Not Crazy | ✓

twenty six

j a c q u e l i n e

Antonio had told her that calling him, calling Francis wouldn't sound needy. He had been gone for eight days now, and Jacqueline was growing worried day by day.

Surely, he mustn't be that busy enough to not message me once. Is he alright?

"Stop thinking, Ms Leroy," Antonio said. "Just call him. I hear that people respond to calls more quickly than messages."

"Y-You can be wrong as well," she whispered. "You can be wrong as well."

"Tell me, what's bothering you," he coaxed. "What's on your mind."

Jacqueline sighed and lied down on her bed. "I don't know. Sometimes I think that messaging him was just a mistake. And sometimes, it seems like my life depends on him. And I don't know what's worse. The fact that there's a person who I can't live without, or the fact that there's someone who I will regret leaving."

"They're both the same, Jacqueline," he answered. "You should be really thankful to God that you've found someone who you like, who makes you happy. And yes, you messaged him out of desperation, but tell me, didn't that produce something new and beautiful?"

"Yes," she replied honestly as a tear escaped from her eyes. "Yes, it did."

"And tell me this," she expected a big question ahead. "Do you love him? Or are you in love with him?"

Love him? Do I love him? Yes. He's made me laugh, made me smile, made me believe that I'm not mad or crazy. But am I in love with him?

"Are you in love with him, or do you simply love him? Tell me, Ms Leroy." Antonio pressed as he sat on a chair next to her bed.

Jacqueline turned towards him and wiped the still flowing tears away. "I love him."

This was the moment where she was confessing that she loved Francis. A lot. That he was unlike anyone she'd met. That he made her feel wanted and precious. That she'd choose him over any other boy out there, despite not seeing his face or even knowing much about him.

She sighed contently. "And yes, I'm also in love with him."

Antonio smiled. "Then call him right now," he grabbed her phone from the bed side and handed it to her. "And if you're thinking that this is too soon and sudden, then just know that the law of love knows no bounds of space or time."

Jacqueline, upon hearing Antonio's heart-touching speech, reluctantly got up and took the phone in her hands.

Antonio continued. "Sure, you can't meet him because of your fear, but that does not mean that there isn't a way out of this. Trust me, Ms Leroy, there is always a solution for such difficult situations. Always."

With shaky breaths, Jacqueline went to Francis's number and pressed call. She waited for a few seconds, but the automated female voice said:

ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴜᴍʙᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴅɪᴀʟᴇᴅ ɪs ɴᴏᴛ ᴀɴsᴡᴇʀɪɴɢ. ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴛʀʏ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ.

She did try again, only to receive the same response. Dejected, she put her phone down and glanced at Antonio.

"Well?"

"H-He didn't answer," she managed to say. "His phone was switched off."

Antonio shook his head. "Nonsense. Try again." He urged but Jacqueline refused.

"It's no use. He w-won't answer me. I've done something horrible and-"

"Don't complete that sentence," her servant glared at her in a threatening manner as he snatched the phone away from her and pressed the call button himself. This time, however, the ring was going. "Here, take it. It's going."

Jacqueline took it and pressed the device to her ear.

"Hello?"

She breathed a sigh of relief, but was still slightly bummed that this wasn't the voice she was yearning for since eight days.

"H-Hello? Where i-is F-Francis?" She asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the masculine voice said after a short pause. "But he's been in an accident. He's in surgery."

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This is definitely the most emotional chapter for me. Jacqueline confesses her love for Francis, Antonio uses the epigraph (like that's great) and Francis has a car accident and he's in a surgery. To much happening in one chapter. I had originally planned for his phone to get stolen as the reason for him not replying to Jacqueline, but I wanted drama. So it came down to this.