The director did keep his promise. In the last few days, I was safe inside the campus premises. There were still reporters outside, but every time I entered and exited the University, I was securely escorted by two bodyguards, and Japen was waiting just across the side gate. All the reporters were at the front gate, and they didn’t dare to crash the side gate because the director had warned them.
After all, they had no power over the premises and what they needed to do was to follow orders and provoke the University’s administration. Nothing more, nothing less. Disrupting the University’s peace by blocking every entry was not a good move, especially since the University was not a public space. The director could easily throw those reporters away, so they would not dare.
Also, the director was not an ordinary man as he had possessions and connections equivalent to those in elite circles. It was just that the director’s power was not equal to or greater than Dad’s power, so he had to keep a low profile whenever Dad was around.
That afternoon, I did not expect someone to appear before me.
“Mr. Clasiso,” I greeted him and stepped back. “G-Good afternoon.”
I uneasily looked around. I was in the place where Anthony died. I still remembered that I had left a gift somewhere around here, but I couldn’t remember exactly where I put it. It would cause trouble if the authorities found it, so I took the initiative. I planned to look for that necklace in this place.
My afternoon class had just ended, and I immediately pushed myself to go there. There were no students around. I wasn’t surprised since the admin restricted this area while the police were still investigating the incident. But after that, the restriction was lifted, though no one wanted to hang out there, especially knowing that someone had died in that area. It was me who was brave enough to visit that place after some time.
“You’re Anthony’s friend?” he asked.
His voice sounded innocent, like he was just asking a common question, but I knew better. I thought that Mr. Clasiso was banned from entering; I was wrong. He wouldn’t dare cross the line inside the University’s premises, right?
I slowly nodded and looked away. I couldn’t stand his penetrating gaze, like he wanted to devour me alive, and I wasn’t taking it figuratively, though it felt like something out of a novel. His gaze was full of pure hatred and suspicion.
“You know why he killed himself?” he asked when he noticed my silence.
I swallowed and shook my head. He sighed. I couldn’t help but tremble a little, especially when he took a step forward.
“You know that I hate liars.”
I looked at him. He was still staring at me, not even a single second passing without his gaze fixed on my face. If it wasn’t Anthony’s father, I would think that this man wanted to force his way on me. But I knew that with his status, he wouldn’t lay a finger on me, and that was enough for me to breathe a sigh of relief. I mentally scolded myself for even thinking he would force me to kneel. No, a man like him wouldn’t lower himself like that.
But stating that he hated liars was enough for me to know he wasn’t convinced that I didn’t know why Anthony killed himself. Well, I knew he didn’t kill himself, so technically, I didn’t know why Anthony would kill himself.
“I am stating the truth,” I whispered.
He took a step forward, which made me step back in response. I didn’t want to stand closer to this man. “You surely know the reason why my son ended his life!” he roared, partially panting from rage.
I suppressed myself from showing indifference and smirking in front of him. If Anthony was willing to let Dad kill him that night, I knew there was a problem. Then Jenica narrated in the office that Anthony was having some family problems, and her statement was believable enough for an average mind to comprehend that it was the reason Anthony did it.
But my mind knew that wasn’t the truth, and Mr. Clasiso knew too well there was a big mystery behind his son’s case. He wouldn’t want to admit that he was one of the reasons Anthony ended his life. At that moment, I wondered what kind of father Mr. Clasiso was, but upon seeing him in front of me, with a reddened face and ears from suppressed anger and grief, I concluded that he was like Dad.
“I did not know, Sir.” I looked away. “Anthony was not a vocal person. When he was alive, we would constantly bump into each other because he was a senior in my class. I will not consider myself his close friend, for I only knew his name and grade. He did not talk about his problems with me.”
Well, what I revealed was true. I wouldn’t consider myself his close friend because I was his girlfriend, and he really didn’t talk about his problems. I didn’t even know who his father and mother were, not until I searched it on the internet and got a glimpse of what his mother looked like. But there were only a few pictures of Mr. Clasiso, so I didn’t immediately recognize him when I first saw him enter the office a few weeks ago. Even though I searched it on the internet, I wasn’t sure of Anthony’s mother’s name because there were many possible names displayed in the search engine, so I didn’t bother to look deeper because I thought Anthony would reveal it to me in no time.
Mr. Clasiso stared at me for a moment before turning his back and walking away. I was stunned and stared at his back until he disappeared from my sight.
That’s it? I gently scratched my chin, a little confused by what had happened.