Chapter 10

Six loud shots echoed on the four corners of the garage. But Gonzalo's men were shocked instead of satisfied. They all looked at each other and then back to their boss. Patricia is panting heavily, waiting for sweet death to take her. But it never came. Tasha, who's standing behind friend, is wide-eyed, and fear-stricken.

"Pat?" Her voice is shaking. "No, Pat?" She started crying, thinking that her friend is dead because of her. When Patricia slowly turn around to face her, she expected bullet holes and blood.

"Tash, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Tasha cried harder. Even with Patricia's addicted state, she is still the same person who cares for her. But if it's not Patricia who got shot, who?

"Jericho! My God!" Tasha fell to her knees as Patricia ran to her. She couldn't look at the man who helped her and cared for her. "No!"

Patricia is not crying but she is shaking. Her whole body is shaking. She's feeling a different kind of anger. A kind that she never felt in her entire life. She's in a blind rage. All she can think about is killing him. She wants him dead.

"Why!" Patricia let Tasha go and stand up. "Why do you have to kill him? What did he do to you? Why do you have to threaten my best friend? Do you think I didn't know that Rick is already dead? That you had your men kill him? Do you think I wouldn't know?" Patricia turns around to look at Gonzalo. Her face is blank. No tears, no sadness, but her eyes are blood red. "You're a monster. You don't have a heart. You have no regards for human life. I hate you." Patricia looked him straight into his eyes. "I hate you with all my heart. I want you dead. I want you dead!"

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Gonzalo is about to turn around and leave when he heard Patricia's voice.

"Why!" Her voice is cold

"Why do you have to kill him? What did he do to you? Why do you have to threaten my best friend? Do you think I didn't know that Rick is already dead? That you had you men kill him? Do you think I wouldn't know?" Gonzalo is nailed to the spot.

"You're a monster. You don't have a heart. You have regards for human life. I hate you." Gonzalo felt a sting in his heart. He's hurt by Patricia's words but he didn't want to show it.

"I hate you with all my heart. I want you dead. I want you dead!" The sting he felt turned into a stabbing pain. Hearing that Patricia hates him hurts more than being shot. But this is what he wanted.

Gonzalo gathered all the strength he has to face her. "Do you think I care? You're a whore, what importance do you have, huh?" It took everything inside Gonzalo to maintain his eye contact with Patricia. Her eyes are full of hatred and it's killing him inside. "Nobody cares about what you feel. You're nothing, to them, to the society or me!" He punched Patricia in her stomach causing her to faint. Gonzalo catched her before she falls to the cemented floor.

"I will let you go, but the next time you try something, I won't think twice about finally killing you."

Tasha watched as Gonzalo carries Patricia out of the garage. His men following him closely behind. They took Jericho's body, possibly to dispose of it. She was left alone, crying. From the pain of watching someone important to her be killed because of helping her, and her best friend being imprisoned in a life with a heartless beast like Gonzalo Valenzuela.

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Tasha went home after leaving Gonzalo Valenzuela's property. Her tears won't stop falling and her heart feels like they are shattering repeatedly in a million pieces. Tasha blames herself for what happened to Jericho. If she didn't call him, if she just drove further, he would still be alive right now.

Tasha saw the gun he gave her. If she brought this with her, maybe Jericho would still be alive. Maybe, she would be able to save him. Or maybe, she's dead too. But with the pain she's feeling right now, Tasha preferred to be dead than free.

"Tasha! Are you there? Come on! Open the door!" Tasha's curiosity was piqued when she heard someone knocking so hard on the door.

"Kim? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, it's you that I'm worried about. What happened. " Kim asked, concern.

"Nothing, what are you doing here?" Tasha asked back.

"I saw your car, so I thought I'd stop by." Their topics drift into something else. "Where have you been? I saw Gonzalo's men that day I was not able to forgive myself. I thought something happened to you."

"I'm okay," Tasha answered as she looked away.

"Yeah, do you need anything? I'm so sorry, I'm really tired." Tasha lied. She just wants to be alone.

"Have you been crying, Tasha?" But Kim could see the sadness in her eyes.

"No, I'm okay. I just want to take a rest." Tasha insisted.

"Okay, just call me if you need anything." Kim said before leaving.

As soon as Tasha closed the door, her tears started falling again. She wants to forget about Jericho's death but his dead body is engraved into her mind. Every time she close her eyes, Tasha could see him. He's a lifeless body lying on the cemented floor, with a pool of blood around him. It's like she keeps relieving the same nightmare over and over again, and she couldn't wake up. A memory of Jericho suddenly flashed to her mind.

-Flashback-

"No matter what happens, I will always be here for you," Jericho said while smiling. "I will always be the guy you can come to whenever you have a problem. Someone who would drop everything he's doing just to come to you. I promise you that you will never be alone in this world."

-End of Flashback-

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Patricia woke up after a few hours and the first thing she did was break everything she touched inside her room. She destroyed her clothes, her bed, her bags and shoes, and every single piece of furniture around her. She screamed until there's no voice to scream with anymore.

"Patricia, that's enough. Look at your hands, they're bleeding already." Yaya Elena tried to calm her down.

"All of you! Leave me alone!" But Patricia won't listen to them.

She doesn't care how expensive those things are or how important they are to Gonzalo. All she can think about is the unparalleled anger inside of her. She wants to kill Gonzalo but she know that she can't, she wants to kill herself because she felt it was all her fault but she can't. She wants to leave but she can't. All she can do is take out her anger by destroying everything around her.

"Patricia, please. That's enough." Yaya Elena continuously calms her down.

"I said leave me alone!" She threw everything she can to make them go away. "Get out! Get out!"

Someone opened the door and she almost threw the broken vase at that person. "Whoa! Easy, hon. It's me, okay? It's just me." Uncle Bob entered her room with his hands up in front of him. "Are you okay, child?"

"Uncle Bob!" He is the club owner of XFactor where Tasha and Patricia worked. But aside from being an owner, he's also a good friend to the two ladies.

"What's going on? Why are you destroying your things?" He first asked while looking at the mess Patricia made in her room.

"I don't wanna be here," Patricia said sincerely. "I want to leave." She started crying.

"Then why are you here?" Uncle Bob asked her. "Is it because of the money? The drugs?" He asked. "Because if you say that it is? I won't believe you. You're beautiful, you can have any man give you whatever you want. You don't have to be here. You don't have to be a prisoner. Maybe there's something else?" He looked straight into Patricia's eyes. "Maybe there's a real reason why you stay here. The question is, what is it?"

"Why else would I want to stay here?" Patricia asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, Pat. You're the only one who could answer that question." Uncle Bob held her hand. "No one else."

"I don't understand myself anymore," Patricia said with a voice of surrender. "I don't know why I do the things I do." Patricia sat down on the floor, and Uncle Bob sat beside her. "I don't like myself, hell, I don't even feel human anymore."

"Pat, you're the only one who can answer those questions that's been bugging you." He smiled at Patricia like how a father would smile at his daughter. "You're the only one who could solve your problem. If you think you want to leave, then why stay? But you're staying, so ask yourself why. Find the answer in your heart."

"Thanks, Uncle Bob." Patricia hugged him.

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Gonzalo is watching Patricia on his laptop's screen. He was clenching his jaw the whole time. When he received a call from his security guards to inform him that Uncle Bob is outside. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's going on? Why are you destroying your things?" He first asked while looking at the mess Patricia made in her room.

"I don't wanna be here," Patricia said sincerely. "I want to leave." She started crying.

"Then why are you here?" Uncle Bob asks her. "Is it because of the money? The drugs?" He asked. "Because if you say that it is? I won't believe you. You're beautiful, you can have any man give you whatever you want. You don't have to be here. You don't have to be a prisoner. Maybe there's something else?" He looked straight into Patricia's eyes. "Maybe there's a real reason why you stay here. The question is, what is it?"

"Why else would I want to stay here?" Patricia asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, Pat. You're the only one who could answer that question." Uncle Bob held her hand. "No one else."

"I don't understand myself anymore," Patricia said with a voice of surrender. "I don't know why I do the things I do." Patricia sat down on the floor, and Uncle Bob sat beside her. "I don't like myself, hell, I don't even feel human anymore."

"Pat, you're the only one who can answer those questions that's been bugging you." He smiled at Patricia like how a father would smile at his daughter. "You're the only one who could solve your problem. If you think you want to leave, then why stay? But you're staying, so ask yourself why. Find the answer in your heart."

"Thanks, Uncle John." Patricia hugged him. "Thank you for coming to visit me."

"Remember, it'll be only be you who could answer your questions."

Gonzalo listened to their conversation, and Patricia's words hurt him. He felt a great regret for treating her so bad, but he felt like he has no other choice.