REED'S POV:Reed returned home with a heavy heart, carrying milk for Blue. He wasn't sure if he had bought the right one—Clarisa always knew about these things. Today, he realized just how lost he was without her... It felt like a huge part of his life was missing."Sir Reed, you're back. How is Don Miguel?" Isko asked."Grandpa is doing fine,He just needs plenty of rest.""That's good to hear, sir. By the way, your girlfriend stopped by earlier."His face suddenly brightened. "Really? Clarisa came? Where is she? Is she inside?""Oh no, not Ma’am Clarisa, sir... It was Diana."Reed's jaw clenched at the mention of her name. She was another source of trouble in his life. If only she hadn’t come into his room, Clarisa wouldn’t have gotten so angry with him."Why would you say she's my girlfriend, Isko? She's not. I have a wife, and that's Clarisa!""My apologies, sir... It's just that Ma'am Diana’s been acting like a queen here since she found out Ma’am Clarisa left. A-and I saw the two
Maria has arrived from the drug store. It was just in time for Blue to wake up, so he was able to feed. At first, he didn’t want the milk because it wasn’t what he usually drinks—he was looking for his mommy's breast milk. But maybe because he was hungry, he eventually drank the formula milk.“Maria, please take care of Blue for now. I’ll just go back to the hospital to check on grandpa… he still hasn’t woken up. It’s a good thing Clarisa’s friends are there. They’re the ones looking after grandpa while I’m away.”“All right, Sir. I’ll take care of Blue here.”He stepped out of the house and headed straight to his car, bringing along some of his things. He knew his grandfather wouldn't be able to go home yet due to his condition.As he drove, he kept glancing at the road, still holding on to the hope that he might spot Clarisa somewhere.If only it were that easy... If only finding his wife were that simple. But he knew deep down it wasn’t. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he kn
"Why don't you know where your wife is? ... You're her husband ... you should know, right? ... Is it because you're too busy with your other woman ... and you've already kicked your wife out? ... What kind of man are you?""Pops, it's not like that!""I heard everything you talked about ... I feel sorry for Clarisa. She was expecting us ... to be on her side, but we were the first to insult her ... We didn't even bother to find out what really happened ... and you, you jumped right into another ... woman's arms." He struggled to speak clearly but was out of breath.This must be the reason why his grandfather lost consciousness earlier. He saw what happened between him and Diana and how he kicked Clarisa out."That's not true, Pops! I'm not cheating on Clarisa. I just can't explain why Diana was in our room that day!""Where is Clarisa? ... Bring her back to the mansion!" His words were firm.He bowed his head. He didn’t know how to tell him that Clarisa and her parents had already lef
They were both silent for a moment after Diana left. Neither of them wanted to break the silence.“Lolo... I’m sorry about Diana. I don’t know why she showed up again. She hadn’t made any contact for a long time, but now that there’s a problem, she suddenly appears to stir things up...”“Is it true, Ken... that her child is yours?”“I-I don’t know... but the DNA test came back positive. I don’t want to reject the child just because I don’t like his mother.”“Think about it carefully, Ken... because from what I see, Diana will be a big headache.”“Right now, my concern is Clarisa, Lolo... I don’t want to waste time thinking about that worthless Diana.”His grandfather didn’t respond, simply closing his eyes, seemingly exhausted from their situation. Reed felt pity for him, but there was nothing he could do either.*********************************They were now back at the mansion, having spent three days in the hospital. Even though Lolo Miguel insisted on being discharged early, Reed
“You can’t live here, and that’s final!”“If that’s the case, Kiel and I will just come here every day so the two siblings can bond.”He had no more words to say to her persistence.“Maria... can you please prepare some food for us? We’re hungry.” Diana turned to the nanny with a sweet command and sat beside him.Maria just frowned, knowing that Diana was only putting on a show because she was in front of her.“I’m sorry, Ma’am Diana, but that’s not my job. My job is to take care of Blue, not to serve you.” Maria replied politely.Diana shot a sharp look at the nanny. “Look how that nanny treats me, Reed!” she complained.Reed felt like laughing at Diana’s reaction; she couldn’t even boss Maria around.“Maria is right, Diana; it’s not her job to do what you’re asking. If you want something, go to the kitchen and tell the staff.”“Hmmmp! You’re siding with that nanny more than with me? I’m the mother of your child!” She crossed her arms as she spoke, her eyes blazing as if she were the
CLARISA POV:Two years have passed. She is currently in America and has returned to work as a nurse there. She has also been promoted to Head Nurse at the hospital where she works. She brought Tita Grace, Rose's mother, with her. She took her along so that they could be together with Rose. She has fully entrusted the hacienda to her parents.The hacienda is running well under her parents' leadership. The people there are kind and treat them with respect, especially since they know that they are the new owners of the hacienda.At first, she didn’t leave the house. She was embarrassed that the people there might have watched her video, but she noticed that no one looked at her differently; they treated her normally. Perhaps it was because almost all the people there didn’t have cell phones and spent their time focusing on planting and growing crops, which is very different from the city where almost everyone has a cell phone, making it easy for her video to spread and many people to rec
They turned to the person who spoke... their friend, Lovely. She was also a nurse there. She was new, having joined after the first one had already worked at the hospital. When she returned, Lovely had just started. She didn’t know anything about her history in the Philippines, and she wanted to keep her past, especially the circulating video, as hidden as possible. Lovely approached them and sat in the empty chair beside Rose. "Hey, why are we all here? Who’s watching the nurse station now?" she asked. "I don’t know, but it’s my breaktime!" Rose replied. "It’s my break, too. Don’t worry, Sarah’s there," Lovely added. Sarah was another nurse and their head nurse, part of Rose’s batch from years back. Though also Filipino, she had a different attitude from the rest of them. She wasn’t friendly and was bossy, especially toward new nurses, which annoyed Lovely since she was often ordered around as the newcomer. Sarah also had a crush on Albert, which made her even more envious of
She returned to the elevator. She was joined by a few hospital employees, who greeted each other with polite nods. Once she was inside, she pressed the 8th-floor button. The employees exchanged glances; they knew she was going to the Director’s office, the only office on that floor. She just shrugged, unsure why they were making a big deal about it. Well, it wasn’t like she was going there without a reason—she had been summoned. That’s different. Everyone else got off on their respective floors, leaving her as the only passenger. What could he possibly want to say to her? She couldn’t think of any reason for being called in. When she reached the Director’s office, she knocked on the door before entering. "Come in!" she heard his voice call from inside. She opened the door, and he beamed at her as soon as he saw her. She returned his smile. Albert’s family owned the hospital. Even though he was the Director, they were friends. They didn’t show their closeness to others, as she did
Reed breathed a sigh of relief when Diana and Jorge finally left. He never thought this moment would come. Kiel was not really his son—Jorge was the true father. Diana had only made him take responsibility for the child to avoid the shame of being a single mother. Though he wanted to be angry at Diana, he was just grateful that everything was over. He was finally free to be with Clarisa again, and she would no longer be jealous of Diana.He quickly went to the bedroom where Clarisa was. She had no idea what had just happened because she hadn’t left the room since they arrived. He knew she was upset with him because of Diana’s rudeness.When he reached the door, he knocked. “Sweetheart… can you open the door, please?” There was no response. He knocked again, but still, no sound came from inside. He decided to use the key—perhaps Clarisa had fallen asleep.When he opened the door, she wasn’t on the bed. He heard the sound of running water from the bathroom and smiled. Just in time, he t
"I believe you know each other, Diana?" Reed said emotionlessly."What is he doing here?" she asked back."He just came by... He introduced himself as Kiel's real father.""You jerk!!!" Diana shouted at Jorge."Why did you do that to me, Diana? You ruined my life! You made us all believe that Kiel was my son, and because of your lies, my family was further destroyed!" Reed accused her."You don’t understand! I love you, Reed!""Stop it, Diana! Stop this bullshit right now! You've already caused so much trouble! Jorge is here, and he truly loves you. Why don't you give him a chance? Fix your family!""I don't love him… I love you!""You don't love me! You're just obsessed with me. Fix your life. Think about Kiel…"She suddenly remembered her son. She turned to Jorge. "Where is my child, Jorge?""At home. You can come with me if you want. Please give me a chance, Diana. I'm sorry for what I've done.""Go with him, Diana, and stop bothering me and Clarisa." Reed dismissed her.His words
"Where are we going, Dad?" the child asked. His father had just put him in the car."You will stay at my house for now, my child. Since your mother is hurting you, I will take care of you.""But what if Mommy gets mad, Dad?""It's okay. I will deal with your mom. What's important is that you're safe… Do you want to eat some ice cream?" he asked his child to change the subject."Yes, Daddy!!!""Okay, we will buy lots of ice cream and toys," he said and kissed his child."Yehey!"He felt sorry for his child. It seemed like he was deprived of a good life. He needed to talk to Diana about Kiel's situation.They stopped by the mall first and bought things and toys for Kiel. He wouldn't return his son until Diana changed her ways and stopped hurting their child.After shopping, they went home to his house. He lived alone with only one housemaid. All his siblings were in America, and both his parents had passed away."Who is he, son?" asked their maid, Ate Doris, who had been working for the
***********DIANA's POV:Her emotions were in turmoil as she drove home to her condo. Her rival had returned to Reed’s life once again. She hadn't even succeeded in her plan to marry Reed yet! And now, everything was ruined again… because of that Clarisa! Why did she have to come back? Why couldn't she have just disappeared forever or died?She was furious… What would happen to her and Kiel now? What about her child? Was she really doomed to be a single mother forever? She had to find a way to get rid of that Clarisa again!When she arrived at the condo, she threw herself onto the sofa. Her mind was exhausted from thinking about ways to regain Reed’s attention."Mommy! Mommy!" Kiel shouted as he ran toward her, about to hug her. But she pushed him away."Don't touch me!" she screamed at the child as he fell to the floor. "You! This is all your fault! If your father hadn't raped me, I wouldn't be in this mess! You're nothing but a burden in my life!!!" she shouted at Kiel, who was now
When they went out, her parents and Grandpa Miguel were already waiting at the dining table. Tita Grace and Blue were also there, busy watching Cocomelon on his tablet. They walked hand in hand, and the elderly people smiled as they approached. At first, she didn’t know why they were smiling. Then, she remembered that she and Reed were holding hands, and she was about to pull her hand away. But Reed didn’t let go. She had no choice but to just go along with it. "You’re here, my grandchildren... come, the food is waiting," Grandpa Miguel said. They both just nodded. She was still a bit shy. Reed helped her sit down, and then he sat next to her. "So, what’s your plan for your relationship, children?" Tatay Kardo asked. "Ahm, I’m going back to America, Tay... I’ll just finish my vacation here," she replied. "Why are you going back to America, my dear? Your husband can take care of you. And your hacienda is big enough... Isn’t that enough for you?" her mother asked. "Lolo... I have
After they ate, they walked around the hacienda. They walked hand in hand while their child ran around the wide lot of their house.A little while later, their maid, Nene, approached them. "Ma'am Clarisa, someone is looking for you... They said it's Anton.""Anton is here?" she said in disbelief."Who's Anton?" Reed asked, raising an eyebrow."Ah, he's a friend of mine... He was the one who helped me when Fernando kidnapped me. Just wait, I'll go see Anton..." she excitedly replied. It had been a long time since they last saw each other. Her mother was the one who told her that Anton visited their hacienda whenever he wasn’t busy. She didn’t have social media, so he couldn’t contact her."Anton!" she shouted as she saw him talking to her father. He smiled as he waited for her to reach him."I’ll leave you two for now. I still have a lot to do..." Her father said as he said goodbye."How are you, Ma'am Clarisa? Long time no see!" Anton greeted her happily."Didn't I tell you not to cal
It was already evening when they finished eating. They spent a long time at the dining table because of their endless stories. They missed each other. Her parents and Don Miguel were talking about the mango plantation, while she was busy taking care of her child, feeding him. After they ate, she took Reed to the room where he would be staying. Blue, on the other hand, would sleep in her room. "Sweetheart, why can't I sleep in your room? Aren’t we okay now?" he asked, pouting. "It's embarrassing to Mom and Dad if we sleep in the same room... We just got back together!" she explained. "That's actually better. They might even prefer it. Besides, we’re married. It’s normal for a married couple to sleep beside each other... And what about my promise to you that I’d take care of you later?" "Shhhh! Be quiet! Someone might hear you! You're so shameless," she scolded her husband. "Why? What's wrong?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Just shut up!" she said, clearly losing patience in tr
They walked together into the mansion. Blue was in between the hands of his parents, while Reed and Clarisa walked hand-in-hand, following them. She didn’t really want to hold hands with him. She was shy because their staff at the hacienda were staring at them. She tried to pull her hand away, but Reed didn’t let go."Why? Are you ashamed of me? I’m handsome, aren’t I?" he joked."It’s embarrassing, they’re staring at us.""Let them look. I want you by my side always..." he whispered in her ear and then put his arm around her. She felt a thrill from what he did; it was like they were back to courting each other."By the way, Reed, Clarisa, Don Miguel is here too," her father said."Grandpa Miguel? What’s he doing here?" Reed asked in confusion. Both of them were surprised that Don Miguel was there. Before her parents could respond, they saw the old man approaching."Well, here you are, my grandchildren?" he happily greeted them."Grandpa!!!" she shouted and ran to him. She hugged him
Here we go again... the topic from two years ago is being brought up again. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She didn’t want to revisit it because it still hurt, but she had no choice but to listen because she was driving. She couldn’t pretend to sleep. She couldn’t silence Reed with what he was saying either... She had no choice but to listen to his explanation."God knows how much I regret not believing you. I looked for you back then, but I couldn’t find you.""Is what happened with Diana also just an accident?" she asked, almost sarcastically. She didn’t believe it was an accident."I don’t know, sweetheart, how she ended up in our room. She gave me a drug to drink... before I knew it, she was holding my manhood, but please believe me, sweetheart, I didn’t want that. You’re the one I love..."She glared at him again to hide the pain in her chest. She felt her eyes starting to water, threatening to cry. She could barely see the road. She stopped the car on the side. Thankf