CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 41
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" From gazing at the sky, Michael turned to Jia. She was walking towards him while holding a cup in her left hand and a lit cigarette in her right.

"You smoke." He didn't sound like he was scolding her. It's more accurate to say that he just needed a topic to talk to the woman.

"Yes. For a long time. I've been smoking since high school. I just tasted it to experience it, but I craved it, so it eventually became a habit. What about you? Don't you smoke?" She sat on the sun lounger before sipping her coffee before taking a puff of her cigarette.

"I don’t smoke. I don't want to die early." What an irony, huh? Even he couldn't help but be sarcastic to himself.

"Wow, huh? What a word." She dropped the cigarette that was almost finished before stepping on it with her foot. He cringed because she seemed to act more like a man than Brent and him. "If that's what you believe, why am I still alive?" She reached into the pocket of her loose pants and took out a pack of cigarettes. She took out a stick and lit it with the lighter that was always in her pocket.

"Maybe God loves you, that's why?" He wanted to make it a joke, but he couldn't avoid being sarcastic in his tone of voice.

Jia laughed awkwardly at what he said. It was only for a moment, and then she smirked before shaking her head as if she remembered something.

"Why?" he asked. He thought there was something strange playing in her mind. He couldn't read what was on the girl's mind no matter what he did.

"I just laughed at what you said."

"At what I said? Where there?"

"About God loving you, something like that."

"And why is that? Don't you believe in Him?" His index finger was still pointed upwards.

"It’s not like that. Of course, I do believe in God, one God. And I know that my ability is a gift from him, even though sometimes, I say I don't want it."

"Ah, yeah. You told me about your ability to dream about what's going to happen. But why did you laugh?"

"Because I thought," she said softly, and added, "that doesn't God love Michael because he was taken early?" She took a few puffs and blew the smoke upwards. "Because Michael didn't deserve what happened to him. Though I didn’t see his cold lifeless body in person, I saw him in my dream."

"And that nightmare will haunt me forever. Do you know why?" she added, but he shook his head. "Because I didn't do anything to save the only person I loved besides my brother."

He could feel the pain and suffering in her voice, but he couldn't bring himself to approach her to hug and comfort her. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't tell the girl that he was Michael. And it's not true that he's the twin of the real person.

Intense silence prevailed between them. And Michael even felt that even the air around him was temporarily gone because of the emotion he saw in the girl's eyes.

She raised the cup she was carrying and put it to her lips. She sipped her coffee before following it with a cigarette.

"If only I could turned back time, I would choose to be with him that night. Maybe I could have done something to prevent what would happen to him. It’s the burden that no one can take it from me." Jia put her hand on her chest. "Until now, his loss still hurts. I wish... I wish there was another chance to talk to him, in that way, I could tell him how much I love him."

"Why don’t you try to let go, Jia?" He didn't want to say it, but that's what's right. Because if she continues to blame herself, she will continue to be hurt. She will just hope for nothing. It would be good if he continued to live, but he didn't. So he knows what will happen to her if that happens.

"It’s easy to say that, dahil sa tingin ko ay hindi mo pa nararanasan na magmahal. Ang nga katulad mong bilyonaryo ay iba-iba ang babae araw-araw. You guys, are like a flowers na palipat-lipat ang mga paro-paro o bubuyog sa inyo."

Michael walked to the chair near where Jia was. Now they are talking. A peaceful night, two broken hearts, and those stars up above. Those were enough for them to share what was on their minds.

"I have a girlfriend," he started, referring to Veronica. "I even proposed to her." He even smirked when he remembered the woman's deception. He was sure that she was one of the reasons for his death because D told him that.

"Where is she now?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "At her house? I don’t know. We’re over."

She raised an eyebrow at what he said. "What? I thought you already proposed to her?"

"Hmm, yeah. And that was the biggest mistake I made in my entire life. I only found out later that she wasn't the one for me. I only found out later that she was a wolf in sheep's clothing. She betrayed me."

"Were you hurt?"

"No. Maybe? I don't know? I'm not sure. But one thing is for sure."

"And what’s that?"

"That I lost the girl I love but I didn’t notice until things fvcked up."

"What do you mean by that?"

He didn't answer Jia's question, because if he spoke, she would definitely have an idea. Jia is smart, and she is open to things that can be considered supernatural, so it is good to be careful.

"Do you want to work in the office? In the same company where your brother works?"

"Nope. I don't like that environment, I feel suffocated. I prefer my job because that's where I belong."

"So you want to make yourself suffer?"

"Is being a law enforcer called suffering? You’re easy to judge, huh? Your position is even more difficult, eh."

"Why?"

"Because on your first day, you were immediately hospitalized. What's worse is that it's in your twin's territory. Are you still going back there?"

"Of course. Why not?"

Jia stood up and tapped him on the shoulder. "That's right. Show them that you're not easily intimidated by their threats. You need to show that you have more right to that company because you're a relative, than others who are just acting like they're in charge even though they have no right. I'm going to sleep, so I'll go in first. Good night."

She just turned her back on him and never looked back at him again.

.

A smile appeared on his lips as he watched the girl's back.