It's been two weeks since Zachary brought me to his condo. At first, I had no idea why we didn't go to Nanay Victoria's house, but then I heard his phone call with his friend, Thelmo. He wanted me to be close to a psychologist so that if I ever thought about getting checked, it would be easy. I just shrugged it off and kept ignoring him.
My attention was focused on Angel when she almost fell into the cat condo that Zachary bought the other day. I don't know why he is wasting money on my cat; I can provide for that. I am her mother; he is a stranger. What right does he have to act as a co-parent to my cat?
I stood up and approached the kitten. I carefully picked her up and brought her to the bed. I stroked his fur while slightly sniffling. She tried to get out of my lap to run again to the cat condo on the side of the room, but I stopped her.
"You, little witch. You're fooling around with that one," I said and glared. "That's cheap; I can build you a mansion! I must be your favorite," I continued.
Angel just meowed, still seeming to disagree with what I said. I continued to sniffle and let her leave. I just followed her with my eyes. I was in that situation when the door slowly opened, and even though I didn't look at it, I knew Zachary was going to enter the room.
During the few weeks we were together, I did not speak to him. I don't want to communicate with him when my mind and emotions are still messed up. I stayed at his place not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to know what he was planning. To this day, I still have no idea why he agreed to my show even though he knew I wasn't really pregnant. Maybe Aireen is right; he is planning something for me and my family.
I gritted my teeth when Angel quickly got down from the cat condo and ran towards him. Zachary let out a laugh and picked up my pet cat. From the corner of my vision, I saw how Angel caressed him; she gently rubbed her face against Zachary's jaw while meowing softly.
Traitor.
"What do you want to eat this afternoon?" he asked when his gaze went towards me.
I rolled my eyes, then lay down on the bed again."I have no appetite. Leave, Zachary, I want to sleep."
"But you've been sleeping the whole day. You haven't eaten breakfast yet." I heard his footsteps approaching me.
I didn't answer him. I just closed my eyes and hugged the pillow next to me. I felt the sinking of the other side of the bed as a sign that he had sat there for good.
"Are you sick?" The back of his palm touched my forehead before I had a chance to protest.
Ignoring the concern in his eyes, I looked at him with a dissatisfied look on my face. "What now, Zachary? Can't you respect my personal space? This is where you sleep at night as well as during the day; why are you interfering?" I spat angrily.
He swallowed hard and seemed to want to get away from me. "I'm just concerned. Sorry," he said lowly.
I glared at him before turning my back on him. It's true that I still want to sleep; that's why I'm annoyed by his mess. Can't he eat alone? Why does he have to think about me, eh? He's not the one who's going to be hungry.
"Get out. Don't touch my cat," I whispered, snuggling into my pillow.
He let out a deep breath before I felt the other part of the bed being lifted. He started walking away, but before he could completely leave, I turned to face his direction. He stopped walking and turned to me.
"Cook me a kilo of stir-fried noodles," I said, making him frown.
"Is there an occasion? Are you bringing someone here to the condo?" he asked one after the other.
"Can you cook it only when there is an occasion?" I said flatly.
The wrinkle still remained on his forehead as he watched me. "But that's too much for u—"
"Are you going to cook or what? Earlier you were asking me what to cook, and now you've been asked so many questions?" I cut off whatever else he says.
For the second time, he heaved a deep breath. "Okay. Go back to your nap; you seem to be sleep deprived. I'll wake you up later. He surrendered and finally left the room.
I let go with an effort and then returned to my previous position. I was about to close my eyes when Zachary's phone caught my attention. It was on the bedside table, and it was ringing. I ignored it, thinking that Zachary would come back into the room to answer it, but it didn't happen. I suddenly remembered his laptop; he had looked for it for me in the past. There was a look of surprise on his face when I said that it fell into the sea, so I'll just buy him a new one. He obviously wanted to be curious, but he didn't because of the way I answered.
A message tone brought my attention back to the cellphone. I looked at the door for a moment, making sure that Zachary had no intention of returning. After a few minutes passed, I slowly got up and approached the bedside table. I peeked at his phone and involuntarily raised my eyebrows when I saw Eunice's name on the screen. I took it and opened the message while occasionally glancing at the door.
Can we talk?
I stared at it for a few seconds. My doubts about Zachary's behavior came back to my mind. He knew I wasn't pregnant, but he went along with my pretending. He seems to be chasing after our son, even though he is still seeing Eunice and my family. If he's not sick, and especially if he doesn't have a twin, that means he's really planning something for us.
I took a deep breath and wrote an emotionless reply. I need to know what his motives are. Now that we are both aware that there is no child involved, all I need to see is his treatment of my sister.
Come to my condo tonight at 6 p.m.
I immediately deleted it and then put the cellphone back on the table. I don't care if he is planning something against my family. Whether there is or not, it will not affect my revenge. I continue to bring him down. All I want to confirm is his behavior later.
I need to take off his mask.
About an hour later, the door opened again. Zachary invited me to the kitchen to eat. I followed without saying a word until I was completely sitting on the chair. He filled my plate with noodles before he fixed his.
"Let's eat," he said with a smile on his lips.
I just rolled my eyes and pushed my plate in front of him. "Eat it all."
"Huh?" His forehead was wrinkled while he was looking at me.
"I said eat it all," I repeated.
He looked at our plates for a moment. "I thought you wanted it?" he asked in surprise.
"I said cook it. I didn't say I would eat it," I said, emotionless.
He sighed. "Atasha," he pleaded.
I was annoyed to look at him. "I said eat it all, Zachary."
He didn't say anything and just followed what I said. He looked at me from time to time, but my eyes stayed on his food. When he was almost halfway through the noodles, it was obvious that he was struggling. I ignored that and just crossed my arms.
I don't know how many hours we spent at the dining table. I straightened up in my seat when I saw that there was very little noodle left. I secretly frowned and looked away. Zachary was still eating quietly; his chewing was slow, obviously giving his stomach time to digest.
When Zachary transferred the last batch of noodles to his plate, I couldn't help but stare. I blankly watched every forkful and bite he took. I heard one more sigh from him when there were almost only a few strands left on the plate.
I bit my lower lip when he finished swallowing. He stopped chewing, and his eyes widened when our eyes met. He quickly swallowed and immediately drank water from his glass.
"Is there something wrong? Why are you crying?" he said in a panic.
He stood up from his seat and knelt slightly to match me. I felt his thumb wipe my cheek while worry consumed his face. I shook his hand and then stood away from him.
"I hate you!" I shouted. "You really finished it up? You didn't leave me some!" I added before I ran to my room.
I quickly locked the room before he could catch up. I heard him calling and knocking on the door several times, but I ignored him. I wiped away the tears that kept falling and walked towards the bed. I lay down there and buried my face in the pillow. I heard Angel's meowing beside me, and I raised my head in annoyance to look at her.
"Get together, traitors!"