DaddyI had already prepared the costing plan that needed to be given to Santi even though my appointment with him was still at nine o'clock. I keep pacing back and forth inside my office thinking about it. And all I remember is what happened last night.He might think I am foolish and inconsistent because what I say is contrary to my actions. Oh god, why is it that my own body always betrays me?I was spacing out while going to his building. I cooled down in the car for a few moments before finally getting out. I strut my way toward the information to ask for the floor of Santi's office."It's on the 10th ma'am."I just nodded at the girl and headed toward the elevator. And while staring at my reflection in the elevator door, I always had a flashback in my mind of what happened last night. We didn't talk about it. Maybe that's why I'm like
FearsSanti picked up Callar and hugged him tightly. I can't look at them directly. My chest tightened at the sight of them. I want to reach out to pat my son's back who is crying so hard but Santi is already doing it."Where have you been?! I waited for you!" Callar cried.Santi is whispering things to him I can't understand. I couldn't take it anymore and I came closer and rubbed my son's back and tried to calm him. Santi didn't even move when I approached. They were focused on each other.I tried to suppress my tears once again as I looked at them. I never thought this would happen. I was so prepared and sure Santi would never know about our child. Seeing this hurts me. Not for myself but for both of them. I have been so selfish, I know.I held Callar's back as I whispered my apologies. I just realized how selfish my decisions were. I di
Keep"So you're moving in with him?"I looked up only to see Bailey's mocking face. There was a hint of sarcasm in the way he looked at me. I rolled my eyes and looked back at the monitor."You didn't even miss me?" He asked in a fake sad tone.Now that he said it, it's been a while since I saw him. Maybe he was also busy with the gigs of his other talents.I smirked and gave him my attention. This gay man only wandered once in a while and I admit that I missed him."Aren't you busy?""I took a quick break from work, girl! It's great that Aia doesn't have a schedule this week so I thought I'd visit you!"I nodded. He strutted his way toward my coffee table and crossed his legs."What? You still haven't answered my question!" He asked impatiently.For all I know, he just wanted to catch the gossip so he thought of visiting. I signed the last page of the folder I'm holding and pushed myself toward him. He was smiling as I went in his direction."I don't know," I said in a monotone."Why
Home"Are you sure of your decision?"I was slightly stunned by Nanny Belinda's question. I didn't notice the weight of all of these until now. I suppressed myself for a long time. I let my anger and fear dominate me and I was afraid to admit the truth. I didn't know how I managed to stop him when he was about to let go. Was it my instincts? Or was it my love for him that manifested through that action?I am not sure of so many things. But I'm sure of one thing. I want to give it a try once again. Now that it became clear to me what happened years ago, maybe it's time for me to free myself from the anger. I've lived all these years believing he fooled me. Maybe it's time for me to allow myself and my son to be happy with Santi."Yes," I smiled.I bit my lower lip to stop myself from smiling like an idiot. But that didn't seem to escape her
Home"Are you sure of your decision?"I was slightly stunned by Nanny Belinda's question. I didn't notice the weight of all of these until now. I suppressed myself for a long time. I let my anger and fear dominate me and I was afraid to admit the truth. I didn't know how I managed to stop him when he was about to let go. Was it my instincts? Or was it my love for him that manifested through that action?I am not sure of so many things. But I'm sure of one thing. I want to give it a try once again. Now that it became clear to me what happened years ago, maybe it's time for me to free myself from the anger. I've lived all these years believing he fooled me. Maybe it's time for me to allow myself and my son to be happy with Santi."Yes," I smiled.I bit my lower lip to stop myself from smiling like an idiot. But that didn't seem to escape her
Love A deafening silence enveloped the two of us while traveling home. The coffee shop where Lance and I met wasn't that far, but I felt like it was the longest trip of my life. His expression is stern as always but the tension I feel is too much I couldn't bring myself to utter a single word. I don't know if I should be relieved when he's like this or if I should be nervous because of his silence. I can't count how many times I glanced at him to see if he was still angry. And always, I would look away when I know he notices my glances. We didn't say anything until we got to the penthouse. As time went on, I became more and more anxious. Nanny Belinda greeted us and I nodded softly. "Have you eaten?" She asked weakly when he noticed Santi's silence. He went straight to the kitchen. Only then did I remember that I hadn't eaten in hurry earlier. My response to her was just a gentle shake. "He fed Callar after you left. He said he'll wait for you to come back so you can eat with
Trapped I woke up feeling sore all over my body. I didn't want to open my eyes but the tickling thing on my neck woke me up. I opened my eyes only to see Santi all over me. I could hardly breathe due to the weight of his legs and arms. He continued showering wet kisses on my neck, on the sensitive part of my ear, and on my jaw. I bit my lower lip when his hand started caressing my body. "Hmmm, morning baby." His husky morning voice tickled me. We went to bed early in the morning, that's why I feel so tired even though the sun is high. I'm just glad it's the weekend and my son doesn't have a class. "Morning," I replied half-asleep. He kissed my lips lightly which made me open my eyes completely. From the way he was acting, I knew he was planning something mischievous again. "Santi, I'm still tired." I groaned and turned my back on him. He continued kissing the small of the back. I just let him do what he was doing. His massive arms wrapped around me so that I couldn't move even
FamilyWhat we thought was a simple rumor that would eventually vanish grew bigger. People from the media were unexpectedly persistent with the story since one of the most renowned families is involved."What the hell is wrong with these people?!"I was in disbelief when I returned to my old unit to get some things. We didn't bring all our stuff and only the important ones were insured. I dropped off at Callar's academy first before coming to my old unit only to be stunned by the swarm of reporters in the basement.I stopped my car not far from the basement. It was a relief they didn't notice my presence. Most of the reporters are constantly craning their necks every time they see someone coming out of the elevator.I got distracted from looking at them when my phone vibrated."Hey," Santi's baritone from the other line woke me up. "Where are you?"There was concern in his voice. I smiled even in this situation."Inside my car," I teased. I chuckled when I heard him snort. "Just kiddi
Together"Are you coming later?"I looked up to see Xander's smiling face. It looks welcoming. Most of my classmates that year would either make fun of me or ignore me. I don't mind either of those. I'm used to it. That's why it's refreshing to have someone approach me to make friends."I have some things to do at the farm," I said while arranging my things."I'll let Grandma Gracia know. Mommy baked cookies for us. Cianna's coming, too." He smiled."Who is that?" I asked brows furrowed. We don't have any schoolmates with that name."Family friend. They just moved here."I couldn't do anything when Xander came to my house to get permission from my grandmother. She also agreed with joy. Even though I don't tell her, I know she hears from school that other kids make fun of me. That's why she was so ha
PregnantI calmed myself while waiting quietly in the visitors' area of the correctional. I don't know what has gotten into me for coming here. I didn't bother to find out about the progress of the police investigation because the only thing that matters to me is that my son is safe and that the perpetrator is punished. My son is too young to experience such things. And the hardship and pain I felt as a mother were doubled.It took me a ton of courage to come here and see Ivory. I don't know why I'm doing this but I felt like I had to do this to move on.I looked up when the door opened and two female police officers entered, holding the handcuffed Ivory in both arms. She looked wasted and her sunken eyes are out of focus. Her pale lips rose for a sarcastic smirk when she saw me. After a while, she laughed a little."Who do I owe the honor of having you here?
Wait"What the hell are you doing?"I got out of the car in the middle of the rain without second thoughts. Even I couldn't understand myself and rushed to attend to him. My heart skipped a beat when he turned to me with a grim expression. His head and face were wet."You weren't inside," he murmured to himself.Just in time, the gate opened and some of the bodyguards came out with umbrellas and towels. I turned to Santi again and he still has the same expression. His jaw clenched and he looked away in anger."Let's go inside," I murmured after getting the towels from the bodyguards.The cold wind blew and my body shivered slightly. I jolted when I felt his arms wrapped around me as we walked to the mansion door.Mom and Dad were waiting in the living room when we entered. They were both surprised t
SoakedI have always wondered how all of it went wrong. We were happy and I thought it was something that would last. It never occurred to me that I could lose everything in an instant. My son is my everything. I can lose other things besides him.The sound of the gunshot still lingered in my ears until now. I heard commotions as I closed my eyes. When I woke up again, I was even more shocked by what I saw. Hugging me and my son, and shielding us from the shot, was Lance."L-Lance," my voice trembled and my eyes heavy. I tried to look at him properly.He just smiled lightly and then coughed up blood. I wanted to scream but I couldn't open my mouth. My tears just kept flowing tirelessly. He fell on the ground then the commotion around became more evident. The last thing I saw was Ivory lying on the ground being restrained by some uniformed men.
GuiltI took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I was still shaking while holding the steering wheel. This is not the time to panic, I scolded my mind. It's more important that I get my son safely away from Ivory.I kept looking at the location Ivory gave me until I got out of the city. For several hours I crossed the narrow road with almost no houses around. It's afternoon, so darkness is slowly eating the surroundings.A few more minutes and I reached a dead end. My car won't fit if I force myself to enter the forest. I dialed Ivory's number and she answered it after a few rings."I'm at a dead end," I said immediately. I gritted my teeth as the seething anger enveloped me."There is a narrow road on the side where you are. Go through it. In the end, you will see a small hut."I roamed my eyes to look for the way
SaveMy whole body trembled and my eyes lose focus. Santi caught up to me and held my shoulders."What's happening?" He asked worry is etched in his voice. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop looking everywhere to find my son."Callar... The teacher said our son is waiting at the gate…"My chest throbbed so badly while I looked for the guard. No one is inside the post and he couldn't be found anywhere. No more students are coming out from inside and the surroundings are quiet."Let's ask the teacher once again. Maybe they sent him back because we haven't arrived yet," he said and pulled me inside.We caught up with the teacher inside the classroom who arranging her things. I roamed my eyes around but no one else was there. My chest throbbed louder. It wasn't even five minutes since the teacher called to say my so
DreamI know we have to talk things out. And here I am being stubborn again because I'm clouded with so many doubts and insecurities. Maybe he has a plan to tell me and he's just looking for a good time. Or he's hoping the issue would die down on its own so he doesn't think he had to tell me anything about it.Well, that frustrates me even more. Even more so, Ivory points to me as the reason why Santi chose not to continue with that project.And damn, I know he wanted it so bad. He worked so hard for it. I know, more than anyone, how hard it is to give up on the things I love because of other things as well. And if the thing that stops him is us, how did he expect me to react? Of course, I'd be mad! As much as I want to keep him with us, I can't just do that. And what hurts, even more, is he doesn't even share with me his dreams, his goals, his plans. I know nothing at all.
Selfish"Leave him."If she hadn't been staring at me seriously while saying those words, I would have thought she was joking. I wanted so bad to laugh at her right now. She looked helpless and a hopeless desperate bitch."Stop spewing nonsense, Ivory," I said firmly."Do you think I'm just fooling around, Cianna? Or am I just saying all of these things because of how I feel for Santi? You're wrong. Can't you see you're pulling him down?"My eyes narrowed at what she said. What the hell? What did I do to pull Santi down?"Will you please snap out of it, Ivory? If you don't have anything sensible to say, don't talk to me. You're just wasting my time," I said and turned my back on her.Just when I was about to take a step, she spoke again."You don't know anything. Or is it becaus
WantI don't know how to feel about what Jacob said. My chest throbbed with a familiar pain."Maybe they're talking about work?" I faked a smile. I tried to hide the tremor in my voice.Right. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. But no matter how hard I try, I can't stop my brain. I almost didn't even hear the loud music."Maybe," he shrugged. "Anyway, let's just enjoy the night," he grinned and gently pulled me again to dance.Before I could even refuse, a pair of hands grabbed my arm from behind. I felt Santi's familiar hold that I automatically turned to him. His eyes were dark staring at Jacob's hand that was still holding mine."Santi," I called his name in protest.He turned to me, jaw clenched so hard."Sorry dude," Jacob apologized, raising both his hands.I was about to say something when I noticed someone chasing after Santi. She stopped walking when our eyes met.Ivory looked at Santi's back in a forlorn way. My anger grew even more when it was proven that what Jacob said was