CHAPTER 5: His Request

-=Gabby's Point of View=-

I think my heart was about to burst out of my chest when I finally left Jayden in his room.

I don't have any doubt that he would do what he said about making me pay for what I lost him.

To be honest, I didn't think about the possible consequences of my actions. All I wanted to do was to help my sister, but I forgot that all actions have their own consequences.

I may be thrown in jail for kidnapping Jayden, or worse, he would probably hire someone to kill me, or maybe he would do it himself. Whatever his decision was, it only means one thing.

"I'm doomed!"

I can't blame him because I would be furious if I had lost a potentially billion-dollar business deal.

I hate to admit it, but honestly, I was feeling a little guilty but mostly scared, but I have to be strong, for him to pay for what he did to my sister.

What the hell do I care if he's rich and powerful? He made the biggest mistake of hurting my sister.

Just like the previous days, I tried to contact Mel, but I still couldn't get through to her number, I tried calling her friends, but none of them seemed to know where Mel was.

I'm worried sick, thinking that something terrible might have happened to her. It also crossed my mind that maybe Jayden did something to Mel, which is why he was so confident in denying my sister because he knew that I wouldn't be able to find her.

I shivered when I thought about it, thinking that maybe I would be next, but I immediately disregarded it because I think Jayden is not capable of hurting my sister, or even me physically.

I'm not sure why I felt so sure about it, but I can feel it in my bones, Jayden might get even, but he would not harm us physically at least.

I decided to step out of the house in the meantime, just to calm my mind, I was still worried about what Jayden would do to me once I finally released him.

Of course, I was planning to release him. It's not like I could keep him prisoner forever, right?

The serenity of the place is a big help for me to calm down. Once I finally retired from work, I wanted to live in this kind of environment, away from the busy, noisy life of the city.

I really enjoyed living in the province, I remembered the time when mom brought us to this place.

I was enjoying my stay here, but unfortunately, Mel didn't want to stay long. She preferred city life.

When I think about my mom, I can't stop the tears from falling from my eyes. It's been four years since she left us because of cancer.

It's been four years, but the pain still remained in my heart. It hurts that she's gone from our lives, but when I thought about the pain she had to go through, it made me realize that she's in a better place now.

This is also the reason why I grew closer to Mel, because she's the only family I have, and it hurts me to see her heartbroken just because of a pathetic loser.

I continued walking until I reached a familiar tree, I smiled when I saw the tree that my cousins and I used to climb.

It had grown since the last time I saw it, and just for the heck of it, I decided to climb the tree just like the old times.

Compared to the last time, it wasn't easy to climb this tree, probably because I was not that flexible compared to when I was still a kid, but after a few tries, I managed to lift myself, until I reached a sturdy branch.

I found some berry-like fruits in the tree that I enjoyed eating when I was a child, so I decided to pick some so I could eat them later.

It was already getting dark when I decided to return to the house. I had my bag full of the berry-like fruit I gathered.

I felt like a loony when I thought about what I did. I mean, no normal woman at my age would dare climb a tree just to pick up fruits, but then again, I am not your average girl.

I put the fruits I gathered in the fridge so they would taste better frozen. I will just save them for later.

After washing my hands, I grabbed my phone, which I left on the tabletop, checking if there were any missed calls or messages from Mel, but still nothing.

I decided to just wait for her call since, sooner or later, she would try to reach me, but I was hoping it would be sooner.

I only asked for five days of leave from the bank I was working with, so I'm praying she will call as soon as possible, so I don't have to extend my leave, because it's going to be a leave without pay, and with the money I wasted on this plan, I badly needed my salary.

I decided to prepare our dinner, but instead of getting inside the room with him, I decided to just put his food on the floor, which is within his reach, and then left right away.

I ignored Jayden's yelling as I made my way back to the kitchen to eat my dinner in silence.

After I was done with my meal, I decided to retire for the night. I prayed really hard that tomorrow would be the time that Mel would finally call me back.

I tried not to think about my "visitor" as I drifted to an uneasy sleep. That night I dreamt about the revenge that Jayden had in store for me.

I felt tired when I woke up the next morning. The dream I had seemed so real, and it was giving me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Just like the previous days, I woke up early. Before preparing for our breakfast, I decided to take a shower first.

There's a small bathroom at the back of the house, and I chose to use that.

I felt at ease knowing that this place was safe since it was so isolated and hard to find.

The electricity we were using was solar energy, while the water actually came from the spring in the mountain.

I took a quick shower before heading back to the house, only wearing a towel around my body.

"Hey, wench!" It was the first noise I heard that morning, which meant that my visitor was already awake.

I hesitated if I should finish cooking first or go to Jayden, but my curiosity got the best of me as I made my way to the second floor.

"Is there anything I can do for you, your highness?" I asked in a very courteous manner, and to make it more dramatic, I even curtsied, just like in the old medieval movies.

I was expecting him to say that he wanted me to let him go, and I already prepared my rebuttal to that, but was stunned by his request.

"I need a bath," he answered in a cold tone.

"You... need a bath? Is that what you... need?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Yes, if you haven't noticed, I'm wearing the same clothes I've worn since you abducted me," he answered sarcastically.

Well, to be honest, even though he hasn't had a bath for a couple of days, he still doesn't stink, and as a matter of fact, the messy hair only adds to his handsomeness.

But still, not taking a bath for a couple of days is rather irritating and uncomfortable.

"Are you going to continue to space out or are you going to let me take a bath?!" He asked sarcastically.

Instead of answering his question, I decided to leave the room and went to fetch a pail of water, and after finding a small towel, I went back to the room and presented it to Jayden.

"What's this?" He asked, looking confused.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot remove your handcuff. What if you tried to escape? I think this is the next best thing I could think of," I explained.

"This won't do, Andrea... wait, is your name really Andrea?" He asked.

"My name is... Andrea, will do," I answered.

I decided not to tell him my real name, and to stick with the name Andrea. It's safer this way, and it will make it difficult for him to find me in case these are all over.

I chose to ignore his complaint about the arrangement I had given him and went back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

Thirty minutes had passed when I finished preparing for our breakfast, and thinking that he was already done cleaning himself, I decided to barge into the room without informing Jayden.

My mouth was agape when I saw Jayden not wearing any shirt, and I was right when I thought his body is ripped because of his frequent visits to the gym.

"He's hot!" I told myself, and as hard as it was, I forced myself to look away from his perfect, ripped body.

"How should I wear this shirt?" I heard him ask, and finally, I realized the reason why he was still shirtless. 

Since his left hand is still handcuffed to the railing of the bed, it would be impossible for him to completely wear the shirt I have given him.

"Put this handcuff on your right wrist," I told him.

He didn't ask and did what I instructed him to do, and after he secured the handcuff on the railing, I decided to take off the handcuff on his left wrist.

"See? Problem solved!" I said.

He didn't say anything as he looked at me with an annoyed expression on his face.

I felt my face heating up when I remembered the scene I saw earlier, and I didn't think I could easily forget it.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" I heard Jayden ask, which made my face even redder.

Instead of answering his question, I chose to prepare the breakfast meal he requested, which is the dried fish I prepared for him before.

Since he tasted the unique taste of the danggit, he didn't stop asking for it.

"So, can you tell me where your sister is so you can expose my lies already?" He asked, mockingly.

I chose to tell him the truth since I think he deserves to know the truth about me.

"She's been missing for more than a week now, ever since she told me about what happened between you two," I said, sighing.

I could tell that he wanted to argue, but he opted not to do it as he continued enjoying his meal.

"So you mean to say, I'm stuck here until you find your sister?" He asked in disbelief.

I chose to keep my mouth shut, and ignore his question. If I wasn't able to find Mel, then I would have to let Jayden go, I still have to return to work anyway.

He didn't say anything anymore, but I could see on his face that he was thinking deeply. I didn't want to know what it was. Maybe he was thinking about how he would make me pay.

The hours passed so quickly, and before I knew it, it was already nighttime.

We were just finished with our dinner, and then I remembered the berry-like fruit I picked yesterday, so I thought of sharing it with Jayden.

"You like to try this?" I asked, showing him the fruits I picked yesterday.

"What's that?"

"I didn't know what it was called, but it's really good," I said, trying to convince him, and just to prove that it's edible, I ate two.

When he saw that nothing happened to me, he decided to give it a try, and the moment he bit at it, a look of surprise was written on his face.

"Wait, I think I know what this is," he said, thinking hard, and I continued eating it with gusto while he tried to remember the name of this fruit.

"Right! It's a Kerson fruit," he finally said.

"A what?"

"A Kerson fruit, or Aratiles in Filipino," he explained.

"Ok," I said, as it doesn't really interest me. All I knew was that these were delicious.

We continued enjoying the Kerson fruit I picked, and once we ate them all, we decided to retire for the night.

I managed to sleep with a wide smile on my face, I didn't think that I would actually enjoy Jayden's company, which shouldn't be the case since he still needs to pay for what he did to Mel.