Keira looked at him and noticed that his eyes are looking at her for who knows how long before she avoided his gaze by looking at the view outside, but her heart started to get uncomfortable, and tried to calmly reply, "Most people misunderstood his words and actions, but the Commander is a pure-hearted man who prioritize the common good before his personal interests. I respect him for that."
Lucas saw the sudden change on her stoic expression from looking troubled to being relaxed as she praised Rylan. This made him so irritated that his emerald eyes turned cold again because the person he has been searching for eight years is now close to another man while she is acting cold and distant to him, as if he is a stranger, a random guy.
"What's that? A love confession to that Commander?" Lucas coldly blurted out which made Keira glared at him with her ears turning red.
"Please mind your own business, Sir Aguero." She fiercely said and Lucas did not spit a word after.
Jasmine, who is beside Keira, is enjoying this while the others felt outcasted by their conversation until they arrived the five-floor apartment complex. It's an extravagant and luxurious apartment complex owned by none other than Rylan Mendoza himself. Ms. Bartolome drove inside the member-exclusive underground parking lot and parked the car.
Jasmine looked at the irritated Lucas before she asked with a smile, "Sirs, do you want to have some refreshments?"
"Nah. I'm beat! 'Wanna go home… my wife is waiting for me." Harold replied with his bragging tone and a wide, stupid smile on his face.
Jasmine looked surprised and asked with a high-pitched, whiny tone, "What?! You got married?! You did not even invite me! I hope you got divorced! Hmph!"
He scratched the back of his head, still smiling and replied, "Well…it just happened, but it is all thanks to Keira!"
Keira silently went out of the car before she jokingly said with her stoic expression, "I also hope you got divorced."
"Hey! Don't curse my happy marriage life!" Harold complained and Keira just shut the door.
"She is embarrassed!" Jasmine excitedly said and laughed.
"How did you know?" Harold asked as he is curious how can Jasmine know since all he can see is her cold, stoic expression all the time.
Jasmine pointed her ear, and excitedly said, "Her ears turn red whenever she is embarrassed. I noticed that whenever Kuya or Rylan praised or teased her."
"The five of you are so close, as if your umbilical cords were connected since birth!" Harold jokingly said. He and Jasmine laughed.
"Wanna know more about our adorable Keira?" She excitedly asked.
"Nah. Maybe Mr. Ace of Veritas wanted to know as he is piercing us with that deadly gaze from the very moment that we started to talk about Keira." Harold commented.
Jasmine smiled at Lucas and asked, "Want to come with me upstairs?"
The two went inside the elevator, with Jasmine leading while Lucas was following her. When they reached the fifth floor, only one door was there. It is made of black metal with a security lock, but Jasmine smoothly entered the ten-digit passcode.
"I bet you memorized that, isn't it?" Jasmine said, excitedly waiting for his answer.
Lucas did not directly answer but he asked another question, "Who came up with that passcode?"
The living room is bright and clean, but Lucas feels uncomfortable, knowing that this room is Rylan Mendoza's room. He keeps on praying and praying that he does not want to see a single hair of Keira inside this room, or he will lose his sanity again and this time, he might do something unreasonable to Keira.
Jasmine walked towards the kitchen and replied to his question, "Keira herself. When Rylan jokingly asked her if he will change his stupid passcode consisting only of 1's, Keira blurted out random numbers and he used it ever since."
Lucas' hands flinched just by hearing her name before he spoke, "Keira… where is she?"
Jasmine calmly placed a cup of hot coffee in front of him and replied, "I do not care what kind of your relationship you had with her before, but she is recovering fine now. Both mentally and emotionally."
Lucas coldly asked, "What do you mean?"
Jasmine worriedly said, "Alexithymia. She has had that condition ever since I met her six years ago. No matter how we praise her nor tease her, she has never shown facial reaction."
Lucas was shocked for a moment, but his expression calmed down.
Jasmine then asked, "Will you help her?"
Lucas was silent for seconds before he replied, "I also have never recovered, not even once when she left me. So, why should I?"
Jasmine was shocked and disappointed on his answer, but she replied with confidence, "Well---"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Someone entered the room, and Lucas's eyes widened when she saw Keira hurriedly pass by the kitchen, not noticing them as she immediately opened the door of one of the rooms, as if she had been a resident here for a long time. She is wearing a different tracksuit set, the jacket is partly wet because of her undried hair.
"Keira…" Lucas whispered her name under his seething breath.
"I need to go now. Please take good care of our dear Keira." Jasmine said as she waved her hand before she left the room.
Meanwhile, Keira is busy dialing someone from the communicator, but no one is answering from the other line. She tapped the communicator as she murmured, "Is this a defect?"
Lucas silently walked inside the room and watched Keira doing her stuff, leaning on the door frame. The clueless Keira fiddled with the defect communicator before she threw it on the bed, and heavily sighed. She stood there, succumbing to her thoughts.
"Argh! This is so annoying! Why is my laptop and phone also confiscated?!" She furiously said as she stomped her feet but just like Jasmine said, she does not have any facial expressions.
When she calmed down a bit, her stomach grumbled and then said, "I'm hungry."
She turned around, holding her empty stomach. Her whole body froze when she saw Lucas standing at the entrance of the room, staring at her. His lips curled up in a smile as he took a step, held the doorknob, closed the door and locked it.
Lucas walk towards Keira until he closed his distance from her, and asked "Why are you in another man's room?"
Keira nervously replied, "I need to find something."
She hurriedly walks towards the locked door, but a brute force pulled her arm and dragged her back. In a split second, her whole body is pinned on the bed under Lucas' huge built. His face is smiling, but his extreme pain hidden for eight years is reflected in his emerald eyes.
Lucas tightened his grip on Keira's shoulder as he furiously asked, "Tell me. Why did you not give me a chance to explain and leave me alone in that darkness? Tell me!"
Keira saw him losing his sanity through his eyes, so she tried to rationally speak to him, "H-Hey… calm down for a bit…"
"My time stopped on that villa, while you…!" Lucas cannot brush off the overpowering emotions he had been containing the moment she saw Keira, so he roughly devoured her whole mouth again.