“Hello Nick, is everything okay?’’“No, bro.”“Why? What happened?”“Nicki is not here.”“Few days before I arrived, he didn’t come back home. That’s what my parents said.”“Why? What happened? Did you report to the police that he is missing?”“No, he is not missing. Actually, he checked the airport surveillance camera and saw that he had traveled. Also, we traced the withdrawal from his bank account. It came from there.” Nick exclaimed.“So, you mean to say that Nicki is here?”“Yes, he is.”“So, what's your plan?”“I'm on my way now going back to the airport.”“Did you call someone in your house to see if he was there?”“No, he didn't go to our ancestral house,”“Oh… where could he be?’’“I don't know yet. That's why I want to go there right away to search for him. Please, if you heard anything about him, inform me immediately.”“Sure, I will do that. Hopefully, everything would be fine.”****“Mom, is Aunty Nimfa coming to our new house?” Rica suddenly asked. “Shawn, where are you
“Nanny Maria!” Ericka exclaimed as she stood up to give the elder woman a hug.“Congratulations, my dear! I'm very happy for you. I'm sure wherever your Mom is, she will be delighted because this is one of her wishes since you were young. She used to admire you and Shawn being together.”“Yes, Nanny Maria,” she replied and hugged her tighter.“By the way, who is this little girl here?”“Hi grandma, I’m Rica. I’m their daughter,” Rica proudly introduced herself.“Oh, hello, little girl. I’m your Grandma Maria. I was your mommy’s nanny when she was young like you.”“Really, Mommy?”“Yes, Baby. She is the one who took care of me along with my mother and grandmother.”“Wow, that's so exciting, Grandma Maria. Have you seen my Grandpa’s room?”“Yes, of course,” Mari
"Yes, Dad. I met her yesterday when we went to get Ericka's things in her old apartment." His father nodded his head in satisfaction and replied, "That's cool. I want to meet her. I need to tell you what your mother told me before she died…" "What is it, Dad? Do you mind sharing?" He asked while looking intently at his father. "She told me that I should say thank you to whomever your relatives are because you fulfilled her wish to be a mother. She also told me to say sorry to them as we became selfish. She is very apologetic to you and your relatives.” "Oh, now I understand why Mom keeps saying sorry. All I thought then was she was hallucinating." "No, son. She is talking about taking you from your family." With a sigh, his father continued, "The truth is that your mother and I couldn't conceive a child. We both have a problem reproducing a child. We found out about it when you were two years old." They were in that situation when they heard a knock on the door. "Come in." The
Ericka was watching her husband while he was talking on the phone. Based on his reaction and the smile on his face, she could discern that it was good news. Now, she was wondering who it could be. She waited until her husband was done talking on the phone and until they got inside the elevator."Hon…" Shawn immediately called and hugged her. However, the elevator suddenly opened because they were already on the ground floor. "I'm sorry, I just got excited!" He added without removing his arms that were wrapping around her body despite the fact that they were in front of their employees who were waiting to use the elevator.They both smiled at everyone before they exited the lift."What is it?" She asked while they were heading to the restaurant in the same building they were in.Couldn’t wait, Ericka asked again, "Who is the caller?""It's Rica's doctor. He informed us that surgery would be held after tomorrow. The donor wanted it to ha
They arrived home and found Nanny Maria, Nimfa, and Rica in the living room. They were all watching television while Rica was hugging the toy given to her by her said new friend."Mommy… Daddy…" Rica called out as soon as she saw her parents.Nimfa looked at where Rica was looking and greeted as well, "Good evening, Mr. Shawn and Ms. Ericka.""Good evening," Both Shawn and Ericka replied in unison."How's our baby?" Ericka asked and kissed her daughter."I'm good, Mommy. Is it true that we are going back to the hospital?" Rica asked with curiosity."Yeah, Baby. It would be best if you saw the doctor tomorrow, and we are going to stay there for a while," she explained."And after that… We are going home because your Mommy and I are going to hold our wedding, and you will be our flower girl," Shawn happily announced to Rica.Rica’s eyes widened in excitement upon hearing the good news. "Wow… I'm going to wear a gown. A pretty gown?""Yes, Baby, a pretty gown. It will be like what Mommy
Carol couldn't explain her feelings upon seeing the daughter of her employer, Ericka. She was a newly hired employee by the vice president of Holmes group. She was able to get her job with the help of her best friend, Dionalyn.Her boss’ daughter, Rica, was cute and adorable. She reminded her of her younger sister, who grew up with her grandmother. As much as she loved her, fate was cruel to them. She was separated from them when her father took her away from her grandmother’s custody after their mother died when they were young.Now, she could only remember what her sister looked like through the old photos that they had taken together when they were younger.“Ms. Ericka, your daughter is so beautiful,” she couldn't hide her admiration. “I remember my younger sister when she was still young,” she added while she was standing next to Ericka.With her words, Ericka couldn’t help but be curious. “Really, you have a sister? How old is she?”“Oh, she is already in her twenties. I’m just t
Nick had no choice but to meet his best friend, Shawn. There was no other person he could share his burden with except his best friend. After calling him the other day at the airport, he found himself standing at the entrance of the Holmes Group company.He went straight to the elevator and pushed the button corresponding to the floor level where his best friend’s office was. As he got closer, his attention was caught up by the woman who was wearing a white long sleeve blouse. Her straight black hair lay down on her back. She had a round angelic face with brown eyes, long eyelashes, a pointed nose, and a heart-shaped head.She was looking at him. Her table was next to the door of the vice president’s office. The woman was no other than Ericka, his best friend’s fiancé.“Good morning, ladies,” he greeted the two women next to the door of Shawn’s office. The woman next to Ericka i
After Carol was hospitalized, they shared a passionate night together. After that, Nick finally had the courage to confess what happened to him and that unknown woman the night before.“Sweetheart, I need to confess something very important to you. L-last night… l got too drunk, and I… I slept with a woman whom I don’t know…”He confessed nervously while looking intently into her eyes as if to show that he felt really guilty and was regretting it.Carol was shocked at what he said. She looked at him with wide eyes as she tried to process his words properly. With a trembling voice, she asked, “You slept with a woman you don’t know?”“Yes, I’m sorry. I had no intention of cheating on you. That’s why I’m here to tell you about it. I love you and want to stay loyal to you because I know you are the same as me. Please forgive me,” he said all that while holding his girlfriend’s hand.He saw the tears streaming out from Carol’s eyes. She nodded her head and touched his face with cold, tremb
Because of Carol's question on him and his current anxiety, he couldn't help but had the urge of doing something about his doubts.If it was true that he had a child with Jenna, though he never heard about it from Ericka and Shawn, he still needed to be sure.Carol received a call from Ericka that she needed to go to the hospital because today was the day that Rica would be discharged. That cute little girl stayed for two nights and two days at the hospital. Though Nick and her only visited her niece the day before, along with Nicki, she was still worried.She was in the middle of driving to the hospital when her phone suddenly ranh. She parked on the side of the road with an emergency flickering sign light. Afterwards, she immediately swiped the answer button on the screen when she saw it was Ericka."Hello, Ms. Ericka," she greeted."Carol, can you just call me Ericka? After all, you are the aunt of my daughter, and the girlfriend of my husband's best friend…" Ericka kept on insist
Nick immediately stood up when he saw his brother. He knew that Nicki was angry as he could see it in his facial expressions. He immediately went and stopped his brother midway."Bro, Rica is fine,” he whispered, which instantly made Nicki calm down a bit."Tell me what happened?" he asked in a firm tone.Nick narrated what he heard from the elderly woman, but he didn’t know how he related it to Shawn and Ericka.After everything was fine and Rica’s condition was already stable, they decided to go to the nearest restaurant for lunch. After giving their order, Shawn looked at Nick, and he knew what it meant."Well, Carol and I are in a relationship. Besides, you also need to know that she is Rica's Aunty, Carol. Coraline Sandoval is the eldest sister of Carolina Imperial," he explained hastily, giving shock to the couple in front of them."Really…?" Ericka and Shawn replied in unison."Yes…" With that, he narrated everything to them, including the letters."One more thing, Rica’s biolo
They were all sitting in the living room with a bottle of vodka on the top of the center table."Here, read the letter that Caroline gave to you…” Nicki said and handed the paper to Nick while he was putting the stainless bucket on the table that was filled with ice cubes."Should I read it now?" Nick asked with doubt and hesitation as he was holding the rough textured paper between his fingers."Yes, I advised you too, so you can know about the truth,” Nicki said blandly.She could see that there's something serious written on the letter that Carolina had left for the brothers. It was evident based on Nicki's gesture and his blunt reply to Nick."I'm sure the last time we met, you were shocked as to why I left without telling you," Nicki said to her while pouring her glass with vodka."Oh, yes, regarding that, I am really surprised. I thought you were just in a hurry, or an emergency occurred," she replied."No, when you told me about your boyfriend coming, and I saw that it was my b
Carol was surprised when Nick suddenly hugged her as soon as he got inside their house. On the usual days, once he got home, he would open the door by himself. However, tonight was different. He rang the bell, making her open the door for him as she thought that there was a delivery or an unexpected guest.It didn’t occur to her that it might be Nick as she was aware that he went to have dinner with his brother and her employers. He never texted her earlier that he won’t be eating at home because they would be meeting at a restaurant."Babe are you alright?" she couldn’t help but ask with confusion because of his gesture."Yes, Babe. I'm fine. I just couldn't help but be happy after meeting them. One more thing, there's something I need to tell you," Nick uttered in such a manner that he seemed to be too excited to tell her something.Suddenly, she remembered that he promised to tell her something about his secret after he had a meeting with her employer and his brother."Is it about
Carol swallowed a lump in her throat as a ridiculous idea ran through her head. She couldn't believe that she thought that Nick would do that to his deceased girlfriend. She could see how kind Nick was. Unless, of course, if he was only pretending and hiding his true colors."I'm scared…" she murmured. It was already too late before she realized that she had voiced those words."I'm sorry. I have no intentions of scaring you. I promise you… Once I'm done talking with Shawn and Ericka, and when everything turns out to be fine, I will introduce you to my family. I know that they’ll be happy to meet you." After hearing his words and the name of her employer from his mouth, she couldn’t help but feel relieved."Mr Shawn and Ms Ericka?" she asked."Yes, there's something I need to settle with them. I hope that once you find out everything about me, you will listen to the entire story first before judging me. I promise you that I’m not a bad person which is why I don’t understand why Carol
He felt confused, and his heart felt heavy. Every question he had in his mind was answered after he heard his brother's confession. All this time, the girl's voice he heard on the other line of the phone was his daughter.The longing he felt for his daughter was soon to be filled. Out of excitement, he immediately hugged his brother. Though Carol didn't tell him about his daughter, she did well by handing the custody of their child to Ericka and Shawn."Yes, bro. I know them well. Carol has something to give you; she asked Ericka to give it to you before she died," he said before he distanced himself from hugging his brother."For me…" Nicki asked with a smile plastered on his lips."Yes, for you…" Nick affirmed after they heard the sounds of the knocking, making them look at the door, which suddenly opened. Looking, they found that it was their parents."Mom… Dad…" they said in unison and immediately embraced each of them."What's going on here? Are you both crying?" Their mother ask
After the meeting with Shawn, Nick went to their ancestral home where Nicki was staying.As soon as he parked his car, he saw their butler coming out from the main door. He immediately got out of the car and greeted the elderly woman."Hello, Aunty Amy…""Sir. Nick," the elder woman replied back."How's everything, how's my brother?" he asked.Amy smiled at him and replied, "He's doing fine. I just served his breakfast.""Where is he?""He's in his bedroom," the butler replied."Thank you, Aunty," he mumbled and went inside the house. From there he went straight to the staircase, heading to his brother's bedroom. He took a deep breath before he knocked on the door three times and waited for his brother's response, but he got nothing. He held the doorknob and twisted it before he pushed the door to open.He saw that the bed was empty, and the sounds of the running water echoed from the bathroom. He headed to the bed and sat there at the edge. He decided to wait for his brother to come
"Shawn, I'm just testing you. The truth is that the birthmark I was asking for was here behind your ear," Grandma Mila said as she touched the small mole that was behind his ear. If he purposely looked for it, they could see it."Oh, Grandma…" Shawn mumbled and hugged the old woman tight."Tell me, Mr. Grey, if I'm not mistaken, there's embroidery name, Shawn, in his shirt and shorts when you found him?" Grandma asked, looking at Mr. Grey."Yes, Mrs. Mila. There is,” he admitted."You see, I wasn't mistaken. You are my grandson. I'm just checking on you earlier." Grandma giggled.They stayed there until lunchtime, and the old woman cooked a dish that was Shawn's late father's favorite dish."This is one of your father's favorite dishes, steam fish with mayonnaise sauce.""Shawn's favorite is seafood, anything that's seafood. He likes it. Either you cook it with sauce, fried or grilled." Mr. Grey said."He is like his father. His mother likes to do embroidery. The truth is that his mot
"Hon, what should we bring for her? Should we buy cake," he asked, trying to think carefully.Ericka thought for a while and helped her analyze. "Cake, I don't think so. She loves to bake, and usually, she's giving it all a slice of cake every time she makes a cake.""Really..?'' he asked in surprise."Yes, Honey. Grandma Mila love's to bake. That's one of her habits," Ericka shared with a smile."Then what should we bring for her?""How about a basket of fruits?""Well, that's a good idea, and a bouquet of red roses.""Yes, why not."After they got the best gift to bring, they arrived at the place of Grandma Mila. They looked at each other and Shawn turned off the car engine."Are you ready?" Ericka asked."Yes, actually, I'm excited. I was wondering what could be her reaction," Shawn said while feeling nervous as well."Well, let's find out," Ericka said after she unbuckled herself."Hon, I'm nervous," Shawn said while smiling."I understand you because I felt the same when I return