He roughly grabbed the camera and removed it from around her neck. Due to his swift movements, Clara only realized too late that the camera was no longer around her neck. Lamech stepped back, holding the camera in one hand. Frowning, he opened the gallery and searched for the photo of him with Azora.
“Hey!” Clara exclaimed. She quickly approached him, trying to grab the camera. “Give it to me!” she hissed, standing on tiptoe.
But Lamech raised the camera higher while browsing through the photos. There were many pictures of the beach resort, and that was almost all he saw amidst the numerous photos. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found the photo and promptly deleted it. He handed the camera back to Clara, who was panting and had sweat forming on her forehead.
He grinned at her appearance. “That’s your punishment for misbehavior. Next time, don’t take pictures of random people,” he said.
She glared at him and snatched the camera from his hand. She opened the gallery and checked the pictures.
Lamech cleared his throat. “I just deleted one photo from your gallery. I didn’t touch your other pictures.”
She looked at him sharply. “That was supposed to be my scoop!”
He raised an eyebrow at her statement. “So you know who I am?”
Clara looked away. “Y-Yes.”
He let out another smirk. “That’s the very reason you shouldn’t have taken a picture of us.”
“It’s my job to take pictures, prosecutor!” she said, almost in tears. “You shouldn’t have deleted that picture!”
He looked at her sternly and crossed his arms. “Azora is here to recuperate. If other media find out that she is here, she won’t have the chance to heal. Do you understand what I mean?” he said.
The woman didn’t answer and, with a pout, put the camera back around her neck. She marched away without saying goodbye. He sighed. He knew she would be annoyed by what he did, but he had no choice but to prevent the news of Azora’s presence in Santander from spreading.
It wasn’t long before Azora finally woke up. She looked for Japen immediately upon waking and asked him if what she saw was true. He sighed before nodding.
Without warning, Azora got out of bed and ran out of the clinic. She looked for Japen, even shouting his name, so he quickly silenced her and promised to find Japen.
They spent a few minutes wandering inside, asking patients they passed if they had seen Japen, until they found him sitting on the bermuda grass not far from a small fountain behind the building.
“Japen!” Azora shouted and ran towards the man.
Lamech frowned but remained silent. He let the two embrace under the narra tree. He stood a short distance away and listened to their conversation.
At first, Azora recounted what had happened to her in the past few months. Japen glanced at him when he noticed that Azora’s story was incomplete. Lamech showed no reaction. He simply crossed his arms and listened.
“How about you?” Azora asked eagerly.
Japen turned back to Azora and told her what had happened to him and Anya. He said the hospital operation went well. Anya took good care of him, and Robert even gave them some money. But one night, Don Alibata’s men arrived and advised them to go south and not show themselves to Azora again. That’s how they ended up in that institution.
Lamech saw how Azora sighed, as if a thorn had been removed from her chest. “I’m glad that you and Anya were safe,” she said with a smile. But later, her smile faded. “But why were you two kissing each other?”
Japen fell silent. He was speechless for a few seconds and then looked away. “Anya and I were together for months. We faced every problem together, Azora… we fell for each other.”
Lamech’s eyes narrowed slightly. His suspicion about Anya and Japen’s relationship was correct. He knew there was something unusual about their bond, but it was only now confirmed. It was good that Japen had the courage to tell the truth because if he didn’t, it would only make things harder for all three of them… including himself.
Azora was silent for a few seconds after Japen spoke. She then cleared her throat. “Is that feeling mutual?”
Japen nodded, causing Azora to sigh. “In that case, I won’t interfere with your and Anya’s relationship. I wish you two happiness…”
“Azora.”
“Shh.” Azora raised a finger to Japen’s lips. “Don’t say anything. I mean it. I want you and Anya to be happy. I’m glad that we had this closure because, you know… I badly needed it.” Azora laughed softly.
Japen couldn’t resist and quickly pulled Azora into a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder. “I hope you recover soon. When that time comes… I hope to see you again, Azora.”
“Japen? What do you mean?”
Japen shook his head and pulled away from the hug. A gentle smile appeared on his lips as he looked at Azora. “Take care of yourself, Azora.”
“Likewise.” Azora laughed softly again. “Wait, why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?”
Japen smiled and ruffled Azora’s hair. “Why don’t you introduce me to your fiance?” he asked.
Azora’s smile faded a bit. She quickly turned towards Lamech, who was standing a few meters away. Azora pursed her lips. “He’s Lamech,” she said.
Japen laughed and guided Azora towards Lamech. Lamech stood up straight as the two approached him. They stopped in front of him.
Azora looked up at him, their eyes meeting. She gave him a weak smile and cleared her throat. “Japen, this is Lamech. Lamech, this is Japen.” She smiled at him.
He returned Azora’s smile, but it quickly faded when he met Japen’s serious gaze. Japen extended his hand for a handshake. Lamech took his hand, and they briefly shook hands, even though they had already introduced themselves earlier. He quickly withdrew his hand.