“Ara, close your eyes and tighten your seatbelt!”
I scream even before I see Zed’s next move. He then looks over his right shoulders, places his right hand on the top of the steering wheel, then eases off his foot abruptly from the brake pedal. I scream again as the car reverses and accelerates backward, missing the car that speeds next to us narrowly.
“Slow down, Zed! I’m not ready to die yet!” I shout from the top of my lungs as our car is about to collide with another vehicle. And the torture doesn’t end. Cars after cars come closer by a thread’s width, but luckily, Zed swerves away just in time!
Damn, Kim! I wouldn’t be in death’s mouth if it were not because of him! Is he siding now with James?
“Scream as loud as you can, Ar! It eases your fear. Haven’t I told you? Kim’s kindness is just a show-off?” Zed yell in my left ear, jolting me off from my seat.
“My goodness, Zedrick! I don’t expect this side of you. How can you fly a car and dodge away from collisions with just some inches of a distance?”
“I told you I’m not as helpless as you think!”
Finally, the road clears off, and Zed maneuvers to the right, taking a different route. I keep looking over my shoulders to see if Kim and his convoy have followed. Thankfully, they have not. But I’m wondering how long we can escape from them?
“Turn on your phone and call Dr. Mitch!” says Zed. I grab his phone, only to find that it has a password. We’re on a death drive, and Zed can’t stop just to encode his security code.
“It has a password!”
“Type, “I love Ella.”
“Yucks, you’re so corny!”
“As if you were not in love!”
“But I’m not like you. You deserve to be stoned because of your martyrdom.”
“Shut up. Call her now!”
Due to the car’s speed and my fear, I always miss the correct letter.
“Haven’t you opened it yet?”
“Not yet. Stop asking. You’re pressuring me.”
I glance at Zed, and I’m glad he seals his mouth. Finally, the screen opens. I quickly get into the contact list and type Dr.Mitch’s name. Pressing the call button and turning the speaker mode on, I place the phone back in the car’s phone holder.
“Hello, Zed? There’s a change of plan. Ella doesn’t want to go to my clinic anymore. So we are now going to your house.”
“Have you left already?”
“No, but we are going out in a few minutes. I just have to prepare the things I need. Just pray she can hold on until we reach your house.”
“How far is she?” Zed’s voice is now laced with worry.
“At four-minute intervals.”
“OMG! Stop talking, Mitch. We are still in the city, and it still takes an hour to go to Zed’s house,” I yell. Why does she have to be talkative?
“Ara? Is it you?”
“What do you think?” I smirk. She’s one of my good old friends that I have introduced to everyone.
She chuckles and says, “Okay, pretty girl. Chat later.”
“We’re heading there anyway. I’ll try my best to reach your clinic before you go. So that we can go there together,” Zed butts in.
“Is your medical team ready? Do they have an OB pack? Because I have not autoclaved my set. Ella’s call is too sudden, and I’m not used to giving deliveries in my clinic.”
“I’ll tell them.”
“Make sure they have the set. Or else, I have to autoclave my set first. It will take time.”
Damn. Emergency cases might knock on her door anytime. Why hasn't she prepared ahead?
“Okay, I'll call you in a while."
After the clicking sound is heard, just when Dr. Mitch ends the conversation, another call comes through. Aliyah’s name then floats on the phone.
“Babe!” I roll my eyes. How can Zed call her that intimately? They’re going to Bhutan together, and what if Aliyah’s unrequited love gets Zed’s consideration? If Zed is not too blind, he must have seen that this woman has always worn her affection over her sleeve. Just a single moment of weakness and this woman will readily spread her legs for him!
“Babe, are you coming? I notice that we’re surrounded by convoys of cars. Who are they?”
“I don’t know, babe. Is there a way you can get out from there? Those people must be James’ or Kim’s men. Perhaps, they are the ones forcing Ella to set me up. Don’t worry. I’ll get someone to fetch you from there and take you home safely.”
“No, babe. How about we move to another place and pick you up?”
“It looks like you will be in danger if I go there. So just wait for my signal before you make a move. You should have told me before you went there.”
“Ella talked me into this. I believe she’s sincere,” Aliyah’s voice cracks. It seems like she’s about to cry.
“But Ella’s decision could be staged by people around her. Don’t worry. I’ll have someone to get you out from there.”
I’m almost running out of patience. Their talk is taking Zed’s concentration. We’re already zooming off the road, and one mistake can send us flying to either side.
“We’re turning to the left, Ar. Dr. Mitch’s clinic is right there.”
"I know, of course!" How can he forget? I introduced Yen to her and she became her obstetrician.
Just as Zed maneuvers to the left side of the road, we’re slammed forward by a car that rammed into our rear. Our car swerved around, and we were pushed back to the right side. I scream and close my eyes, thinking I’ll be already dead in the next minute. Thankfully, the airbags inflate and have prevented us from hitting the windshield or the steering wheel.
“Ar, are you alright?” asks Zed after the airbags deflated.
“I think so. I just feel dizzy. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s going on?” I ask, expecting that Kim and his convoy have caught us again. I scan my eyes around, looking for the same cars that blocked our way a few minutes ago. But there is none, except for that white car that zooms past us.
“Have you seen who are the people inside that white car?” I ask Zed, sure that it’s the car that hit us.
“It’s Dennis.”
My eyes widen, and my heart goes wild again. “Zed, this is not good. Your half-brother wants to kill you. I think you need to tell him the truth before he lays his hands on you.”
“I think he already knows who I am.”
My fear has skyrocketed already. We have just proved that Kim and Mr. D are our enemies. And even if Ella is on Zed’s side, her activities are closely followed, further endangering Zed’s life.