章節 30: Under the masquerade

Lindsey immediately noticed her and hid her inside the house. She was already panicking, with all the commotion happening outside. Lindsey was calling her early this morning, but her phone just kept ringing since she left it at her room at the villa.

According to her, the whole resort was on high alert, already busy trying to control the situation. Rafael just called to alert the staff of what to do.

"Is everything ok?" Lindsey asked as she handed her a coffee and a bagel. She had not had breakfast yet, so she took a sip of the coffee, but putting food inside her queasy stomach was not such a good idea.

Somehow, she knew her question had some double meaning in it. Lindsey was partially asking her about the media frenzy outside, but it also had something to do with Raf. Lindsey probably knew that she did not come from the villa, but straight from his house.

From the way, Lindsey talked to Raf earlier just a few minutes ago, Lindsey might have figured out that she had not confessed yet her true identity with Raf.

Before she could answer Lindsey, Gerry walked in. "The boat is already set. We have to leave now before the reporters notice that you are not home and started searching the whole island."

It would seem that traveling by land was out of the question and the airport was already swarming with more press, so it was not a possibility.

"Jessica already instructed us to take you to a secluded area where a helicopter is already waiting for you to fly you out of the island," Lindsey said, but her eyes were still searching for answers. She wanted to ask her, but she knew she had no right to meddle with their affairs. She was just a paid employee in this whole scenario, nothing more.

She, on the other hand, could sense her prying eyes. She felt guilty involving Lindsey in her charade. Leaving her without answers would be unfair on her part.

"What Raf and I had was special." She started to tell Lindsey, as Gerry waited outside the door. "I would cherish it for the rest of my life." She continued, knowing that Gerry could also hear her words.

"What are you trying to say?" Lindsey asked, already understanding what she was about to say.

"I don't think it would work between us. It was fun while it last." She smiled, pretending that what she had with him was only a fling while she was staying on the island.

"How could you say that? You know how he feels about you." Lindsey could see how Raf had grown an affection for her. For her to see it as just for fun was unacceptable.

"I know how he truly feels about me that's why I'm ending it now. I don't want to hurt him any further." She told her, pretending that their relationship meant nothing to her.

"Don't you love him?" Lindsey had to ask because she could not believe what she was hearing from her.

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way as him." She had to lie. It was the only way. "It is best that we go on our separate ways."

"I don't believe you. I had seen how much you love him." Lindsey insisted. She could not be wrong. The way her eyes sparkled every time she was with him. Just talking about him made her glow with love.

"You saw what you wanted to see, but I never loved him." Not the way I had loved before. It was so much more. She wanted to add, but that would beat the purpose of her lie.

"Don't leave without telling him the truth," Lindsey begged, knowing that her leaving would devastate Raf in the end.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want him to find me. I want to leave this part of my life behind me. As much as possible, buried with the past." She moved away from her, afraid to look at the painful expression on her face.

"Please, Sabrina, don't leave him like this. He loves you." Lindsey tried to move closer to her.

"He doesn't even know me. He loved the idea of me, but that's not the real me." She said with bitterness. She had to appear strong or else her plan would fail.

"But if you tell him the truth, at first, he would have a hard time accepting…" She did not let Lindsey finished.

"I'm sorry. I already made a decision. I would like to ask for a last favor." She bravely faced the woman who acted as a mother to her while she was hiding on this island.

Lindsey just looked at her, unable to utter a word. Lost in her thought as she contemplated the repercussion of her leaving Raf. It would ruin love for him for good. To be broken twice by love would forever make him bitter.

She continued, "I beg that you keep my true identity from him. Tell him that I went home. Tell him that I don't want to see him again." She asked her. "Tell him that I love someone else. It was a mistake… What happened to us… Now, I realized it. We are not meant for each other."

Her face was full of sadness and resignation. "I will do that for you, not because I believe what you're saying, but I will give you time to get to your senses and realized how much you love him."

"I don't love him." She reiterated not only to her but to make herself believe it too.

"Let's just allow fate to decide then. I wish you find what you have always been looking for." Lindsey hugged her as tears rolled down her eyes, miserable to let her go. She could only hope that fate would bring her back to their shores once again.

Gerry appeared at the door, signaling that it was time to leave. "We would surely miss you, Sky or Sabrina," Gerry said, knowing that they all came to love the person under the masquerade.