WINTER:“You’re not making this any easier for me, Dad,” I said. Whose daughter doesn't want her dad to be happy? I want Dad to be happy, but he wanted something which I could not give—marrying my ex-husband. “I’m only telling the truth. Winter…I witnessed how your ex-husband deeply regretted that he divorced you. I was the one who was with him all the time. He looked for you even when I did not tell you where you were when he hit his head in reality.”My chest tightened. If forgiving was as easy as pie, then I already forgive my ex-husband…but I could not. It wasn't that easy. I gave him a sad smile. “How can you easily forgive him, Dad?” I mumbled. “You know how scared I was that time thinking I carried Mom’s sickness. He was not patient enough with me. He easily let go of me just because he no longer understands me.” At the back of my mind, I tried to understand him, but…I could not.“I saw his struggles, Winter. He was sorry.”“You did not see mine?” I asked. “Dad. He left me
WINTER:First, it was jealousy then followed by hatred. Why would I feel jealous? I don't care if he was with the richest billionaire heiress. “Will you at least give me some privacy, Carmela?” Calcifer exclaimed, his annoyance showing. Carmela. I was right. Was it an act or not?Whatever. The two had nothing to do with me. Whether they fuck around his office or wherever, that had nothing to do with me, alright?I wanted to laugh out loud. The audacity of this man. How dare he! Calling me at this hour and just to flaunt his woman?“Not when I decide to go. She’s that Winter?” Carmela asked. She stared at the screen for a long time as if she was taking a good view of me. “She’s not that bad. She's beautiful even if she's not wearing any makeup.”The camera suddenly went dark then it moved and showed Calcifer and Carmela. The former was glaring at the woman.“Would you please go, Carmela?”“Hey. What's the rush? I only wanted to know her more.”I raised my eyebrows.I did not unders
WINTER:My ex-husband did not answer for a moment, and I doubted if he would be able to answer me. He rarely answered if he knew he was on the losing side. But even if he gave me an answer, what was my assurance that he was telling the truth? I could no longer believe Calcifer. No matter how many times he tried to redeem himself. First, he lied about the caller. And now, there was Carmela. “Your silence is already an answer. What am I expecting? You never have feelings for me in the beginning. You were forced to marry me all because you wanted to help your company. And now...the woman whom you wanted and loved is already on your side. She was already your wife. You have nothing to ask for."“I never cheated on you, pumpkin while we were married.”“Liar," I spat. "You're an asshole, Calcifer. How could you?"He groaned while looking at his office. His secretary was no longer there. Maybe he ordered her to step out for a moment so that no one would be able to listen to our conversatio
WINTER:Damn it. Don't tell me Hawk would give me away. Dad must not know that I was lying to him or else, he would get mad at me, which I did not want to happen. Try to act calm, Winter. Don't you dare show your dad that you're lying and he nearly catches you. Act cool. Act cool. I cleared my throat. "Hawk. I just told Dad of our plan.""Our plan?"I forced a chuckle. "You already forgot what we had planned?""I don't get it, Winter."Dad was already giving me a weird expression and if I did not clarify anything to Hawk, our dirty little secrets would be exposed. "How could you forget one important event?" I heaved a sigh when Hawk could not get the joke. "Our plan of getting married?""Getting married? We're not..." I glared at him and before he could tell the truth, he stopped for a moment and said, "Oh, right. We are getting married."Liam looked at me and Hawk. "You're getting married, Mommy?""Yes, Liam. I am marrying Uncle Hawk."My son's lips quivered. "I want Daddy, not
WINTER:Feelings for Calcifer? My ex-husband? I do, but my feelings are no longer important and should not be remembered. However, the love I felt was later replaced with hatred which only increased upon seeing him. “Does it matter?”“It matters, Miss Winter.”“It does not to me. Calcifer was already part of my past.”“And your present and who knows, your future, Miss Winter.” He smiled sadly. “You're one of the women I admired.”Since when did he become vocal about his opinion about me? These past few days, he was quite outspoken about it. I scoffed. “You think I will accept him again? That man is already married, Hawk. He has a daughter. I won’t be stupid and let myself become someone’s mistress. Like the heck!”He shook his head. “If he still stresses you that much, you can ask me to kill him,” he declared without batting an eye. “The offer is still on the table, Miss Winter.”I inhaled deeply. “I thought we were already done with that discussion? You're not allowed to kill anyo
WINTER:I bit the inside of my cheeks. Calling Calcifer and asking for his help? But he was already here earlier. I did not want him to think that I was being totally dependent on him. "I... don't think so, Hawk," I muttered. "He was already here earlier.""Liam needs his dad, Miss Winter. I wished I could do it myself, but Liam...he no longer needed me." "He also needs you. He was only a little shocked at our revelations, Hawk. Not everything he needs should be given.""It's his Dad, Miss Winter. I cannot blame him if he asked for his Dad instead of me." He smiled sadly. "I never thought it would come to this that he would now prefer your ex-husband over me." His voice was coated with pain and I wished I could console him. In my eyes, I was facing the man in pain.Damn it. Why did Calcifer and I have to meet? Because of him, everything became chaotic in my life."It is not your fault, Hawk. Liam had a great time whenever he played with you and I was thankful for your efforts. Do n
WINTER:Not only was Liam happy at the dining table, but also Dad. He was the happiest as he stared at Calcifer dining with us. There was a satisfied look on his face which I usually saw whenever my ex-husband was around. Ynes and Hawk were neutral. Still, I could sense that they did not like seeing Calcifer here, but they were civil about it especially since Dad was there.All of us did not want to disappoint Dad. Having Calcifer here with us made him energized. That's the only thing why I was tolerating my ex-husband's presence here with us."Son, I'm quite happy that you are here. You're not busy in the company, I presume?"Calcifer drank the contents of his wine glass while I was already finishing my leftovers. Hawk was beside me, while Liam was on my right side. Putting the wine glass on the table after, Calcifer retorted, "There are still things to do, Dad, but that can wait. Family is more important."Dad grinned. "That's correct, son. Know the importance of family because t
WINTER: “And the princess spends the rest of her life with the prince forever. The end,” Calcifer read, ending the story about the princess who found her husband and at the same time learned to see her worth in the end. We were lying side by side with Liam in the middle. With my ex-husband sleeping next to us, the bed felt so small compared to his big frame.“I like it, Daddy,” Liam exclaimed. “I like how Princess Nathalie chose Prince William as her husband, instead of his evil brother.”I did not know why Calcifer had managed to know it was also Liam’s most favorite book or the reason why he had chosen it. And the story felt so familiar. Calcifer closed the book. “I love it, too, Liam,” my ex-husband muttered while looking at me. Which I responded with a glare.I did not like how both he and Dad conspired against Hawk earlier. And speaking of Hawk, he never said anything to me after the dinner. I made a mental note to send him a text later if I did not forget about it. “How about
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