4 The First Option (2/2)

”How did you know?” I ask nervously.

”Well, from your good old friend, the nun,” he says. ”She doesn't seem like the nun today. All I can hear is her slurry speech and deluded thoughts, but she managed to tell me everything I need to know.”

I have two sisters for fools! How can she easily trust this liar? Emma would be so furious once she finds out that her health issue is spreading. This is terrible! She is her father's only heir, and once the media knows that the heiress is dead, it would cause unease within her father's company! This man is a journalist himself! This is dangerous! By God, Eloisa, you were a greater fool than I imagined!

”She said something about a search,” he says. ”A third lover came as a shock to me. I thought I only had one rival.”

”Do you know the identity of this lover?” I ask.

”No,” he says grimly. ”But I know the second one knows. She was not as noble as you may think she is. He complained to me that she cheated on him for another man. But hey, she is pious, I suppose. He could be lying!”

”Enough games, Mateo,” I exclaimed. ”Do not play with this. I want to give her a peaceful part of this world by finding that man, but unfortunately, no one I know knows who he is. Her little maid knows nothing. We, her friends, her sisters, know nothing. Even you know nothing that she had a third lover. I want to find him. Sadly, the maid could only give me a poem that proves the third lover's existence.”

”Where is that poem?” he asks.

”Excuse me?” I ask.

”Give me the poem,” he demanded. ”If there's one thing I know about your friend, it is that her poems can either be literal or metaphorical. If means it literally, the entire poem means literally. If she means it metaphorically, she means the entirety of it as nothing more than a metaphor – it exists, but we need to fathom its deepest meaning.

”You are no poet!” I exclaimed.

”No, but I dated her for a few months or so,” he says. ”And it wasn't her fault that I was a lying cheater, as you say.”

I hate the way he feels like he could do everything. He cannot possibly interpret such complex poems that I cannot understand. She is too ambiguous about everything. All I can do is let my mind be enchanted by her seductive words that let me try to interpret it, but could mean a whole lot meaning at the end of the day.

Hesitantly, I handed him the paper the maid gave me. I have no choice. Maybe he can help me after all. He can give some descriptive information about this man. He read the poem through and through and he seems to be in deep thought about it. I am silently hoping that he might know the answer to it.

”I cannot interpret the poem,” he says.

”Then why did you say you can do it?” I ask angrily.

”It's because usually, she puts a post scriptum behind the page,” he says as he turns the page back. ”A 'P.S' if you will. And there it is. It is written in French but backward. You might not have noticed it, did you?”

Wow, he is intelligent. He knew what I could not know and all I could do was be amazed by the talents he has shown me.

”Hmmmm, it says, October 10, 2015,” he read slowly. ”This is the day that he left me. The reason behind it is somewhat unknown to me, but I do know that I will continue to love him as he is. I shan't forget him, though the world may forget about our love.” He put the paper aside and he began thinking things through. ”That was sixteen days ago! So, this third lover truly exists and there is no denying that she is determined to hide him! He left her sixteen days ago. What a pity!”

Sixteen days ago. . . I have not seen her for months. She never called me or asked to see me. She only called me a week ago, on the day that she was taken to the hospital. Why did she hide this lover from me? What a fool! She is such a fool that she did not bother to tell me who it is. How could she forget to trust me, her friend and sister?

”We need to contact the second lover,” he says. ”He knows who it is.”

”We?” I say. ”You are not included in this search. Eloisa and I will find him in a week's time.”

”One thing I know from your beloved friend is that when she wants something hidden, she will remove all traces of it. D'you honestly think that this search would be easy?”

”But, she is a human too,” I say in response. ”She must have left something.”

”Yes,” he says. ”That is indeed true. Anyway, I am going to help whether you want it or not.”

”Oh, really?” I ask. ”Why is that?”

”Because I owe her a lot,” he says simply. ”And this is the only way I can repay her. I broke her heart, but she defended me from you. I cheated on her, but she remained faithful. Now, I think she deserves a true lover that would grant the peace that she needs.”