Five years. Five years of agony and anger. I didn’t even imagine that I would still be able to be happy with my parents. I was ready to cut them off from my life because I was so hurt. I didn’t think that I could still have my parents back after what they did to me. But destiny has its own plan, huh. Five years later, here I am with my daughter and my parents. “And then I always eat ice cream there, grandma! As in hmm every after school! And I have a lot of friends!” my daughter talked her heart out to my mom. “Wow! Really? That’s very nice, Flannel! Maybe you can introduce me to your friends next time, huh,” Mommy answered. Flannel nodded excitedly. Mom laughed again and gave her a pinch on the cheek. I shook my head and just got another magazine to read. We were already in the living room and they were playing again. Maia wasn’t here, she got Flannel some clothes from the condo. Supposed to be, we will be going back to my unit now, but then, Flannel begged me to let her stay here
Both Greg and I were stunned when we heard that small voice. I was even more stiffened on my feet. It was my fucking fear. Shit. This is not happening! This is not happening! Oh god. “Felice - oh my gosh!” I saw how my mom’s mouth dropped when she saw Greg’s position. I also saw how she held Flannel and put her at her back as if she was protecting her. "Felice, what is happening?" Mom asked worriedly already. I gulped hard. My mind was haywire, I didn't know what to do already, and hell I was so scared. I couldn't even look at Flannel because I felt like she would know everything the moment our eyes met."Mommy, who is he?" I felt like my world just collapsed when Flannel said that. I wanted so much to run to her and just snatched her away from here but I couldn't move. I was nailed to the ground and I couldn't move my legs and even my hands. I could feel my insides trembling already. I bit my lip harder to stop my tears from falling but they just couldn't stop. Mommy was looking a
“Where is she?” I asked Maia the moment she went down. I was on my head down. Mommy was still sitting beside me. “My gosh, Felice, that guy is stressing me out!” Mommy groaned. I bit my lip and didn’t speak. Maia went to us. “Flannel fell asleep,” she said. I heaved a sigh and nodded at her. “Did she ask questions?” She shook her head. “No. I think she understands what her grandmother said,” she said. I closed my eyes and nodded at her. “So, what now, Felice? What’s your plan now, huh?” Mom asked. I let out a big sigh before resting my back on the backrest of the chair. I crossed my arms together and stared at the air blankly. Until now, I still couldn’t believe that encounter earlier happened. Fuck. “I don’t know, Mom, I’m honestly so scared right now.” I felt their stares at me. I didn’t move nor meet their gazes. Damn it. Should we just run away already? I mean, that was my first plan, to run away with my daughter. And that’s the most feasible thing to do now, to be honest
"Mommy, where are you going?" Flannel asked me with her cute eyes. I gave her a small smile before I kissed her forehead. I caressed her left cheek"I'll just accompany grandma and grandpa to the hospital, okay? Grandpa needs his regular check up, so Mommy will come with them. After that, Mommy will be working, okay? So, you will need to stay here with Maia until we get back. Don't be stubborn, okay?" I smiled again. She pouted and just nodded at me. “Okay, Mom.” She hugged my legs. I sighed and hugged her too. I kissed her forehead before I pulled away from the hug. I looked at Maia. “I’ll probably be really busy today, so you’ll be with her for a while. Will you be okay with that?” I asked. She nodded and just gave me a smile. I sighed and nodded. "We'll get going," I said to them and went to Mommy already. "Let's go," Mom said. I just smiled. We walked together and went out of the house already. Daddy was already in the van when we got in. Mommy arranged the van to cater his
"Maia, I'm sorry but I'll just call you again, okay?""Huh? Why, what-"I didn't let her finish what she was talking about and just ended the call again. I was panting as I slid my phone in my pocket. I immediately went to where the commotion was. I couldn’t count how many times I have been cursing in my head already. “What the hell is this commotion all about?” I firmed my voice as I stormed to them. All of the employees turned to me immediately. I saw Karrie’s shocked face as she faced me. Greg couldn’t look at me in the eyes. “You bitch,” Karrie whispered angrily. I creased my forehead. My heart was beating so fast already but I didn’t want emotion to get the best of me so I tried my best not to match her aggressiveness. I remained calm and just stared at her intently. "What is it this time, huh, Karrie?" I raised a brow on her. I saw how she clenched her fist as she went closer to me. I stepped back, getting myself ready for an attack or something. "Karrie, what the hell!" Gre
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
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
“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
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