CHAPTER 2

"You were never a burden to me, why would you think that?" I heaved a sigh when she went silent. "Alright, if that's what you want. It's indeed better if you woll be studying in Italy. Mom and dad can give you all the things that I can't give you," I smiled sparingly.

"Really?!" My sister's voice cheered up. I hummed in response. "Thank you very much, big sis! All right, take a rest now. It's already late. Goodnight, thanks again! I love you.” The other line then ended the call.

I looked at my cellphone screen.

No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, it's always not enough.

I let out a long breath.

Too much disappointment for myself today. I indeed need rest.

I went straight to my bed and lay immediately. Then I forced myself to sleep.

***

"Ahhhh!!" Liah and I screamed at the same time because of so much pain. Every time Liah's stomach hurts, she tightens her grip on my palm.

My palm is already numb because she's been holding it tightly for almost an hour.

"You big fat bitch!! I hate you!! Go freaking hold the damn bed instead! The bones in my hand are already broken. Oh, my God! Let go of my hand!” I am already begging her. I am already in the verge of crying.

I heard the two nurses who were looking at us laugh.

We are in a room. Liah's forehead was dripping with sweat. She is also catching her breath.

This dumb woman was already in labor when I picked her up earlier.

And she has been in labor for five freaking hours. She's been shouting in pain for five hours straight.

I already called her ex-fiancé and told him about her condition. He said that he would just finish the important meeting he's currently in and then will go to the hospital immediately.

Even though Liah is holding tight on my palm, I still tried to remove her hand. I don't think I can still bear the pain she's causing me.

Feels like I am also in a freaking labor.

When she let go of my hand and was already clinging to the bed, I immediately stepped backward from her. I can no longer feel my hand because of the numbness and its color just turned very red.

I grimaced looking at Liah.

She was writhing in so much pain that the veins in her neck almost wanted to burst out.

It is really difficult to give birth.

The two nurses monitoring my friend were just calmly watching her.

After a while, the nurses went out of the room. They just looked to see if Liah was about to give birth or not.

I approached Liah again and rubbed her back.

"You can do it, besti. All this pain will be worth it. Your child is about to come out. I also already called your ex-fiancé and he is on his way here. He'll be here in a minute."

Liah kept on grunting in pain. She can't utter a single word.

Suddenly, the door opened quickly and a man came rushing in.

He is still wearing an all black business tuxedo. He got a neat hairstyle. He is tall, handsome and hot too, obviously. He is the type of man that women like me often praise like Adonis.

The bold and masculine scent of him also stings my nose.

Liah did not notice the man's presence because she was in severe pain.

The man didn't notice me either. He quickly attended to Liah.

I removed my palm from Liah's back when the man put his palm there.

"Hey! Are you good?” He immediately asked Liah in a worried tone. His voice is so manly and baritone.

I was just staring at him.

Liah turned to the man. “I-It h-hurts!” My friend uttered with difficulty then took a long breath. Liah kept on blowing air.

The man caressed my friend's back.

Suddenly the man looked at me. He caught me staring at him.

He obviously looks worried for my friend.

I quickly smiled at him.

"Hi," I greeted.

He smiled back at me. I was caught off guard because of his sudden mesmerizing smile.

His smile makes him even hotter.

"I'm Liah's friend," I introduced.

"I'm also her friend. Nice to meet you.”

"Likewise," I said. I was just looking at him even though he had already focused his attention on Liah who was writhing.

There's something about him that makes me stare at him for a long time. And, I don't know what that "something" is.

I turned to Liah when she suddenly screamed loudly.

My eyes landed on her legs. Blood is dripping down to her knees.

"She's about to give birth!" I exclaimed as I ran outside to call a nurse.

I screamed again which made the two nurses quickly run to the room and a doctor was with them.

I entered the room again.

Two nurses and the doctor are slowly helping Liah lie down on the bed. She is already crying in pain.

I feel like I am also feeling the same pain she feels.

She was immediately rushed to the labor room.

Liah's ex-fiancé and I were waiting outside the labor room.

We were both silent as we sat on the white bench and waited.

I am a talkative person. But this time, I'm shy to speak or say even a single word because this guy is just sitting next to me.

It's like my tongue suddenly retracted.

I could see what he's doing from my peripheral vision. He's busy typing with his phone while his legs keep tapping the floor. He looks tense.

Just over an hour later, the doctor came out of the room.

The man and I stood up together and approached the doctor.

"How is she?" He immediately asked. I looked at him. He was really worried about my friend.

The doctor smiled at us. "She's already fine. She and her baby will be moved to their rooms."

"Is it a girl or a boy?" he asked again.

"A boy," the doctor answered happily and then he left.

I went back to sitting. I smiled. I am happy so for my friend.

"Wanna eat something with me?" The man in front of me suddenly asked so I looked up at him.

He's looking at me while smiling. That prettiest smile again.

I smiled back. "Sure," I answered then stood up.

The man walked before me. I followed him. Until we entered the elevator. We were both silent.

When we got down, we went straight to the cafeteria.

We bought our snacks. I noticed that he was still smiling. He was very happy because of Liah unlike earlier.

We sat across from each other.

"You look so happy. Like a man turning into an official father," I said before biting into my hamburger. He looked at me. His bright eyes were so obviously happy.

"Well, there's a reason why I'm happy," he happily replied.

"And, what exactly is that? Is it because Liah has a baby boy or is it because finally, Liah has already given birth?”

"Both, it is very difficult to take care of her while she was pregnant, you know. She's a mess to talk to. She also has a lot of cravings. I almost went crazy finding those weird foods. I am also happy because she has a baby boy now. She always wanted one so he could name him after the man she loved," he casually said.

I remembered the tragedy months ago.

Liah lost the man she loves. But she was able to overcome those pain just for their son.

I still remember those days when I was always by her side while she was crying non-stop.

There were many times when she would fall asleep in the middle of crying. I saw how she was crushed and consumed by the loss of the man she loved. She was very hurt and was miserable.

It's so hard to lose someone you love.

I am thankful because she was able to get out of that situation even though it was not easy.

Even though I can see that the pain is still there in her eyes, she still manages to stand and remains strong.

After Kiel died then, Liah's grandfather and aunt followed.

His grandfather committed su*cide. He shot himself the same day Kiel was killed.

While Liah was in the middle of grieving, I and the man in front of me took care of her.

But we never met formally.

We were just taking turns watching over Liah. We never had the chance to catch up with each other while we were in Liah's condo.

When I leave, he would then come and vice versa.

"I don't agree that she'll be naming her son after her late lover. She might be hurt even more, especially now that she hasn't completely moved on from her loss. It's only been a few months since that incident," I said before sipping on my iced tea.

"I'm pretty sure her son will reduce the pain she's currently feeling and probably, he will help her heal," he promised full of confidence.

I just agreed with him.

"Anyways," the man patted his palm and presented it to me, "I'm Vish."

I accepted his palm with a smile. "Fatima." We then shook hands.

"Fatima? Pretty name. But, I thought your name was Jane?”

I smiled. “It's Fatima Jane actually. They mostly call me Jane. You can call me whatever you want though.”

He chuckled and smirked. "Hmm… So, can I call you mine instead?" h

He then winked.

I was caught off guard. My eyes slightly widened.

Seconds later, I burst into laughter. "That was smooth. You're funny. No wonder Liah likes you."

Vish also laughed.

After a minute, I stretched my hands in front of him. "I feel like I want to go and roam outside," I uttered. He's looking at me. I smiled at him. "Wanna come with me? We'll only be thirty minutes outside. That's if you have nothing else to do."

Vish first looked at the time on his wrist watch. Then looked up at me and smiled. "Sure, I will return to my office toningt at seven p.m. It's only 6:15 p.m. I still has time.”

The smile on my lips widened then I stood up first. "Let's go then."

We walked out of the hospital together.

"Where are we going?" He suddenly asked.

I faced him and I looked at him from head to toe.

"Divisoria is only a walking distance from here. I just wanted to buy some souvenirs to give to Liah's baby. But you don't look like you fit in that place because of what you're wearing," I pointed to his suit. "That place is only for the poor ones, you know."

Vish looked confusedly at himself then looked at me. "Is there something wrong with my clothes? Is there a dress code in Divisoria?”

I slightly laughed at what he said. "Let's go. But don't blame me if people will be looking at you with raised brows," I said with a smile as I walked ahead.

Vish followed me. "I'm used to that thing," he said proudly.

"It's a ten minute walk. You might complain.”

"That's fine. I've been sitting all day. I'll consider this as an exercise," he immediately replied.

We were both silent while walking. The sky is slowly turning black. Until we reached Divisoria.

We were inmediately greeted by a large and noisy crowd of people. It was a bit difficult for us to get inside because it was so crowded.

Vish were just following me.

We stopped in front of a stall selling different types and designs of souvenirs.

I picked up a cute little bracelet that had a little jar in the middle. It fits perfectly in the hand of a small baby. It is made of fat brown and red beads. I took two of those.

Vish was looking at some souvenir keychains.

A black bracelet made of silver caught my attention. The pair was pur in a plastic cover.

I took it and stared at it.

A bracelet has a small lock in the middle. The other has a key in the middle.

"That's a couple bracelet, ma'am," suddenly said by the old man who was guarding, so I looked at him. "That will be perfect for you and for your partner."

I looked at the person next to me. He was also looking at what I was holding.

I looked again at the old man and laughed awkwardly at the same time.

"It's beautiful, sir. But we're not a couple," I said, correcting him.

"Aye! You guys are not a couple?" The man laughed. "You two looked perfect with each other. I'm sorry." He added.

I just put down the purse and handed him the two children's bracelets I took.

"Just these two." The man immediately accepted that.

"This looks pretty good though." Vish suddenly spoke while taking the couple bracelets I was holding earlier. He looked at the bracelets for a few seconds before handing it to the man. "We'll get these too."

The man also accepted that with a smile.

Who will he give it to?! Does he have a girlfriend?

I also just got two keychains and two mini jars that light up inside to decorate my room.

It was Vish who offered to pay.

I was a little shocked because the price of that couple bracelet was $84.60. I don't see anything special about that bracelet so why does it has to be expensive?!

We immediately left Divisoria afterwards.

"Do you want to eat street foods?" I asked him even though I don't think people like him eat or even like such foods.

But he nodded his head without hesitation. "Sure," he replied.

I smiled. "What do you want? I will buy it for you. There will be a lot of smoke. You might smell bad."

"The one that they called ibaw? I am not actually sure," the young man said uncertainly. "And, an egg covered with that orange thingy," he added.

I laughed a little at him. "It's kwek-kwek and isaw," I said with a laugh. "I'll buy it, you stay here."

I left Vish standing.

It only took a few minutes for me to return to his place carrying two kwek-kwek and ten isaw.

"Here," I handed him the street food. He accepted it.

We eat in silence while looking at the people passing by.

I glance at Vish. He eats the isaw and kwek-kwek without any dislike or disgust. He is eating them like a normal individual.

We finished eating together. I even gave Vish my handkerchief to wipe his hand.

While shaking my hand, Vish suddenly handed me one of the couple bracelets he bought earlier. "Here, for you."

I stared at the bracelet and to him with confusion.

He gives me the bracelet that has a a lock. "Are you serious?" I asked, laughing. "Why are you giving that to me?"

He smiled at me. "You don't like this?"

"It's not what I mean. That's a couple bracelets. Why are you giving me the other one?"

"It can also be a friendship bracelet, you know. Come on, take it. These will mark the start of our friendship," said Vish.

"Are you sure about that?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh."

I was hesitating whether to accept it but I chose to accept it.

I first looked at the bracelet before looking up at him and smiled. "Thank you," I said.

I was just watching Vish as he put on his hand the bracelet that has the key on it. I also put mine on.