FF20

"I will do everything with my power just to find you, even if I need to flip the world." – FF20

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Zach hurried home right after the meeting have ended at 3:30 in the afternoon. He asked her secretary to check on Yrrah after the morning break but she didn't come back yet. He tried to call her during lunch break but her phone was unattended. She didn't come back to work at all.

He even called Barbaro, but he didn't know that Yrrah even left the office. Barbaro and Neisha even thought that Yrrah's with him in the meeting, that's why she didn't join them for lunch.

He tried to contact Yrrah again. But her phone still unattended. He couldn't explain why'd he felt so worried? His heart beats erratically, as if something as clear as mud is happening. He's anxious to see her. He wanted to explain to her everything. He wanted to assure her that the company still belongs to her, that's everything that on her name—still belongs to her, and that nothing will change. He wanted to envelop her in his arms, to let her feel protected and secured.

When he arrived to their condo, he knocked on her unit several times but no one answered the door. He knew that Neisha's still at work.

"Where are you, Caz?" he uttered to himself, while heading to his own unit.

He checked the recorded videos of Yrrah's unit in his laptop. He saw that she came home around one in the afternoon, packed her things, and got off with her luggage and backpack. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a red hoodie sweater, and a pair of Converse shoes. She seemed to be in the rush as if someone was chasing her.

"What were you thinking, Caz? What's going on? Where are you going?" he voiced out what's on his mind unconsciously.

"Maybe in yah province?" Callum said, in his slang English. He just arrived and overheard Zach. He gave his worried friend a cup of Starbucks coffee that he brought at the lobby of the condo building. He shared the unit with Zach since he arrived from the USA. All his immediate family are in the said country, and some distant relatives are in southern provinces of the Philippines.

Zach called Yaya Fe to know if Yrrah arrived in the province safely. He was hopeful that she just went back home.

"Hello Auntie, is Caz already there?"

"Is she supposed to come home? She just texted me an hour ago that she misses and love me. I texted her back but she didn't reply. Why, hijo?"

He could sense the anxiousness in the older lady's tone. And he didn't want her to get more worried.

"Not sure, Auntie. Please call me if she arrives there. Take care."

Zach hung up and called the Security and Control Unit in OTC building. He ordered them to check all the CCTV after giving them her picture.

He felt guilty. He knew, he's at fault from the beginning. He shouldn't treat her like a winter season when they're still married, just to avoid spoiling her the truth. But instead, he should prepare her little-by-little. He should give her assurance to trust him. He thought it would be better if he carries all the burdens and fix it for her.

Though, both of them were the victim of lies and traumatic experience. His psychologist said that he's a strong-minded boy. That's why, he could remain civil with his real dad.

On the other hand, Mr. Olevar didn't want to tell Yrrah the truth when she was younger. He wanted her to be matured enough. But that didn't happen because of his untimely death. He thought that it would be too much for her to handle it; to add more fuel to her fiery condition.

Zach recollected the time when their dad, Harry, came back to the US a year after he graduated from the university.

"Come back home, son. Let me train you personally to handle the company."

"Why don't you train Caz instead?"

"She's still young and fragile. She might not be able to handle the pressure of handling the huge company."

Zach agreed to be trained to help Yrrah in the future. He actually went back to the Philippines but stayed most of the time in Manila, closer to the head office of their dad's business. When he went back their province, he stayed in his parents' house. Even though, his dad asked him to stayed in the mansion and meet her again. He refused. He's afraid to see her again. He's afraid of his unfathomable feelings towards his little sister. He knew, he shouldn't tolerate that Eros type of love for her. That's why, he decided to distance himself as much as possible... maybe until he could get hold of his feelings. But not now yet.

But fate seemed to tease him when he saw the 17-year old girl closely at the mall. They accidentally bumped with each other and he received her sarcastic remarks.

"Hey, Mister!" Yrrah thrown him a deadly glare while her arms were crossed on her chest. "Am I invisible to you? I don't think you're blind, are you? And oh! it isn't sunny inside to wear that sunglasses and baseball hat." The teenage girl even rolled her eyes skyward. "Oh my gosh, don't tell me you're a celebrity?" He put her right hand on her mouth as if she's startled and scrutinized him from head to toes. "You won't even pass to be one." She grimaced and arched her right eyebrow.

Zach was the one who was dumbfounded at that time. His lips even parted for a bit as he couldn't believe she's in front of him. The girl who occupied his mind is here, but she's totally different from the sweet little girl that he used to imagine. This girl wore an all-black attire; hoodie, skinny jeans, and a pair of army boots. Her wayfarer sunglasses head-banded on her head, suppressing her waist-length naturally dark brown hair from covering her small and free from blemishes face. She's more beautiful and mesmerizing in person than in her pictures.

"Done checking me out? Aren't you going to say sorry?"

He swallowed an imaginary lump, and breathed in some air to calm his throbbing heart like a drum. "I-I'm sorry. I—"

"Good!" she said and walked away. She didn't let him to finish.

He just shook his head and the edge of his lips raised. "She's interesting," he uttered to himself, while his eyes were following the girl.

When he saw her again in person, the more she imprisoned his unconscionable heart. It seemed that he'd been struck by Cupid's arrow. Real hard. One of Cupid's stupidity.

Zach went back to earth when he heard Callum talking with someone at their front door. "She's not home, dude."

Zach peeked at the door too and saw Aeron. The other man he wanted to ask about Yrrah's whereabout. He still couldn't change the fact that this bastard is her boyfriend.

'Good thing she didn't elope with this shithead?'

His fist turned into a ball and his expression became stoic, simply by seeing him. Last night, he just received Aeron's information from his PI, as well as Mrs. Eleonor Smith. Zach asked his PI to dig deeper into Eleonor's life as she didn't just cause trouble to Cazzandra, Yrrah's mother, but also with him.

Eleonor paid some people to sue his restaurant in the US, seven months ago, for unsanitary. They claimed to find a cockroach in the dishes that they served. The reason he headed back to US right after Yrrah asked for divorce. It took them awhile to trace that the customer was related to Mrs. Smith and paid her to complain. They won the case and asked Mrs. Smith to pay him damages. He needed to stay longer to build up his resto's reputation again.

But Zach couldn't believe of what on the report. His private investigator said that his source was 95% reliable. She was a close friend with Harry, Cazzandra, and Eleonor, since quarter of the century already. Some legal documents, backed up the report.

Aeron Robertson is the son of Eleonor Cruz Smith in her first husband, who was 40 years older than her. Chris Robertson, 66 years old, Aeron's father was a retired car dealer manager when he met the 26-year old, Eleonor, the caregiver of his paralyzed friend. She's a widowed of Aeron's dad and now, married to John Smith.

Everything was making sense with Zach now. Harry, his dad, told him a brief story about who Mrs. Smith and why they knew her. Eleonor was one of Harry, Zarah, and Zacharias' schoolmate in elementary and high school, who was quite obsessed with Harry way back, though she was four years older than Harry. Harry was actually shocked to see her in the US as caregiver. Eleonor befriended Cazzandra—one of Harry's best friend and classmate in the US—to be in his circle of friends. Cazzandra met Eleonor in one of the Filipino community.

Cazzandra was a child of an American mother and Fil-Am father. She was born and raised in Boston until she was 10 years old. Her father took over her grandfather's business. So, their family moved to Philippines. She went back to Manhattan to pursue her university studies. She became very active to Filipino community in the area where she met Eleonor.

According to his PI's source, who was Eleonor accomplice, Eleonor succeeded in breaking Harry and his girlfriend in the Philippines, by sending some pictures in lewdness position. Eleonor thought by doing so, Harry could notice her, but he was as intractable as the wild boar. Eleonor became more furious when Harry married one of their friends, Cazzandra—out-of-the-blue—while the two were not even an official couple.

Eleonor was the reason why Harry and Zarah, Zach's mother, broke up. And now, her son, Aeron appeared and courted Yrrah. Zach also found out that Aeron is not Princess's cousin. Eleonor and Princess's mother uses their children to pester Harry's family. In some way, they knew that Zach and Yrrah are Harry's children. The reason they became the target to the bitter woman's revenge for the unrequited love caused by Harry. Even until now, the older woman couldn't move on.

"Bro, where's your little sister?"

Zach was pulled back from his deep thought when the bastard asked him. He wanted to punch him this very moment. But he tried to hold his anger to know if Yrrah ever contact his man before she left.

"She didn't call or even text you?"

"She did. But I couldn't contact her after. Where did she go?"

Zach sensed that the dickhead in front of him have no idea of Yrrah's whereabout as well.  There's no need to waste his time with him. "If she didn't tell you, it means she don't need you at the moment." Zach went back in his unit. He didn't see how Aeron stabbed him with his glare.

Zach received a call from the head of the security department of OTC. They reported to him the last person that Yrrah talked with. Mr. Marko Pimentel, the name rings a bell but he couldn't remember who mentioned it or who that person is. They even sent him the captured video from the CCTV, when Yrrah was ripping the paper and thrown it back to the man. He saw her face as red as the raging flame.

"Who are you and what's on that paper to make her upset?"

Zach gave order to the OTC security department to find Yrrah in the bus terminal and in local and international airport.

He even called some friends and connections for help, even the Immigration to check if she ever leave the country.  They found her in Philippine Airlines Flight 325 to United Kingdom.  He immediately contacted the private investigative agency to send an agent to UK to search for her.

The next morning, Zach poured the newly brewed coffee in his coffee mug. He turned on the TV to watch the CNN news.

His cup of coffee slipped on his hand, its crashing sounds echoed in his unit as the porcelaine mug hit the tiles kitchen floor. The splashed of the hot coffee burned some skin on his feet, but he didn't even seems to feel it as his eyes fixed on the TV and his partly open lips were trembling in terror.

Breaking News: Philippines Airlines Flight 325 to London, United Kingdom crashed in the Mediterranean Sea.

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11- 22 July 2020

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