BEATRICE:“This is not a dream,” I whispered and brushed the side of Grayson's cheeks. I wished they were. I wished this would not bring any trauma and would still allow me to sleep peacefully at night beside my son. “When you wake up, your Dad is still here.” With us. The question was, until when? How long will he be with us? Grayson pinched both of my cheeks. “I believe you, Mommy. Good night, Mommy. Good night, Daddy,” he said and closed his eyes leaving me and Drake. A couple of minutes and Grayson was already snoring. Glancing at my side, Drake was staring at the ceiling, wide awake, without any idea what he was thinking at all. Did he like staying here with us? Of course he did. Remember how he rushed here just to save you and Grayson from danger even at this hour? That’s how important we are to him. Don't you think it's high time to give him the benefit of the doubt, Beatrice? It's not that easy. “Do you want me to turn off the light?” Drake asked all of a sudden, when
BEATRICE:I stared at the two in disbelief as I tried to understand what was going on. Wait. Did I miss something? Josh never informed me that he would be visiting me in the morning. So why?“Josh?” I asked while my brows formed a straight line. “What are you doing here?”How did you get my address? I tried to recall if I did give him my address, but did not remember anything like that. Or perhaps I only forgot about it? Sometimes, I was quite forgetful. The man automatically stood hearing his name while bringing a bouquet of flowers with him. He sauntered towards me and closed the distance between us while Drake was sitting at the coach, but was wearing a deep scowl on his forehead. I was as confused as him, too!“Little One. Are you okay? I was deeply worried.”My lips parted as Josh checked my body, as if he was looking for some wounds. “Why won't I be okay?”“A burglar broke last night,” he commented. “The moment I came here, I automatically rushed here. Why did you not call m
BEATRICE:Oh, no. This was not getting good. I wished I had stepped in earlier to stop Drake and Josh’s banter. "I don't think we need to go to that area. If I hear you two fight because of me, you might hide yourselves and never bother seeing me again. I don't like it at all when people fight over me. I'm not worth it," I insisted, both giving the two a stern look.Josh smiled and put both of hands around my shoulders. His hands were light. "Of course that won't happen at all, Little One. No one will fight if you don't like it all. I will do anything for you, Little One. Anything you like."Drake scoffed while his eyes were glued on Josh’s hands on my shoulders. I slowly removed them on my shoulders not because of Drake’s glare, but because I did not want the two to fight. They will fight because of you. Don't you find it romantic, Beatrice. I mean, back then, you're the only one who was chasing your ex-husband's feelings, but now, two men are pursuing you. Sooo romantic, the othe
BEATRICE:The two men stared at each other then returned the gaze towards me while I waited for their statement. While waiting for their answers, I craned my neck from side to side. I was tired even though I had only just woken up. “We will not fight if you don’t like it, Little One,” Josh declared. “We will not do anything that would upset you, okay? I’m sorry if our constant bickering upset you. Please forgive us for our immature behavior. We should be doing better since you’re still traumatized by what happened to you.”As usual, Josh was the understanding type. Unlike my ex-husband who did not grow up. I heaved a sigh. “I hope you will be honoring your promise, Josh. And now, would you please go now? You two, please? You’ve been here for so long.”I want to have some alone time with myself and fetch Grayson at school. With the two men here, I did not think I would be able to do that.Josh stood. “Alright. We will be going now.”Drake’s forehead knotted as he lifted his gaze an
BEATRICE:My lips parted as I stared at Christina, then shook my head a couple of times. "You're not going to tell my brother, Chrstina even if he is your husband. You promised me."Everette and the rest of my siblings should not know about me and Grayson. They just could not know. What would Mom do if she found out I contacted them? Mom never treated anyone as a family member as long as you did something wrong in her eyes. Christina's expression softened. "Don't you think six years is already too long for punishing your siblings? Beatrice. Please. You have to tell them already."Punishing? Was that how it looked to her? I cut ties with them because I was punishing them? Why would I punish my beloved siblings when in fact my heart was calling for them? There was never a day that passed by without me thinking if they were fine or not. My heart was yearning for them. If only…"You’re wrong. I'm not punishing them. I am merely following the family traditions. I don't want them to be pu
BEATRICE:Christina's voice was full of suspicion. As if she greatly believed that I fell for my ex-husband once again. Which won't be happening any moment from now. I was not the type who would do that knowing my ex-husband was with a woman right now. I was not that foolish.Are you sure, Beatrice? the other part of my mind asked. It's easy to tell a lie. What the! I'm not lying at all! I'm not stupid to fall for Drake. Why would I?"That's not going to happen," I explained, biting back each word. Christina’s eyes were full of suspicion. "Are you sure? Because that's not what I am seeing right now, Beatrice."“Whatever you say is wrong,” I defended. “Don't assume anything, alright?”I shook my head a couple of times and then glanced at the time on my phone. Grayson was already waiting for me now. Lifting my gaze and staring at her, I said, "Look, Christina. If you ever push what you planned, like telling my brother, then you might as well believe that our friendship is done. I c
BEATRICE:My body went cold, as I continued to imagine the worst things on who could be visiting me. What if Christina did not listen anymore to my pleas?"Mommy? The bell keeps ringing. Do you want me to open the door? Maybe it's Daddy, Mommy. I miss him already."I blinked a couple of times. Drake would be better than facing my younger brothers and sister. I was still not ready. I could not be ready at all. "Mommy? Are you okay?"Inhaling deeply while trying to control the fast beating of my heart, I said, "I am fine, Grayson.""Are you sure, Mommy? You seemed sick. Do you have a fever, Mommy?"I shook my head while biting my lips. "Don't mind, Mommy. Would you mind if you stay here while Mommy will check who could be the visitor?""If it's Dad, MOmmy, please inform him that we're going to play."I just hoped it was my ex-husband.Curtly nodding, I said, "I will." And I left his side and sauntered towards the doorway, hoping it was not any of my siblings.My heart was thumping wil
My hands shook while staring at Everette. He and Christina were alike. Those were easy for him to say because he did not know my struggles. “Really? Then, why don't you step out of my house and leave me alone? Don't you come in here so that you will stop seeing me. If I will only cause you stress, then you remove me from your life. You got that?"It was not like I asked them to look for me. I did not. I was already fine with spending the rest of my life with my son and no one else.Everette yanked his hair out of frustration."You don't understand, Beatrice."I smiled bitterly. "Yeah. All of you think I am an imbecile and I don't understand what you are all talking about. It's only my son who understands me. No one else. So why don't you disappear from my life, Everette. Don't you dare come back again. I don't need you. Or any member of the family."Maybe being alone was better. "Beatrice. You don't know what you're talking about. You need us in your life."I averted my gaze. "I kn
BEATRICE:I was about to tell Drake, but stopped myself from saying out loud. There was already too much that was running on his mind and I could not afford to add more problems to him. “It was nothing, babe,” I replied and leaned on his shoulders, as he continued to drive the long road. Grayson was in the backseat already knocked out. “Nothing that you should be concerned about.”“Are you sure because you seem bothered after talking to your Mom. How did your conversation go? You know what? I made sure that you and your Mom will have some time to talk.”“Really? That's the reason why you left us at the table?”How considerate of him. How could I not fall for him over again? He was worth it. He was worth everything. “Yeah. Your Mom won't talk if there's some audience around us.”And she was able to say everything she wanted when we were alone. “Tell me the company's situation.”He was silent for a moment, before saying, “No need to worry about it. Let me handle it, doll. I will make
BEATRICE:Something about the board losing their trust on you? I wanted to ask, but no words would come out of my mouth.Why was it so difficult to ask him?“Hey. Are you okay?”Are you okay? Why can’t you tell me the truth? Why do you suffer in silence, Drake? Don’t you believe that I could help you, too? We are all in this together, right? Why don’t you let me join your suffering? I want to help you with it. So please…at least let me join you.“I am. How about you?”He chuckled. “I am fine. How about you?”“You’re acting weird, Beatrice. But to answer your question. Yes. I am fine. I am always fine whenever you are with me. I forgot all my problems because there is you, doll.”“Tell me how much the company meant to you.”“It’s my life,” he answered. “I worked hard for it. That was the result of working too much because of our absence, doll. I promised myself that I would make it successful so that when you returned, I could offer it to you.”"You did well, babe. I am so proud of you
BEATRICE:Seeing my reaction, Mom clicked her tongue together. "Based on your reaction, I assume that your ex-husband did not say anything to you about it.""He...He did not, Mom.""The board of directors agreed that if he did not do something to save the company, they will pull off the remaining of these stocks and what do you think will happen?""Worse case scenario, the company will continue to have losses and would eventually file for bankruptcy.""What about his people? Do you think he is fine with that? He will blame himself for what happened and he's the only one who knows what will happen."I clenched my fist. "Why are you telling me these things, Mom?" She shrugged off her shoulders. "I was surprised that you were able to have a child.""When Drake divorced me, I didn't know that I was already carrying a child during that time.""I won't question that child. He took a lot after you which is fine with me.""What do you want, Mom?""You? What can you do to save your ex-husband
BEATRICE:Mom and Dad. I wanted to rush to their side and hugged them until they found it difficult to breathe, hoping that a tight embrace would fulfill the countless years of not seeing each other. Back then, I was still debating on whether I would see them face to face, but now... I was glad that Drake had pushed me to meet them. My heart felt like it weighed a ton. Dad's eyes simmered with tears, while Mom... I did not know what she was thinking. She wore a poker face. Mom was always like that. Unreadable. My other siblings called her Ice Queen Mother, for showing rare affection towards us. I always scolded them for calling Mom that, but they would only say that it was Mom's fault for being smart like that.I was the one who fulfilled the emotions my siblings craved. I thought it was enough, but it was not. Despite Mom's personality, they still wanted to feel her affection. "Mommy. Who are they?""Your grandparents," I whispered.They finally reached our table."Beatrice,"
BEATRICE:Guilt washed over my chest, knowing the tragedy that fell on Zereka's life. Poor child. I should have known that she had suffered. If I did, I should have been patient with her."Oh, my goodness, Drake. Are you telling the truth?""I'm the only one who knows about it, and I hope you will not tell a single soul, doll. She will kill me for sure. The tough exterior was only a facade, because she did not want others to treat her weakly. Deep inside, she was still thirteen years old I saw crying for her Mom's name. Please be patient with her, doll. I know it's unfair to you...""It's fine." Now that I know that child's background, how could I be a bitch? "I called her a bitch. She might be hating me for that.""You also cannot be blamed.""I want to meet Zereka again and who knows? Maybe we will be friends in the end. How about children? Does she want children? Do you think she will like Grayson?""I saw her staking your social media account and stare at Grayson. So, maybe she li
BEATRICE:“I told him I was going,” I explained. "He invited me at first, saying he will have a better chance than him being alone.""Oh, great. Does Everette know about that?"I shook my head. "He did not know anything. If you tell him right now, that's the only time he will know about the plan.""There's only a slim chance that they will invest in his company and do you know the percentage? Only one percent, Beatrice. After what he did to you, for divorcing you, do you think they will forgive you easily? You two became the talk among your relatives. They keep on asking questions about you and your ex-husband. However, when your Mom snarled and scolded them, they became silent. However, the rumors of your separation did not stop, angering Clara even more. Everette and I were witnesses to that. When you disappear from the family, the rumors become even worse.""More than five years had passed, Maybe she had forgiven what happened?" I hoped she did. And if she did not? I no longer
BEATRICE:“Beatrice? Are you still there?”What a bastard.He knows that Christina had her miscarriage, yet he called her?“Yes, I am here. What is it again?”“Is there no chance that the two will reconcile?”Exhaling, I inquired, “Did you call because he asked you?”“I was about to call you even if he did not call. But he got the right timing. He called me first before I was able to call you.”“Christina, the next time he calls you, don’t answer it.”“Why?" she asked, her voice full of curiosity. "Did something happen between you two that I was not aware of?"I bit the inside of my cheeks, debating if I should tell her or not.She's still not fully recovered, Beatrice. what if she will be sent to the hospital again, because of stress?There was a point, there. "N-No. Nothing happened.""So why are you evading him as if he is bringing the plague?""I-It's because of Drake. I have decided that I will give him a chance."I heard her mutter a few curses in the background. With a faint v
BEATRICE:Relax. Don’t fret. Control yourself, Beatrice. You will not lose your control because of that woman.“Did you hear me? She pulled my hair!”“Why would Beatrice do that, Zereka? She’s not the type to—”She sniffed. “You never listened to me, Drakey. You always believed that I was making a scene. That I am lying to you. How could I do that? I love you so much that I will never ever lie to you,” she declared, cutting off his words before he could even finish it. Rude. Every time she said that she loved her brother, the hair on my arms would always stand. It always felt like it had a double meaning. “Do you know what she called me? A bitch, Drake. I’m only eighteen years old and someone already called me a bitch!”“Beatrice. Is that true?”“What do you want to hear, Drake?” I asked. “Tell me so that I will tell you right away. Don’t waste my time anymore.”“Doll… I’m not saying anything wrong. All I wanted is you to tell me your side. I don't want to take sides as much as pos
BEATRICE:If Drake was here, I would never know why Zereka was here. If Drake was here, she would keep on pretending to be the sweet little sister of his. She could fool anyone with that sweet face of hers. "I'm sorry, but you don't have a say on that, too. We have chosen ourselves to love each other and even if a million people would be against our path, our love will remain strong. That includes you, by the way."It was a cheesy statement. I never thought the time would come when I would say those words, but here it was.She threw back her head and laughed. "Love? Are you freaking kidding me? Don't tell me that kind of bullshit. Love does not exist. Only lust." I was taken aback at her curse. My forehead knotted seeing how she bawled her palms into a fist. "Are you perhaps..." Did she perhaps not experience how to be in love? That she did not know how it felt? That she believed it was all lies? Right. I remembered. This woman was Drake's half-sister. And Drake's family had n