WINTER:“What are you planning to do, Calcifer?”My ex-husband laughed out loud that tears came out of his eyes.What was so funny?When he was able to control himself, he murmured, “You always think that I am planning something, Pumpkin.”I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms in front of my chest. “Isn't that the case?”“I won't do anything unless you allow me, Pumpkin if that's what you are concerned about. You will be safe when you return home unless you're the one who will be touching me, which I don't have any problem at all.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, teasing me. “Over my dead body,” I exclaimed. Don't you feel excited, Winter? Imagine spending the night with Calcifer and doing things that you missed since you got married. Four years of being untouched by a man makes your body crave something carnal, isn't it?Dang it.I hated how the other part of my mind was correct. Excitement was already bubbling inside me.The kisses were enough to awaken my body. How much more i
WINTER:Cali let go of my hand and returned his gaze to the river. Across the sky, lightning flashed, signaling the incoming storm. At this time of the day, more people would visit the river to have their picnics laying their blanket on the ground and have their date, but it seemed that the incoming rain had stopped them from doing so. However, some were brave enough to go with the flow, making the rain their alley. "I would be heartbroken of course, Pumpkin. I cannot afford to lose you for the second time, especially if it will be my fault again.""Why would it be your fault?""It would be my fault because if I failed in winning you back, it meant I did not do my best in having you back. It meant I did not exert all my efforts in winning you back. I was complacent. That would be the biggest mistake that I would make in my entire life."I bit the inside of my cheeks. "I saw your efforts, Cali. There were changes in your behavior which I was grateful for." But still...another part o
WINTER:“All I am saying is that your gratitude to him was already too much,” Cali insisted. “For me, it's not normal, Pumpkin. Isn't giving him a salary enough?”My nostrils flared.I will just think that he said those words out of worry for me. That he did not want anyone to abuse my kindness. “No. His salary is not enough.”“Pumpkin…I'm only trying to explain it to you.”I gritted my teeth. “How dare you say it was not normal,” I growled. “You just don't know how grateful I am for all the things Hawk did for me and the family. You were not there during those times, Calcifer. That's why it was easy for you to say that I should not be grateful to him. Here's the thing. Even if I told him a couple of times my gratitude, I could still not repay my bodyguard.”He stared at me for a long time and then heaved a sigh in resignation. “You will keep on defending him.”“Of course, I would. If not, who will? Our bond is stronger than the wind.” Cali did not know what kind of man Hawk was. A
HAWK:"Uncle Hawk, can you carry me, please?" Liam asked when we were done playing on the children's playground. “My feet are hurting now.”I guessed it was because of running so much with the other kids. This kid knew how to play and interact with the other children. Miss Winter had asked me to babysit the kid, saying she and that asshole would go somewhere else. From the way that asshole was staring at Miss Winter, it seemed the two were going on a date.Were they having a great time? Where did that jerk bring Miss Winter? Did he bring him snacks? My chest tightened.I wanted to ask Miss Winter where they would go, but held my tongue. Without verifying, I was certain that they would go on a date. And what was the assurance that Miss Winter would tell me the truth if I did ask? She won't.I was brought back to the present when Liam tugged the hem of my jacket, grabbing my attention."You're not listening, Uncle Hawk." Sweat coated his forehead and the kid smelled like the sun. I t
WINTER:My insides were boiling with anger as I continued recalling my ex-husband’s affection for his wife. Did he love her that much?Maybe their connections were that strong. I drew my knees closer as I continued watching the river. The skies had started clearing while the sun was starting to wink at us. It was clear that that woman deceived Calcifer. What I did not understand was why he kept on defending that woman as if he cared for him. Wait. What if he had lingering feelings for that woman but he was not aware of it? Probably. If not, why did he marry her? Your ex-husband had feelings for Carmela. No doubt. It was undeniable. My chest clenched as I stared at him hard. His eyes were full of mischief. Well, good for him because he was enjoying this while I was not!“Why would I feel jealous of someone who has no class?” I inquired, my voice turning sour. I hugged myself when the cold air hit my face. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Calcifer, but the moment I saw your ex-wife, I
WINTER: “W-We’re here in the Angel River,” I informed Hawk when he continued to study the background at my back as if it was a fine specimen. Recognition hit his face. Dang. I knew he would be familiar with this place. “We’ve been there a couple of times, Miss Winter. Did you forget? Why did you not tell me that you’re going there?” Hawk inquired. I forced a smile. “Yes, we did come here. Remember when someone said she liked you? That she was your super fan?”He squinted as if he no longer wanted to remember that memory. That woman saw how Hawk saved a child from drowning. “That's already part of the past, Miss Winter. I don't want to remember that scary woman." I laughed, recalling the memory. The woman became his stalker and even followed him on social media. She even found out about the house that we were living in and would always come here, on the same spot just to check if he was also with me. Because of that woman, Hawk rarely opened his account for fear that the woma
WINTER:You know that reaction where you were busted doing evil things? It was like that in the case of Miss Nathalia. She forze, and slowly glanced over her shoulder to see his half-brother staring down at her.I did not have any idea if Calciferol was talking as her half-brother or his boss as of the moment,"Daddy! Mommy!" Liam called the moment he saw us. Nathalia sighed in relief at the adlib of the awkward situation she was in. Liam jumped over the sofa and ran towards me and Cali. He hugged me tightly while I ruffled his hair and embraced him.Inhaling deeply, I could smell the bar of soap and shampoo from his hair and body. Hawk never failed to take care of him. “Did you have a great time while we were away, Liam?”He nodded. “Yes, Mommy. I had a great time with Uncle Hawk.”“Good.” My eyes shifted to the three. The tense atmosphere was still present in the room and with Liam present, I did not think that would be a nice sight to see. "Miss Nathalia. Would you mind answerin
WINTER:“I’m not saying they are siblings, Miss Winter. I don’t see any similarities at all,” Hawk retorted. “But there is something between them which I could not pinpoint.” He completely turned his focus on me. “Is there something you are hiding, Miss Winter?”My mouth felt dry while my heart hammered against my chest. “W- What are you trying to say? Besides, why did the attention shift to me when I don't have anything to do with this drama?”I bit the inside of my cheeks as they continued watching me. Hawk's eyes were full of suspicion but he was not voicing them. “You're acting suspicious, Miss Winter.”“I’m not! Why would I be suspicious?”Dang it.Why did I sound as if I was defensive? And why did I care if Hawk would find out that the two were half-siblings? I admitted that it was based on impulse so I suddenly butted in. For crying out loud, I was merely an expectation among the three. Simple…You don’t want Hawk to hate Nathalia just because of her relationship with your ex
WINTER: One week later… Just like what I wanted, it was a small wedding only, attended by some important people. The wedding only happened in the mansion, something Calcifer did not approve of, but agreed to in the end. Did he have a choice? He did not. In the end, he had no choice but to give in. My wedding dress was nothing fancy. It was a simple one which I bought at the mall. Cali wanted to hire someone to make the dress for me, but I declined. I didn't want anything extravagant. It was better to donate the money to some charities. After all, what was more important was the marriage. Our marriage life after the wedding. We only invited the pastor to come into the mansion. The press found out about our wedding. It was all over the news, but I told Cali not to give any statement about it. I will do it when I want. Despite the venue, Cali was still able to ask the wedding planner to transform the hall into something beautiful, with a lot of flowers on each side. The servan
HAWK: The door burst open and saw Miss Nathalia’s angry look. I stopped drinking and looked at the newcomer. The alcohol did not even make me drunk. I need more. “Miss Nathalia. Cheers.” I offered a bottle of beer, but her expression told me she was not a bit happy. “Is this all your plans, right now, sulking in the corner? Smoke. Drink?” Nathalia asked. She put her hands on both of her lips as she looked at me with disappointment. Almost a week of staying in this apartment which she had helped me get. In the meantime. I was supposed to start working on her, to be her bodyguard, but I did not have the strength to work at the moment.It still hurts.Miss Winter was my ultimate love and there was no other woman beside her.The alcohol made me numb the pain, but when I got sober, it was back again. When will this end? "I am only giving you this week to fix yourself. If you will not, I will kick your butt and let someone drag you to my condo and stay there."She had been pestering
WINTER: The crowd was expecting my answer while all I could do was stare at Cali kneeling down, holding an opened box where the ring was waiting for me. “I know this is not the kind of proposal that you’re expecting. This is simple, but I thought that you also did not like anything fancy. This is not like what you see on social media platforms, but there is one thing that I wanted to assure you. My feelings are real. My promises will remain the same. It's the feelings that matter, right?”Cali was expecting my answer, and the more I was silent, the more he grew nervous. My eyes went to Dad. He was already wiping the tears from his eyes while Nathalia was silently cheering for his brother. The servants seemed like they could no longer breathe because of the fast beating of their hearts. “Cali…I…” I bit the inside of my cheeks. Was I ready now? “May I talk to you for a moment?”His mouth fell but was able to get hold of his emotions. Clearing his throat, he said, “Yes, Pumpkin. Wh
WINTER: ONE MONTH LATER...“Mommy? Why is Uncle Hawk leaving us?” Liam asked, watching Hawk bringing his bag outside. Not only Liam and I were sending him, but Calcifer was also with us and the rest of the maids. None of us wanted him to go. “He is just visiting his parents, Liam. He does not know when he will be back, that's why he resigned.”He looked at me with pure innocence. “Daddy? I don't understand why he needs to leave us while he visits his parents,” Liam continued. Cali patted Liam. “You will understand when you become an adult.”He pouted. “I don't want to become an adult, Daddy. I want to be your baby forever.”“You will be our baby forever.”A month had passed since I accepted Cali's love. A month of always showing me how much I meant to him and our son. He never failed to show us how much he loved us, by cooking and traveling abroad. Above all, Liam was the happiest. He constantly brags to his classmates that his Daddy is already with us and he constantly wants Ca
WINTER:I rubbed my hands together as I waited for Hawk. Craning my neck, I stared at the gate, waiting for a car to enter— the car I let Hawk lend.My heart continued to hammer against my ribcage. Damn it. Why was he making me this worried? Was he punishing me? It was already six o’clock and he was not here yet. I wonder what happened to him. He was not this late. He also never was the type who never texted me where he was right now.I bit my fingernails while pacing back and forth on our porch.That man. I will give him a scolding for making me worry this much. This was so unlike him. Did he want me to die because of worrying?Cut him some slack, Winter. That man is hurting after you told him the truth. Do you think it is easy for him?But he went out to have some check right? It was nothing to do with me and Cali?I stopped and checked my phone again for the nth time. Still, no messages coming from him. Damn it. What seemed to be wrong?What if I call his number? Why haven't I
HAWK:Nathalia was pretty easy to talk with.The moment I asked for her pin code, she gave it to me without hesitation. Was she always like this to other men? [Don’t be shy to order something online, Sweetie.][Are you there, yet? Your silence is making me nervous.][Hawk! You have to answer me, or I will call the police and declare you missing.]I shook my head while reading the last message.Answer her. She does not joke when it comes to you. Again, left with no choice, I texted some replies and hit the word send.[Yes? Yes? Is that the only thing you could answer me, Sweetie? I’m putting all my efforts into giving you a reply and you’re going to answer short ones? You are seriously hurting my feelings.]I pocketed my phone after telling her that I was going to enter her condo.She was not the one who I was expecting to text. It was Miss Winter. But I did not receive anything from her.I stopped at Room 703 after double-checking it. This was the room Nathalia had given me.I was a
HAWK:I stared at the ceiling like a fool. Now what? Where would you go now? Why did you lie to Miss Winter saying you’re sick? Now, you’re forced to go out and spend the rest of your day there. Now, you’re forced to go out and spend the rest of your day outside while your guilt is eating you away. You never lied to Miss Winter like this. I smiled bitterly. Could I be blamed? When I heard Liam and that bastard’s laughter, I gave in to the temptation and I went to the pool and saw them myself. The bonding of the real father and Dad. Something which I will never be able to achieve. My chest felt like it was being wrung. I held my breath as the pain became too much seeing how they looked good together. The three of them. Liam was happy. Miss Winter was happy with the bastard’s presence in the mansion. When he failed to sleep in this room, something might happen between them.I closed my eyes tightly as images of them being together entered my mind. Something already happened betwee
WINTER:Hawk's silence was not helping at all. “Hawk? I'm waiting.”"May I use this day as my day off? That's the reason why I approached you.”“Day off? Where would you go? You did not usually use your day off, right?”“I'm not feeling well right now. It started last night."Worry flashed over me and touched his forehead. “You don't have any fever at all.” But sometimes, you felt hot inside your body but on the surface, it was not hot. "Do you want me to call our family doctor to check on you?""No, Miss Winter. I already called someone. A friend of mine. I will visit his clinic so that he will know the diagnosis."“Don't you think it's better to stop smoking? It's not good for you.”“I will think about it, Miss Winter. It's not easy to quit.”“If there's a way, there is a will. Do you have a friend who is also a doctor? No offense, Hawk. But I don't see you hanging out with anyone.""I met him on social media.""Oh, I see. Is that person to be trusted? Hawk. Please be careful. Ther
WINTER: I was dreaming. You know the feeling that you were aware that you were inside your dream? That's what I'm feeling right now despite facing Cali in a fine dining restaurant. He wore a suit while I was wearing a red dress. He looked so handsome.“Why are we here?” I asked. “You don't remember, Pumpkin?”“What?”“We are celebrating because we are having our second child. So don't drink any alcoholic drinks from now on.My eyes bulged. “I'm with a child?”He chuckled and grabbed the wine glass from my hand. “This is supposed to be mine.” He emptied the contents. “We're going to have a baby?” I asked.“We are. I'm so happy, Pumpkin.”I looked down and saw that there was indeed a baby bump. Tears simmered down my eyes when I felt the kick of my baby inside. “We are going to have a baby?” I whispered while caressing the bulge on my stomach. “Thank you for approving to have another baby,” he whispered and kissed my hand. “Calcifer!” a woman's voice suddenly shouted. We all lo