24
Jacob drove down the street and went ahead to the restaurant where his Uncle, lewis had booked for them to meet.
He went there alone after sending Enzo off to go check on Jay in the hospital and after that to visit Jay's wife and kid.
Ever since the incident with Jay, he has been suffering from guilty for days. Even throughout his stay in the hospital, there were so many times he could not help but think about it.
He parked his car in the parking lot and went ahead inside the restaurant to meet his uncle.
Lewis was already seated, gulping down a bottle of non alcoholic wine.
He smiled as he saw Jacob approached him
"Did you wait for so long?" Jacob grinned as he took a seat and took the menu to place his orders
"You got here just in time" Lewis Chuckled softly.
They were both quiet while the Waiter was taking their orders, and when the Waiter left, they continued their conversation.
"So? How have you been doing? How is your Father?" Lewis was the first to open up the conversation again
"Let's not talk about my father" Jacob replied with a faint smile "On the other hand, I am okay"
"Are you sure?" Lewis arched his brow "You look like you have not eaten for some days".
Jacob just smiled in response
"By the way, why did you want to meet up? Is anything the matter?" He was so quick in changing the topic
"Oh" Lewis sighed and brought out a small black box from his suit pocket "I have something to give you"
"What is that?" Jacob arched his brow and was about to take the box but Lewis stopped him
"Jacob. You have to prepare your mind for what I am about to say now" Lewis gulped "Promise me that what I am about to say will not reveal your weakness to anyone, promise me you will stay strong after this"
"What is it?" Jacob was slowly getting nervous "What could it be that you are getting so serious, uncle? You are scaring me"
Lewis sighed before handling over the small box to Jacob "you can check what is inside"
Jacob narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Lewis before opening the box
He suddenly became teary after sawing what was inside
Earrings.
They were his mother's
And..
He was the one who bought it for her before he travelled abroad.
Jacob gently removed the earrings from the box and when he noticed they were stained with blood, the tears that he was trying to fight back suddenly rolled down his cheek.
"She was wearing them the day she died" Lewis explained the reason for the bloodstain "Jacob, even while she was dieing, your mother did not forget you"
"I gave this to her" His voice cracked "Mom loved the earrings so much".
Lewis removed an handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to him
"Jacob, your mom told me to give it back to you" Lewis said sullenly "She said it would be such a waste if the beautiful earrings gets lost"
Jacob wiped his tears with the handkerchief Lewis had given him when he noticed people staring at him
"Thanks uncle, thank you so much for giving it back" He sniffed
"Also..." Lewis sighed and leaned forward "Your mother had a sickness, what was it called?" He arched his brow, trying to remember
"My mother was sick?" Jacob's eyes widened with shock "That's not possible, she was so well before I left"
"I know it's hard to believe but it's a kind of sickness that is pretty hard to realize. I think the doctor called it Anorexia" .
The moment he heard that, Jacob's vision suddenly went blurry
After that, he could not hear anything from the environment
He could only see Lewis mouth moving but he could not hear a sound
He felt like he was just thrown into the pit of hell to suffer pain for a few seconds
"Jacob" Lewis snapped his fingers to bring him back to his senses "Jacob, are you listening to me?"
"My....my mother...." He stuttered and took a deep breath to calm himself down "My mother had anorexia"
"Yes" Lewis replied with a nod "And it was pretty bad, she was dying as she had not eaten a proper meal for years. She has been surviving on coffees, teas and sometimes, junks. Anytime she takes a bite from food, she would immediately go to the restroom to throw them up"
Jacob gulped.
Anorexia is not transferrable so why is he suffering from the same thing as his mother?
What went wrong?
"Jacob, are you okay?" Lewis asked
Just then, their meals arrived and it was placed on the table before them.
"I am sorry. I should have said all these after we finished eating, it was so senseless of me" Lewis felt sorry since Jacob's hands were trembling so much that he could hardly hold the cutleries
"Can, this meal be packed up? I don't think I can eat right now" Jacob gulped, not sure if he should tell his uncle about the anorexia or not.
"Jacob, you should stay strong no matter what. I told you all this before I gave you the earrings"
"I know uncle, I just....." He let out a deep breath and just decided to confess "I am also suffering from the same anorexia".
There was silence from both sides as they kept staring at each other
Lewis could not swallow the food in his mouth but also, he could not throw it out.
He just sat there like he had been electrified
And before he knew it, tears dripped from his eyes
"Uncle , are you okay?" Jacob asked
"Yes" he sniffed and wiped the tears with his palm
"I am sorry I am just telling you now"
"No, it's fine" Lewis sighed "You poor soul, what in the world happened to you? When did it start?"
"It started after I heard about my mom's death" Jacob explained "I came back home and I was informed my mother is dead and I also found out my father has a mistress with two sons who are older than me. I could not eat anything after that"
"This is not good" Lewis face went pale immediately "We should get you treated"
"I am already receiving treatment uncle, don't worry about me" Jacob assured
"By the way uncle, I am curious about something"
"What is it? Ask me anything"
"That day you had the accident, where were you guys headed to?"
Lewis dropped his cutleries and sighed "That day, we were on our way to the airport. Me, your mother and your grandparents"
"Airport? Were you guys traveling out or what?" Jacob arched his brow
"Jacob" Lewis called and sighed "We were.... Coming to visit you in Australia"
"What?" Jacob jaw dropped "you..... You guys were coming to Australia?"
"Yes. Your mother asked your Father for a request" Lewis gently clenched his fist "We missed you so much so we told Grey that we would be back in two weeks but....." His voice suddenly trailed off.
Bead of tears dripped from Jacob's face
He has heard enough shocking news for the day, it does not look like he would be able to hold in anymore if he hears another one.
"U...uncle" he called weakly and slowly stood up "I have.... I have to go"
"Jacob, do you want me to take you home? You look too shocked" Lewis also stood up but Jacob stopped him
"I'm fine. I can drive myself home" He was breathing heavily as he walked out of the restaurant and dragged his feet to where his car was parked.
He was not in his right senses, his head kept banging hard and his hands were shaking.
To be honest, he was not sure if he would be able to drive himself home just like he told his uncle but he tried his best.
He drove back home, barely keeping his mind on the street and luckily for him, he got back home safely.
Enzo who was already waiting for him outside, opened the door for him to alight but then he noticed Jacob's eyes was all red and swollen
"Are you okay?" He asked as Jacob weakly alighted from the car
Unable to hold his stamina.
Enzo immediately held him before he would fall
"Are you okay?" He asked again "Do you feel sick?"
"I...I am not okay" he was barely keeping his eyes opened.
Enzo helped him inside and Amber who was busy serving dinner in the dinning room immediately walked up to them when she noticed Jacob was being escorted inside, instead of walking on his own
"Jacob" she called with a worried look "What in the world happened to him?"
"I don't know" Enzo replied "He went to meet his uncle and came back like this" he whispered so that the maids and bodyguards around would not hear him
"Let's get him to his room" Amber suggested and they did so.
He was taken to his room and helped sit on the bed
"Do you want to lie down?" Amber asked but he shook his head
"I will get him coffee" Enzo said and left the room almost immediately.
Jacob sighed as he tilted his head to look at Amber who was staring at him with so much worry
"Coffee. That's all I eat"
"You will be fine Jacob, trust me" Amber tried to smile without showing how worried sick she was
"You know..... My mother also had the same illness"
"What?" Amber arched her brow "Why? From what I know, Anorexia is not heritable"
"I don't think it is too" Jacob clenched his fist "I didn't have anorexia from birth and my mom didn't too"
"Jacob" Amber called and sit beside her while holding his hand "Jacob, you can overcome this"
"I don't think I can't. I just want to give up"
"You can't!" Amber snapped at him "You have heard worst before, a lot of things have happened to you before"
"Amber, you don't understand. The day my mother died with my grandparents, they were on their way to visit me in Australia".
Amber suddenly found herself mute.
The news itself was so shocking for her to accept.
Obviously he would want to give up if that is what he heard from his uncle.
He would want to give up on everything he has worked for years and just lay low for years
Why?
Because he would think his parents and grandparents died because of him.
And the fact that his father is the master mind behind everything would be so hard for him to accept
"Did you uncle tell you this?" She asked and he replied with a nod.
She moved more closer to him and hugged him tightly
"I am so sorry Jacob. You were always going through a lot but I never thought about you, that is so selfish of me"
"This is not your fault" Jacob said faintly "It is my fault. My mother died because of me"
"Don't say it" Amber gently patted his hair and pecked him on the forehead "You will be fine Jacob. I will do anything I can to make sure no one hurts you as from Now on. I will be a protective wife".