For those of you who may not remember, Thomas and Catalina are Adriel's parents! I really despise their characters so much, but I think their issues need to be fully resolved before Adriel can completely heal as a person.
Adriel woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a familiar ring tone. It's a sound that she hadn't heard for years but would always make her tremble whenever she heard it. She instantly sobered up from her sleep as she looked at the caller ID. There's really no mistaking—it was her mother who was calling her—her mother who never called her for the past four years. "Angel?" Zeth groggily said when he saw that Adriel was breathing heavily next to him. He sat up from bed and looked at the woman's frightened face. "What's wrong?" he gently asked. Adriel couldn't say anything. She just kept staring at the phone, wondering if she was currently stuck in a nightmare. Zeth glanced over at the phone and cursed under his breath. "Angel," he shook her. "It's over, angel," he said when the ringtone finally died down. "W—why would she be calling me?" she stuttered, still dazed. Zeth clicked his tongue and wrapped his arms around her body, wanting to make sure that she felt safe. "I d
Zeth anxiously bit his nails as they got nearer and nearer to the villa—the first place where they had met. Adriel brought the window down so she could enjoy the fresh breeze of the province. The first time she went here, she couldn't appreciate the simple and rural lifestyle; but coming back here made her feel like this was the life that she wanted to live. She turned to the anxious Zeth and let out a chuckle. "What are you so nervous for?" she asked. "We're only meeting your grandpa." "That's the point," Zeth exclaimed. "Do you know how scary he is when he gets mad?" Adriel frowned. "Why would he be mad at you?" "Angel," he said in an obvious tone. "I didn't treat you well in the beginning, so I wasn't able to witness Zenon's growth. Aside from that, I hid the fact that I had a child from him. He's going to give me an earful once we get home." Adriel burst out in a fit of laughter. "Oh, this is going to be gold! Maybe, this is what you deserve," she teased. Zeth sighed. "Ma
"I told you this was a bad idea," Zeth grumbled as he looked at all the preparations that his grandfather did for Zenon's birthday. Adriel sighed beside him. "It was an innocent suggestion! I didn't know that he would go to such lengths." "You've seen his 80th birthday! He never settles for anything less than extraordinary. That's how he became successful and rich," Zeth said. Adriel shook her head. "It's alright. Let's just enjoy it. It looks like Zenon is enjoying it anyway," she said, gesturing to her son, who was looking at all the interior decoration with wonder.Grandpa Earl practically made Zenon's dream place. The entire hall was covered with the cartoon characters that he liked, and there were also a variety of activities and games laid out for the children—face painting booths, photo zones, arcade machines, and many more."Do you like it?" Grandpa Earl asked the young child with a smile on his face.Zenon enthusiastically nodded his head. "I love it, grandpa! Thank you!"H
The Gray family, along with Adriel and Zenon, are sitting around the table, peacefully eating their breakfast. Milo chuckled when Zenon spilled some of the milk on his shirt. He took out a napkin and wiped the wet area. "Be careful, buddy," he reminded. "I'm sorry," Zenon apologetically said. "It's alright," he ruffled his hair, smiling as Zenon continued eating. Grandpa Earl smiled as he watched the scene in front of him. "Maybe, we should keep Zenon here. This is the kindest that I've seen Milo ever since he hit puberty." "Granddad," Milo rolled his eyes. "But, could we really do that? Can we keep Zenon here?" "No," Zenon cutely shook his head. "I'll only stay where mommy and daddy are staying." Adriel chuckled and pinched his cheeks. "You don't want to play with Milo anymore?" Zenon looked at Milo with wide eyes. "I do! I also love playing with grandpa so let's go here once again mommy!" he enthusiastically exclaimed. "Of course, bud," Zeth responded. "We'll come he
"Get out." Grandpa Earl had enough. "Get out of my house," he stood up from his seat and pointed his cane at both Lauren and Lewis. "I tolerate your presence because you're my son's wife, but if you keep on acting like this, I don't have a problem forgetting you and my son, too," he said with all sincerity. Lewis' eyes wavered a little bit, and he held onto Lauren's arm, dragging her out of the villa despite her unwillingness to go. "Let go," she said, struggling to get out of his hold. "Honey, let's go back here when you're calm, alright? We don't want to continue this conversation with a hot head." "I don't care. I've made up my mind," she stubbornly said. "Honey, please," he said in a desperate voice. Zeth looked away from them. He hates how pathetic his father looks right now. Even up until now, when Lauren is clearly in the wrong, he's still willing to be patient with her. "Fine," Lauren finally caved in. "But, this is not the last time that you'll be seeing us. And just
"Aria?" Cedric asked when he saw the familiar woman standing in front of a closed door. She had the back of her head against the door, and she was anxiously dialing someone on her phone. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Cedric standing not far away from her. "Cedric?" she stopped leaning on the door and fixed her posture. "What are you doing here?" she asked. He scratched the back of his head. "I live here," he said. "What?" she asked, shocked to hear the new information. "I live here with my cousin too," she said. "We've been living on this floor for about two months. How come I've never seen you around these parts?”"Oh," Cedric said. "Kian and I's unit are actually on the top floor. We just have a couple of friends here, so we went down to greet them." "Ah," Aria nodded her head. "So, you're the noisy bunch from room 304?" Cedric bit his lips. "My apologies for the inconveniences we've made," he bowed his head. "Those people are just quite enthusiastic when it comes
“You just finished what?” Aria asked when Cedric didn’t finish his sentence.He remained frozen while looking at her. His sweatshirt practically swallowed her figure whole. From his view, it looked like she wasn’t wearing any shorts since the sweatshirt covered them. Paired with her messy bun and bare face, Cedric couldn’t help but gawk at her for a second.“Cedric?” Aria nudged his shoulders, causing him to finally snap out of his trance.“Umm yeah?” he said, his eyes still kind of dazed.“What did you just finish?”Cedric closed his eyes to recall what he wanted to say but eventually found his mind blank. “Uhh—do you want to watch some TV?” he asked after a while, completely forgetting his past thought process. Aria beamed and excitedly sat down on the couch. “Sure!” she said. “Do you have some snacks?”“Let me get some from the kitchen,” he said. With that, he left Aria all alone in the living room without even hearing her response.As soon as he got there, he leaned against the c
“Mom,” Zeth’s voice was heard all around the room.The two women turned around, shocked to hear his voice.“Zeth?” Lauren said with wide eyes. “You’re back already? How much did you hear?”“Enough to know that you’re scheming to ruin our family once again.”“Don’t argue in front of the children,” Grandpa Earl said. “Let’s go,” he said to Milo and Zenon, leading them up the stairs and leaving the three of them all alone.“I know that you’re a shitty person, but I never knew that you’d stoop this low. Milo is your son!” he exclaimed. “How can you say something like that about him?”Lauren crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m just telling the truth.”“And what was that—about me marrying somebody else? How can you decide something like that for me?”Lauren let out a deep breath and walked closer to Zeth, holding onto his hands. “This is the best for you, Zeth. Trust me—you don’t want to marry someone who can’t contribute to your social status.”“Don’t make me into like you, mom. I
"Ooh la la," Adriel said as he ogled the man in front of her. Aria sat down next to her and also couldn't take away her eyes from the new gardener who was tending to grandpa Earl's garden. They had been in the villa for about a week now, and they were planning on going back to the city together in the next weeks or so. Right now, they were having afternoon tea on the porch. Adriel had already sent her kids to take a nap, so she invited Aria to eat outside on the grass since the weather was lovely. However, they were in for a surprising treat when they saw the new gardener that grandpa Earl had hired tending to the plants and grass. He was probably a 40-year-old male, and he seriously had lumberjack vibes. You know those types of men that you see in forests chopping wood up? Tall, muscular, and mature. It also doesn't help the fact that he's wearing nothing but a thin, white shirt that has already been drenched by his sweat, causing it to look transparent under the soft afternoon
"Baby, my baby," Adriel muttered in her sleep, her head moving from side to side. Zeth quickly opened his eyes to see what Adriel was talking about. He let out a sigh when she appears to be having a nightmare. "Angel," he gently said, patting her cheek softly. "Angel, wake up. You're having a nightmare.""No, don't take my baby away from me," she continued fighting him off. Zeth placed a chaste kiss on her lips, causing her to calm down. She opened her eyes slowly and was met with Zeth's reassuring face. Her eyes started tearing up, probably from all the tiredness and the hormones. "Where's our daughter?" she asked. Zeth smiled. "Our daughter is fine, angel. She's in the room next to ours," he said. Adriel finally let out a sigh of relief. In her dreams, she couldn't find her daughter, so when she woke up, she thought that everything would be the same. She buried her face in Zeth's face and inhaled his comforting scent. "I'm so happy," she said. "We have another baby in our live
"Oh my gosh," Aria exclaimed as soon as they arrived in the vicinity of the Zhang mansion. It was her first time coming here, and she couldn't believe that Kian hid the fact that they owned this kind of home from her. She knew that his family was rich, but she never even imagined that they were rich RICH. Kian scratched the back of his head, looking around the house where he spent his childhood in. All the good and bad memories came rushing to his mind—mostly the bad memories, though. Because of his family, he had quite a hard time growing up. If it weren't for Cedric, who was always with him when they were younger, then he reckoned that he must have gone insane. It's a good thing that his parents don't meddle with their lives anymore. As they grew up, they just started caring less and less. For Kian, that was better, though. At least now, he can choose the life he wants to live. "You okay?" Aria asked, looping her arm around his. Kian snapped out of his thoughts and tried his be
"Kian, Kian," Aria shook Kian awake as she looked at her phone in awe. Zeth had just sent her a text message, saying that Adriel had already given birth to their daughter, and there's nothing she wanted more but to travel to the province to see the precious little girl herself. She clicked her tongue as she shook awake her lover. "Wake up, Kian," she exasperatedly said. "Baby," she tried calling out her sweet nickname for him, but to no avail. She sighed and decided to bring out her final weapon. "We're not going to have sex for an entire month if you don't wake up right now."Like a magic spell, Kian woke up from his slumber and looked at Aria with wide eyes. "No sex? What? What's happening? What time is it?" he said, still drunk from his sleep. Aria smiled and held onto his arm, pulling him to stand up from the bed. "Let's go!" she excitedly said. "Where are we going, Aria?" He looked at the bedside clock. "It's literally 4 AM in the morning! Where do you want to go in this ung
Adriel rolled down the car window to let the fresh gush of wind run through her hair. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of the sharp grass and the fresh flowers. She was already eight months pregnant, and it's been getting harder and harder to manage her pregnancy each day since her due date was getting nearer. She's been feeling more nauseous in the city with all the pollution, so Zeth decided for them to stay in the province while waiting for her due date. Zeth chuckled as he watched his adorable wife smiling widely at the green scenery. Even if he'll be swamped with work the second he comes back to the city, he knows that it's better for them to stay here for the sake of Adriel's health. He's willing to do anything just to always make her feel at ease. "Aren't you feeling dizzy, angel?" he asked. Adriel looked back at him and shook her head. "No. The air over here is so fresh that I don't feel nauseous at all. Thank you for bringing me here despite your busy schedul
"Why are you so nervous?" Kian asked, looking at Zeth, who was pacing back and forth in the hotel room. "Fuck off," he said. Kian raised his hands up in surrender. "Damn. You don't have to be so sensitive."Zeth groaned and attempted to run his fingers through his hair. However, when he realized that his hair had already been styled, he quickly placed his hand down and continued pacing back and forth."You're making me dizzy, man. Sit down," Kian exclaimed. "Where's Cedric when you need him?" Zeth asked under his breath. "Hey," Kian said in an offended voice. "Your best man is right here!" he exclaimed, pertaining to himself. "Don't look for another person when I'm literally right here.""Yeah. You were my second option," Zeth deadpanned. "If Cedric didn't have to leave too early, then he would have been my best man."Kian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. You're stuck with me. And because you said that, I'm not going to comfort you. Instead, I'm going over to the bride's room upst
"How are you doing over there, bro? Have you been to the Eiffel Tower yet?" Cedric shook his head. "Not yet. I've never really gotten the chance to tour around," he said. Kian's eyes widened in surprise. "What? But you've been there for a week. You should go around the city when you have the time!" Cedric scratched the back of his head. "It's just that—It's hard adjusting to the atmosphere here. Besides, I took care of my papers for the company transfer, and I also finished furnishing my apartment. I didn't have any time to tour around." Kian sighed. "Are you deliberately staying in your own apartment?" "No," Cedric sheepishly said. "You're lying," Kian said. "I know that you're confining yourself in your own little space once again. There's no use in lying to me, bro. I know you like I know the back of my hand." Cedric clicked his tongue. "There's nothing interesting around here!" "You haven't even tried going out yet. How would you even know?" he asked. "Come on," Kian urge
“Let’s sleep,” Aria said after a heavy make-out session.“What?” Kian absentmindedly said, still dazed from the heated kiss they shared. Aria giggled. “I’m tired, honey. Let’s sleep,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.After a few seconds, the rise and fall of her chest started getting deeper—an indication that she had already fallen asleep. Kian looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “Aria,” he said.As expected, Aria had already fallen asleep. He closed his eyes as he placed one of his hands over his crotch. He felt his hardening member underneath his think cotton shorts. He let out a sigh of disbleief before pinching himself. "Calm down," he whispered to himself. He looked at Aria, who was peacefully sleeping beside him, and couldn't help but bite his lips. It has been about two months since they started their relationship, and everything has been great since then. Sure, they bicker from time to time, but it's really nothing serious.
“Adriel Summers,” he smiled up at her. Adriel looked down on her lover, still unbelieving of the current situation. Of course, she had imagined this a thousand times in her head. Being married to Zeth and having the opportunity to stay with him until the end of their lives was one of her greatest desires. Now that the moment had come, she couldn't help but be emotional. “You have changed my life in the best way possible, and I don’t think I can live without you anymore," Zeth said. “I love you so much,” tears started welling up in his eyes. “I see you every single day, and yet I still feel like I miss you. I love you so so much, but I still feel like I haven’t loved you enough. So, allow me to love you for the rest of our lives. I may not be able to promise a perfect relationship, but what I can promise is perfect love.” “Will you marry me?” he finally asked the question. It was a brief statement, but nonetheless, it was perfect. Tears started streaming down Adriel’s face the se