He also found out that Christine has never been involved in any indecent relationship or activity with anyone or their workers. However, when he confronted Celine, she showed him some pictures to prove her claim. The men in the pictures were not their workers. Celine claimed they were from M City. Celine said she had the pictures checked and they were authentic. Those pictures haunted him. Every time he wanted to get close to Christine, he will remember those pictures and jealousy and rage would take over.
Christine felt someone was looking at her so she slowly opened her eyes. She met a pair of black eyes, staring at her. She panicked for a few seconds but regained composure immediately when he recognized Joseph. He was wearing a black or blue shirt and shorts with the same color with white strips on both sides and a pair of flipflops. He looked so homey and casual. His hands are inside the pockets of his shorts. His gaze was soft but turned to cold and indifferent in an instant.
"Why are you still here? It is getting cold", he casually asked. Christine got up and out of the swing. She followed Joseph who went out the railing of the balcony, overlooking the garden.
"I just needed fresh air, a breather after what happened earlier", she was referring to Celine's behavior at dinner.
"Don't mind her, she is sick", Joseph said and leaned on his left side to face her. She turned her gaze at him, trying to figure out if he is in the mood to talk or something. It would be best if they will talk casually and not fight especially in front of Claire.
"Do you think it is a good idea that I stay here?'' He seemed to be ready to engage in a casual conversation so she took her chance to ask before he turns into a monster again.
"Celine has not been a mother to Claire because of her condition and she needs every support that we can give", Joseph explained.
"Did you have her checked by a medical specialist?"
"Yes. In fact, Dr. Castillo is closely monitoring her. She is a psychologist and she had set a consultation with her every week before until it was changed to a monthly basis since there were some improvements. But she is still not yet stable and there are times that she becomes violent", he did not mention that she only becomes violent when it comes to Claire or any woman that comes close to him. He still wanted to believe that Celine clung to him due to fear, she wanted to get protection and she wanted to feel secure at all times. So whenever Celine would request that he accompany her or tuck her to bed, he obliged just to give that feeling of security.
"I see. But Claire mentioned once that Celine was always angry at her, why is that?" Christine had to know. Joseph has a confused expression on his face.
"What do you mean?'', he got confused.
"I think her exact words are, is Mommy also always angry with you?. Remember that morning before we went on a picnic? Claire talked to me and that is what she said", she explained.
"I have no idea. I did not see Celine being angry at Claire but she just does not notice her", he said with his brows creased. He is trying to remember any incident that Celine was angry at Claire but he can't. Most of the time, Celine would just ignore Claire as if she doesn't exist.
"Why do you call your mom Celine?", she hesitated to ask this but he keeps on calling her Celine.
"Out of habit", he replied.
Celine: " ----"
"Celine got pregnant at a young age and she was not proud of it. She told me to call her Celine especially if we go outside saying she was too young to have a kid in the primary school", he explained.
"So I got used to it. Dad seemed to be okay with it. Even my grandparents were okay with it although they are not here all the time. They spent most of their retirement in the states", he continued.
"What about Jolo?", Christine asked.
"Dad insisted that he call her mom", he answered.
"Why?"
"I did not ask".
"Don't you find it weird?", she wanted to keep the conversation rolling. She kind of like it. It is the first decent conversation they had. It felt good.
"No. That is why I did not ask", he said flatly. This is something that he is not comfortable discussing with someone. This is the first time that they had a conversation like this.
"Hmmm. Well, it is weird for me", she said and shrugged her shoulders. She cupped her face with both palms and looked up at the sky.
"I promised Claire to bring her to the beach tomorrow morning. You should come", he said after a few seconds. Christine has not gone to the beach, she just saw it when she first came and when she was sent by Joseph to the pier. She felt excited about it, it would be fun and she hoped that they can have conversations like this in the future.
She glanced at Joseph. Looking at his profile, Christine can't help but compare him to Jolo. They are a complete opposite of each other. Jolo is boyish and easy go lucky, the one who loves to go to parties and go out with friends. Joseph is the reserve one, he is an authoritative type, has a commanding presence. When she first came here, she was attracted to him and she realized that until now, she is still attracted to him. He is just so hard to reach and she doesn't want to look desperate in front of him. Even when he was rude and cold to her, she still fell for him. She has a lot of suitors but subconsciously, she has always compared them to Joseph. Yes, he was rude to her, he was cold but he is different when it comes to other people. She has seen how he treat the people who work for them. He has been a responsible son and it was when he managed the business that it boomed and reach a higher level.
"Ahem...So.. what do you think, do I pass your scrutiny?" Joseph suddenly said and faced her. She was so enthralled that she did not notice that Joseph already turned to her and caught her staring at him.
"Joseph!", called Celine.