you going to bring out a cake and candles?"

"The audacity of this man," Jamilah whispered.

"Go get me a cake! I want to celebrate my birthday for a change."

Jamilah rolled her eyes and looked at Yvo, who was silently observing.

"Yvo, can you go buy a cake?"

"No! You two go together. Go out and spend some quality time. Go ahead, hurry!" Aaron ordered Jamilah and stood up.

Yvo's eyes narrowed as he looked at Aaron. His suspicion about what this man might do to Javier intensified.

He had been coming to their house since last week, but Javier was always absent.

Was he planning something sinister against Javier?

"Hey, you, hurry!"

Yvo had no choice but to leave with Jamilah, his mind still troubled.

"I’ve never seen such a nuisance like him in my whole life. He is the worst! Why do you keep inviting him for a meal?" Yvo complained to Jamilah.

They paused in front of the house. Jamilah still wore a frown.

"Because I feel bad. He’s never had a home-cooked meal," Jamilah answered irritably.

"You are so nosy."

Yvo sighed heavily, his suspicion still lingering. Could Aaron have something harmful planned for Javier?

Meanwhile, as Javier shaved his beard in the bathroom, Aaron suddenly entered. Javier immediately saw his reflection in the mirror.

"Hey. It’s hard to see you these days. Why are there people trying to hurt you? Especially the ones with power and money."

Javier didn't respond and continued with his task.

"When you brought me to pay back Ava, what did you have in mind? You know more than anybody that I am a nut case. I could turn around and threaten you again. Didn’t you think about that?"

"I did," Javier casually replied.

"I’ve brought a real knife today."

Javier simply nodded. "Okay."

"If I kill you, they promised to give me a building."

Again, Javier just nodded. "Okay."

"Javier!" Aaron exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

"Aaron."

"What?"

"If you really want to stab me, do it without saying anything."

Aaron was taken aback and looked away. After a moment, he left the bathroom.

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t kill Javier because Javier was the only person who had been kind to him.