PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 32: HURT ME BETTER

[FLASHBACK]

"SO, WHO IS THAT MAN?" Jade's mom asked as soon as she locked the door behind her, facing her mother's confused stare.

"Eisen is the patient that I'm talking about, mom," Jade answered in a rather whispered tone, hoping not to utter nor repeat those words in front of her angry mother for the night.

"The patient you're living with? And he's relatively confident in telling us all that you're his wife?! You married your patient without even telling us?! Are you out of your mind, young lady?!" Mrs. Guevara shouted as her ears turned red in anger. Jade controlled her emotions and lowered her gaze, looking for the perfect words to utter.

"I didn't know he'll be here—" Jade was about to explain when her mother slammed her palm against the wooden table beside her, making Jade jolt in her position.

"You didn't know?!! So you have no intention of telling us that you're married and even intentionally didn't invite us! Or you could've told us if you were dating anyone! But you didn't!" The maiden shouted for the second time, clearly venting her tiredness and shock at Jade for Eisen's sudden blurt out a lie in front of her family.

But if Jade weren't lying in the first place, this situation would never have happened.

"Mom, please sit d-down for a m-moment and l-let me exp-plain," Jade replied with a shaking voice, clasping her hands together to calm down. But it wasn't helping her situation at all.

"Now you wanted me to sit down?! You're commanding me now, young lady?! Why don't you explain everything to me first, and then I'll decide what to do!" It was like any moment, Mrs. Guevara will pound at Jade and strangle her to death. And Jade clearly understood her mother's outburst of emotion.

Being an unica hija and the first child of the family, Jade was taken good care of by her mother. She's pampered with love and care and taught everything she needed to learn. Every step, mistake, achievement, struggle, and every first thing she's encountered, Jade's mom has been there. And her getting married was one of the most anticipated moments her mother wanted to attend. And her being married without Mrs. Guevara not knowing anything about it made her boil in anger.

"Okay," she heaved a deep sigh before looking straight at her mother's eyes before continuing, "Eisen is not my husband, and we're never married."

"Now you're telling me that the young man is lying straight to my face?" This time, her mom has calmed down a bit as Mrs. Guevara settled against the comfort of the chair beside her. And Jade took the opportunity to kneel in front of her mother as she tightly squeezed both of her mother's hands.

"I was decided not to lie to him at first, mom. Believe me. I never wanted to lie to him because I don't want Eisen to get hurt." Jade began crying, stuffing her heart with nothing but pain. "But it was too late for me to realize what I had done, mom. I was too late to take back the words I—I said, and I don't know,"

Jade began crying as she rested her forehead on her mother's knees, sobbing in between. The spark of dress began to wear off, leaving only traces of regrets and despair.

Mrs. Guevara pulled off her hideaway from Jade's grasp before resting it on top of Jade's head. With her mother's action, it made Jade want to cry harder until her eyes run dry.

"Jade, my daughter, what have you done this time,"

[END OF FLASHBACK]

"Jade! Wake up! Breakfast is ready!"

Jade jolted awake as soon as she heard a buzzing sound coming from nowhere—somewhere she's pretty familiar but still doubtful where could the sound coming from.

"Ouch—f*****g s**t!" She wasn't able to stand up properly when Jade had realized how her knees and arms grew exhausted after discovering that she failed to sleep in the comfort of her bed. "Urgh! Why does it have to be happening now?"

Slowly, Jade massaged her arms as she tried to ease the tension building up. After both of her arms, she went to her knees, lightly putting pressure. She growled in protest as pain keeps on eating her remaining energy. And with the consent of her conscious mind, Jade rested her back to the wall and deliberately collided her head on the wall simultaneously.

She heaved a deep sigh as the ceiling took away her attention. And again, Jade began remembering her unexpected one-on-one talk with her mom last night. It wasn't one of the things she didn't want to happen, but at the same time, Jade was thankful it happened. Because it was too long since she heard such good advice that she even forgot such good advice existed.

"JADE!"

"FU—" Jade instantly stopped herself from cursing as soon as she recovered from shock after hearing her aunt Rosalie calling for her attention. "I'm coming, aunt. Just give me a minute,"

Jade instantly stood up with wobbling knees and sought support from the rail of the window up above her. She immediately took the dress out of her as she let it slide from her body until she entered the bathroom of her room.

And without second thoughts, she turned the shower on, letting cold water drip through her hair and down to her body. Jade shivered as she felt another tear escaped from her eyes. But she's not quite sure if it was a tear. Maybe she's hallucinating? Yes... Perhaps it was just something that her mind thought but never existed.

Never existed. Jade thought it would be easy as that.

__________

JADE IS wearing a simple shirt and sweatpants as she entered the living room with a worn-out expression. Without even speaking, she hastily sat on the chair in between Janus and Janni, with shoulders mapping on the floor.

Without lifting her gaze, Jade instantly grabbed a spoon and got a spoonful of rice before sliding the remaining sunny side up from the plate in front of her. And again, without saying a word, she devoured on the food, almost murdering it in a bored manner.

"Sis?" Jade heard Janni whispered in her ear, which she decided to shrug off. It's not like she's interested to hear anyone right now. But then his voice was followed by her mother clearing her throat to get her attention.

"You ate the moment you sat down," Mrs. Guevara said in a polite yet proper manner, making Jade even lower her gaze in embarrassment to face any of them. "Did you already forgot your manners, young lady?"

As she moved her eyes to stare at everyone in front of her, Geralt diverted his attention as aunt Jena gave her an apologetic look. On the other hand, aunt Rosalie was shocked and curious about what is happening, and her brothers were perfectly stiff to where they were sitting.

And Jade can't help but to bitterly smile inside of her, knowing how the situation last night had shaken the entire family. She perfectly understood their reaction. However, she does not like what she sees right now. Jade felt defeated, and that's what's making her lose her sanity.

"I'm sorry," she whispered with a shaking voice, unable to concentrate. But then, Jade raised her gaze towards her mother before speaking, "may I be excused?"

Her mother stared at her, and Jade didn't let go of her mother's gaze. All she did was wait for Mrs. Guevara's acknowledgment of her question. However, when Jade felt like everyone's eyes are on her, she decided to smile at her mother before darting her attention towards everyone's position and lightly bowed her head, and left the table without another word.

Jade's mom didn't bother you stop her. Maybe because she perfectly understood Jade's situation more than anyone in the family. And she wanted to see her father's grave again.

As she was about to leave the place unnoticed, two individuals unexpectedly popped out of nowhere as if they knew where she's heading. Like a stalker, Jade supposed.

"Jade, good morning!" Eisen said in a cheerful manner, making her grimace. "Well, I would like to properly introduce my friend to you because I haven't got the chance to do it yesterday," he continued with a smile on his face.

"So, wife," with the mention of that word, made Jade even made her feel worst. "This is Sceven Trevor Maude. We've been friends for so long that I can't even remember how we met. Sceven, this is my wife. Maiden name, Jade Ardante Guevara. But she's to be addressed as Jade St. Clair."

Jade gulped at the mention of her possessing a surname she doesn't deserve to have in the first place. Jade Guevara St. Clair... What a sinful name to never be forgotten.

"Miss Jade—" before Sceven could even finish his sentence, Eisen instantly seriously corrected him. Oh, how easy his mood changed.

"She's not a "miss" anymore, Sceven. She's my wife now, so you should address her as Mrs.," Eisen uttered, making Jade and Sceven looked at each other. Their gaze was intense, but Jade instantly let go of his stares and focused her attention back on Eisen.

"Everyone calls her " miss" here. And as far as I can remember, based on her family's reaction, none of them know about the marriage. So, basically, you're both unofficial." Sceven pointed out with a smug smile on his face, placing Jade in a very tight situation. And she hated such attitude.

"Sceven," Eisen uttered in a rather dangerous tone, leaving Sceven not even bothered by his behavior. Maybe they're used to each other's attitude that almost everything doesn't even matter anymore.

The man extended his arms towards Jade for a handshake that she immediately shook. "But please don't call me Sceve. Only one person is allowed to call me that. It's not like you needed to know, but I ended up saying. By the way, nice to meet you, miss Jade Ardante Guevara. Again, thank you for having us here."

Sceven tightly gripped her hands, making Jade almost making her face crumpled not because of the pain he's putting pressure on her hand but because of Sceven's annoying behavior.

"Hey! Don't hold her too much!" Eisen can't help but shout at Sceven, making him release her hand for good. Thank God!

"Chill, man. It's not like I'm not going to release her hand," he answered.

"Bu the looks of it, you don't seem to want to let her go," Eisen answered back, making Jade want to leave there for good. But their little quarrel died down, making him stare back at Jade. "Where are you going anyway? Isn't it too early to be wandering around?"

"Well, I'm planning to go see my dad," Jade answered as she scratched the back of her neck, a bit hoping that the two gentlemen would leave her alone.

"Can I accompany you?"

"What?" Jade blinked for God knows how many times before Eisen's words registered on her system.

"Can I come with you to visit your dad? I would also like to see the father of the woman I married if that's possible?" Eisen clarified, making Jade want to facepalm herself for telling him where she's going.

Because the last thing she would want to do the entire day is to hang out with any of her family members, let alone this man—Eisen—who has been making the whole situation worst.

But before she could even respond to tell him that she rather be alone for the day, Sceven clasped his hands together, causing a loud thud, capturing both of their attention towards him.

With glaring eyes darted towards Jade, he uttered, "What a nice idea! Jade, please take good care of my bro, and I'll just be upstairs eating my breakfast. I'm famished,"

He pulled her hands towards the back of the wheelchair as Sceven rested both of Jade's hands on the wheelchair handle. Sceven firmly held Jade's hands for a moment, and with a knowing look, he let her go, with expectations written all over his features. And then he decided to walk away from them.

He waved them goodbye as he stretched his hands, leaving her and Eisen on the spot. As soon as Sceven is nowhere to be found, Eisen spoke, "Shall we?"

And Jade had no other choice but to silently heave a sigh before flashing a smile and answered, "We shall."

__________

THE VISIT TO THE CEMETERY was something Jade did not expect to happen. Why? Because Eisen was talking to her father's grave like he's still alive.

Eisen was telling Jade's dad's grave how sorry he was for hurting her. Eisen even began telling the silliest things they've done together and how happy he was with Jade.

"I'm really proud of her, sir. She's brave, intelligent, caring, and every positive adjective anyone could think of. She's been nothing but a good person towards everyone—including me. And I envy Jade for being such an amazing person. Because sir, I have never been as impressive as her. I don't even know what I have done to deserve such a woman whom I can be with forever. I'm glad to have her."

And everything dawned on to her when Eisen spoke the words she hoped he didn't bother to say—

"I hope I'll remember her soon. I want to recall the day we got married and everything that made me a married man. I know that between me and your daughter, sir," Eisen took a sideways glance towards Jade before continuing, "I was the one who made a mistake. But I promise not to hurt her again. I just hope she won't push me on signing those divorce papers."

—because all along, she wasn't the woman Eisen was referring to.

"Again, sir, thank you for raising the best woman I know other than her mom and my mom. By the way, your wife is gorgeous! She's even—" everything turned into a haze as Jade continued to dive in on her reverie.

Everything faded away as darkness clouded her thoughts; pain, regret, agony, lies, consequences, everything that felt real that kept on eating her alive. Every unpleasant memory began haunting her down, leaving her broken on the floor.

Those pain were her barriers. It became a cage for Jade, leaving her with no choice but to stay. She's been in pain for too long. Her heart wildly hammered against her chest, leaving her breathless. And everything kept on repeating, from hurting her, from destroying her being. She doesn't want to feel those things anymore. Jade wanted to let go.

And as she stared at Eisen, she began to feel her heart became at ease. Slowly, the beating of her heart started to move in normal rhythm as his smiles made a light for her to follow.

She wanted to keep on following that light. But she can't. Jade didn't want to leave, but she can't stay. She's just a nobody, nowhere to go. She's no one. Jade doesn't matter anymore.

"Jade?" Pain weighted on her chest, making her unable to move. She can't move. She can't. "Jade, are you alright?"

Tears began forming on the corners of her eyes. But Jade fought the urge not to shed a tear again. Not anymore. Please not again.

"Jade?"

"Yes. Uh sorry. What was that?"

Eisen's features began to pool with worry as his deep blue eyes gaze at her. One thing she can't seem to let go of; One thing she never wanted to hold on to.

"I think we should get going? The sun is already up and—" he sounded concerned, but Jade can't breathe anymore. She needed air, and air did she need.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just say my goodbye, and then we'll go. Sounds fair?" She said, and Eisen nodded in response before taking control of his wheelchair.

"Fair enough. I will give you first your privacy and then come to me after you're done." But before Jade could even push Eisen's wheelchair towards the waiting area built in the cemetery, Eisen touched her hand and stopped her from doing anything. "Don't bother, Jade. I can handle myself."

And when Eisen's far enough to even hear what Jade was about to say, she let her palm rest on the grave and heave a deep sigh. If Jade were counting how many times she sighs in one day, her fingers and toes wouldn't be enough.

"Dad," Jade trailed off as her skin felt the heat coming from the sun. She closed her eyes in acceptance before finally releasing a sigh in defeat. "I'm going to tell Eisen the truth that he deserves to know. And I—I don't want to hurt anyone anymore."