36 The Richman - Victory And Defeat At The Same Time

Richard saw the call coming on his cell phone just before he got into the cabin of his private jet to return to New York. Urgent business affairs forced him to return for a while, and there was no bright spot yet in the sudden search, after all.

Rich felt the need to prepare a new strategy as well as more personnel, including the possibility to involve the local police department or maybe media in broadcasting the news about the loss of Rich's wife.

However, the swift flow of information has also become a boomerang for Rich. Apart from looking for his beloved wife, he is also still considering the stock prices of the companies he leads, which may experience turmoil with the news that is likely to develop wildly.

The pilot came to Richard before they leave the waiting room, "Are you ready, sir?" Asked the pilot.

Richard rose his face and nodded "Yes." He answered.

"We will be ready in ten minutes." Said Pilot before leaved Richard, he was going to the runway where Richard's private jet was parked.

"Ok," Richard rose and follow the Pilot to the runway. In the halfway, he reclaimed his cellphone, which was ringing but then died before he could pick it up. He ignored it and climbed the steps to the plane and took a seat he found comfortable. As he glanced out the window, Rich's mind was still on the incoming call.

"I don't recognize the number." He said for himself. Richard looked at his cell phone for one more time before turned off his cellphone remembering the flight was imminent.

The pilot had already given a signal to the officers at the watchtower to ask for a flight route, the tower had asked to wait another five minutes considering the air traffic at that time was still so busy.

Richard took a deep breath, his conscience screaming for him to redial the number. And sure enough, Richard touched the "redial" sign on his cellphone screen, a moment later a ringing sound was heard.

"Hello." A woman's voice was heard on the other side, trembling and full of emotion.

"Christabell is that you?!" Richard immediately recognized the voice.

"HOLD ON !!!" He shouted at the pilot, causing the pilot to return to contact the air traffic control officer to delay the flight. Rich immediately got out of the plane.

"Tell me where are you?" Rich asked impatiently, he looked very panicked but also happy at the same time. Happiness even seemed to burst into the atmosphere around Rich at that time.

She answered with a trembling voice, as if she almost cried there, "I'm headed for the hotel where you are staying." She answered.

"Ok, I'll be there." Richard immediately asked his trusted people to hand over the car keys so that he could immediately go to the hotel where he was staying.

"I want to talk a lot, but I'm going to drive now. Can I call this number again later?" Rich asked quickly.

"Yes. " Christabell answered quickly.

While Richard stepped on the gas pedal so deeply that the car he was traveling in sped up fast, on the other hand, Christabell was in tears. After all this time, finally, she could hear her husband's voice again.

"You will meet your husband, very soon." Said, Esmeralda.

Christabell nodded, she squeezed Esmeralda's hand gently. "I don't know how to thank you, Esmeralda."

"You don't need to thank me, Christabell. I do it sincerely because you're my friend." She said friendly. The taxi driver drove within reasonable limits, and unfortunately, there was a little traffic jam ahead.

"Oh come on!" Growled Esmeralda. "At this rate, Pablo might catch up with us."

"At least Pablo doesn't know where we're going." Christabell wiped her tears, she tried to think positively so that her hopes of meeting her husband would not just disappear. Esmeralda occasionally looked back to make sure there was no Pablo's car behind their vehicle.

"Can we take another way to get to the hotel?" Asked Christabell panic.

"This is the closest line." Said the driver.

"It's okay to turn a little, so you don't have to wait in traffic." Esmeralda was half-pleading, she really couldn't bear to imagine a possible failure like Pablo who suddenly appeared and dragged them out of the taxi, throwing himself by the side of the road while carrying Christabell farther and harder to find. Christabell would become even more helpless because Pablo knew very well that Bell's weakness lay in her baby. Christabell could not have sacrificed Adrianna's safety for anything.

"Please, sir," Christabell beged the driver.

"Ok, the rates will go up then. Because the rate adjusts how far I have to take you." Said the taxi driver.

"Yes, no problem. My husband has a lot of money." Christabell said quickly. Even so, she was well aware that Esmeralda and herself left without a penny.

Esmeralda frowned at Bell, while Bell nodded. "We've got to get to see Richard, that's the most important thing. I'll take care of this taxi." Said Bell try to make her calm down.

Meanwhile, the blood starts to recede from Esmeralda's face, she really forgets that this taxi has to be paid for and the value is not small, especially if you have to go through a detour when what is in her wallet is only a few dollars.

"Bell, shouldn't we just wait." Emanuella changed her mind.

"Esmeralda, what happened?" Christabell hissed, they seemed to be whispering to each other.

She whispered the answer in Christabell's ear. "I don't have enough money to pay the meter."

"My husband will pay for everything, believe me. After meeting him all will be well." Christabell said calmly.

***

Esmeralda and Christabell got out of the taxi while the driver was asked to wait to meet Richard.

"I can't wait." The driver grumbled.

Esmeralda approached him. "Keep your rates machine on and we'll pay double that." He said proudly.

He rose his eyebrow and grumbled again. "Ok." The man got back into the taxi and soon a sedan entered the parking area.

Esmeralda and Christabell stared at each other in the cold, they were completely dead. Because when the car was parked, Pablo looked out with an angry face.

"What are you doing in this place." The brown-skinned man spoke between gritted teeth.

"Pablo let Christabell go." Ella blocked Pablo's steps to approach Christabell, but the man seemed to have darkened his eyes. She pushed Ella to her knees, while the taxi driver looked frightened and chose to stay in the car.

"Damn, instead of getting paid double, it turns out that her husband is a lunatic." The driver grumbled.

Not long after the tug of war began, Pablo tried to drag Christabell into the car. She no longer showed the tenderness she used to give Bell and Adrianna. The fear of losing the two angels made him so possessive that he could no longer control himself.

"Pablo you hurt me." Christabel struggled while keeping the baby in her arms while Pablo desperately continued to drag her along.

Suddenly someone attacked Pablo angrily until he fell down to the ground. Pablo was dragged and repeatedly beaten until he staggered, the opponent crushed him and beat him black and blue until several people came and intervened them.

Esmeralda, who originally helped Christabell carry her baby, was seen standing with tears in her eyes seeing the man who also had bruises on his face due to Pablo's resistance, ran to Bell and hugged him tightly. He kissed her many times. Even the taxi driver, who seemed to be indifferent at first, helped intervene the two of them in the end along with some people from the hotel security.

"I love you." That's what Richard said over and over while hugging Bell. And when the blue emotion between them started to subside, Esmeralda walked over to and give Christbell her baby, "Here is your baby." Esmeralda said briefly, but the sentence was so powerful in Richard's ear. He froze for a moment, until at last his eyes glazed over, staring at Bell. The woman nodded with tears in her eyes. After Bell reassured her, with some hesitation Richard took Adrianna from Ella's embrace and embraced her.

"My baby?" He whispered, the tip of Rich's nose touched Adriana's forehead and the baby who had originally been crying calmed down.

"Is she my baby?" Richard looked at Bell and his wife kept nodding as she rubbed the back of the man who became melancholy when he embraced his baby for the first time.

"Em… He's waiting for taxi payment." Esmeralda grinned because she felt uncomfortable disturbing the romance in front of her. Richard quickly handed Adriana to his mother and took the wallet then pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and handed them out without counting the sheets again.

"But sir, this is too much." The taxi driver looked confused.

"Just take it back," Richard replied quickly. He does not care about money anymore, it seems, for him, his wife and daughter are everything nowadays.

Esmeralda approached awkwardly. "I guess you're right, Pablo is not who I think he is." Said Esmeralda.

"Esmeralda, I'm sorry." The feeling of guilt suddenly rose in Christabell's heart seeing Pablo battered by her husband's beating and now sitting with several security guards who seemed to be interrogating her.

"Can I see him for a moment?" Asked Christabell, Richard's gaze changed when he learned that his wife meant Pablo.

"Why see him again, that rancid thug has lied to me." Richard looked very upset and angry as well when he stared at Pablo's face.

Christabell took a deep breath. "If there was no her, maybe you would never have met me and your daughter." Said Bell, he kept approaching Pablo, while Ella took over again Adrianna.

"Pablo . . ." Christabel touched the man's bruised face and he seemed to grimace in pain. "Forgive my husband." Said Bell.

"Go on, what else are you here for?" Pablo answered curtly.

"I really don't want to end up like this." Said Christabell, she felt sorry for what happened. She also felt upset when she realized that not end up well.

Pablo stared at him. "Go."

"I will pay for your treatment to recover, as well as reimburse all the costs you have spent on caring for me and Adrianna." Said Bell.

Pablo smiled skeptically. "Not everything you can pay with your money, Mrs. Anthony's." Pablo got up from where he was sitting and left Bell alone. With a little limp he walked to his car and left.

Christabell watched him leave with tears in his eyes. After all, he became the closest man she could count on to survive for several days. She and her daughter, Adrianna depended on life for some time.

Richard sighed in witnessing it all, he had never seen Christabell this emotional when parting with someone. A question mark emerged from within Richard, did Bell keep any other name besides his name in his heart? Could the man in brown skin have won Christabell's heart during some of their time together?

Christabell wiped her tears, parting with Pablo was inevitable, but it wasn't the end of it either. Her real-world come back. Richard Anthony, her only love and now they had Adrianna Anthony. Isn't her world perfect now? Then why did it feel like there was a huge gaping black hole in her heart?

Esmeralda handed Adrianna into her mother's arms, she seemed to say goodbye, and there was nothing to say but thank you. Esmeralda even refused the amount of money that Richard wanted to give her as a sign of gratitude. Seeing that Christabell's heart was getting torn apart, Pablo's words seemed to slap him once again. "Not everything can be paid in your money!"

Christabell's steps wavered seeing Pablo who he had previously imagined as a monster became Pablo who was full of love and cared about him and Adrianna. Christabell sat facing Pablo but the man looked away.