I am feeling a little bit light-headed. But it's not because I am sick, dizzy or anything. It was the confusing feeling I have been feeling since this morning."Hannah," Leah said."Huh?""Are you listening to me? I've been talking non stop here but it seems like your thought’s been wandering somewhere else," my friend complained."I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I tried to give my attention to Leah."Ah, I know that!" she exclaimed after looking at me intently for about ten seconds. "You're in love!" I could almost see hearts in her eyes."Huh?""Hannah, you're in love," she repeated, grinning widely at me. "So tell me huh, is Nate Sarmiento the lucky guy?""What? No!" I refused, more confused than I was. "What are you talking about?""I went through that phase too. So don't fool me, Hannah," she still teased me. “I can’t believe the improvement! Come on, tell me the details...""What are you talking about? It’s a no. No!"I won't tell anything to Leah. All I knew was that I had be
On Wednesday afternoon the following week, I found myself in a restaurant with Nate Sarmiento's father, Benjamin Sarmiento. I knew I shouldn't have considered going without Nate’s permission. But the old man insisted that he did not need to know. That we were just going to talk.It was last night when I received a direct call from Adam. He had said that money works, so I didn't ask him how he got my number.And now, I’m here. After much persuasion from Adam, I faced Benjamin Sarmiento."I know you're wondering why," the old man began. I noticed that he wasn't that old. Well, considering that Nate was only thirty and he was the eldest, his father was probably still in his fifties.Maybe it was his condition that made him look older. He was in a wheelchair and he looked sick."I'm desperate, Ms. Rodriguez. I don't have much time. When I saw you at my son's house, I was certain that I could trust you. I saw the goodness of your heart in your eyes. Now, don’t think I'm saying this without
"Mr. Sarmiento, we met at last!" Leah greeted exaggeratedly.We had already arrived at the Farm and Elisha had forced her father to wear the pink shirt and cap that Leah gave us.To say that Nate carried the attire really well was an understatement. He looked like a model who had just stepped out of a magazine cover. It seemed that whatever he would wear would fit him nicely.I felt a little bit conscious that I was wearing a shirt that was the same as the one Nate was wearing. Then there was Team Sarmiento written on my back, as if I were really a member of the family of Elisha and Nate."Hannah always talks about you!" Leah continued, and if Caleb hadn't been there I might have already strangled her neck for lying.Nate's response was just a small smile and a short greeting, obviously just forcing himself to be nice. He obviously wasn't used to casual talk with a new acquaintance that was not business related."I really don't talk about you that much," I told Nate. I felt I needed
Two more hours and my most dreaded confrontation was about to unfold. I was afraid of being rejected. I was afraid to know that my father no longer needed me in his life.My last memory of my dad, David Rodriguez, was when he asked me to leave his house because my new stepmother did not want my presence in their house— our house. I was making his wife remember that she was just a second wife.I remembered that I had begged them because I had nowhere to go. But my father also begged me to leave.He needed his second wife, he said. He said that it was the only way for him to completely recover from the loss of my mother.That's when I ran to Olive for help. And my friend did not disappoint me.Nine years later, here I was. I hope my heart was ready to face my father and his new family."Nervous?" asked Nate."A bit," I admitted.That's right, I am with Nate. I was actually surprised that he came.—"Nate!" I called him when we both went out of Elisha's room. Nate, who was already on his
Aunt Mercy brought us to visit my dad's grave the next day. While we were there, I asked them to leave me alone. Somehow, it was the closest I could get to my dad. I could no longer see him, no longer hug him, no longer talk to him.And no matter how hard it was for me, I had to face the truth. That I am an orphan now and will be alone in life. Even though I have been independent for a long time, the feeling was different now that I knew I had no parents anymore. I have no one to return to. And I knew that I would never see them again.But the worst feeling of all was losing dad without the chance to apologize for my mistakes. I wasn’t able to tell him that I was not mad at him, that he didn’t need to ask for my forgiveness and, just like him, I never stopped loving him either. I didn’t expect our next meeting to be like this. Then again, it’s the truth and I can no longer change it."Hannah." I heard Nate call me softly. I immediately dried my tears before looking at him. "Let's go.
Olive was traumatized. She was always crying and shouting and would only calm down in Nate's presence. Nate, on the other hand, managed to clear his schedule to stay beside his ex as per Olive's doctor's advice.In fact, it was already a whole week that Nate was there, and during those times, he would just call and talk to Elisha for a few minutes everyday.Nate and I hadn't talked since that call when we got home from the trip. Besides, I didn't want to add to his worries. I knew that he was going through a hard time.It was also a good thing that Elisha's school was on break. Because there was circulating news that Olive was really Eli's mother. I had no idea how the media got a hold of that truth. But these days, everything is already possible.Nate has yet to release an official statement. Up to this time, he had refused any interviews.But the problem was, since the issue was all over social media and the news, Elisha and I couldn’t go out of the house. Especially because some m
I have been unleashing someone that wasn't really me. I hated doing it but I had to. For the sake of one family that I had unintentionally kept apart.Just now, Elisha's been crying for the nth time this week because I’m always scolding her. I was making even the smallest thing an issue just so I could have a reason to get mad at her. But I’m not hurting her physically because I’ve no reason to spank a good kid. My Eli was a good girl. I am proud to have raised her like that.But I need her to resent me. That's what I have been trying to do. But Elisha was always begging for my forgiveness. She wasn’t getting mad at me for scolding her for no reason. That’s why it’s becoming more difficult for me. I wanted so badly to pacify her, but I needed to be hard on her."Mommy... Sorry! Mommy!" She hugged my thighs. "I'm not going to play with dolls again if you don't want it, mommy." It was because I made her dolls an issue. No reason at all. They’re not even all over the place. I just wanted
From my room’s window, I could see Nate, Olive and Elisha having breakfast together in the garden. I was also supposed to be there by Eli’s request. In fact, she had come to my room many times but I refused and pretended to be sick so I couldn't join them.Their family was getting complete little by little. But it was happening faster in my heart as I felt I was not needed there anymore. I weakly returned to my bed. Pretending to be sick seemed not a good excuse as I could feel my body weakening for real. I was feeling bad and my eyelids were heavy and hurting from crying. I could even feel my head aching like hell. It was as painful as the invisible wound in my heart that’s becoming deeper by the day.I found myself sleeping again. It seemed that it was the only thing that I wanted to do– sleep the pain away. Forget about eating and everything else. At least, while I’m sleeping, I can rest my overthinking mind.It's like a temporary escape where I needed not to face Olive, hurt Eli