Day Fifty-Three…
~~*****~~
Nathan and Stephen proceeded to the balcony. The two were so quiet at first. The awkwardness was still there. They weren't used to fighting and arguing over a matter. This was the first time it had ever happened.
"Nate…" Stephen broke the silence first.
Nathan faced him, just waiting for his following words. Unknown to Stephen, Nathan heard the conversation between Jane and him. He knew that Jane had convinced Stephen to apologize to him.
Deep inside, he was surprised because Stephen's decision could be swayed easily by Jane.
"I'm here to apologize… I shouldn't have acted like that… in my father's clinic." Stephen lowered his gaze as he couldn't look straight into Nathan's eyes. Aside from Jane's request, Stephen realized his mistake. He took for granted his best friend's feelings. "I'm sorry for being selfish. I mean it."
Nathan remained silent, observing Stephen. He could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"Someone made me realize what I've done wrong. As your best friend… I shouldn't have judged you… Will you still treat me as your best friend?" Stephen asked him, a faint smile flashing on his face. He wanted to reconcile with Nathan.
"I understand. I forgave you." Nathan didn't think twice. Hearing the conversation between Jane and Stephen, he already decided to forgive Stephen. Just like Jane, he didn't want his relationship with Stephen to fall apart.
In fact, he didn't expect Jane to fix the conflict between them. He thought Jane would use Stephen to get what she wanted from Nathan.
"Thank you, Nate. I won't interfere with your decision anymore… related to Phantomflake." Stephen heaved a sigh of defeat. This was what Jane wanted so he had to respect it.
Nathan fell silent. Stephen was so obedient to Phantomflake. For some unknown reason, Nathan was annoyed by this. But then again, he recalled that Phantomflake was crying in her room upstairs.
"How much do you know about Phantomflake's past?" Nathan asked Stephen out of curiosity. He was not able to refrain from asking about Phantomflake's past. He wanted to hear more.
On the other hand, Stephen was taken aback since he wasn't expecting Nathan to have an interest in Phantomflake's past. He was reluctant to talk because he made a vow of keeping Phantomflake's past a secret.
"What do you want to know, Nate? Why are you asking me this?" Stephen confronted him for his motive.
"Don't get me wrong. I don't have any evil plan regarding her past. I'm just curious. Furthermore, Phantomflake is claiming that she is someone whom I knew before. She might be Shining Star. But I am still investigating because that identity also belonged to Monica." Nathan explained to Stephen.
Stephen was shocked when he heard that. "Shining Star? Your virtual friend?"
Nathan nodded his head. He used this excuse to make Stephen speak and tell him what he knew about Phantomflake's past.
"I remembered… Jane is also good at computer programming. During our therapy session, she once told me that she had a close friend online but she never met him. She seemed so happy and relaxed whenever we talked about him. So I encouraged her to narrate about her friendship with that guy. But later on, I found out that her friend just disappeared without saying goodbye to her."
"Since then… we never talked about him, thinking that she might be sad for losing him. So… are you saying that you and her virtual friend are the same person?" Stephen added.
Nathan was at a loss for words. Hearing Stephen's revelation, he could only believe that Phantomflake was not making up a story. She shared this story with her psychologist, Stephen. There was a big possibility that he was the person Phantomflake was referring to— SizzlingAugust.
Her statement, Stephen's statement, and what happened in the past were all consistent. There was no loophole. If he would compare this to Monica's story, he felt like something was missing and there was inconsistency with her statements in the past.
At first, Nathan didn't dwell on it, thinking that she might have forgotten about something. But now, he realized that Monica was always trying to avoid the topic of their past moments before.
'If this is true… then Phantomflake must be the real Shining Star. So how did Monica become hers? Monica could access her account before…' Doubts started to grow in Nathan's mind. He didn't know what to feel about this.
"Nate?" Stephen's voice brought him back to the present. "What were you thinking? You were spacing out."
Nathan glanced at Stephen with complicated emotions on his face. He couldn't believe that he was deceived by Monica. How did she manage to get Shining Star's account? Nathan couldn't figure out how it happened
'Perhaps, someone hacked her account and stole it. Was Monica capable of doing that?' Nathan mused to himself. When they were together, Monica refrained from doing actual hacking and programming a system. She preferred to work independently, not allowing Nathan to watch her.
He could only come up with one assumption. Someone might be assisting Monica during those times. Nathan started to become suspicious of Monica. He clenched his fists while gritting his teeth.
"Stephen, let's continue our talk tomorrow," Nathan seemed like he was ready to send him off.
Feeling confused, Stephen could only nod his head. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."
When Stephen left, Nathan went inside the house to check on Phantomflake. When he reached her bedroom, he stopped for a moment, contemplating whether he would knock to let his presence know or just turn around to leave. What would he do if she was still crying?
Nathan hesitated whether to see her or not. But deep down, part of him would like to find out how she was doing. Something changed with his feelings when he was convinced that Phantomflake was Shining Star— his old friend. Though he couldn't change the fact that she killed Monica, Shining Star was once a friend… and the first woman who became special in his heart.
After gathering his emotions, Nathan knocked on the door. But he didn't receive any response from her. Without further ado, Nathan twisted the doorknob and pushed the door. He entered the room only to see Phantomflake sleeping on her bed. There were marks of tears on her face. She fell asleep from crying too much. Her eyes were puffy and swollen.
Nathan's eyes were fixed on her. He reached out to touch her face but his hand stopped midway as he hesitated once more.
'I'm going crazy,' Nate mumbled to himself before retracting his hand. Instead of caressing her face, Nathan just grabbed the quilt, covering her body with the blanket. He looked at her for several minutes before he turned around and left.
'I shouldn't be swayed by this… She is my enemy. Not my friend anymore… And she is no longer the woman who holds a place in my heart… It's Abigail.'
Nathan felt the need to distance himself from Phantomflake because of Abigail. He shouldn't be affected by her.
Before he left the house, he gave orders to Chantha to take care of Jane. He wanted her to watch and monitor Phantomflake's condition because he somehow felt the guilt. He tortured her despite the fact she had just woken up from a coma.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦