HARSH WELCOME

It was at the crack of dawn when Gia, Martin, and their squad drove back into the hotel.

“You want me to walk you inside?” Martin asked as the other officers took their respective places within the vicinity.

Gia smiled with appreciation. “And get into a fight with my sister? No! You have done so much. I will take it from here.”

“Okay. Take care. I will inform you if I get any information.” Martin said.

Gia nodded and walked to the door after exchanging a word of goodbye with Martin. The night had been a rollercoaster. Actually, it was hours. Dreadful hours that her fears were confirmed now beyond any doubt.

As Gia returned to her hotel room, her heart still racing from the unnerving encounter at the music gala, she hoped for a moment of respite from the shadows that had clouded her night. However, as she entered the room, she was met with an unheralded sight that stopped her on her toes as soon as she entered.

Her sister, Grace, and Deep's parents sat somberly in the dimly lit room, their expressions a mixture of worry and sternness. Gia's heart sank as she realized the gravity of the situation.

"Finally, you show us after keeping us awake the whole night! Where the heck have you been?" Grace’s voice trembled with a mixture of concern and disappointment.

Gia tried to collect herself, her mind reeling from the whirlwind of emotions she had just experienced. "I... I was out," she stammered, attempting to mask her unease.

But she couldn’t. Grace walked to her in calculated, slow strides, her face browsing Gia’s. She exuded anger in every aspect of her being. “Tell me the truth, Gia! You went to that stupid music gala, right?”

Gia pushed the lamp of anger into her throat. She walked past her sister and threw her handbag on the seat. The aura in the room angered her to the core. Even Deep’s father, whom she termed cool before, did not portray any tinge of pleasantness on his face. “Answer your sister, Gia! Did you go to that Gala she told us about?” Mrs. Azzua spoke, emitting bits of a strong combo of wrath and disapproval.

Gia faced them with a flat expression, trying as much as she could to cloak her distress. But lines of dried tears were still noticeable on her face. Her eyes still seemed to be red. The evidence of how the night had been did not need a wise man to interpret. Her face provided enough explanation. “Yes, I did.”

“What? Were you thinking at all? No, wait. You never think at all, do you? How can you go out in the middle of the night and in the middle of all this terror engulfing us? Are you stupid?”

Gia’s eyes shot at Deep’s mother. They were emitting fire from their disapproval of her choice of words. Her voice was frustrating,, as she could not contain herself as much as she battled to.

“With all due respect, Mrs. Azzua, you have insulted me enough. For the record, I am not stupid, and neither do I do things out of a whim.”

Mrs. Azzua smirked sarcastically, her stern look denoting how much she differed from Gia. “Yeah, right! Then what are we doing here if you thought about this stupid gala nonsense even for a second? Why are we here worrying about a grown-up acting all stupid and childish?"

“Enough!” The echoes of Gia’s high pitch reverberated throughout the entire room, her eyes firing threatening arrows at the woman.

“Wow! What a way to show appreciation, huh? How dare you yell at me while you are the root cause of all this and you are still adding more to my turmoil, huh?” Mrs. Azzua shot back immediately, her entire body shaking with anger.

Gia took in a deep amount of air to calm her demons that were riling her up. However, she did not show even a slight tinge of remorse as she spoke. “It is not my nature to yell, especially to people old enough to be my parents, but sorry, I am not sorry for this one. You are crossing all the lines here, Mrs. Azzua. Lay all the blame in the world on me if you want, but I will not take insults from you again.”

“Ladies, please! Can't we talk without fighting? We have a real and bigger war awaiting us out there. How will we be able to fight our enemy if we are not united?” Mrs. Azzua spoke calmly, looking at his wife.

“Don’t look at me. Tell her to show some respect.” His wife fired back in defense.

Mr. Azzua assumed a cold expression, his voice deep. “I am sorry, but you have not been respectful towards her yourself. Understand that she carries the biggest load in this. Ejay is after no one here but her. And even if everyone gets into danger, that would be Ejay’s way of hurting her. Do you think she would be reckless enough to do things without thinking them through?”

“What about us whose son’s whereabouts are yet to be known, huh? That is not a burden. Why are you trying to justify her wrongs by making us feel like we do not carry any burden? Like, we are not affected by this at all." Mrs. Azzua refused to back down.

Mrs. Azzua shook her head. His voice was soft as he tried to make his wife see things from her perspective. “I did not say that we do not have burdens. All I am saying is that she has a huge responsibility over us all. We should at least allow her to explain herself.”

“She has nothing to explain here. Her steps put not only her own life in danger but also ours. What if she was followed back here? What if that man storms here right now? Will you still deem her actions thoughtful and wise?”

“I am not that stupid to have myself followed back here and endanger your lives. I was careful. You all can stop worrying.” Gia interposed.

Deep’s mother laughed with mockery as she gazed at Gia with a contemptuous and questioning look. “And that justifies your recklessness? Do you want us to clap for you or hand you a medal for being careful?”

Anger raged within Gia. Her lips trembled as she flared up. “You know what? Think whatever you want. But at least, something good came out of my recklessness.”

Everyone snapped at her. Her sister’s hands dropped from her chest, where there were crosses, and were held to the helm of her dress. Her faint voice surpassed the intended low-key tone as curiosity surged in her like a river, coupled with terror. “What are you saying? What happened?”

“I confirmed that Ejay is indeed alive. I saw him with my own two eyes!” Gia spoke out, her words percolating fear that engulfed the entire room, leaving everyone's mouths ajar.