“Are you okay? Are you tired?” Maia asked worriedly. I just gave her a smile. “I’m fine,” I said as I took one of my luggage and went to the house. It was already eight in the evening, and we just arrived here in the house that my parents provided us in Nebraska. We were still unloading our things and the driver that brought us here was helping us. The house follows a gothic revival type of architecture. Most houses in this village have the same style. It has a steeply pitched roof with decorated bargeboard and cross gables, arched gothic windows and doors with arched panels, and a first-floor porch.It was actually big for just the two of us. It was spacious and has a lot of rooms in it. It has four rooms in the second room and also has a guest room here on the first floor. I sighed as I carried my big luggage to my room upstairs. I chose the room nearing the window with a view of the front porch. “Thank you!” I heard Maia say as I was hurrying down to get my other things. When I
I cried to sleep and it was Maia who stayed with me the whole night. The next day, I woke up very late already. I think I was still jetlagged. I wasn’t even able to do anything the whole day but sleep. I yawned and got up from the bed already. I pressed my lips together before I went out of bed. Slowly, I walked out of the room and went downstairs. I yawned again and looked around it was dark around already and it was quiet as hell. “Maia?” I called. “Here!” I heard her voice from the kitchen. I scratched my head and went there immediately. “Hey!” she greeted. I saw her cooking our dinner. I looked at the counter. It had a lot of grocery bags there. I pursed my lips and went to it. “Hmm, you went out to the store…” I said. I heard her chuckle. “Yes. Hey, I know I told you that we’ll shop together, but you were so asleep, so I just went out on my own. Let’s just go out tomorrow again so you can buy what you want, okay? I only brought the essentials, though,” she said and gave me a
Panic succumbed the hell out of me as I was staring at my cell phone. I felt like my whole world just shifted course as I was staring at my phone. I felt like the world just fell on me. No, no, no, no! My fingers were shaking already as I fidget with my phone. I opened my calendar again and re-trace the days that I had my period. Fuck. Fuck! This can’t be! This can’t be! My whole body was shaking already and I just found myself sitting down because I was too weak to even stand. I heard some customers asking me if I was okay, but I wasn’t able to answer them. I even heard some of them calling the guard already, but I still couldn’t move. I just stayed there, staring into nothing. “Felice? Felice?” I was just pulled back to reality when I felt someone shaking me. I then heard Maia’s voice. “Is she okay, Ma’am? Does she need something?” We even heard the staff say. Slowly, I looked around and saw that there were already people looking at us. Unknowingly, we were making a scene alre
I was dumbfounded the whole day. I didn’t know what to do. It’s like the scandal all over again, but this time I felt fear. I was so scared that I ended up jailing myself in my room. I didn’t go out and eat. It was just Maia who kept on forcing me to eat because she said it could affect the baby…The baby… this baby inside me. My mouth parted as I slowly caressed my stomach. My eyes watered upon the thought that I was growing a human being inside me. I was in a fetal position and I covered myself with a comforter. The aircon was at the lowest temperature. No lights, even a lamp was on in my room. I could still smell the last food that Maia brought for lunch. It was on a tray on my bedside table. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I continued to caress my stomach. Tears started pouring down my face and I didn’t have the energy to even stop it. They just kept on coming, and I let them. I closed my eyes tight and bit my lip when I felt dizzy again. I waited for some seconds for it g
My pregnancy changed the game big time. All I did that day was cry. Like I didn’t do that the whole time since this scandal started, right? Nothing was new about it already. My parents were just on their phones most of the time. It was Maia who continued to take care of me. I stayed in my room. I didn’t want to go out and listen to how they were planning to take this another scandal with me. Yes. They called the baby another scandal. They said it was another shame for our family, and that hurts me more. I curled into a fetal position again. I took a deep breath and I held onto my stomach. You’re still not born yet, but everyone was so chaotic already. I’m sorry, baby. I-I’m so sorry…“Hey…” I immediately wiped the tears on my face and sat up on the bed. “What? What is it this time?” I said coldly. She didn’t respond immediately. She was just looking at me as if gauging my reaction. I saw her biting her lip as she slowly walked toward me. “They’ll be sending us out again…” she sai
After 5 years…“Mommy!” I immediately looked at the little girl rushing toward me. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at her cute little outfit. She was wearing a cute floral off-shoulder dress with matching cute little doll shoes. Then she has a big ribbon on her head. I shook my head and bit my lip as I watched her turn around like a princess. I finished putting my shoes on the rack before I walked up to her. “Hey, little one!” I kneeled down and spread my arms. “Give mommy a hug!” I said, and as if on cue she immediately ran into me. I laughed and hugged her tightly and showered her with kisses. “She was doing dress-up all day.” I heard Maia say. I then looked at her who was standing a few meters from us. I smiled and just shook my head again. I heaved a sigh and carried Flannel with me. I looked at her then. “So, you were playing dress-up the whole day, huh? Do you want to be a fashion designer or something?” I narrowed my eyes at her. She just giggled and nodded her head.
“How would I know you’re not bluffing, Attorney?” I asked coldly. I felt my hands trembling and my heart beating so fast already. I saw Maia asking me who is it through hand gestures, but I just couldn’t answer her yet. It seemed that my heart wanted to go out of my chest already as I waited for the lawyer’s answer.“I could give the phone to your mother, Miss Lemuel, but I am afraid that she is at the hospital with your father right now. I could just call you, though if ever you want to talk to her,” he said.I bit my lip hard. I took a deep breath before answering back to him. “I’ll wait for your call then,” I said and ended the call right after. I gasped and leaned on the high chair. “Felice, what happened?” Maia went up to me. My hands were still trembling as I tried to sit on the high chair. I saw Maia rushing to the refrigerator. “Here, drink this.” She handed me a glass of water. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I drank from the glass. My heart was still beating so fast
That whole day, I waited for an update from the lawyer of the company. I couldn’t think straight and even do a thing while waiting for an update. It’s the same with Maia, too. We were just in the living room for that whole day, watching movies to kill time, but my phone was just on the center table in case Mom called. I heaved a sigh and looked at the clock in front of us. I turned to Maia who was still looking at the wall, too. “It’s probably evening there,” she said. I sighed and nodded. “What happens now, Felice?” she asked again. My forehead creased. “What do you mean?” She heaved a sigh and shrugged. “Once your Mom calls, what will happen? Will we go home?” I wasn’t able to answer immediately. I looked away. I swallowed the lump in my throat and took in a deep breath. I don't know what to answer because honestly, I haven’t decided yet. I blew a breath and looked at her slowly. She was still looking at me, waiting for my response. “I still haven’t decided, Maia. Plus, I c
All my life, I have been trained to be the best. I was trained to always follow the norm, the standard. I was little miss perfect. They turned me into one, and I had no choice but to be one. I didn’t have much freedom growing up because there were a lot of expectations from me. They were all watching me. I couldn’t move freely because every move that In make, they will always have a say about it. When college and Gregory came, that’s when I first got a taste of my freedom. It was forbidden, but every time we go out on our own, I just felt so free. I felt like I was spreading my wings and flying to wherever I want to go. I was out of the limelight. No one was giving a fuck about what I do and no one was judging me from head to toe. But then that freedom with Gregory has its perils. I was so much ready to fight for him, but it turned out that he was not worth to fight for. Greg is my first love and my first heartbreak. What he did to me and to my family was just so much that I couldn’t
“They will announce you already as the new CEO, hija, at the gala.” My mother said while we were in the living room. It has been days since that meeting with the family and currently, we are preparing for our departure two days from now. I just gave her a smile. “I know, Mom,” I answered before looking back at my laptop where I am reconnecting with my former boss and Flannel’s requirements for school next academic year. “Alright, you should bring Flannel to our designer, then. We need to look gorgeous in the gala, hija,” she said while smiling from ear to ear. I just rolled my eyes and nodded at her. I went back to making my Flannel’s requirements again. She didn’t bother me anyway. She just stood and went to my dad’s office. I shrugged and continued what I was doing. I want to finish everything before our flight to the US, so all I would think about once we get there will be just the house where my parents will be staying and how I will get back to work again. I was lucky enough b
I honestly don’t know if it is the right time to do this meeting with the family because of what is happening in the family, but then we have no choice as we were running out of time already. We need to do this now since we also need to go back to the US already. I don’t know but, I just felt like I needed to get away from this all ready for me to start over again. “Are you ready?” Mommy asked again when we were getting out of the car in front of the building. I looked around the lobby and saw that there were a lot of employees eyeing us. Mommy was walking with her head up. I was beside her and we were walking side by side as we went to the elevator. A lot of guards were with us. I didn’t even know why Mommy brought these guards with us. I mean, it's not as if we are going to war here, you know. Tsk. I shook my head and just walked with her though. When we reached the office, Atty. Lockheart was already there, waiting for us. Mom went immediately to our lawyer."How's your paper?"
Everything was chaotic. We were the talk of the business world for I think weeks. Yes, the issue was that long. Aside from the chaos outside, we also had inside fights of course, but then unlike before, Mommy and I didn't make Flannel available to any of our relatives. They can lash at us all they want but they are not touching my daughter.I've heard the worst things from them. They had their presscon and we just stayed silent because we didn't want this to grow like wildfire. May they want to? But then I won't give them their satisfaction. The important thing is that my daughter knows my truth and I have already explained to her what happened and why this is happening. It took me a lot of courage, but I was just so blessed that she was able to understand and that she didn't make it hard for me to explain. She understands why I needed to do it for her and she also understands why she cannot see her father yet. It's been four weeks and during those times, I did nothing but make sure
"Let's go, Felice!' I wasn't able to say anything and I just let my mother dragged me out of that cafe already. I was still so stunned because of what happened. My mom was ranting while we were on the way to the car. My daughter was asking me questions but I couldn't answer them because I was still so preoccupied with what happened. All the things that my mother was saying in the car were like air that passed by me. I couldn’t comprehend what they were saying and I felt like I was floating and everything around was just background noise. All the way to our house, I was just staring at outside blankly. I couldn’t believe what just happened earlier. Everything was chaotic when we got home! I was so shocked to see a lot of reporters outside our village and even outside our house. Shit. What the hell is happening?! “Get Flannel inside now! Secure everything inside and outside the village, am I clear?” I slumped my back on the couch. I saw Maia getting Flannel out of the living room, w
“Shall we talk about our setup, then?” I asked Greg as I watched him looking at Flannel who was enjoying her ice cream. He has been silent for the last few minutes that we were here. I sighed again and just looked at him. I saw him gulp and then he cleared his throat. "Uhh, yeah…" he said and looked away. I raised a brow on him. I don't know why he couldn't look at me, to be honest. I just didn't dwell on it and started talking. "We will be going back to the States," I started. That's when I got his attention. His eyes widened and looked at me confusingly. "What?" he asked unbelievably. I sighed. "You know that Flannel's school is in there and my decision in managing the company remotely is final, so we will really need to go home, Gregory. Plus, my parents are going with us, too."I saw how his lips parted when I said that. He gasped hard. "But what about me, Felice? How can I be with my daughter?"I let out a sigh again. "That is why we need to talk about it. We can have an a
“Are you ready?” Maia asked my daughter as she was getting her ready for later. “Yes, I am! I am!” she said excitedly. I quickly avoided her gaze. We were on the couch in the living room and I was watching her as she was getting dressed by Maia. She was wearing a pink dress and cute white doll shoes. She looked like a princess twirling around. I was staring at my daughter who was all smiles already. I couldn’t look at her. My heart felt like it was about to go out of my chest already. I don’t know what to feel. My body was trembling already and I could feel the cold embracing my whole body. I took a deep breath again, trying to calm myself. I closed my eyes for a bit. “Felice,” I froze on my feet when I heard my mom calling me. I let out a sigh before slowly turning to her. “Mom,” I called. She gave me a different kind of look. I couldn’t tell what she was trying to tell me. I find it hard to read her face at that moment. In the end, she gave me a small smile. She then went ne
Ever since the incident five years ago, I have always taught myself to be very careful of the decisions that I will be making in the future. Being careful means choosing whom to be with. When I gave birth to Flannel, I vowed to myself that I will never be near my relatives again and I will never introduce her to Greg. But really, life is just so unpredictable, huh. I mean, just when I didn't want to come back to the Philippines when my father got sick leaving me with no choice but to come back anyway. Then, I was able to fix my family which I thought to be so impossible already. Now, I am just not sure if I am willing to let destiny decide whether I should let Flannel meet her father. I don't know. I am just so confused right now. "Felice…" Maia called. I closed my eyes and covered my face with both my arms. I bit my lip and looked down. I was on my bed in an indian-sitting position. My head was aching and my mind was haywire. I couldn't think straight, honestly. Flannel was with
After that exhausting meeting and commotion, I went home to our mansion already. We were supposed to have a meeting in the afternoon, but after all the drama, I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to rest already and I needed to relax first. I needed to see my daughter. She's the only one that could calm me now, to be honest. I sighed and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath before going out of the car. I held onto my shoulder bag and went inside our house. It was already 3 in the afternoon and the living room was so quiet. It made me wonder then if Flannel is taking a nap or something. All I saw were our helpers. They were doing their chores. I sighed and decided to go up already. I went to my room but it was empty. I was about to go to Flannel's room. When I bumped into Mommy on the way there. I immediately arched my brow on her. "Mom, is Flannel sleeping?" I asked but instead of answering she hurriedly went to me and held both of my shoulders. "Oh god, what happened?! Are y