Episode 17

Micaela's POV

I woke up feeling so lightheaded and renewed, I've never felt like this for a very long time. What could be the cause of it? I sat up and then I felt something fall of from my head, when I glanced downwards to my bed, it was a towel. I furrowed my eyebrows confusedly and I reached out for the white towel. It was wet when I touched it and it makes me wonder why. I glance around the room looking for a clue on what had happened but I didn't find anything. I raised up the duvet and I found myself in another clothing. I gasps and fear creeps in, this wasn't the cloth I wore yesterday.

What happened to me? How did I even get to my house last night? I stood up from my bed and walked out of my room to go find Ji-hye and ask her what had happened. When I got downstairs, I found her setting the table for breakfast. She gazes up and saw me and a huge smile spreads on her face.

"Good morning ma'am Micaela. How are you feeling today?" she asks walking up to me.

"I'm feeling okay. I saw this towel on my head when I woke up this morning, did you put it there?".

She glances down on the towel in my hands and she shook her head. "It wasn't me, it was Mr Fernando. Yeah, I pronounced it correctly!" she giggles and I raised a brow at her.

"Fernando?" I inquired and she nods. "Fernando was here?".

"Correction, he's here" she smiled and my eyes widens.

"He's here? Where?!" I whisper-yelled.

"One of the guest rooms. It was really late last night when he finished taking care of you, so I asked him to spend the night since he didn't have a car".

"What happened to me? What do you mean he cared for me? I'm not understanding anything!" I rushed out my words begging for a better explanation.

"Mr Fernando found you. I don't know where he found you, but he found you and brought you home and you were unconscious the whole time. Your clothes were so wet so he asked me to change you up and after that you were running high fever, so he used the soaked towel to relieve you of it. Where were you yesterday before that gentleman found you unconscious?".

Her explanation got me gasping repeatedly and it also brought back memories of last night.

"What is wrong with you Micaela? Why are you doing this to yourself? Why do you choose to take your life this way? You would have just died in there not quite long ago!

"I know that already! I already told you I wanted to die, you should have just let me do it!"

"I didn't let you do it because I don't want you to do it. You deserve to live! Wake up and stop this madness! I'm sorry I raised my voice at you, I shouldn't have done that. Please let me take you home you're beginning to get cold".

"Why should I go home with you when you'll be gone afterwards? You see, you'll leave as soon as you see I'm safe at home and then I'll be left all alone with depression!"

"I'll stay with you, you'll never be alone again as from this moment. Micaela! Micaela can you hear me?".

"Ma'am, ma'am are you okay?" Ji-hye's voice jars me out of my flashback and I stared at her in a gape.

Fernando saved my life yesterday that's why I'm alive today and that is why I feel sort of renewed if I'm to use that word. But how did he find me there? Who told him I was there?

"Ma'am?" Ji-hye's voice rang again in my ears and I was forced to get out of my thoughts and respond to her question.

I stared at her and I forced a smile and said "I'm fine, I was just trying to recall what happened" and she nodded in understanding. I couldn't find the courage to tell her what exactly I was doing when Fernando found me. "Where did you say Fernando is again?"

"The largest guest room. Go ahead and get him here for breakfast while I finish setting up the table for you two" she beckons me with a smile and I nodded reluctantly and turnaround to go find Fernando.

As I walk through the passage, I couldn't help but wonder what I'm going to say to him. How do I even face him after all that happened yesterday? What does he think of me now? Probably, he sees me as a suicide person now. A thought of that alone wants to make me run back to my room and lock myself in there until he leaves. I think that's the best thing to do now because I can't even face him. I didn't care if I was halfway to his room, I turnaround and walk back to my room.

I was almost escaping from him when my name rang loudly like a doorbell in the passage. I halted abruptly and stood still without glancing back. "Micaela?" his voice sounded soft and cold at the same time as he said my name again.

I slowly turnaround to gaze up at him with a fake smile and hands clasps together. I've been caught in the act, there's no escape obviously. "Hey Fernando, good morning. I was just on my way to get you" I chirped and he raised a questioning brow at me.

"Is that so?" He asks and I nodded. He shot me a suspicious glare and said "Then why were you heading to the other way instead of the guest room which I was occupying?".

"Uhmm...is...is just that I wasn't so sure of the exact room you slept in that's why I had to return to the sitting room to ask my maid" I answered and for a second I wondered if my voice was shaking when I had told that lie or if it really sounded convincing.

"Oh okay. I guess your maid didn't tell you the exact room I slept in. That's by the way, how are you feeling today?".

"I'm doing alright. Thank you" I replied and he nods. "Thank you really for saving my life even though is not really what I wanted and..."

"Micaela, let's not talk about that right now. Until I'm ready to interrogate your dumb decision of last night then you're free to tell me the stories that comes with it, but at the moment I'm leaving to my lodge" he cuts me off and began walking away.

I didn't hesitate to go after him. "You should have breakfast before leaving" I said behind him.

"I'm not hungry. I'll eat when I get to my lodge" he replies coldly without halting.

"Please Fernando, is just a gesture of appreciation. And besides, Ji-hye has something prepared down for both of us already, you shouldn't upset her by refusing".

"Tell her to eat my own share of the breakfast. Have a nice day, I'll see you around before I leave" he replied and continues walking.

"Mr Fernando!" Ji-hye's voice chirped in the sitting room causing Fernando to halt. I snickered by her pronounciation of Fernando's name.

Fernando turnaround smiling and she rushed up to him. "Ji-hye" he calls her name in a soft tone like he wasn't really sure he was pronouncing the name right. I gave a soft smile as I watch them grinning at each other. "I guess I didn't sounded badly with your name rolling on my tongue".

"No, you got it right. Did I get yours right?" she asked and he shrugs and chuckles.

"You're improving. I guess I'm the fast learner here" he smiled and she giggles.

"Were you already leaving?" she frowns at him and he shrugs. "But I already made breakfast for you. You didn't eat last night before you went to sleep, after I prepared sandwiches for you, I got to your room and you were already asleep. I had to force myself to eat it so it won't go to waste. You should makeup for last night, please" she begs.

Fernando's gaze diverted to the chandelier in the sitting room and then his gaze landed on me. I glanced down avoiding his charming eyes. "Fine, I'm accepting because I don't want to torture you twice by eating what you don't want to eat" he said and that made me to gaze up at him in surprise.

"Thank you!" she exclaims excitedly. "Follow me to the dinning room" she said and led the way to the dinning. Fernando glance at me briefly before following her.

I heave a sigh before following them but then I heard some female voices and that caused me to halt. That should be my friends, I saw them last at the hospital and after then I haven't set my eyes on them and perhaps I would never have set my eyes on them if I had succeeded in my suicidal plan yesterday. The entrance door flew open and they walked in, my suspicion was right after all.

"Micaela!" They both squealed in unison and crushed me with a hug. They held on to me for a long time and that almost got me crying. How would they have felt if they had come here today and not find me alive? Did they really care so much about me?

"You got us so worried babe. Where the hell did you disappear to? Your boyfriend had to search all over the city for you which got me feared for his safety. Did he found you or you came home yourself?" Sabrina asks releasing me from the hug and my heart skipped a little when she said that.

Feelings of guilt watches through me and I couldn't stare into their eyes. Why did she even call Fernando my boyfriend? Where should I start my explanation on why I went missing and where he found me? "I was about going to have breakfast, you girls can join me" I said dismissing the question she asked.

"Breakfast? Did we tell you we're hungry? I just asked you a question regarding your whereabouts and you're talking about breakfast?" Sabrina voice went high-pitched and I groaned inwardly.

"Sabrina is right on this one. We need to know why you're always disappearing and appearing" Kim butts in.

"I'm not disappearing and appearing. I was just out somewhere meditating".

"Meditating? You should let us know you're going somewhere out of the planet to meditate so we won't go crazy looking for you. Are you sure you really value this friendship thing?" Sabrina questions.

"Of course I value you girls friendship. Why would you even doubt that?".

"Because you sometimes make us doubt it, like yesterday" Kim answered.

"I really didn't mean to scare you girls or make you girls doubt our friendship. I'm sorry, I...."

"Ma'am Micaela, Mr Fernando is...." Ji-hye interrupted our conversation and she paused when she saw my friends. "I'm sorry, I didn't know your friends were with you. Good morning ladies".

"Hello Ji-hye" Kim greeted while Sabrina glance from Ji-hye to me. I knew what that loook meant.

"He found you isn't it?" Sabrina asks and I couldn't respond to her question. "He found you! I'll go ask where he found you and what you were really doing when he found you" she said and I gasps followed by my heart beating profusely.

"No, you can't..." I was cut short when she began walking towards the dinning room. "Sabrina wait!" I called after her hastening my steps to catch up with her but she wasn't even listening to me. No, I can't let her get to Fernando if not she'll get to know what her innocent friend tried to do last night. "Sabrina!" I yelled after her and held her hand but she flinches from my hold.

We both barged into the dinning room. "Sabrina let's talk" I whispered to her but she shot me a cold glare.

"There's nothing to talk about. If I should talk to anyone, it'll be him!" She whisper-yells pointing at Fernando and that caught Fernando's attention towards us. He stared at the both of us with those charming eyes of his and I blinked and glance at Sabrina.

"What is it? Why are the two of you standing there staring at me like I did something wrong?" he questions and I gape at him and then to Sabrina.

"Please don't ask him anything, let's talk. I'll tell you where..."

"It's too late. I don't want to hear it from you, I want to hear it from him" she said firmly and my heart began throbbing faster like it'll explode in a minute

Fernando is surely going to tell her where he found me and what exactly I was doing so they'll know the kind of friend they have. I was still worrying of him telling her the truth when Kim and Ji-hye joined us in the room. Damnit! I'm done for! All of them will get to know what I did and after that they'll always see me as a suidal person and will want to protect me throughout the rest of my life so that I won't carryout my suicidal thoughts.

"What is it with you ladies? Why are you all standing there like something bad happened?" he asks.

"I see you later found my friend yesterday. Tell us where you found her and what exactly she was doing when you found her, because yesterday wasn't the first time she's disappearing on us" Sabrina said and the whole room went silent.

I switched my gaze from Sabrina to Fernando. I locked gaze with him while my mouth remained in a gape. The way he was looking at me now was something I couldn't decipher if he'll tell them the truth or not. He's not going to betray me, would he?