CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

WHITE curtains greeted her when she opened her eyes. She sat up and slapped her cheeks continuously, trying to get a grip of herself.

Am I dead? Is this the afterlife? Those thoughts kept echoing inside her head until someone pulled the curtains to the side.

Hapi, Acqua, Don Ignacio, and Alexander, who held the curtain, all looked relieved upon seeing her awake. Okay, Sapphire was not dead.

Her grandfather strode to the side of the bed.

“How are you feeling now, Sapphire?” There was something in his voice. Was he worried about her?

“I…” She cleared her throat and glanced at Hapi. “I’m fine now.”

“Good. Now, tell me what happened. If not for your cousin Acqua, you might be dead by now.”

Sapphire turned her gaze to Acqua. That cousin of hers saved her from drowning? So, she was not that bad after all. And then, she looked at Hapi. If she were to tell her grandfather about the message that she received from him, she might put him in trouble. So, she decided not to include that part.

“I…I was having trouble sleeping after I left the party, so I decided to take a walk at the pool area. I tripped and fell into the water.” Sapphire buried her face in her palms and wished that she was a good liar.

“You should take extra care of yourself, Sapphire,” her grandfather said and then left.

Acqua left the infirmary too, and only Hapi stayed. He sauntered towards the bed and helped her as she got out of bed. His hand wrapped around her waist to support her. And Hapi never let go of her until they arrived at their room.

Hapi went inside the bathroom and got a towel that he used to dry her hair.

“Did you send me a message to meet you at the pool area?” She was not able to see his face because of the towel blocking her view.

He suddenly stopped and took the towel away.

“What do you mean?” Hapi looked at her with furrowed brows, puzzled. “You said that you—wait…You lied to us?”

She heaved a deep sigh.

“I did that because I don’t want to put you in trouble. The truth is, I got a message from an unknown number. The message had your name, Hapi…Telling me that you needed my help. And then…as I was looking for you, someone pushed me from behind.”

“Did you see who?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Sapphire slowly shook her head.

“Then you must tell it to your grandfather, Sapphire,” Hapi insisted. “What if that person has a really bad intention towards you? You must tell Don Ignacio—”

“But if I tell him about the message—”

“I can always defend myself, Sapphire.” He gently cupped her face. “But you…you must be protected.”

Sapphire’s head seemed to spin round and round, thinking about a lot of things. Who must have set up Hapi? Who did that to her, and what was the intention? Who would want her dead?

“I will tell him when we got home,” she said.

Hapi let out a sigh. “Okay. I’ll go get you something warm to drink.”

“Thanks.”

SAPPHIRE picked up her phone from the bedside table. She read the message again and again. And then, she tried calling the number. The other line was ringing! Her heart raced as she waited for an answer.

Her bile almost went up to her throat when the other line answered the call.

“Who’s this?” said the female voice.

Sapphire’s jaw dropped in shock upon recognizing whom that female voice belonged to. Her hand clenched against the phone, and her body shivered.

She stormed out of the room and bumped into Hapi. The warm milk spilled on the floor. Hapi grabbed her by the arm.

“What’s happening? Why are you in a hurry?” he asked.

But Sapphire did not answer. She pulled her arm forcefully and ran away.

“Sapphire, wait! Where are you going?”

She ran down the stairs and headed to the reception desk.

“I want to know Amethyst’s room number,” she said, slamming her hand on the counter that made the receptionist flinched.

“Sapphire…” Hapi said breathily when he caught up with her.

But even before the receptionist tells her Amethyst’s room number, her cousin appeared in the lobby, heading to the elevator with Koby.

With fist clenched, she followed them.

“Amethyst!” she yelled just behind her.

The moment Amethyst turned to face her, Sapphire slapped her hard on the cheek.

“What the hell!” Amethyst snarled at her.

“Are you okay?” Koby asked worriedly and checked her cousin’s cheek.

“Sapphire, why did you do that?” Hapi asked sternly. “If you have a problem with her, you should resolve it without hurting one another.”

Hapi’s tone made her even more furious.

“I’m not the problem here, it’s Amethyst—”

“Enough, Sapphire!” Hapi snapped.

She did not expect him to be like that. Now, Hapi was looking at her with those dark eyes that she had never seen before. Was he siding with Amethyst? It breaks her heart. Hatred and jealousy consumed her. And what pained her even more, was when Hapi grabbed Amethyst by the hand and took her away.

She felt something pierced through her heart.

HAPI took Amethyst away to avoid further trouble. He knew her very well. Amethyst would surely fight back. And once she laid her hand on Sapphire, she would not stop until the latter pleads for forgiveness. But Sapphire was not the type of person to plead.

Hapi drew a breath as he halted from walking. He was now caught between them, and there is no way out.

“Let go of me, Hapi.” Amethyst tried to free her hand from his grip, but he did not let go. “Are you deaf now? I said let go of me. I will make that imbecile woman—”

“Sapphire will not do that if she doesn’t have a reason.”

“Wow, look at you! You chose me, yet you’re defending her.” Amethyst scoffed.

“Tell me, what did you do to make Sapphire furious?” he asked.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Hapi looked at her straight in the eyes. He would know if Amethyst was lying no matter how good she was at hiding the truth. But at that moment, he could see in her eyes that she was telling the truth.

Amethyst flicked the tip of his nose afterwards.

“Aww!”

“Why did you choose me instead of Sapphire, Harold Pierce?”

“Because I know you.”

“Smart choice.” She scoffed. “But I know, deep inside your heart you regret choosing me.”

“You think so?” Hapi cocked his head.

“Yes. Because I’m pretty sure that my mosquito-brained cousin named Sapphire hates you now. And that’s the end of your love story.”

“Are you against us?” Hapi asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. I don’t like you together. It makes me cringe that my paternal cousin is in love with my maternal cousin.” Amethyst’s nose crinkled.