Moonlight Serenade

Simoen stopped what he was doing and stared at her. She sobbed while looking away. Simoen opened his mouth to say something but a force lifted the man and threw him away. Jewel heard a familiar voice. "Keep your hands off my wife."

The voice was almost inaudible but she still heard it due to the forest's silence. When she looked at Simoen, she saw the man lying a few meters away from her.

She looked up to the man who had thrown Simoen and saw Gideon who was frowning hard. Jewel bit her lip and tears welled up in her eyes. "Gideon," she whispered his name.

Her husband attended to her and helped her to stand on her feet. But because she's weak, she couldn't stand well. Gideon lifted her up and quietly left the area.

He insisted to visit the clinic but Jewel stopped him from doing so. She wouldn't go see Nurse Julie flirting with her husband, but Gideon was persistent. Jewel had no choice but to force him in letting her down as she wanted to walk her way towards the dorm. Gideon also had no choice but to obey and walk her back.

However, the dorm guard stopped him before he could enter the dormitory ground. Jewel argued with the guard. At last, the guard let her husband enter provided that Gideon would write his name on the entry log. Soon they reached the hallway where her room was. She saw Tiara at the distance. The girl's eyes widened when she saw her dishelved. "Laine?!"

Jewel smiled softly at Tiara and faced Gideon. She bowed slightly. "Thanks for walking me back, Professor."

Gideon kept staring at her and then nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to visit the clinic?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. There are no external injuries... I don't want to see Nurse Julie," she whispered the last sentence.

"Julie..." Gideon whispered and nodded, understanding what Jewel meant. "Then I'll go." He even glanced at the three girls standing behind her before turning around and walking away.

She sighed. Of course, Gideon understood. He's not numb enough to not notice that Nurse Julie and her weren't on good terms.

"Laine! Laine? Did you jump on a cliff? Or dive in a muddy pod? Laine, you look so pathetic!" said Tiara.

Jewel shook her head. She was not in the mood to talk to the three. Also, she wanted to call Gideon. Jewe; knew he had a plan in mind. Maybe, Simoen will be suspended or worst he will be transferred to another University. "What happened to you, Laine? Your uniform is dirty. You should see yourself in a mirror," Hazel said.

Gabbi nodded. "Tell us, did that male Prof molested you?"

She looked at it. Tiara and Hazel were also silent. Suddenly, Hazel's eyes widened and she covered her mouth. "I remember! He's the new Professor of Agriculture! Laine, don't tell me ---"

"Girls, stop. I want to be alone," she said languidly. Her eyes darted at the three friends before she entered her room. She lazily walked to the bed and threw her body on it.

It's been... months. She don't want to remember but things are getting out of hand.

She buried her face in the pillow and cried out. Tears began to stream down her cheeks and she swallowed several times. The pain was still there. She thought she had forgotten the pain in her heart. But it was just hidden. It was like a trunk she had put in the depths of her memory, and just needed a poke before bad memories she had tried to ignore would come back rushing in her mind.

Jewel sobbed.

If only she could die... If only she could.

Her hand slowly reached the cellphone from the backpack. She made a few sighs to calm her emotion and control her voice. Her finger pressed the call button.

Someone answered the call on the second ring. "Jewel," her husband greeted.

A smile softly appeared on her lips. "H-Hey."

"I'm driving."

"S-Shall I end the call?"

"No." She heard him sigh. "I'm gonna visit the Municipality."

"Oh?" Her brows met slightly. "Why?"

"I want to talk with Dad... To cut your scholarship."

She was awaken by his words. "G-Gideon, n-no. You don't have to."Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Trust me. I'm doing this for your good, Jewel."

"But I can't lose my scholarship, you know that," she whispered. "I'll be okay, I promise."

She heard the car engine turned off and Gideon slammed his hand on the steering wheel. Gideon was silent for a few minutes before he speak again. "I can't just stand here doing nothing. I am your husband. I should be the one protecting you."

Jewel closed her eyes. "Gideon, listen. You've been a good husband to me. This thing? Please, let me clean my mess."

"That Saavedra will never leave you. We both know that, Jewel."

"I know." She sighed. "I can handle this."

"If I hadn't looked for you, he might have done something to you. I trust you, Jewel. But not that boy."

"Gideon..."

The car's engine came back to life. Jewel pursed her lips. Gideon seemed determined to do what he wanted to do. "Gideon please ..."

But Gideon remained silent. She knew he was just listening so she laid down on the bed again and took a deep breath. "You want to know who he is, right? Two years ago, I met Simoen."

Her vision was blurred. "He courted me for months, and after five months, we became official. I was happy to be with him. Sweet and gentleman he was. He's popular back then so girls were coveting him, including Sheena. She said that she don't like Simoen but I know that it wasn't true. She likes him, so she tried to keep us apart.

"Grade 12. December. A year and a month when he tried to have me. I don't know why. It happened after our Christmas party. We were alone in flower garden and we kissed. If Joseph hadn't appeared yet, he would've succeeded. And I went home for days, without saying goodbye to him. After the Christmas break, Sheena announced that she and Simoen were engaged. At that time, I have a reason to break up with him. And we didn't talk for three months until we graduated. Last summer, I went back to my old life. Just this June, he wants us to be back." She just laughed. "I can't just forget how devastating it was. To know that injustice is everywhere."

"What do you mean, Jewel?"

She blinked and covered her mouth so that a sob wouldn't escape.

"Tell me," Gideon whispered.

"I'm done telling you about Saavedra."

"You're not telling me everything."

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"Yes. I am your husband. You can trust me."

"But it is hard to trust anyone, especially for a guy like you. Even if you're my husband, but our marriage was just a piece of paper. Gideon, I can't trust you everything."

They fell silent. Both listen to each other's breathing. Jewel got up and slowly took off her uniform while listening to the faint hum of the car engine on the other line. She stood in front of the study table and opened the drawer. She picked up the comb and gently combed the messy hair.

She was stunned when Gideon suddenly asked. "How can I gain your trust, Jewel?"

Her heartbeat quickened. She swallowed and looked down. "Love m ---" She closed her eyes firmly. "J-Just stay your distance and I'll be o-okay..."

"Why would I withdraw myself from you?"

She smiled wryly and stared into the whole body mirror on the side. "I don't like to appear pathetic in front of others."

"I never perceived you as weak."

"I know you didn't. It's just me, Gideon."

She stared into the mirror and a strained smile flashed. Jewel watched the slow trail of tears on her cheeks. "I don't need help. I overcame the pain, Gideon. And I know that I can do it again."

The next day, she locked herself in the dorm. She only came out when she was hungry but all she did all day was read erotic romance novels in the reading app and consume all five new borrowed tagalog erotica from Hazel. She just begged her three friends not to disturb her, and they seemed to know she had a problem so they brought drinks and snacks in the afternoon.

She just didn't expect Gideon to knock on her dorm in that night. He had no smile. He was wearing a cardigan and white shirt underneath, paired with a pair of denim pants.

Jewel frowned. "What are you doing ---"

"Pack your things. I will bring you back home."

Her eyes stared into his serious gaze. Gideon was determined to bring her back.