"Are you okay, Ash?" Zayden asked me. So he was the one who saw me here. I often visit this park. He knows this because this is the place where I once became a couple with the guy who is now the reason for my sorrow. "I'm okay. Why did you follow me here?" I asked back. I looked at him while he gazed at the sky. I observed his face. He’s handsome. That’s undeniable—from his long eyelashes to his red lips, thick eyebrows, and fair skin. He’s not someone hard to love. In my eyes, he’s the one worth chasing. He shouldn’t be the one doing the chasing. He loves me too much, to the point that he forgets himself. We both loved, but the difference is, I never chased after love like Zay did. It hurts because my best friend is hurting because of me. It’s like our love turned into a one-sided love. But I hope that someday, he finds someone who truly loves him—not someone like me who only takes advantage of him. I just treated him like a tissue. "No. Because you're not okay. You know
Cyrus' POV"Ryle, baby? Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Wait, I'll call the doctor," said the girl holding my hands. I don’t know why this girl is crying. Does she even know me? Why does it feel like she’s part of my life? Why do I hate seeing her cry? "Who are you? Why am I here? Get out of my sight! Where’s Kristine?" I asked the girl in front of me, confused. I saw the pain in her eyes from my words. It was like my words were a sword stabbing her. "Hey, baby, what are you talking about? Kristine? Why can’t he remember me? Ryle, it’s me, Ash. Please don’t joke like this," she said as tears streamed down her face. I woke up abruptly from my dream, gasping for air. Everyone in the clinic was startled when I woke up. I also saw that they were all there—except for Kristine. Maybe they had been watching over me for a while. It was already late in the afternoon. I must have slept too well. "Thank God, bro! You're awake," my younger sibling exclaimed in surprise, sitting rig
Ryle/Cyrus POV I woke up early, earlier than my usual alarm. I don't know why, but I just ignored it. I sent a message to my lovely Kristine saying good morning and that I missed her already. She didn't even reply. I think she's still sleeping. When I noticed no one else was awake, I decided to go jogging. This village had a baseball court, and I saw four people playing. They looked familiar to me, but I just continued jogging. "Cyrus, dude!" I heard someone call me, so I stopped for a while. I saw a guy running towards me with a smile on his face. He looked familiar. I think he's one of Ash's friends. "Why? Do I know you?" I asked. It's obviously true because I really don't know them. The others approached us. They were smiling too, which made me confused. "You okay now? By the way, I'm Eddy," said one guy. I just nodded. "Jomar here!" "Blue." "And I'm Brandon," they introduced themselves. They invited me to play with them, so I agreed. I felt comfortable with them. "Sorr
Ash POV Months after I punched that louse king, I avoided running into him or even seeing him from afar. I don't know why I was the one avoiding him? But I don't know, I was adjusting. I've been busy with paperwork, group projects that really needed teamwork, so I stopped thinking about his group. And now, JS prom was coming up, and it was going to be held on the upcoming February 14th. But it wasn't that close yet, it was still December 5th, and my birthday was coming up. It's on Friday, and I just decided to have a party at a club and have a family dinner. My brothers agreed because they'd be there to watch over me, tsss. So I invited my friends and my favorite cousin was coming home. He's still young, the youngest brother of Kuya Ice, Jonas Alexander Ventura. He's just 7 years old. He's so cute with his dimple on his cheeks. He's adorable but sometimes he's so grumpy, he gets it from his brother, jusmee. So, because of my ramblings, I ended up in the library looking for books t
When I got to the classroom, they had already started discussing. Luckily, my teacher let me in. I was excused, apparently. We only had half a day of classes because the teachers had a meeting for the Christmas party. I wasn't interested in knowing about it, so I decided to leave school and wander around. I wasn't going to join that party anyway, and I knew my friends wouldn't join either. Well, they might be planning our own party. I want a beach party because I'm tired of their constant bar parties. That's what we always do when we don't want to join. It's not mandatory, though, because our teacher said so. We're used to it, and I'm naturally averse to those kinds of parties. Unless Mom forces me. If she's the one who says it, no matter who objects, there's nothing anyone can do. Though my mom is kind, she has that authority over us that we have to obey. I'm used to her mouth, once she starts, I know it won't stop. My cousins are useless too. They're scared. Speaking of cousin
This song is for my only one baby. Even if you don't answer me now, it's okay, I'll wait and still hope. Please listen to this song, I love you. He said, oh my god, so many people, is he seriously doing this? I felt a little embarrassed when he started singing. It felt like my heart was stabbed when I realized that I was slowly starting to like him. I didn't notice it because I planted in my mind that it should only be Ryle. That I should endure until Ryle remembers. That I should be loyal to Ryle. That I love Ryle so much, no matter what. I didn't notice that the building I built in my heart was slowly crumbling. Photograph by Ed Sheeran Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes But it’s the only thing that I know When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes It is the only thing makes us feel alive Why is he so kind to me? I'm not that beautiful or kind. Why does he bother to love me? Why out of all the people he could like, it's me, knowing that I have someone else.
When we arrived at the restaurant, the party had already started, so we ate a little of the food prepared for the guests and started drinking and dancing. I was drinking. Zayden was beside me, telling me to stop drinking. "Ashiannie, stop drinking." My brother Ace told me. I just pouted. It's dangerous, what if he stops the party? "You know what, Zayden, I'll say thank you." Kuya Dash said, drunk. "For what, Dash?" Zayden asked, confused. He was beside me, his arm around me. We were at a long table, sitting around it, facing the table, with food. And because it was dark here, they couldn't really see Zay's arm around me. It was okay with me because I was comfortable. "Just don't hurt our little sister!" Kuya Dash threatened him, his eyes fluttering closed. I just laughed at their faces. "You can trust me about that, dude." Zayden replied. For some inexplicable reason, I just smiled. Something was tickling my system because of what I heard. "You better, or I'll cut your dick i
"Are you okay, Ash?" Zayden asked me worriedly. We didn't finish the party because of what happened. We're at the park now, where I have memories with Cyrus. I can't help but cry because it feels like it's my fault that happened to him. "I-I didn't mean to," I said, stuttering. Zayden hugged me and kissed my forehead. "I know. Don't worry, babe, it'll be okay." He reassured me. "I'm not expecting anything anymore, Zayden!" I whined. He stared at me and smiled slightly. I saw the pain passing through his eyes, which his smile on his lips was trying to hide. "I know, Ash. I feel like you're trying. Just don't rush it," I heard him say. I buried my face in his chest while crying. Here I go again, breaking down. I don't know why I feel even more hurt by what he's saying. It feels like he's giving up. "I know he's not the one in here anymore, Zay." I assured him, pointi
Ashiannie Kate Ventura-Moreno POVTime has flown by, and I’m proud to say I’m happy and content with my loving, caring, and handsome husband and son and daughter. My son and daughter are twins. It’s no surprise, we have twins in our family. “Good morning, Ma,” my son greeted me, having just woken up. They now have their own room, but there are times when they want to sleep with us. “Good morning, baby Almond.” I greeted him back and kissed his cheeks. “Ma, just Almond okay?” he complained with a pout. Time really flies by. Seven years of marriage and our twins are seven years old. My son, Zeus Almond (because of his almond eyes) Moreno, is the older one. This guy is so serious and scary sometimes. He doesn’t like playing; he just watches action movies and reads. He takes after his dad. While my boastful, beautiful daughter…I call her boastful because one day she told me that she punched a boy. God, I’m proud. Just kidding! Of course, I scolded her, and so did her dad. He told her
Zayden’s POVWe’ve been best friends since childhood. We met at one of my mom’s batch parties. I didn’t know that her mom and mine were friends.I saw her again at our house. My mom was teaching her how to bake. So I intervened.“Tss, maybe it won’t taste good!” I teased the little girl.“It’s not like you’re the one who’s going to eat it!” She answered rudely and turned her back on me.I always tried to get her attention, but she was just so snobbish. She seemed to avoid people.“Hey honey, why are you disturbing Annie?” My mom asked me sweetly.“She doesn’t even know how to do it, Mom!” I complained. But I just wanted her to notice me.“That’s why I’m teaching her, okay. You should behave.” Since I didn’t have a dad, I became closer to my mom. I never even asked where he was because I felt complete even though something was missing.From then on, I always saw Ashiannie. She was my schoolmate in high school, but she was only a freshman. I also became friends with her friends. It’s go
Now here we are at our reception, my friends and his are here too.Ting ting tingThe sound of glasses being tapped with spoons, with a loud "kiss kiss kiss."“Uhyyy they’re saying kiss,” Zay says, this guy is such a joker.So we gave in to the guests.“Okay, we are now going to know who would be next.” Our MC announces.Everyone stood up, Lisa even forced Hina and Jomar’s girlfriend, Cale, to join in, so the two had no choice but to participate.We became close to those two, we even included them in our girls’ night out last time so they wouldn’t feel awkward.Hina Uy, Eddy’s girlfriend, is a nursing student. She’s about to graduate and is an orphan. It’s good that she accepted that goofy guy.Meanwhile, our Cale is only a first-year college student. We even tease her that she’s still worse than Eddy because they target younger people.How come all their girlfriends are students?“Okay, in 3, 2, 1… shoot!” I shout happily and throw the bouquet I’m holding behind me.The girls all scr
And now is the day I’m waiting for…The day that will mark me as his wife and him as my husband.My cousins are here now and they seem to be annoyed with me, haha. They say I got married too early.Is 23 too early? Gosh.“Baby, say I’m dreaming right now?” Kuya Dash asks me.“Dude, should we just run away with her?” Kuya Damsel suggests.“Yeah, let’s lock her up on an island until she gets old,” jokes Kuya Damsel’s brother, Kuya Drake.“You’re all being so dramatic. Just get married yourselves!” Mom scolds them.“No, Kuya. Be proud of your little girl, you know. Don’t treat me like a baby!” I complain to them.“We should salvage that Zayden!” Kuya Daniel says angrily. Ungrateful!“Just accept it.” I say to them, laughing.“Tsk.” They all complain together. “Awww, how cute is Mama’s princess? Take care of each other and have lots of kids, okay?” Mom says, starting to cry.“Tita!” they protest, so Mom and I just laugh at their expressions.“Yes, Mom. We’ll take care of ourselves and Kuy
After Lisa’s wedding took place, Zayden and I became busy preparing for ours. We were also receiving meetings left and right from our company. I was still working despite my current situation. A lot of news even spread on social media during Lisa’s wedding. Many people felt regretful about my past relationship with Ryle. A lot had witnessed it back then. Zayden didn’t even want me to hold my phone anymore because of the overwhelming questions about me circulating online. A month later, news broke out about Ryle and Kristine’s wedding in the U.S. Many were shocked when it happened. They invited me, but since I was too busy, I couldn’t attend. However, my parents went since they were chosen as sponsors. I thought they were going to stay there for good, but apparently not. Ryle was building a house in Iloilo, and they planned to live there instead. They even sold their house here. I was about to leave the building to go home when my phone rang. I answered it as I continued wa
A day has passed since the proposal, and I'm here at Lisa's house to help her get ready for her wedding to Blue tomorrow. Apparently, the bride needs to be kept away from the groom before the wedding for it to happen.Lisa's mom and Blue's mom are here with us. It's like a girls' night for us. We're even cooking dinner tonight.While we were eating, we heard the doorbell ring, so we all looked at each other. I volunteered to check because it might be the pizza I ordered earlier. We were planning to have a pizza marathon in Lisa's room.When I got to the gate, I was surprised to see who it was when I opened it. The three idiots were together. Thankfully, the annoying Eddy and Jomar weren't there."What are you doing here?" I asked them, frowning. I looked at them one by one, confused."Well, are we not allowed to join?" Brandy asked me hesitantly."Babe, I miss you!" Zayden whined in front of me.I looked at Blue to see if he would complain, "My wife!" He seconded.I closed the gate an
As I stepped inside the yacht, my eyes were filled with wonder. He guided me to the front of the yacht.I couldn't speak because of what I saw. My parents were there, along with his parents. I also saw our friends smiling at the end of the deck.Eddy waved at me. That guy is always up to something. It's a good thing someone put up with him. Jomar said he was courting someone, but he never introduced her to us."What's this?" I asked, turning to the man behind me when we reached the middle, near my parents.I cried when I saw him kneeling, holding a ring."Hey! You're so good, huh? You just came back, and you're doing this?" I said, pretending to be annoyed."I'm sorry, baby. I'll explain later, but right now, can I ask you to be my wife forever?" He looked nervous as he asked me.I was silent for a moment, looking around before looking back at him."Of course! I'll marry you, bitch." I replied happily, and everyone around us cheered."I love you. I love you, baby!" He shouted with joy
I got home safely last night because no one bothered me. The four people I left at the bar didn't bother me anymore. I remembered the familiar man I saw entering the bar last night. But maybe it was just because of the alcohol because I drank a lot there. My head still hurts from what happened last night. The two of them woke me up this morning and said we should go shopping. So here we are, the three of us at the mall, where we decided to hang out. They bought whatever they wanted. "Girl, this would look good on you," Lisa said, showing me a maroon-colored, fitted, above-the-knee dress. "I already have one like that." I replied. My brother Drake gave it to me when he came home. "Ugh, I'm hungry." Trisha complained, buying all sorts of makeup. So we went to the mall's restaurant so we wouldn't have to go far. They were about to go shopping when their boyfriends called, so I was left wandering around. I looked around because I didn't bring my car, and I didn't want to go home ye
It's been five years since everything was fixed. My parents migrated to the UK along with Ryle's family after New Year. They really left me here. But they call me. Even though I'm alone here, I can manage. I've even learned to cook a little. If you ask what happened to me and Zayden? When he went to the US to get his master's degree, I was studying here. We were still in touch for the first six months he was there, but I don't know what happened. We lost communication. I don't know what happened to him. For five years of being alone here, I haven't heard any news about him. I'm hurting right now. As if my heart broke into pieces. I contacted Aunt, and even they don't know what happened to Zayden. I think maybe he gave up on me. Maybe he got tired. Many thoughts are running through my mind because of what happened. Even my parents ask how I am, but I don't know what to answer. I'm still trying to figure myself out. This hurts more than anything. The man I loved just disappeare