Chapter 10 - Chapter 9

@International_Pen

((( ZHIO )))

My valet opened the rear car door but I stopped him and insisted I would drive instead. He tried to express concern for my safety but nobody could ever stop me from doing what I wanted. I need to be alone.  

"Nobody is coming with me! Make the media believe I was still stuck in the hospital if that's the least all of you could do for me."

My voice sounded commanding in pretence for my shakiness. I can no longer hold back the tears I kept from welling up in front of the crowd.  

I should not be seen in my weakness.  

Not by the people who see me as their prey or by the people who knew me as their faultless boss.

I turned on the engine and went off at full speed until I was out of sight. My heart was so heavy that I really don't care where those wheels would take me. Anywhere quiet will do. All I want is some respite, maybe just for a few moment, from my otherwise troubled life.  

I hadn't wished for all of this. I didn't wish to be a Zel Cantheliz.

(CLAIRE)

This old chapel has been my regular go-to place after my shift as a cashier at a small fast food chain. I do so to say some prayers, visit sister Ema, and offer some flowers by the altar.  

There was this old lady who sells wreaths, bouquets, and single roses by a wooden pushcart beside the pathway to the chapel. She's usually prepared to close for the day when I pass by. But now that I was her regular customer, she patiently waits for me before closing.  And this day, she has given me three white roses for free.

I insisted to pay but she refused so I just smiled in thanks and headed to where I was going to. I was about to enter the chapel when a car swerved in the distance and came to an abrupt halt. It looked expensive than the regular cars that park by that chapel

during the day.

After all, it was a small town beside the city and its residents were mostly low compensated white collar workers who often commute or travel by foot.

The car's front window retracted down to reveal a man whose head was leaning dejectedly on the steering wheel. He's either drunk, dumped, or just the way I was like before when I first set foot on that old place.

I suddenly remembered the past…

@International_Pen