บท 42: The Only Thing That Matters

"Isn't it a bit too much to put a watch over her 24/7?" Murmured Rui when Xander ended the call on his mobile phone. Xander just talked to his security team and reminded them to keep Yera safe once she left the restaurant. He even heard him warn them not to let her out of their sight, even for just a second.

"It's not 24/7, Rui… Don't exaggerate, okay? It's only when she's not with me. I told you, I don't want any security loopholes, especially when it comes to my woman. I want her to be well-protected. I'm not like Lyndon, who had failed to keep her from harm. Moreover, we don't know anything yet, for all we know, he could be the culprit behind Yera's abduction that year…" Xander scoffed as he drank his wine.

"You know that you're quite the manipulative husband but in a very secretive way…" observed Rui as he continued to eat his salad.

Xander laughed and said, "I'll take that as a compliment…"

Their pleasant chat was interrupted by the beeping of Xander's mobile phone. As soon as he read the message he had just received, he stood up to leave.

"Why are you in a hurry to leave? I haven't even finished my dessert…" complained Rui as he followed Xander on his way out of the restaurant.

"Hmm, I miss my wife already," commented Xander nonchalantly.

Rui clicked his tongue and was about to retort when Xander halted his steps, and so did he.

"What are you doing here?" Yera asked with a raised eyebrow. She forgot her purse in the room, so she went back to get it, but she unexpectedly bumped into Xander, who seemed to just be leaving the restaurant with Rui.

"Were you following me?" She asked him directly that made Xander flinch, but then he quickly smiled and tugged Rui closer. "This place is one of Rui's favorite places to eat. He suddenly asked me to accompany him to have lunch here."

Rui was almost choked by Xander's sudden yanking. Xander was giving him a subtle hint to say something, so Rui said, "Oh yeah, I suddenly crave for lobsters, so I asked Xander to have lunch here."

Yera frowned and murmured, "I don't think they serve seafood here..."

Xander interrupted and quickly changed the topic before his dear friend sabotaged everything. "So, this is where you met him? What a coincidence. How did it go? Oh, you can just tell me all about it in the car. Just go back with me. Rui brought his own car anyway…"

Rui's face crumpled and muttered scornfully, "I did?"

Xander patted his shoulder and smiled as he said, "See you back at the hospital."

Rui wanted to yank Xander's hair as the latter walked away with Yera, leaving him high and dry. 'What a liar…' He complained.

He took out his mobile phone and called his driver to pick him up. Then he smirked at the thought of charging every penny for the extra service he had just rendered to Xander.

....

Inside the car, there was only silence as Xander waited for Yera to open up to him about her meeting with Lyndon. However, he was itching to know, so it was tough for him to wait for her to talk first.

So he murmured, "How was it?"

Yera did not respond, but after a few minutes, he heard her release a long sigh. "As expected, he gave me a good offer and said he will patiently wait for my decision. I told him I have to think about it carefully and consider a lot of things," she narrated everything, down to every single detail, including the amount of money in the offer.

"Not bad," Xander commented. But it was not Lyndon's offer that he was interested in knowing. Xander sighed because he did not want to interfere too much with Yera's personal matters, but he could not help but be curious. He was thinking of a good way to ask Yera about the real thing he wanted to know.

He was just about to open his mouth to ask, but Yera suddenly spoke, "I don't think it's Lyndon… His eyes were sincere. Those were the eyes of someone who is longing for a loved one. His eyes…"

Xander was holding his breath as he listened to Yera.

He could not help but comment, "Looks can be deceiving, and so could the eyes… That's why we're moved by movies of which actors can act well. That's how the winners of the best actor and best actress awards won, because they could make the audience believe their acting just by looking at their eyes. But we all know that it's not real."

If Rui could hear him, he would definitely tease him, but then again, who cares? He still had a point, and he knew that.

Yera knew what Xander said made sense. She definitely must not let her guard down with Lyndon.

"Hmm, how did he look? He got old, didn't he?" Xander blurted out of nowhere that made Yera flinch. 'What's with that question?' She mused but decided to entertain him by giving him an answer. "He's still the same. Tall, dark, and handsome… He's the type who would still look good even when he ages because he takes good care of himself."

It was true. Lyndon was fit and healthy, because he loved to work out and he maintained himself well.

"Who do you think is more handsome? Him or me?" Xander bluntly asked, which almost made Yera choke on her own saliva.

She turned her head and deliberately looked at Xander in disbelief. Xander gazed back at her and gave her his sweetest smile, followed by a wink before he turned his attention back to the road.

"Aren't you going to answer? Because if you don't, I'll just stop the car at the side of the road and wait for your answer…" Xander said, grinning. He knew he was acting rather childish again, but he just could not help it.

Yera, as usual, did not have the energy to argue with him about why he would ask something like that, so she honestly answered, "You are…"

"But not everyone has the same opinion. Maybe for me, you look better than Lyndon, but then to others, Lyndon looks better… It's all relative to the eye of the beholder," Yera added.

"Other people's opinion doesn't interest me. What you say and what you think is the only thing that matters to me…" Xander uttered in a stern voice.

Yera's heart thumped abnormally once more… 'What's with him?' She complained silently. She chose not to comment back. No, she did not know how to respond. She was, again, rendered speechless by Xander's straightforwardness. She simply could not find the words...

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