“Ben!” He raised his voice, finger raised at him. “Don’t you dare…”
“How confident you are to approach me like this and try to rub salt in my wounds.” He scoffed, getting closer to Jim. Jim felt his heart pound in his chest. “You know what they say about a wounded lion? You don’t know me anymore and you really should be afraid because you have no idea what I am capable of doing.”
Ben watched as beads of sweat appeared on Jim’s forehead. He loved it so much.
“And why the hell would I invite you here?” He crossed his arms, staring deep into Jim’s eyes. “This is a very important occasion for me and your presence here just irritates me. I can see very well that you don’t wanna be here just as much as I don’t want you here. So…” He paused and eyed him from head to toe. “…why don’t you use whatever decency you have left to get out of here. You’re not needed here.”
Jim felt his pulse beating in his ears, blocking out all other sounds. He kept on staring at Ben, noticing that he seemed different. The Ben that he remembered would have been scared of his warning but this one wasn’t.
Ben shook his head and rudely passed Jim, bumping into him. Jim made a slow turn and watched as the boy left. As Ben was going, he bumped into Elena who was looking at him like she had seen a ghost. When their eyes locked, an evil grin appeared on Ben’s face. He didn’t say anything but just chuckled and walked away.
“What happened?” Elena asked when she met with her son. “Are you okay? What did he say to you?”
Jim took a harsh breath and stared at his mother. “I need to get out of here right now.” He said simply, hitting his forehead. “I feel so suffocated, please. This is too much for me to handle. I need to get David out of here before trouble brooms.”
“You’re right.” She nodded. “Let’s go.”
Mother and son went away. They needed to find ways of getting out of there fast.
***
“Nanny!” David called as soon as he entered the living room. “Sorry, didn’t mean to stay that long.”
“It’s okay, sir!” The beautiful elderly woman answered with a smile. “It’s my job and besides, spending time with the little master makes me so happy.”
David smiled and slowly walked to the couch where his son was peacefully sleeping. He looked so cute and angelic. Seeing him, he felt his heart beat with so much love. He sat at the edge of the couch and passed his hands through his hair.
“He waited for you.” The woman continued. “I am surprised that you took so long. This is the longest you’ve spent at a party in a long time.”
“I know.” He took a deep breath. “This one was different, nanny. And I really cannot explain, but I felt at peace and didn’t wanna leave.”
“Really? What happened?” The woman asked.
David glanced at her and smiled. “Goodnight, nanny, you can retire to bed. I’ll take my son to bed.”
“Goodnight!” The woman patted his back and left.
David slowly and carefully picked his son from the couch and into his arms. The boy moved and mumbled something but didn’t wake up. David took him upstairs while rubbing his back so as not to disturb him.
Meanwhile, Claudia and Jim who had been staring at them looked at each other. They were both nervous and the fear in them couldn’t be masked.
“Mother?” He took a harshly breath, gripping his hair. “Did you see that? David doesn’t seem like himself. He didn’t wanna leave and he kept on staring at him the entire time. I… I have never been so scared in a very long time.”
“I understand your fears because I got scared when I saw that boy too.” She sighed, slowly walking to the living room. “I was so scared that he had recognized him. But I thank God that he didn’t. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened?”
Jim rushed to Claudia and looked into her eyes.
“We cannot proceed with this partnership, mother.” He couldn’t mask the fear in his voice. “We need to find ways of cancelling that meeting tomorrow. I cannot have David around that bitch for another moment longer.”
“Are you insane?” Claudia gasped, shaking her head. “And what are we going to tell David? Last time I checked, the meeting for tomorrow is already set. David knows about this and even if we called to cancel, David will probably Call Gustavo and ask him why the meeting was cancelled. He already saw how nervous we got when we saw that boy. He’ll start asking questions and soon, he’s gonna find out the truth.”
“What truth?” A voice asked.
Both of them almost jumped and quickly directed their eyes towards the direction of the voice. It was Amber and the look on her face was from out of this world. She crossed her arms as she moved closer, staring at the both of them.
“It doesn’t come as a shock that the both of you are discussing this.” She said happily. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing Ben and David together. After such a long time, my brother was finally comfortable at a party. He didn’t even wanna leave. And did you say the way he was staring at him?”
Jim groaned. “Shut up, Amber. You don’t know what you’re talking about. David was probably just impressed with the brand. You know how much he wants to invest in the business for the sake of our son. Whatever is in your head or whatever you saw, David loves me and even if he was to remember him, I am the one he chose to marry five years ago. It wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Really?” Amber raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t really forget what happened five years ago. How stressed my brother was for that wedding. How he cried before he said ‘I do.’ And what exactly led to him losing his memory. I might be wrong, but for someone so confident, you’re too nervous. I don’t know what the both of you are hiding but…”
“We have nothing to hide. We’re just worried for David.” Claudia sighed gloomily, hitting her head. “You heard what the doctor said. Besides, somethings are better left in the past. Whether he remembers or not, it is not your decision so I am warning you Amber.” She raised her finger, pointing at her daughter. “Don’t you dare cause any trouble because you will live to regret it.”
Amber burst into laughter. “I won’t even have to do anything.” She shrugged. “All that is needed is for David to be around Ben and his memories will come flooding.” With those words, she turned and started going upstairs. But before she even went far, she stopped and turned.
“By the way, I think David saw Ben at the restaurant that you and Michael went to.” She paused and watched as Jim’s face became white as a ghost. “He thought his voice sounded familiar and followed him outside. How did he call it?” She asked, looking to the roof like the answer was written there. “Oh!” She gasped, shaking her head. “De javu.”
She left laughing, leaving Jim standing there looking lost.
‘I just came for some air.’ David’s voice echoed in his head.
He robotically moved his eyes to Claudia and she couldn’t miss that look of fear in his eyes.
“Don’t let her intimidate you. You know…”
“What if she’s telling the truth?” He gasped, sitting slowly on the couch. “How did she know what happened if she wasn’t there? David probably told her and if…”