PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24: BOUND TO BE JUST A FRAGMENT

EVERYONE has a secret. And it is not the time that dictates if these secrets will stay confidential forever because the day will eventually come when someone is bound to discover it, someone not expected by anyone to know.

When Jade talked to doctor Q, she decided to go home to the apartment where she's been living since she started working in Manila. It's not like she did not want to travel back to the province, but Jade was tired from the trip and wanted to rest for now and recharge.

Also, Jade isn't satisfied with the things she bought and was planning to buy another set of materials for her mom. Her mom doesn't randomly accept things from people, but a little bit of pursuing will do the magic. Case in point, Jade has yet to think of a knack for it to calm her mother once she shows up her face in front of her mother if her mother will still have her.

So, Jade decided to settle in into her apartment and deal with the situation later because her head is spinning and her body wants to feel the comforts of her bed. She won't be able to do anything good or make her night productive if she keeps on stressing herself. She really needs to rest!

However, the desire to sleep immediately strumbled down from her awareness when the bright moon looked over to her while trying her best to get some rest. Earlier, Jade was lying in bed, but drowsiness has no intention of visiting her as early as possible. What's even worst is that Jade can't help herself from rolling and moving and staring out of nowhere.

The thought of the young man has no intention of getting out of her nerves. But a part of her thought that, was it actually the thought of him not getting out her brain the issue right now? Or is she the one who won't let go of thinking about the young man?

So she decided to get out of the bed and rummaged through her pieces of stuff to pick up her phone and give Eisen a late good night greeting. Well, Eisen's been bugging her mind as soon as she made time for herself the whole day. It's been hours since she left the island, and the period in between the moment she left until the moment she laid in her bed, Eisen was on her mind continuously disturbing her peace.

Jade tried her best to push him out of her thoughts, but Eisen always spots a small opening to enter her sanity. So, she needs to call him to hear his voice because Jade knew that only then will she be able to calm down.

But as soon as she dragged her phone on her ears, she instantly remembered that Eisen did not have a cellphone, and the only number he could call, which she's trying to reach right now, was the number of their house on the island— the walkie-talkies.

And with a disappointed look on her face, Jade had no choice but to stop herself from dialing the number and placed her phone on top of her bedside table. It was already late, and Jade has no intention of ruining anyone's sleep since thinking about them enjoying and getting together might drain their energies and also need to recharge for tomorrow, just like her.

"Urgh! I really need to get some sleep, yet here I am, not knowing how to clear out my head," she told herself once she went back to bed, snuggling her face against the vacant pillow beside her.

"I can't go on like this. I need to stop thinking about Eisen or anyone related to him. I need to focus on why I'm here in the first place. Being apart from him is what I needed the most, and now I'm getting it. But why does it feels like empty—" yes, Jade has two weeks of freedom to enjoy a moment alone with herself and with her family. She doesn't have to think about her job and every problem that comes along with it. But the more Jade let the situation sunk deep within her consciousness, and she can't help but feel overworked about the circumstance that the two of them are far apart. "—empty in here?"

Jade let her hands slowly snaked into her chest and deepen her hands against it. And slowly, she felt how painful it was to hear her pulsating heart, desperate to listen to his voice whispering on her ears, to feel his touch against her skin.

Until gradually, her hand crawled into her shoulders, Jade wanting to hug herself to stop from missing the heat Eisen's body produces. But instead of continuing to reminisce about the young man sleeping beside her, Jade harshly pushed the thought away and dreadfully talked to herself.

"Self, you're not desperate for him, okay? You're just frantic to sleep, and that isn't very reassuring you because you're not getting any. Just go to sleep, please? You still have a long way to go tomorrow. Go to sleep, please. I beg you. You don't want to look worn and depressed in front of everyone." She forced her eyes to sleep as she wrapped herself with the blanket below her pillow. The cold breeze started to grace her body while slowly unfolding the innermost desire inside her very core that she didn't know existed within not until now.

Because of annoyance, she flutters her eyes open and halted herself from breathing as soon as she saw who was lying beside her, smiling and deeply starting profoundly in her eyes.

Eisen.

His rough, delicate hand gently caressed against the skin of her cheeks, with muscle tensing up around her face, making Jade feel the rising heat inside them. Eisen moved his knuckles and unhurriedly traced every inch and corner of her face, not leaving a single skin untouched.

"I must be losing my mind," Jade whispered within herself as her eyes didn't bother to leave his.

"Maybe you're not, maybe you are. Who knows?" Eisen chuckled, letting his hand roam the corners of her face until his thumb landed on to where it shouldn't be stopping. "I miss you,"

The air around her started to grow intense at Eisen slotted near her, letting the tip of his proud nose caress hers a few inches before anything could happen.

"And I hate feeling the same way because—" A part of Jade wanted to smile and let her body feel every movement that Eisen's hands were making. But after realizing that her subconscious only created everything to make her not think lonely inside the four corners of her room, she firmly closed her eyes and covered them with her palms. And for the second time, she slowly opened her eyes and let them wandered around the room.

Nothing.

Eisen wasn't inside the room with her.

And everything was just a part of her fantasy— an imagination that was blocking her mind to keep track of her reality.

And she wished he was just a part of her illusion— a fragment of her nightmare.

"—Because you're just a part of something I can't achieve. You're bound to be just a fragment of my reality."

She leaned over the headboard of the bed, letting her back collide with the cold frames that pinched her heart and brought a tingling sensation of pain.

Jade raised her head towards the ceiling as she brought her knees up, allowing her to hug her knees as if her life depends on it.

For the third time, she let her eyelids slowly fall as her forehead absentmindedly fell on her knees. Jade looked like a fool, fooled by a reality that he wasn't there beside her.

Eisen was not there. No one to talk to her, no one to make her feel not lonely. She was alone in her bed, on the verge of sulking like her soul finally left her body. But Jade couldn't help but think that the young man was there, comforting her and making her feel so complete because Eisen's presence grew deep within her. His company completed her. And his very being made him realize a lot of things. Long story short, Jade was not used to not having anyone next to her.

And that includes the man whom she claimed herself as his wife.

__________

IT WAS LATE when Jade woke up. If her alarm hadn't rung every ten minutes since 6 in the morning, she wouldn't remember that she still needs to buy a peace offering for her dearest mother and travel back to her hometown! Without the help of her alarm clock, Jade would've always been under her sheets and peacefully sleeping to her heart's content.

And because her allotted time to do things got delayed, her activities were re-scheduled, which gave her almost no time to check herself on what to wear before going out. So, Jade went out wearing a simple green shirt paired with faded jeans and green rubber shoes so she could walk faster outside.

She hurries to the mall to buy things for her mother, like gardening tools, and ordered three rare plants online to be delivered precisely on the day of her mother's birthday since she can't find any rare plant anywhere.

Jade was about to leave the mall when something adorable catches her attention. She stopped from walking, and with heavy materials to carry alone, she made her way towards the store.

When she arrived at the stall, a sales lady warmly greeted her and guided her to where she could leave her things for a while because the store doesn't allow everyone to carry bags inside. As soon as she settled her things, Jade went to a rack where various floral dresses graced the room. Gently, Jade made her hand touch the silk and felt how comfortable it is to use it. She closed her eyes for a while and envisioned her mother wearing the floral dress at hand, which made Jade smile from ear to ear. But since she saw another dress, which gave her two options to choose from, she suddenly wondered what to take.

Jade doesn't want to buy two clothes for her mom. Knowing that her mother rarely wears dresses, she wanted to buy one dress and a pair of sandals she could use on Sunday masses. Jade wanted to purchase different things to make it more memorable, and acquiring only a set of garments would be boring.

"If you're picking up a gift for your mother, the cream-colored one is better. You can also pair it with these since the color matches perfectly together."

"Thank you, miss-" Jade turned to the person who spoke next to her, but her words were suspended in the air as she fixed her attention to the person who was smiling at her.

Jade was surprised because a handsome creature wearing brown business attire and still holding white sandals was behind her, who confidently stared at her with amusement. His voice was feminine, but why is he a man?

"-Sir! I, uhm. I-uh, sorry! I thought you were-, by the way; thanks for the advice. Sorry for calling you miss." she bowed down as immediately corrected her mistake for addressing the handsome man in front of her as a miss.

"I should be the one apologizing for bluntly suggesting like you're soliciting my suggestion without properly introducing myself. By the way, I'm Xylon. And you are?" Xylon held out his hand towards her, and Jade shook hands with him.

"Jade. My name is Jade. And please don't be sorry because I need all the advice I could get. Nobody would share his or her opinions like that, so I'm grateful that you suggested. Nice meeting you, Xylon. Are you new here?" Jade introduced herself, trying her best not to look so shocked and overwhelmed by the situation. Jade also even asked if Xylon was new in the country because he looked like he also needed a hand in pointing out directions

"I'm not new here, but I'm not from around here. It's been a while since I returned home, so I'm not sure if I still know the right directions to follow." Jade was shocked to hear what Xylon said in front of her.

Is he a Filipino? But why does he looked like he is not? Like he's from another country and was visiting the Philippines?

"Are you Filipino?" Jade asked incredulously. The longer she stared at Xylon, the more convinced she is that the man in front of her was a pure foreigner. But because she was too deep in her thoughts, she wasn't able to stop herself from asking, "Oh my! I didn't intend to ask you that! I'm- please don't mind answering my question. I sounded so silly,"

The man pouted and put up a sad atmosphere, "Isn't it obvious? Don't I look like a Filipino?" Xylon might have sounded amused at Jade for asking such questions, but the man seemed to be so down that his face doesn't scream any Filipino feature at all. Jade absentmindedly nodded in response, trying not to avoid his gaze. "Since I just arrived here, why don't you join me? In exchange, I will help you pick the perfect present for your mom?"

"But how did you know that I'm buying it for my mom? Are you a mind reader? Or did you came from the future and saw what my mom's reaction if I bought this outfit?" Jade followed Xylon's lead as they went to another set of dresses without letting go of their first choices.

Xylon faced her and raised his finger, indicating that he's about to count using her fingers, "First, I'm honored because I think my guess was right. Second, I didn't randomly know that you are buying it for your mom. It's just that the dress's size wasn't for you and the design fits perfectly for a mother who was about to celebrate her birthday. And the way you scan through the shelves, you're thinking of someone you're planning to give the dress. I think that are enough hints for me to conclude that you're buying it for your mother?"

In an instant, they were already in front of another table of amazing boots, shoes, and sandals for different occasions, "Wow! You have to tell me your amazing techniques in doing that! You gotta share with me some of your skills at observing people!"