Zed's POV
Seeing how broken Ella is prompts me to break my rules the second time. She has no one to lean on, and so I am. I don't have a numb heart that I can't feel her loneliness; I just don't want to get hurt again. And I refuse to go through the hard process of healing and moving on again.
"I'll take you home," I said after watching her empty her stomach. I can't forgive myself if she dies from dehydration just because she has no one to call upon.
Hyperemesis gravidarum can have severe complications – that's what I've learned when Yen underwent that stage.
"But-" Ella starts to protest, but I know what is in her mind.
"But in every rule, there is always an exemption. We can be friends, can't we?"
"I will be staying in your house?"
"Of course, but in a separate room."
"Of course," she laughs.
I lead Ella back to our seat once her vomiting urges stop. Seeing that her face pales, I press the buzzer, and the attendant comes. He hands the bill right away, expecting it's what I need.
"Please tell the designer I thank him for painting my girlfriend's image." I wink at Ella, and she chuckles.
"I will, sir," answers the attendant. He walks away right after I place my credit card inside the leader folder that he hands me.
"What do you want from him?" Ella asks; the sparks in her eyes make me wonder why she seems excited.
"I'm interested in his designs," I tell her. "For my coffee shops."
"Do you plan on going to his office?"
My brows narrow on her. "Maybe. Why?"
"I'm also interested. Can you please take me with you?"
The attendant comes back, disrupting our conversation. I take the card from him, then look at Ella before I rise from my seat.
"Let's go." Ella nods, and I extend my right hand to her, helping her to her feet.
Since we are on Yen's territory, I place my arm around her until we reach the parking lot. I'm surprised at how well she cooperates with the pretense again. She never flinches when I hold her; she even inclines her head towards me as any girlfriend does.
Silence overtakes us as I drive towards Ella's hotel. The sense of hesitation still overpowers me, thinking I have wasted my effort for three years. Ella is quiet as well; perhaps she still can't believe my sudden decision. But blame it on my soft heart because I can never easily turn my back towards women in need, especially an orphan like Ella. She's not helpless, yes; but she's lonely and alone like me. In just a few hours from our meeting, we have right away benefited from each other. She, as my savior, to save face in front of Ella, and me as her rescuer in her time of loss.
"Zed, are you sure of this?" Ella's voice cut into my thoughts as I pull in front of the hotel's entrance.
I turn towards her and smile. "Let's get your things now."
Ella throws me a quick stare before she unbuckles her seatbelt, making me laugh. "I'm sincere, Ella. That's if you're not scared of me."
"Scared?" she says, raising her left brow.
"I might be a rapist or a serial killer."
She shrugs, "Oh, really? When does a martyr become a serial killer?"
"A martyr?"
"Are you not?"
"Am I?"
"Come on, Zed. What's the reason why you avoided women?"
We both burst out laughing. I don't see myself that way. I just don't want the pain anymore.
Ella opens the door and steps out of the car. I remain seated for a while, pondering on the way she describes me. I don't need to be one because Yen can no longer be mine.
Ella smiles as I walk towards her a few minutes later, her expression holding a deeper meaning. Whatever she truly feels, her eyes only relay one thing – she understands me. Maybe because we're on the same path.
We both get lost in our thoughts, and after a while, I find ourselves in Ella's room. She gestures for me to sit on a couch while she gathers her things. I spread my arms on the backrest and close my eyes. Later on, Ella's voice gets into my subconscious mind. I must have drfited to sleep.
"Please ask the lawyer for me. Let her talk to James to include me in the guest list again. Mr. Banzon, I'm carrying his baby in my womb. He can't rot in jail without seeing his son. He can't close his doors on us. Yes. If I have to fly over there right now, I will. Yes. Please let me know. I'll pay, just name the price."
James. Jail.
My lips pull into a smirk at the irony of it. Of how it sounds like James Mori.
I open my eyes, and Ella's frustrated and pained look meets my gaze. I don't know why but a small voice in my mind tells me that she needs comfort. So I spring to my feet, and without asking why, I pull her into my arms. And with a touch of sympathy, she bursts into a loud sob.
"That too will pass, Ella," I keep on mumbling. That's the only comfort I know. It's how I assured myself.
"Why can't I be happy, Zed?" she speaks between her sobs, and her pained voice slices through my heart.
"You were, Ella. Just live with those memories. Or maybe, you just have to move on."
"But I can't. He sacrifices for my father and me. I should return him the favor."
My forehead creases into a frown. "Is that the only reason why you stay?"
I ask because feeling obligated doesn't sound right to me.
"It's not about obligation, Zed, if that's what you mean. Just as you love Yen, I also love James."
"He's all that I have. But he too runs away from me," she adds.
"If you don't mind, why do you say he's removing you from the list?"
"He wants me out of his life, Zed." She sobs louder afterward; the bitterness in her tone crushes my heart. The pain is too familiar. I even feel its soreness until now.
I rub her back to let her know I am there for her, that I can relate to her sorrow, but I shut my mouth, afraid that I might say something that will worsen her misery.
"What's your plan now?" I ask her when her sobs reduce to sniffs.
"I'll tell him that I'm pregnant, that a little James Mori is in my womb."
My hands stop moving as my eyes fly wide. James Mori, the man I threw into jail after presenting the pieces of evidence of his crime.
And these same pieces of evidence have justified Yen's years of trauma. But how can I tell Ella about this? That it is me who pushed his fiancé behind bars?