"In this lifetime, I am the only one you can truly trust." - ZR | FF17

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"Bes, he's—he's our neighbor and he just want to borrow a can opener," said Neisha.

"Neighbor?" Yrrah asked in disbelief, giving a questionable look to the man with impish grin, while she's walking towards him. He even winked at her.

"You know... Ate Franz's boyfriend," replied Neisha.

"What? Wait... I'm not anyone's boyfriend—yet," the man immediately objected to Neisha's statement. "I just move-in next door and I just wanna borrow a can opener."

"Golligosh, sorry... I just thought—"

Yrrah raised her right eyebrow while crossing her arms on her chest, and cut her friend, "Why did you move-in there? That's Ate Franz's unit?" Her tone was intimidating. She felt someone was pulling the rim of her shirt, it's Neisha silently sending her a message not to be shrewish.

"Hmm... She's my renter, okay. She moved-out before Christmas. But I am the real owner of that unit," he explained.

"Hi new neighbor, I'm Neisha and this is my best friend, Yrrah. She owns this unit," her friend butted in, extended her arms to the man in front of them. The man accepted it but before he could tell his name, Yrrah interrupted.

"I couldn't believe it! Really, huh? You own that unit beside mine? When did you buy it? Are you stalking me?" Her voice was louder than usual. Her facial expression couldn't be paint even by a multi-awarded national artist. Her face reddened with boiling blood right now and she wanted to squish the man's tongue to spill information.

Neisha was exchanging her glances between her best friend, with reddish face and nose smoking with ill-tempered, and the man, who's calm and cool. "Bes, do—do you know each other?"

Yrrah heaved a deep sigh and rolled her eyes skyward to calm herself. "I don't believe that you don't have a can opener, Chef Zacharry Ravelo."

He sniggered. Neisha covered her huge mouth in an oval-shaped in disbelief. And Yrrah turned her back and walked away, going back to her room in dismay.

"Wait, Caz... I'm serious. I really need to borrow it."

She stopped in front of her room and faced them, "Neish, lend him all the kitchen utensils, even the pan or pots. I don't want him disturbing us in the morning asking for something!" She entered her room and banged the door behind her. His amused laugh echoed in their unit.

"What a nuisance!" Yrrah muttered.

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"MY GOLLIGOSH, BES! He's your ex! He's far from the image of a man that you described about him. I imagined an older man like in his 40s, who looked-like a rocky thug, short, and with huge round tummy. You never tell me that he's so tall, as handsome as hell, and as hot as the desert," she even sang the last sentence in the tune of Taylor Swift's Wildest Dream. "If he's my husband, I'll put a helmet on him or I should chain him with me."

Yrrah covered her face with a pillow, and her ears with earbuds. After Zach left, Neisha ran to her room and screamed her lungs out, with matching jumping as if she wins a lottery, and squirmed like a worm poured with soapy water. Then, she never stopped asking questions about him and talking repeatedly like defective tape recorder.

She was so annoyed to know that he just live next door without even telling her. They were just together earlier. She even invited him inside when they've arrived from Quezon, and had snacks together. He bid his farewell after an hour of inspecting the safety of her unit as if he's her over protective bodyguard like K2. He even installed a secondary safety chained-lock in the front door.

Remembering the newly installed safety lock, she got up of her bed and walked towards the front door. Neisha who was startled, follows her.

"Make sure to always lock it when you're alone or we're both inside already. Check the peep hole before opening the door. If you don't know the person, you can ask them what they need by partly opening the door but this chain still hooked." She demonstrated it to her friend like instructing a ten-year old kid. "See. In that case, if the person has bad motives, they cannot just come in." She shut the door and double-checked the lock.

"But what did you do? You even invited that man inside our unit. You don't even know him, what if he's a rapist or psycho? You put our life on risk!" she continued reprimanding her friend.

"But Bes, he neither look-like a psycho nor a rapist. But if he's a rapist, I will welcome him with open legs." Neisha even giggled giddily.

Yrrah hit her friend's head, not so hard though. "If you're desperate to be laid, not in my condo."

"Golligosh! I'm just kidding." Neisha pouted.

"Well, I'm not. Don't be deceived by people's appearance. Don't you know that one of the most notorious serial killers in US was a handsome man. He deceived his victims by his good looks and charisma," lecturing her friend like a teacher, "And why have you ever thought that I've married a man in your pathetic imagination? I only told you that he's cold-hearted nothing more. Do you really think that I will marry a dirty old man? I would never be that desperate to get my inheritance."

"Peace, Bes. Relax. Sorry. I will never let anyone enter our unit again. Why are you so high-blooded right now?"

"Because of that annoying man!" She pointed to unit next door. "Urgh! He said he wanted to be friends with me, but what did he do? He didn't tell me that he owns that place."

"Golligosh! I thought you're really annoyed with me... Come-on let's just eat ice cream to cool you down." Neisha opened their freezer.

"No. Thank you. I'll better sleep than eat. Good night!"

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ZACH on the other hand, couldn't suppress his laugh while watching on his laptop. He installed some wireless camera with audio in Yrrah's unit when he was there. The put it on the artificial Fig tree at the corner of her unit, facing the hallway from the front door, and the other has a better view of the rest of the living room and the kitchen. There's one in her room too. He installed it on the book shelves at the corner of her room, where he can watch the three corners of the room. He knew that he's invading her privacy but he just wanted to protect her.

He bought two units of condo in that building. Obviously, his wife didn't check all the properties that they've divided during the settlement. She let her lawyer fixed everything. He understood her. She's still young and inexperienced. Though, she didn't trust the new people coming into her life, she's very trusting to those who are loyal to her family. And that's her biggest weakness that he wanted to protect her from. From the people who wanted to harm her, like some of her current friends.

He laughed again when Yrrah repeated to Neisha, all that he told her earlier after installing the chained-lock.

"Rapist or psycho? What the— but you got a point, wife. Your friend shouldn't let me in," he commented, with an amused expression.

"That's Ted Bundy. I'm more handsome than that man, wife." He made a term paper about serial killers when he was in HS, so he remembered him.

"So, you agreed to be married with me because I am the opposite of that dirty old man. Not because you're afraid to lose your inheritance. I knew it!" He stood up, huge smile on lips. "I knew it! You like me too."

Before, he just treated her like his little sister. The idea of their parents to marry them someday was ridiculous for him. He never thought that it did happen.

"I want to marry you, Kuya. When are we going to get married?"

He could still remember the cute and innocent eyes of the young girl at that time. His eyes turned dreamy with a peaceful smile on his lips.

"You don't even understand it yet." he replied.

"I knew it already. You're going to be the daddy and I'm going to be the mommy, and Pinkie will be our baby girl. Don't you want to marry me, Kuya?"

"I'm too old for you. Before you grow up, I'm probably be married. Besides, you're like a little sister to me."

Those were the memories that haunted him in his teenage life. The sweet and bitter memories of that night that changed their life.

"Maybe if that accident didn't happen, you just remain as a little sister to me. My mind would probably bury that scene into the deepest of its archive." He sighed.

He diverted his eyes on the screen of his laptop again. All the cameras turned into the night mode. He could only see the yellow-green human figured on the bed--on the camera in Yrrah's bedroom—who keeps on tossing.

"You can't sleep? How I wish that I could read your mind. But it's as complicated as our life right now."

He sighed, how he wishes that they life should be as simple as before. He could never imagine the complication they were into. The complication from the twisted fate of their parents that affects their lives.

He checked his email instead to divert his mind from reminiscing the unthinkable things that he'd learned. He received an email from the private investigator (PI) that he hired. He read the additional information that they've gathered regarding Princess Anne Lopez.

He made his young wife friends investigated two and half years ago, and he even hired a secret bodyguard for her, the one that they least suspected to be.

Neisha Marie Sardival from South Cotabato. The eldest among four children of the local farmers. She's a full scholar funded by the Farmer's Cooperative Association, where her parents are active members. Nothing suspicious about her intention to be Yrrah's friend.

Lucas Valderama, youngest son of the franchiser of well-known coffee shop. They currently have five franchise around National Capital Region. Quite a responsible son and student, unlike his brother who've been in different troubles already. He became friend with the girls when they were groupmates in one of their school projects. His family has no direct relation on Yrrah's family.

In the initial report about Princess Anne Lopez, she's the third among four children of both the doctor's parents. She was born and studied her primary and secondary in Manila.

Zach asked to dig an information when he met her a week ago and mentioned DMCS or Divine Mercy Catholic School in Quezon where he and Yrrah attended their elementary. He graduated elementary in that school and up to second year of high school only. Caz only attended from Kinder to Grade 4, then she was home-schooled.

The initial information they've gathered about Princess was belong to different person with just the same name. This Princess used to be Yrrah's childhood best friend in DMCS, who betrayed her. Her father is still employed as Regional Sales Manager of Olevar Telecommunication Corporation (OTC), and was separated with her mom for almost ten years now. Princess' mom used to be the secretary of Cassandra Monteriva-Olevar, Yrrah's mother. Mrs. Lopez was fired and blacklisted to OTC with the scandal she circulated about her late boss more than a decade ago.

Princess is still living with her mom. She befriended Yrrah and Neisha when they became classmate in one minor subject in their second year. She's taking up Banking and Finance but for some reason, she's sticking with Yrrah's group.

Zach asked his PI to monitor Princess' mother as well. They might be planning something against Yrrah. She seemed suspicious enough with her background, especially when her cousin appeared on the scene, and courted Yrrah at once.

He was not threatened of Aeron John Robertson as his rival based on the report that Yrrah rejected him already, according to her secret bodyguard. According to this man's file, he grew up and studied in Buffalo, USA. Then, because of Yrrah, he transferred to Philippines. What a stinky egg he is!

He already asked his PI to give him information about Aeron when he saw him with Yrrah at the bar, when he arrived from the US a couple of weeks ago. Yrrah's secret bodyguard informed Zach of their whereabout and the occasion. It was that bastard birthday.

Barbaro 'Barbie' Delos Reyes, youngest son of retired Gen. Delos Reyes, the owner of Hawk-eyes Investigative Agency. He was trained by his father to follow his footsteps as military just like his other siblings, but he had a change of heart when he was in second year in PMA. Though, Gen. Delos Reyes was disappointed with his son, he gave him a task to be a secret bodyguard to their client's young wife.

Barbaro accepted the task as he wanted to take Business Management Course, and he actually had a crush with Yrrah when he first saw her. She was quite a snobbish, not so easy to befriend, so he pretended to be a gay. It's also the best disguised, not to be suspected as he's guarding her. At first, he thought that Zach is a big brother of Yrrah. After a few months, it'd been disclosed with him that she's a wife of their client. Right now, he only sees Yrrah as friend because his heart was caught by Neisha. But he couldn't admit his feeling with her yet.

Zach checked his monitoring camera once again, and it seemed that Yrrah fell asleep already.

"Sorry, Caz, if I needed to do it. I wanted to know the intention of that Princess, and your jerk boyfriend. If only I could tell you that he drugged your drinks in the bar. If my flight got delayed, who knows what he did to you."

When Zach saw that Yrrah passed out on the dance floor and being carried by Aeron, he followed them. He managed to knocked Aeron out in one uppercut, after he placed Yrrah on the passenger seat of its car. Zach got Aeron's cellphone and his wife. Then, he called Barbaro and instructed him to scared off Aeron by sending him outside Manila. Barbaro called out some of his father's men to do it.

Zach on the other hand, brought her wife to his hotel unit. She puked on his clothes and hers, when he was carrying her. He undressed her and asked the housekeeper to wash their clothes. When he was cleaning her up, she suddenly kissed her.

He was stiffened for a few seconds, caught off guard. It's unexpected. The beautiful lady was attacking his lips wildly and hungrily like a wild animal that'd been starved for a long time. The rational part of his brain was swallowed by lust and love. He's neither a saint nor a monk, who has greater self-control. He threw the mini towel on the floor that he used to clean the drunk lady, and surrendered to his attacker.

The owner of the hotel is one of his friends. He asked a favor if he could use the kitchen in the morning to cook breakfast for his wife. But when he came back, Yrrah left already.

He contacted Barbaro but he's cellphone was unattended. He asked Yrrah's yaya to checked on her if she's already in her condo.

Barbaro called him in the afternoon and told him at Aeron went to the police. He thought that Yrrah would also report about being kidnap so, he asked his friend to delete the footage of them on any CCTV of the hotel. Later on, his friend told him that someone from the private investigative agency asked for the CCTV. He'd learned that Yrrah is the client of that agency.

As for Aeron's cellphone, Zach found a lot of stolen shot of his wife. He downloaded all picture in his laptop and gave the cellphone to his PI to check it.

"If only I can warn you about that bastard, Caz, but for sure you will not believe me. I'll need more reliable evidence about that jerk."

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UNEDITED.
9 June 2020