PEOPLE can tell that a new day has begun when they look up in the morning and see a pale blue sky with white clouds floating in it, the breeze blowing the leaves beside the road, and the birds jumping back and forth from the tree.Zoe was ready to open the café again when Cindy rushed towards their main door.“What’s wrong, Cindy?” Aunt Millie asked who was getting ready for their work. Cindy flashed a smile. “Work again, Aunt?” Millie frowned but nodded after. “Of course; why?” Cindy shook her head. “Nothing, Aunt. Anyway, I’m here to pick Zoe, Aunt Iris,” she stated when Zoe’s mother came out from the kitchen.Iris smiled. “I know, dear…” she glanced at her wristwatch, “—you two are late for ten minutes in opening the café,” she added.Cindy let out a soft chuckle. “Zoe got a morning sick—” she didn’t finish her words when Zoe covered her mouth.“We need to go, mom, aunt. See you later,” Zoe said as she pulled Cindy outside their apartment.Soon as they stepped meters away from t
“DON'T start, Helios. I’m pregnant,” Zoe uttered immediately, making Helios press his lips together.He was just teasing her and taking chances. “Since you’re here, help me tell my mother about my pregnancy,” she continued.Helios’s forehead creased. “Why you didn’t tell her? Why do you need—”“Are you dumb?” she arched her brow and pierced her eyes into Helios’s. “Fine, I’m a coward. But if you don’t want to, then DON’T,” she emphasizes the word: don’t.Helios slightly shook his head and let out a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry,” he reached for Zoe’s left hand, “let’s face her together. Let’s go?”Zoe bit her lower lip. She finds him more handsome when he’s showing care. She nodded. “Wait here, and I open the door—”“No need, Helios,” she cut off the hum of Helios’s words.Helios nodded and let go of her hand.Zoe could still feel the morning sickness, but she was trying to fight it. Also, she has cravings, but they are not that bold.Helios wore his sunglasses soon as he stepped out o
ZOE expected her mother to be upset, but she accepted the truth, thankfully.Iris, Zoe’s mother, noticed a change in her daughter’s body and mood. She thought it was just a mood swing at first, but it turns out she’s pregnant.“I have nothing—I won’t say too much for you both. I’m not opposed to your pregnancy, Zoe. My concern is Mr. Lincoln,” she said, looking at Helios. “Is he aware of this?” Iris inquired,Helios let out a small sigh. “Not yet, aunt—” he didn’t finish his sentence when Iris cut him off.“Call me mom if you don’t mind,” Iris said, smiling.Helios squealed with delight, tightening his grip on Zoe’s hand.“So, what are your plans? And Zoe... Did you seek a doctor’s help for your pregnancy?” Iris asked her daughter.Zoe nodded. “Yes, mother. Last week, Cindy and I went to see an OB. Actually, they gave me vitamins and told me what to do and what not to do,” Zoe replied.“That’s fantastic. How about your cravings, honey?”Zoe looked at Helios first before returning her
CINDY'S forehead was in deep lines while waiting for Zoe, but it seemed like they were having a serious talk inside. She was about to place the refills when her phone inside her pocket vibrated.She frowned and got it off from her pocket. She arched her brow when she saw the caller.It was Calyx.“What?” she asked, a little boastful.“I’m across the street. We need to talk about something,” Calyx said, and after that, he ended the call, making Cindy feel rage.‘What’s wrong with him?’ she thought. Feeling a little rage, in the end, she called Mr. Reynolds and told him that she needed to settle with an important thing for a moment, and after that, she would get back.Across the street?Soon as she stepped out of the café, she looked in the straight direction and saw Calyx Audi.She gritted her teeth and crossed the street. Cindy knocked on the window, and Calyx lowered it down.“Hop in,” he said.However, Cindy crossed her arms in front of her chest and arched her brow. “What do you n
GRANT arranges a private dinner for Helios and the rest. It was Helios’s request, and he agreed with his cousin’s plan.After a few minutes of waiting, one by one came to the reception. Cindy, whose voice was as loud as always, echoed in the hall. Grant heaved a sigh and shook his head.“Hey, Cal, say to your girlfriend to stop yelling. We’re just near,” Grant said as he walked towards Calyx, who had just come in.Calyx looked at Grant with a knitted forehead. “Why don’t you tell her?”Grant's brows furrowed. “Are you kidding me?” he asked.Calyx let out a soft chuckle and tapped Grant’s shoulder. After that, he walked toward the table and pulled a chair.Cindy, who was just near Grant, suddenly pinched Grant’s ear and twisted it, making Grant whimper.“What the hell?!”“Enough with that!” Helios uttered, anger lingering in his voice. He pierced his gaze towards Grant, making Grant raise his hand in surrender.Cindy rolled her eyes and sat beside Calyx.“Sit beside Zoe—”“You’re not
AFTER the dinner meeting, Zoe and Helios left the venue first. Followed by Grant. “I’m taking the cab—”“No,” Calyx pulled her closer to him. “I will take you home—”“To my home, all right, Cal?”Cal’s brows furrowed and grinned after. “All right,” he replied.But of course, Cindy knew that Calyx was a great scammer. Well, the man sent her home but stopped a few meters away from her apartment. He parked his wrangler near the empty lot.“What are you doing?” Cindy asked, making Calyx form a sly smirk on his lips.“I miss—”“Shut up, Calyx, and send me home. I am not in the mood to have sex with you,” she said, frankly, which made Calyx arch his brow and let out a soft chuckle.“I was about to tell you that I miss being with you, like this, where we can talk for a while—”“Oh, shut up. Don’t mock me, Cal. I know you so well.”Calyx scoffed. “So, that’s how you portray me? That I only want you… because of sex?”Cindy let out a sarcastic laugh. “Aren’t you?”Calyx doesn’t know how to rea
ZOE felt the excitement and fear that lingers at the same time. She only needs to wait for a few hours before Grant will pick her up.Helios reminded her that it was Grant who would fetch her so that it would be safer. Puzzled, she still agreed.“At least bring some clothes, honey,” it was her mom.Zoe smiled as she sat on the small couch. “It’s fine, mom. Helios told me that we’d buy stuff once we get there,” she replied.Iris arched her brow and nodded after. “Are you sure about this, Zoe?”Zoe frowned. “Why are you asking me that, mom?” she laughed, “of course.”Iris pressed her lips together. She shook her head and heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t know why but I have a bad feeling—”“Mom… what are you talking about? I accepted it. I am taking the risk with Helios.”Iris moved close to Zoe and reached for her daughter’s hand. “Promise me that you will call me if something happens—”“Mom… please, I don’t want to leave with those thoughts that you want to insert inside my head. I promise
“DAMN it! You can’t do this, Dad!”“Try me, Helios. Try me. I warned you. I told you to stay away from that woman, and what did you do? Do you even plan to elope with her? You would destroy the clan if I didn’t find it out!”Helios clenched his fist while he pierced his gaze toward his father. “Don’t you dare touch them,” he uttered.The old man laughed. “I won’t if you promise me that you will forget her and marry Chloe.”Helios’s heart seems enveloped with barbed wire. He tried his best to understand everything—he was just fighting for his love.“If Cliff didn’t tell me about it… I wouldn’t know about it,” Don Lincoln said.Helios now darted his gaze toward the man that stood beside his father.Cliff—the traitor. Helios trusted him as his reaper, but he ended up spoiling his plans.“Be grateful that I didn’t kill you, traitor!” it was Ambrose who stood up beside Helios.Cliff didn’t show any expression and was just looking at them while his friend Ambrose was dressed in rage.Don Li
ZOE’S POVStanding in the hallway, in front of the open door… is Helios. He was holding our daughter’s hand.Is my third eye open as well? I did the sign of a cross and closed my eyes. Lord, God, I may badly want to see him, but this shocked me. I opened my eyes, and he was still there.I also heard the seemingly suppressed laughter of those with me inside.He smiled at me, which made my heart thumps so fast that I could even overhear it. Astonishment registered on my face. Confused…What is this?"Mommy, daddy!" Hela shouted.I looked down at the bouquet of roses that he was holding. It has assorted colors.What’s going on? I turned my gaze to my parents to find an answer. But they just nodded.I backed away when Helios started to walk inward. Our daughter was still next to him, smiling. Helios’s face remains calm as he slowly walks toward me.He stopped a few inches away from me."Baby," his soft voice almost feels so unreal.I shook my head. My vision started to blur again. My hear
ZOE’S POVWhen we got inside the hospital, and inside Helios’s room, I fell on the floor, crying incessantly. They were all inside Helios’s room. Helios is already covered with a white blanket. The apparatuses are also gone.I no longer knew who had pulled me up and led me near him.He gave up!He didn't fight for me... for us.God never answered my prayers.Why?Why do I have to feel this agony?Why do I have to experience this epic romance? I thought things like this would just be in a movie.I immediately hugged his corpse.Corpse?No. I didn’t know what to feel as I hugged his body. Why didn’t he fight for me… for us? Why did he let this happen? Did he not miss us? He promised me. He’s a fighter, but why?“Why?! I screamed. “Why did you leave us? Why did you let go?! You promised that you were going to marry me. You’re being unfair! You’re leaving me alone again while I deliver our child. I want… I also wanted to you—"“Zoe, calm down. Breathe, sweetie. Slowly… Something might hap
ZOE’S POVSIX MONTHS.Six months had passed swiftly, but Helios was still not waking up. There’s still no progress. And I almost wanted to give up, but I knew he was trying to fight. He’s trying to come back for me… for us. And every single thought of losing him almost tears me apart.How many medications have been injected into him? I lost count.I pray every day, especially when I’m on his side, holding his hand, pressing it, and talking to him. I know there’s still hope. And I believe a miracle could exist.Our daughter turned one about a month ago. We celebrated it inside his room, trying to lighten the atmosphere that day, but even if we tried hard, we all knew we couldn’t. We can’t be happy, seeing Helios lying on this hospital bed, apparatuses plunged into some parts of his body and sleeping so sound that it gives a false alarm—that he will let go at any moment.Damn it! May God forgives me. Many people out there wanted to take themselves for useless things. Why should it be hi
“WHAT a cute family?!” shouted Bill and laughed. “Do you think things will be easy just like that? I’m not a fool, Helios. If I die, I will drag you down. And I’m going to take this building down. Now, let’s play, finding the bombs,” he said and grinned.“Helios...”Helios kissed Zoe on her forehead, “Everything’s going to be fine. Let’s get you out,” he said. “Don’t let them escape. Take all of them out of this building!”They were about to leave when Amanda screamed. Her sister’s attention was on Beige. Helios turned to them.“Sir, the bomb in him is activated,” one of the assassins said.“I told you. I’m not a fool, Helios!” shouted Bill, who the two men were holding.Her eyes widened as she trembled because of fear. The timer is only one minute and twenty seconds. Her eyes were enveloped by tears again, as she was afraid of what she was seeing. But Helios led her out. Her chest was heavy as she left the place.“Helios, where’s Sam and Cindy,” she asked between her sobs.“Grant to
BILL came out from an old room and laughed as he pointed a gun at Helios.“Hello, Helios,” he said demonically.The man stopped a few meters from where Helios was. “So, Helios… let’s start some convo, shall we? How are you, my brother?” asked Bill as the muzzle of the gun still aimed at Helios.On the other hand, Helios remained calm that even if he wanted to blow Bill’s head off, he couldn’t because his loved ones were inside.“I’m not your brother,” he replied emphatically.The man laughed. He put down his gun, and his men pointed theirs at Helios.Zoe wiggles and tries to speak even though Helios can’t understand them. Helios glanced at her, and pity registered in the young man’s eyes. And his heart pounded fast when he saw his daughter lying on a wooden table, sleeping as Bea patted her.“Do you like what you see, Helios?” asked Bill.Helios turned to Bill. “No. Let’s end this. Let them go, and you can have me. I’m the only one you need, right?” he said and gritted his teeth.Bill
“I’m begging, Bill. Please, let us go. And please, let me hold my daughter,” Zoe pleaded.Her heart was almost broken because of the constant crying of her daughter, who Bea was holding. They give her milk in the bottle, but her daughter is still dependent on her—she’s breastfeeding the child.How cruel will they be?“B-Bea, please, let me hold my daughter! Let me go!” Her voice was cracked, trying to hold back her tears. “Let me go… let me go,” she said, almost whispering.Bill just laughed while he could see her suffering. What a demon!“That’s right. Feel my wrath, Zoe—Helios’s kryptonite that can serve to be the source of his death,” he said and devilishly laughed along with her daughter’s loud cries.“L-Let me hold my daughter…” she said weakly. She felt dory for her daughter, who won’t stop crying.She doesn’t know where they are. They were immediately blindfolded when they saw the driver on their way to Batangas. When those demons removed their blindfolds, they saw tall trees.
HELIOS went out early to visit Grant’s twin brother, but those guards outside Gunner’s room were already dead when they arrived. They didn’t see any gunshots because all his men were drugged to death, and Gunner was missing.“Damn that, Bill!” Grant murmured as he punched the wall.Ali approached him and touched his left shoulder. “Calm down, Grant. Don’t let your rage eat you.”“How the shits I can calm down? He took Gun—he took my brother!”Helios then let Ali calm his cousin. He massages his temple. Bill is getting on his nerves.“He already found out that we knew his plan and Gunner’s betrayal! And I’m sure he’ll kill Gun! That psychopath will think that Gunner talked about his plans to us. Fuck!”"We need to go back," said Helios."Where to?" asked Calyx.“At home,” Helios replied and twitched the doorknob, and went out of the room. He pulled out his cell phone and called someone to remove the corpses inside the room before the police could see them.When he hung up, his phone ra
THE NEXT day, Helios and his friends leave early. Cindy and Sam decided then that they would stay for a while.“You didn’t come down last night, huh, Zoe? What did you do inside the room?” asked Cindy, carrying her daughter. After bathing her daughter and dressing her, Cindy immediately took the little girl.“Yeah. You left us with those jerks downstairs,” Sam complained while busy tying her shoelaces.Zoe was delighted that Sam could get along and erased the awkwardness.Zoe just shook her head and returned things to her daughter’s bag. “We just talked,” she replied.“Really? Just talking… no touching?” asked Cindy.She rolled her eyes and shook her head.“Ah, that’s why there are hickeys on the top of your left chest and neck?” asked Sam and grinned.“Oh. My. Gosh! Is that hickeys?” uttered Cindy and laughed along with Sam.At that time, she wants to be swallowed by the ground. When she finished, she acted as if she was not affected by the teasing from her friends.“We will be going
IT WAS ten o’clock in the evening when Helios got home. Zoe’s friend is still in the house, and both decided to do a sleepover. Hela Selene was already asleep upstairs. She’s with their maid named Bea.Helios went home not alone. He’s with this guy named Ali, together with Grant and Calyx. She smiled when she saw the reaction of her friend, Cindy. Cindy spits the water she’s drinking when she sees Calyx.They were busy watching when the men arrived. Cindy is at the edge where she back faces the main door—she didn’t expect the arrival of Calyx.Helios approached her and kissed her on the forehead. “Where’s Hela?” he asked.She was about to answer when Cindy and Sam started to tease her. They’ve repeatedly been saying the words, ‘long table’. At the same time, Helios's companions began to whistle.She shook her head and smiled. Then she looked at Helios again. “She’s already asleep. What took you so long?”Helios sat down beside her, and he put his arm around her. He leaned the back of