“Ate! I-Is he telling the truth?”

“I..” No. Be firm. Lying won't do good. “Yes, but I haven't agre—”

“W-WHY?! He will use nanay as a h-hostage! Who will take care of nanay Maria? Why alone? WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS DECISION WITHOUT ME?!” Binary is angry. Her bangs shifted from covering her left eye to covering her right.

“.............” I can't say anything. Maybe I'm guilty. Or maybe because I can see the scar in her forehead which has been uncovered by her bangs. Her left eye is staring at me fiercely. I am rendered speechless. I can't move. I can only look down at the ground.

*Swoosh~* Binary rushes back to her room. I caught a glimpse of her crying. My heart clenches. I feel cold.... and alone.

「August 07, 2021 | Sat」

「12:10」

I am sitting in the bedside of Mr. Reverren. We've been sitting in silence. I wanna apologize for my wrongdoings towards him. But I don't know how to start.

“K-K'ya Mark... May I... May I come in?”

“?!” My heart leaps a bit. It's Binary.

“Yes of course.” Maybe it's just my imagination but why did he sounded a little excited?

*Creak~*

Binary comes inside rather shyly. It's like as if she's trying to not make a sound. I have to tell her... I have to apologize. Don't back down. Speak! “Um... Binary—”

*Swoosh*

I tried to talk to her but she ignored me completely. She passes by me and going straight to Mr. Reverren.

“Binary,” I speak gently. I can't aggravate her or she won't listen.

“.............”

But Binary still ignored me. She is sitting on the chair beside Mr. Reverren's bed. Even though she's the timid type, and he's a mere stranger, she's not acting anxious at all.

It's obvious she's doing this because I'm present.

“Are you two fighting?” Mr. Reverren asks bluntly.

““!”” Are we that obvious? But no... Ian is deeply involved in this matter. I can't let him participate in this. Even if I have to be harsh.

“Please don't get involved with this mister Re—”

“Don't!” Binary glares at me. Why..? Did you get attached to him this fast? Or... is it because of me? I'm so sorry Binary. But...

“Binary... Please... You have to understand... You love nanay Maria as well right?” I do. And so I will do everything I can to save her. Why don't you understand that?

“.............” Binary looks like she wanna say something but held herself back. “Hmmp.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I'm sorry...” That's all I can say for now.

“...............”

“...............”

Both of us didn't say anything else so we are all left with a weird silence. I should leave for now. I'll just convince her at home where we will be left alone in private. Maybe that's the reason why it's hard to talk to her right now, because Mr. Reverren is present.

But no. I couldn't do it. To be precise, she doesn't want me to. She doesn't even let me have a conversation with her. No, she isn't even looking at me. No matter how hard I try, she refuses to listen. She's ignoring me.

I understand her anger. But... You're leaving me all alone here Binary. We're the only one left in the house... Nanay Maria is already in Manila. We're alone here. So please stop ignoring me. Be mad at me... It's fine. I will even take a hit. So please... I feel so lonely.

But three days passes. Nanay has been scheduled to undergo surgery tomorrow. Mr. Ian hasn't bothered me for a while. I don't know what's going on with him, but I was always on edge in the days he wasn't present. I don't know what he's planning. Maybe he's plotting for revenge. Binary is right, he can use nanay Maria as a hostage against me. I'm scared. But she's my priority. I'll take risk.

However, for some reason, Binary has been acting strange. She began behaving peculiarly since Saturday. For starters she becomes secretive towards me. I thought it was part of her ignoring me but I feel like there's a deeper explanation than just that.

Binary is also spacing out from time to time. Though I assumed she's just upset about our grandmother's status. But no. I once caught her giggling all by herself. I believed it was because she's watching funny animes or something with her phone. However, yesterday when she accidentally left her phone open— which now has a password, I caught a glimpse of a flirty messages with someone.

I couldn't read them properly because Binary took them from me immediately but I read: 「I don't think we're doing the right thing. If my ate Lucy found out..」 What is it that she's hiding from me? I'm worried. But I can't ask Binary because she's mad. She was angry at me the whole night.

I now have a vague idea but... I don't think it's proper for her to be in love now. We're in a dire situation so this... I want to tell her, but I don't have the right. I know I did her wrong but... What do I do now? I can't just leave her alone. What if this is just her way to escape reality? She might end up running towards danger. I don't even know who that guy is! What if he's a bad person? Binary is in danger!

“Lucy. You look even more terrible today. Are you taking care of your health?” Mr. Reverren stops me from changing his bandages. “I don't think you're in the right condition to take care of me.”

Wait— What does that mean? Is he going to fire me? No! I can't lose my job! “I-I am so sorry Mr. Reverren... I will do my best just—”

“Don't worry. I won't fire you.... yet,” he emphasizes the last word. “I understand your circumstances. But please separate personal issues from work. You're dealing with people's lives, Lucy.”

“.............” What can I say? He has a point but... Has he always been this cold? He's also acting different. I can't help but bite my lips. Why is everyone acting strangely?

“Please forgive me... I will properly do my duty onwards.”

“Please leave. I will do the rest myself.” Mr. Reverren is annoyed. He may be smiling but I'm sure he's annoyed of me. It's a good thing he's no longer bothering me by trying to get closer with me but... Why do I not like this at all? Why am I suffering? I may lose my job soon... What am I going to do then? Why are you making me live in agony like this? Did I do something wrong?

I quickly walk away feeling like someone's stabbing me in the stomach. When I got home, I received a call from the doctor of nanay Maria. He didn't say much nor he waited for my reply. He simply told me the operation is cancelled. He didn't give me reasons why but I have a feeling Mr. Ian has hands on this. I want to call nanay but I'm told she hasn't woken up yet. There is no way. They just don't want us to have contact with each other. Ahh... Did I mess up?

I sit on my bed with my hands covering my face. How can I cope with these kinds of things? I feel so confused. What am I gonna do? Binary is ignoring me. Mr. Reverren is angry at me. He will probably replace me soon. I will lose my job. Where am I gonna get the money to pay off Mr. Ian? And speaking of him, he's been real silent since the last time. I'm scared. I don't know what he's really planning behind the scenes.

Why do all of these misfortunes fall down to me all at the same time? Are you testing me? What are the purpose of this? Or what? Are you toying with me? Am I... Why are you doing this to me, my lord? Please tell me. I think I will break soon.... Please help. At least save my grandmother.... Please...