Flaws Within

#4 AN UNESCAPABLE TRAUMA

"I'm sorry for what happened at the breakfast , I guess I was looking for an answer that couldn't be gotten from you at the time"

Reading the apology card from Juandre, Javier sinks deeper into confusion. Javier starts eating as much as he could , hoping to avoid any further unsettling behavior from Juandre. After finishing his meal, Javier turns off the lights and retreats to his room, still engrossed by the day's events.

"Where are you, son? Your father is worried about you," Albertine , Javier's mother , anxiously asks. In a cold tone, Javier responds,
"He never worries about me. All he does is discourage. I'm safe wherever I am, so don't act like you worry. Good night." With that, he hangs up, his eyes lowers as his gets a little upset by his parents behaviour.

As Javier settles into bed, a loud glass breaking sound outside his room shatters the silence. Javier quickly gets up , and runs towards the kitchen , he finds juandre standing in front of a broken glass and his hand bleeding profusely, Javier swiftly turns on the light, revealing Juandre on his knees, silently shedding tears , juandre hands shivering hard in fear and face sweating.

"Why did he do that? What was his motive? She was the only one for me," Juandre repeats these phrases in a light tone, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He appears desperate, as if yearning for something he has yet to move on from.

Javier moves forward to juandre and gently gives him a small hug as he thinks it's the only way to calm him down from the stroms of thoughts and visuals he may be going on from. Javier holds up juandre's hand which was bleeding heavily and asks in a pity tone.

"Did you do that to yourself?" Javier looks at juandre seeking for an answer but juandre keeps repeating the same phrases in a very light tone as he is completely engrossed by thoughts.

Javier helps Juandre stand up, guiding him to his room and laying him down on the bed. He gently bandages Juandre's wounded hand, feeling sympathy for him. A million questions race through Javier's mind as he gazes at Juandre, who is peacefully sleeping after the horrifying incident.

"Why are you here?" Juandre jerks his wounded hand away from Javier's grasp, realizing that Javier had fallen asleep right beside him while holding it.

"Is it already morning?" Javier asks with a drowsy tone, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"It's my fault. I should have warned you," Juandre says, lowering his eyes and appearing stressed.

"Warned me about what?" Javier asks, looking perplexed.

"Yes, about last night. I have nyctophobia - I get extremely scared in the dark. I should have told you not to turn off the light-" Juandre is interrupted by Javier.

"It wasn't just fear," Javier continues.

"You hurt yourself. You kept repeating the same sentence over and over, like you were completely zoned out. You looked helpless. It's more than just being scared. I want answers, Juandre," Javier asks, seeking an explanation for Juandre's actions.

Juandre lowers his eyes and leaves the room without giving any answers, appearing completely lost.

"Sir, are you alright? You look a bit unwell," Kira asks as soon as Juandre arrives at the office.

"I'm fine," Juandre replies with a forced smile on his face, murmuring to himself, "I wish I were."

"Sir, I wanted to ask for a favor. Can I take the day off today? I'm not feeling well," Kira says, pouting and placing her hand on her stomach.

"Sure, you've been working too hard lately," Juandre replies, granting her request.

"What do you mean you lost the file? Our team has been working on it for the past week. This is completely irresponsible!" Juandre shouts at Mark, his employee, over a minor mistake.

"Sir, I'm certain we can find it. It must be on my desk. I'll find it soon. I apologize for my mistake," Mark explains, assuring Juandre that he will make up for it.

"Alright, find it. If you can't within the next 15 minutes, you might just need to find a new job as well," Juandre replies with a cold tone, threatening to fire him.

As Juandre tries to calm his anger, he receives a call from Javier.

"What's going on?" Juandre asks Javier, his voice sounding cold.

"J...Juandre," Javier says in a scared voice, clearly desperate for help.

"What's wrong, Javier? Where are you?" Juandre asks as he quickly leaves his office and rushes to his car.

"T... There's someone in the house," Javier speaks in a low and hesitant voice, his hands trembling with fear.

As Juandre arrives at the house, he is startled to find a group of individuals dressed entirely in black, with Javier helplessly tied to a chair in their midst. Juandre instantly recognizes them as the same people who have been tailing Javier under Andriel's orders.

"Oh, so you're his new rich boyfriend," Alex, the tallest guy, sneers, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, you look pretty loaded. How did this slut manage to deceive you and end up in the this mansion with you?" another guy jeers, roughly pulling Javier's hair, causing him immense pain.

"Slut? Your father," Juandre retorts, moving closer and punchs him crashing to the ground. The other men immediately attacked , plunging the house into chaos. However, Juandre manages to fiercely fight them off one by one. Just as he is about to strike Alex, alex signals to the only female member of their team, instructing her to attack Juandre from behind.

To Alex's surprise, she remains motionless, standing there frozen in place. As Juandre successfully defeats the opposing group, he turns his back, only to face the girl, whose eyes are barely visible but still strike of familiarity. Trembling with fear, she appears as though she had no intention of helping her team.

"Sorry, I don't lay a hand on women," Juandre proclaims, his cold hazel eyes piercing, as he takes steps closer to her. The girl retreats, unexpectedly running quickly from the house.

"I didn't think I was going to make it out alive," Javier sighs, relief washing over him.

Juandre gently touches Javier's chin, tilting his head up to meet his gaze. In a soft whisper, maintaining their eye contact, he reassures him, "You don't have to worry about your safety with me. Your life belongs solely to me. Therefore, the decision of whether to spare or end you in ashes is solely in my hands."