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
She took the elevator down to the 4th floor where the nurses' station was. She still couldn't shake off what Albert had said about bringing her to the Philippines."Sis, where have you been?" Rose called out to her. She had just returned from rounding on their patients."I was in Sir Albert's office; he called for me...""Really!!! What did he say? Did he confess his love for you? Eiiiihhh!!!" Rose said excitedly, sitting beside her. She was organizing patient charts."He’s been saying that for a long time; I just ignore it..." She continued checking the charts, not really wanting to share the details with her friend. Rose would just pester her again."Why? You're such a buzzkill! Just say yes!""You know it’s not possible, right? You're the one who’s being pushy!" she replied to her friend."Grrrrrr!.... You're so annoying! So why did he call you?" Rose asked again, standing with her arms crossed over her chest, clearly not planning to let it go."There's a convention in Manila. He w
After their duty, Clarisa and Rose went home together to the apartment. They lived in the same house to save money. They had been renting it for a long time; it was originally Clarisa and Rose's house, but when Rose returned, she took in a roommate so she wouldn’t be alone and could save money.Now that Clarisa was back in America and living with Rose’s mother, Tita Grace, they were three living in the apartment. Rose was planning to get a house because she wanted to settle down with her mother. As for Clarisa, she was still thinking it over; deep in her heart, she knew she would eventually return to the Philippines... she just didn’t know when."Wow, Mom! It smells so good, what are you cooking?" Rose exclaimed as they opened the door. The delicious aroma of adobo filled the air."You've both arrived! Come on, let’s eat," Tita Grace said. She treated Clarisa like a daughter, just as Clarisa's parents treated Rose like their own child. They placed their bags on the sofa and approached
REED:He is just in his room, hardly leaving the house. His mustache and beard have grown long; he is starting to look like a hermit. He has lost the will to live if not for his son, Blue.It has been two years, but he still hasn’t heard any news about his wife, Clarisa. Even his friend Jon has been unable to find her.His grandfather, Lolo Miguel, is also getting weaker. He no longer has the desire to manage the mango orchard because he has no one he can trust there. He only trusts Nanay Celia and Tatay Kardo, but they too have disappeared along with his wife.Blue is growing up fast; he is almost three years old. As he grows, he is starting to resemble Reed—unlike Kiel, with whom he cannot see any resemblance.Diana still lives in her condo. She comes over every day, trying to annoy him and insisting that they get married. No matter what happens, he will never agree to that. He only has one wife, and that is Clarisa.He hopes that one day Clarisa will show up again. He is holding th
Hand in hand, they walked along the beach. The strong wind blew her white dress, and she felt like a goddess, with Reed as her prince. A smile formed on her face as she thought about it."Sweetheart... do you remember when you confessed to me that you loved me too? It was under that tree, right?" Reed said, pointing to the coconut tree.She blushed... she remembered that day. They had shared happiness beneath that tree. After what happened between them, she finally told Reed that she loved him too. She still remembered how happy her husband was in those days."Uh... what happened again? I can't remember," she lied."Is that so?" Reed replied, not believing her. "Do you want us to reenact it so you can remember?" he said with a playful smile."Alright... remind me," she said. Her husband took her hand, and they went to the tree he pointed to. She panicked... what if he meant what he said about repeating what they did there? Luckily, they were the only ones at the resort because Lolo Mi
"Glenda!!!" They were startled when Reed suddenly appeared out of nowhere. His gaze was fixed on the two women, and their faces turned pale."What is this nonsense?" Reed shouted at them. He didn’t stop his wife from speaking; in fact, he was glad to hear Glenda’s plan of trying to separate them directly from her own mouth. He had been too kind, and now he was always being taken advantage of. It was up to Reed to make the decision for both of them."Ah, Kuya Reed... nothing, we were just joking around, me and Ate Clarisa..." Glenda said calmly, her act returning."That’s not what I heard! Why did you say you were supposed to be my wife if Clarisa hadn’t come? Because I’ve been treating you and your mother well, you thought you could marry me?" Reed’s voice was full of anger."Kuya... huhuhu... I'm sorry... I did that because I love you... I’ve loved you since I was a child," Glenda explained. She grabbed Reed’s hand, but he shook her off."Sir Reed, please forgive Glenda... she’s st
CLARISA:Clarisa remained silent. She didn’t tell Reed that her memory had returned... maybe it was due to the blow Fernando gave her to the head."Sir Reed!" An older woman called out as she approached them. Clarisa recognized her... it was Aling Nena, Reed’s caretaker at the resort."So you're here too, Mam Clarisa. Long time no see!" she smiled at her, but the smile was obviously fake."Hello, Aling Nena. I’m sorry if I don’t remember you well... Reed told me I’ve been here before?" Clarisa replied."Yes, Mam, but...""Kuya Reed!" A woman's voice called out, and it was Glenda, Aling Nena’s daughter. Clarisa remembered that she had a crush on Reed, which was why she had pushed her on the rocks that caused her amnesia.As usual, Glenda was wearing a crop top and skimpy shorts. She was about to hug Reed, but he avoided her."Glenda... so you're here too..." Reed said, sounding uninterested. He probably felt that she was flirting with him."I found out from Mom that you were coming, so
Clarisa has been transferred to a private room, and Nanay Celia and Tatay Kardo arrived from Quezon Province. Lolo Miguel and Blue were also at the hospital. Blue cried upon seeing his mommy lying in a hospital bed. Clarisa was still unconscious."Anak... be strong... you've gone through so many problems, I hope this is the last one, huhuhu..." Nanay Celia said while crying. She was devastated for her daughter."Be strong, Celia... nothing bad will happen to our daughter... just trust in God," Tatay Kardo said, sitting beside his wife’s bed, holding her hand tightly. Even if it's just through his hold, he wanted to show his wife that he would never leave her."Daddy, is mommy gonna be okay?" Blue asked, climbing up onto the bed and lying next to Clarisa, hugging her tightly.He felt tears well up. "Yes, anak, mommy’s gonna be okay.""Blue?"They were surprised when Clarisa suddenly spoke… she was awake!He stood up quickly from his seat and went to his wife. "Sweetheart, you’re awake?
REED:He arrived at the hospital to pick up his wife. He went to the nurse's station, but Clarisa wasn’t there yet. Her friends, Patrick, Cyena, and Loren, were already there."Hi guys, where’s Clarisa?" He asked her friends."She hasn’t arrived yet. She left a while ago!""Where did she go?""She went to room 206. The patient requested for her because they know each other. She’s been gone for a while, but she said she would hurry because you were coming." Cyena said."Who is that man?" He asked, puzzled."His name is Bernard, but Clarisa said she doesn’t know anyone named Bernard. She just went to see him to get it over with."He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt uneasy. He quickly ran towards room 206."Reed, where are you going?" Clarisa's friends shouted, but he ignored them, rushing to reach room 206. Clarisa's friends also ran after him.He didn’t knock; he immediately opened the door and saw Clarisa lying unconscious on the floor. A man was on top of her. The man was also s
CLARISA:They had been staying in the mansion for a month. Blue and Lolo Miguel had also gone home. She could say she was happy with her life. She had a loving child and husband, and her friends had helped her get a job at the hospital where they worked. Even though Reed said she didn't need to work anymore, she refused... her body longed for the work.Reed would take her to and from the hospital. She wanted to avoid bothering him, but he wouldn't allow it. He said he was happy when he served her. She didn’t make a fuss and decided to give him what he wanted."Sweetheart, I’ll pick you up later, but I’ll be a little late, okay? I need to stop by the bar first," Reed said when he dropped her off at the hospital."OK, sweetheart, no problem. Actually, I can go home by myself... I’m fine with it.""NO! I want to pick you up. You always end up in trouble... those crazy guys keep bothering you!""Hahaha... yeah, you're right! Fine, just pick me up later!"She got out of the car when they r
The sun's rays woke him up. He had forgotten to close the curtains last night because he missed his wife so much. He looked at Clarisa beside him. She was still sleeping soundly, curled up in his arm... both of them still naked.He smiled... he couldn't count how many times they made love last night. He made the most of the opportunity. It felt like a celebration for them because Diana was no longer in their lives, and they had no more problems. Their family would be happy again.He carefully got up, being cautious not to wake his wife. He would let her sleep a little longer... he had worn her out.He went to the bathroom to wash his face and get dressed. He would make breakfast for his wife. He smiled... he used to do that before... he would always bring breakfast to his wife in bed before she woke up. Now that they were back together, he would return to doing the same things for her.When he returned to the bedroom, he brought breakfast for his wife. It was ham and eggs with garlic
He embraced Clarisa once again… they were still unclothed. His manhood was pressing against her lower abdomen. He kissed his wife and guided her to lie down on the bed.They kissed again like there was no tomorrow, his tongue entering Clarisa's mouth as if searching for something, and then their tongues began to duel… “ahhmm…”He shifted his lips to Clarisa’s neck… gently biting her there while his hand freely caressed her firm breasts. “Ahhh… ahhhh…” moaned his wife as he continued nibbling on her neck. He sucked on it like a vampire.“Shit, baby… I missed you so much!” he uttered with intense passion.He spread Clarisa’s thighs and positioned himself between them, then brought his lips to her breasts. He sucked on her right breast like a child thirsting for milk, while his fingers played with the nipple of the left one.Clarisa arched her back in pleasure, overwhelmed by the sensation, almost losing her mind. “Ahhhh... ahhhh…”Moments later, his hand slid between her thighs again, a
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