With much hesitation, Jessica returned to her seat and sipped her coffee before giving the answer Mia was yearning to hear. "Yes." Jessica finally replied. "Look, you have only now to say whatever you have about Cruz because after now, he will be nothing more than the Chief Surgeon to me." She added. "Like I mentioned earlier, Cruz, Klaus and Jason used to be birds of the same feathers. They were best of friends until a few hours before Cruz's kidnap in high school. I'm sure you must have heard this tale from either Jason or Cade, but Cruz had never disclosed what happened to anyone. Not even his parents as any teenager would do at that time. " Mia explained, leaving Jessica stunned. "What? Klaus and Cruz were once best friends? It's so hard to believe. And what's up with their fight before his kidnap? Was Klaus ever suspected for Cruz's kidnap?" Jessica asked curiously. "Yes. In fact, at some point they were both suspects of the infamous kidnap in Palm Springs especially with the
"You know what…I almost fell for this stupid charade of yours!" Jessica blurted out of the blue, confusing Cruz as her face hardened."I can't believe I forgot for a moment that you could never change for anyone. You say this is up to me but you're still trying to force a decision on me. Just quit this charade and stand up because I don't want to hear whatever you have to say." Jessica blurted out before pushing Cruz's hands away and walking out on him. "Jess…" Cruz's voice trailed off as he watched Jessica leave. "Is this what you have reduced yourself to?" Valeria's voice interrupted Cruz's crumbled thoughts and he quickly wiped out his tears and stood up to his feet. "Valeria, what are you doing here?" Cruz asked, trying to divert the topic. "Seriously, Cruz? How could you go down on your knees…" "VALERIA!" Cruz called out, scaring Whatever happened here is none of your business. It's not work-related so you can as well forget you saw or heard anything." Cruz warned and atte
"Just how much do you know Jessica?" Klaus mumbled after several minutes of ogling into Jessica's eyes. "How much did he tell you just to turn you against me?" He asked again but Jessica just stood staring at the sudden change in his composure. "I wish that night didn't come but none of what happened was entirely my fault. I did what I had to do to protect my family just like he has been doing for the past eight years so I have nothing to explain to anyone." He barked before angrily dashing out, causing a stare amongst the other people who were also at the eatery.Jessica sighed as she slumped into the chair once again thinking about the whole ordeal and the secrets the men were hiding from her. "No one is willing to tell me anything and I can't bring myself to trust the only person who is ready to tell me. What a life!" She mumbled. Time was already far spent chatting and eating and finally, she had to return to the office but just as she was about to leave, a young lady in a cle
"Because I missed you!" Cruz replied, blinking rapidly from time to time."You have to leave now! I can't let you…" Jessica's sentence was cut short as Cruz staggered, falling towards Jessica with his head resting on her shoulder, causing her to nearly lose her balance. "Oh, God! You reek of alcohol!" Jessica exclaimed, trying to make him stand properly on his feet but he was too heavy for her to lift with ease. "I love you, Jessica." Cruz continued mumbling. Cruz's weight was beginning to weigh Jessica down so she decided to drag him to the closest couch in the living and while she was still struggling with him, Tyler ran downstairs as they felt Jessica was taking too long to return. "What on Earth…Jessica, what is he doing here looking like that?" Tyler wondered as he quickly lent Jessica a hand in supporting Cruz to the couch. "God, he reeks of alcohol. He must be taking your rejection very badly. Jessica burst into laughter as she saw Leah sneaking downstairs while tightly
Jessica continued to pat his back until he slowly slept off. "He always acts so tough I never imagined I would see him this vulnerable and pitiful." She mumbled as she arranged him on the couch and covered him with a duvet. "I hope your pain is relieved now that you've spoken to me." She mumbled as she stared at his haggard face. For a while, she subconsciously and just when she turned to leave for her room, she noticed a light flashing from his pocket. Without much hesitation, she checked his pocket and brought out his phone which was the source of the light then she realized an incoming call had just ended. "97 missed calls?" She gasped as she saw the number of unanswered calls on the lock screen. Curious as to who might be calling, she knelt beside Cruz and placed his finger in the fingerprint reader, immediately unlocking the phone. "Sorry for invading your privacy like this." She apologized, partially to herself. To her surprise, her photo was on the display as soon as th
"Is this what you really think of the whole situation?" Jessica asked once she finally gathered the energy to speak."Jessica, I said I'm sorry!" Leah apologized further. "You must think being almost murdered by the person you thought loved you is a normal thing that happens to everyone." Jessica accused, still in tears. "I didn't mean it that way." Leah tried to justify herself. "Leah, just leave for now!" Tyler intervened, shoving Leah out of the kitchen before walking up to Jessica who was already losing her balance. He helped seat on the chair by the kitchen counter before running to get her a glass of water. "Stop crying and drink this." Tyler suggested, handing out the glass to her. Without a word, Jessica took the water and drank it in one go before dropping the empty glass on the counter and heaving a sigh of distress which was cut short by the ringing of Tyler's phone. With much hesitation, Tyler answered the call, "Give me some time, I will get back to you." He repli
"Cruz how did you…?" "As for Landon, I overheard part of your conversation with Leah but for the accident, I guessed right since I could tell from that day at the field that you were traumatized. Remember the story you told Cade that day? I knew it was filled with too many holes." Cruz replied thoughtfully. "You didn't love me back then yet you were attentive." Jessica mumbled but Cruz definitely heard her. "Credit goes to my brain, I'm smart, remember?" He joked and a sad chuckle escaped her lips. "Do you want to talk about it?" Cruz asked once again but Jessica immediately turned his back against him. She remained mute for several seconds before taking baby steps towards her bed. "Landon was a really cute guy I fell in love with at first sight. He was the hottest guy in school that year and we started off very beautifully. Wanna guess how he proposed to me?" She asked, turning abruptly towards Cruz with a sad smile on her face, a smile Cruz understood well. Cruz walked closer
Cruz's phone slipped out of his hand as he stared at Jessica in shock. "On a serious note, Cruz, what's going on with you?"You've been looking lost for a while." Jessica stated her observations as she walked past Cruz to the small table in her room where she dropped the food. "Was that an important call I shouldn't have interrupted?" She asked curiously. Relieved that Jessica didn't overhear his conversation, he immediately thought of a lie to tell. "Uhmm…Of course not. Something urgent came up at the hospital and I have to leave now." He replied as he hurriedly picked up his phone from the ground. "But you said you were…" Jessica's voice trailed off as she watched Cruz dash out of the room. "... hungry." She whispered. "He looks so worked up, I hope it's nothing too serious." She thought to herself as she sat beside her food and began devouring it. "Leah and Tyler should be landing soon." She sighed at her loneliness. ★★★★★Cruz arrived at Bay Cafe where Klaus was anxiously