Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Her eyes were now the witness to the scene in front of her. His body laid there long peaceful. Peppermint couldn’t believe it. He was wearing the same necklace as he did from their second anniversary. She couldn’t wear hers anymore for all these years because it pains her to see it.

‘

When the coast guard called her, she became frozen on her feet. She couldn’t even move and felt like she was a block of ice; her warmth escaping her body. It even came to the point that she almost blacked out if it weren’t for her secretary being there by her side and gave her water to drink.

When she finally decided to look at the body on a closer notice, she dragged her rugged body towards the area. She couldn’t contain the tears in her eyes, trying to hug the remains of her love one. She had hoped for years that he’d return to her alive but that hope finally seized as she realized it will never happen anymore because he’s dead.

After talking to the coast guard, she planned on reserving Kael’s remains. She won’t ask for his body to be cremated. She found it better that she’s able to look at his remains. She called Kael’s parents and informed them about finding his body. Everyone was sad but they had no choice but to accept Kael’s fate. Especially Peppermint who still couldn’t accept it, she cried with all her might even until Kael’s parents bid their goodbyes to her. From small sobs that slowly turned into weeping, she’s still dumbfounded. Everything seemed unclear and faded. She still wanted to pray and hoped that the coast guard was wrong but all of the evidences were already in front of her. She had no choice but to believe it.

“Ma’am should I make you a coffee?” her secretary asked. She was obviously worried about her current state. They were already back at the office.

“Lorie, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me and just continue your work,” she said trying to smile between her weakened state.

As soon as the door in her office closed, she was finally alone. She brushed her hair using her fingers and roughly wiped her tears away from her eyes. She grabbed her laptop from the other side and begun working tirelessly. It was better to focus on her work instead of mopping around the whole time. Even with her body feeling tired and numbed from all the emotions, she continued to move forward. She shouldn’t stay on just one page, she has to move on. Kael would be happy if he was able to see her happy. She laughed at herself. She used Kael as her motivation.

Peppermint didn’t even notice when the Fragrant Hub was already closing. She only noticed it when almost everything was closed and her secretary knocked on her door saying that she’ll be leaving now.

When she looked at her wrist watch, it was already late around 8 o’ clock in the evening. She didn’t have any intent to go home today and wanted to spend all of her time inside the office. She thinks if she goes home, she’ll only feel worser.

She planned on going back to Laguna to visit her Mama Salome and Papa Patrifico but it was already this late. Peppermint couldn’t help but sigh. She didn’t know what to do. After thinking for a while she finally decided to just visit a random restaurant with a band playing. At least inside a place with music, she’d be able to feel her feelings pouring and feel more comfortable.

When she was about to open the door on her latest Honda Civic, she suddenly heard honking from the other side of the park. It was none other than a Beetle Volkswagen. She didn’t pay attention to it earlier since there was no one inside but now she remembered how familiar the color was. She creased her forehead the moment the man decided to step out of his car. It was none other than Brenan.

As soon as the man saw her, he smiled at her but she couldn’t do the same. It wasn’t because of the feelings she’s having right now but instead it was due to her feeling embarrassed from the scene she caused the other day. She knew she insulted the man again and it was inside his own office. She didn’t even checked for more clues and checked every angle before finally deciding everything. And now, looking at the same in front of her, she couldn’t face him at all.

“Hey, are you going home now?” the man quickly asked. She didn’t even notice when he came closer to her because of how she was preoccupied with her thoughts. “Did you have dinner already?” the man added. She looked at him for a few seconds and shook her head. “Well that’s perfect! We can eat on my favorite restaurant.” Brenan looked quite enthusiastic. He quickly walked off in front of her and automatically thought that she’ll follow but then realized later on that she wasn’t moving. He stopped. He went back towards her place and grabbed her wrist.

For Peppermint, it felt like there was a spark between the two of them; the moment the man held her hands. The feeling crept from her skin to her veins and she was out of it. At the middle of her sunken feeling, she felt butterflies on her stomach.

When Brenan finally stepped inside the car, he fixed her seatbelt. “Don’t worry, I’ll make this night your happiest and most memorable one,” the man said. She didn’t know what to feel. Why was he doing this for her? “I’ll remove all of the pain in your chest and accept all of your weeping,” the man added.

Seeing as how Brenan smiled at her; it simply made Peppermint felt better. It wasn’t the same from earlier where she felt like she could die from the pain, at least now she was in a better mood.

They went inside a restaurant that was built at the top of a mountain. Brenan picked the farthest place inside and pulled down the chair for her. As soon as she sat down on the chair, she could hear love songs playing. It was in a rooftop style. She could admire the view from outside and feel the cold breeze swept away her loneliness. She was finally able to calm down. She looked at the man in front of her. She noticed how the man’s hand crawled towards hers but she only let it happen. Slowly the man engulfed her hand with his. She stared at it for a few seconds before finally looking at him. He was intently staring at her.

“I heard what happened. Are you okay?” she only nodded in response.

“About what I said before, I wanted to apologize. I was wrecked and—“

“It’s okay. I clearly understand,” the man didn’t let her finish anymore. He knows how hard it is for her to tell him all those words. “Just let me know everything about your feeling now. I’m here for you,” Brenan said.

“Thank you Brenan,” Peppermint answered. “But how did you know?” she asked. She was a little baffled and confused as to how he suddenly knew of Kael’s situation. The only people who know of the matter were Orange, Kael’s parents, Kael’s parents and her.

“Actually, I was reading the news today and I saw his name. I’m sorry to hear for your lost,” he consoled her.

“Yeah, I know. Right now, I don’t know what to do now that I knew of his death.” Peppermint couldn’t control herself when she started crying again. Her tears just automatically fall down. She would have just let it flow out if it weren’t Brenan’s sudden gesture. He started wiping her tears.

“Stop saying those things Peppermint. Your world isn’t just revolving around him. There are still people who love you, people who care for you. I’m sure where ever that man is as well and if he’s currently listening, he’ll be sure to be happy because you loved him dearly even until his death.” Peppermint didn’t say a word. She only smiled before finally opening her mouth.

“Thank you Brenan.” The man held her hands tightly and just like before electricity like fuel through from his hands to hers.

After all the crying and stuff, they switched their topic from Kael to some corny jokes. She was now laughing.

“You’re really funny aren’t you?” she asked in between her giggling state.

“Didn’t I tell you, you’re laughed from my jokes? My dad once said that elephants had wings. If they weren’t too big, they could have flied but because they were gigantic, they decided to just walk.” Brenan shrugged his shoulders, trying to make an awkward face.

“That’s the point. I didn’t laugh at your joke, I laughed at how corny you are,” Peppermint pointed out.

“Oh really? Then you’ll laugh with this other one. Make sure to ready your stomach because here it comes,” Brenan mentioned and then thought for a second.

“What do you call a new CR?”

“What?”

“You don’t know? It’s Newbeta,” Peppermint stared at him for a few seconds, not sure how to react until something pushed her to laugh.

“Hey that was a good joke. It wasn’t as corny as earlier,” she mentioned trying to stop herself from all the giggling.

“Really? You should believe more in this man named Brenan,” he said and then pointed towards himself, smirking.

Brenan suddenly raised his glasses, assuming that they wanted to celebrate something, she did the same. With a loud clacking noise from their glasses, she shouted, “Cheers!”

“How did you know about this place? Aren’t you knew here?”

“It’s because when I was in Cebu I already wanted to go here,” he started. “I just couldn’t since I was alone. I wanted to go here only after I can take someone here. Someone who’s special and close to my heart,” he mentioned.

“So why did you bring me here?” Peppermint knew that something was up but she wanted him to clarify it first.

The man stopped for a moment, he looked at her and smiled. “Just like I told, I wanted to come here with someone who has a special spot on my heart. It’s you Peppermint,” he confessed.

Peppermint couldn’t believe it. Her jaw almost dropped but now that things are clarified, she wanted to hear it over and over again. The truth is, she also liked Brenan the same way as he does. If it weren’t for her deciding to avoid her real feelings, she would have already known how she’s fallen for him. It might look bad how she easily moved on but this was her real sincere feelings.

“Peppermint, I know this may sound a little bit fast and rude but I wanted to be honest with you.” Brenan stared at her straight in the eye. “I think I like you Peppermint; from the first day we met, I already felt something for you. You made my heart skip a bit without any reason.” With just those words alone, it already made her feel like she’s being swayed by all the drinks she’s been drinking though those were just lemon juice. “Seeing you makes my day complete,” he added. He held her hand and wrapped his around hers. The soft warm feeling coming from his touch made her feel butterflies in her stomach. Peppermint gulped. She needed to be honest with herself as well.

After a few minutes of silence, she didn’t know how she should start it she only just opened her mouth and let the words come out. “Brenan,” she paused for a moment looking at him straight in the eye. “I wanted to be honest with you as well,” she added. “I hope you don’t think of me as an easy girl but…” Peppermint didn’t know if the right words would come out of her mouth but she still continued, “I also like you.” She smiled at him. “From the day I met you, I couldn’t forget about you anymore. I wanted to clear it up but the truth is, I didn’t like you because I kept seeing Kael in you,” she paused for a moment with tears in her eyes. “I like you because you’re different, Brenan. You’re one of a kind.” Knowing that she fully confessed, she wiped down the tears in her eyes. “If you’re going to ask me to be your girlfriend, I’ll gladly say yes,” she lastly added.

Her eyes were filled with joy but the man seemed to think differently. They both shared the same feelings so why?

“I’m… I’m sorry Peppermint but I don’t think I’m ready for that.” She quickly frowned when she heard him say those words. She thought they’d easily hitched it off. “I’m really sorry Peppermint. Can’t we just stay like this?” he asked filled with bitterness in his words. It looked like he was feeling pain but why? What’s stopping him if the both of them wanted to make it official? “I’m happy you share the same feelings as me but this is the best I could do. This will make you safer,” he said meaningfully.

“What do you mean I’m safer this way? What are you talking about?” As if it caught her eye, she couldn’t help but ask.

“Just trust me on this Peppermint. You’ll soon understand why I’m doing this. This entire thing is just so I could protect you.” She creased her forehead and squinted her eyes in front of the man, confused with his sudden words. She felt something stabbed her chest like he doesn’t trust her at all or maybe he just pitied her that’s why he said those words.

From that awkward moment until they finally decided to leave the restaurant, Peppermint’s night seemed to become dull. The both of them didn’t spoke a word even when they were already on their way home. As soon as the car stopped, she quickly stepped out from the car. Brenan stopped her.

“Peppermint, wait.” The man gently held her hand stopping her from walking. Brenan actually escorted her back to her home. “About what I said earlier, I wanted to apologize. I can’t tell you anything about it right now but—“

“Brenan, it’s late.” She smiled bitterly at the man. “I’m tired,” she added and swiftly brushed his hand of. She quickly walked towards the gate and locked it.

She knows that the man confessed to her but it looked like he couldn’t keep up with his words. He was probably just going with the flow; pitying her or some sort. She laughed at herself. It looked like she was just being played. He even mentioned about protecting her from something. What was he talking about? It only made her confused and skeptical. She doesn’t remember taking on enemies so why does he need to protect her? As she rummaged on her handbag to grab for her keys, she noticed the door being opened. She knows very well that she doesn’t leave it like that. She touched the doorknob and completely opened it. She saw the lampshade on. Usually, she doesn’t forget to lock nor let the lights on but maybe out of all the things that had happened, she forgot about it.

As she entered the room and quietly approached her closet to change her clothes, it wasn’t her things that popped up in front of her. It was a handkerchief that quickly engulfed her view. She tried to scream with all her might followed by struggling but the man was too strong. She slowly felt weakened until her consciousness was fading. The last thing she saw before she was completely eaten by the darkness was none other than a figure of a man in the beaming light.