At the mere mention of the man, her father looked at her with a sad expression on her face. It seems like he was carrying a burden right across his back and this is the first time he'll be telling her about the pain he had been enduring all along.
"The man already died along with his wife in an accident," he said shortly.
Ericka, who was curious, asked him, "I'm sorry to hear about their loss but may I ask if the two conceived a child?"
"Yes, they had a child together," her father replied with an expression she couldn't read. "However, no one knows where the child is," he added.
Ericka felt a sense of sadness. Where could the child be? She hopes that despite the parents passing at an early age, that child is growing well on his own.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Dad, but what does this have to do with my mother's love story?" she asked out of curiosity. She couldn't help b
Ericka was already lying down on her bed, contemplating to herself. Her eyes slowly turned towards the clock and noticed that it was already past twelve o' clock in the morning. Just as she wants to sleep already, something was preventing her from doing so. Her head was all over in the clouds, thinking and pondering to herself.What was mainly bugging her was the excitement she had been keeping to herself all along. At last, her child will finally have a donor for her bone marrow and slowly, she'll be able to recover in no time.However, what was keeping her was the upsetting feeling of not knowing the man behind the kind gesture. Who could he be? Is he someone she knows? For sure, no one would just donate for no reason.She took a deep breath before she closed her eyes. And just as her consciousness was fading away, an image of Shawn flashed through her vision that immediately made her open her eyes an
And just as they left the old woman boiling in her own anger, they started walking down the stairs. She couldn't help but hear the sound of the woman growling to herself, cursing and shouting inside the spacious room as she and her father marched the staircase with her smiling from ear to ear.It was like music to ears, hearing that her father didn't defend that mistress. It was unlike years she had experienced before where her father would not hear her excuses and just listen to every word his mistress say, whether it is true or not.Just as they were near the end of the stairs, she suddenly noticed that her father was in the other room compared to her supposed mother."Dad, where are you sleeping?" she asked, unable to hold her curiosity to herself. She then lifted to stare at her father for a second before he stopped walking. He also turned to look at her for a sec
"Grandpa," Ericka exclaimed as she looked through the person walking.At the same time, her father manages to stand up at the sight of his father and call out to him."Dad," he exclaimed, unbelieving of the person walking through the dining area of the room. Meanwhile, the two women were looking at the old man with a surprised look on their faces.They probably didn't expect him to arrive unannounced as he witnessed an annoying thing first thing in the morning."You silly kid, where have you been?" her grandfather immediately added, his eyes gleaming in delight as he spotted his granddaughter.Ericka stood up from her seat and quickly hugged her father as a greeting. A smirk was flashing through her lips as she noticed the two acting as though cold water was splashed through their faces."I'm sorry, Grandpa for what I have done,"
Just as she took a turn towards the next route, she suddenly remembered that she is unable to attend to the hospital as always as before."Nimfa," she called out suddenly. "I might not be able to come today or call you back after this," she narrated. "Since I have a lot of paperwork to attend to in the office, I am unlikely to answer," she added."It's alright, Ms. Ericka. I'll just come up with a ln alibi for you so that she would worry less. I'm sure Rica will understand if she knows you're busy," she replied on the other side of the line."Thank you, Nimfa," she said, and just as she was nearing the parking area, she turned her gaze to the bluetooth and continued. "Anyway, I have to go now. However, if an emergency occurs, please don't hesitate to call me," she announced through the phone."Yes, Ms. Ericka. I'll definitely take note of it.""Alright, goodbye Nimfa.
“Here they are,” her grandfather said as the two people walked inside the office. The man immediately strolled towards their direction, his eyes meeting hers for a second.Ericka's heart started to pound hard, unable to control her breathing. She couldn't believe the two who just came.It was none other than Shawn and his father.She could sense that something is bound to happen later that will surely prevent her from escaping.The man stopped in front of him with a timid smile flashing through his lips."Goodmorning, Ericka," Shawn greeted that made her blink her eyes. She can't believe that this man has the audacity to act like nothing is wrong with what they're going to talk about."Goodmorning Mr. Shawn," she greeted back shortly. She made sure that her tone was flat and cold, showing that she wanted to do nothing with
She only blinked her eyes when her grandfather decided to close the files in front of him. He then settled to invite them to lunch at a nearby well-known fancy restaurant close to the company.According to Shawn, it was a place where most of them met their investors and clients, a place for formal talking."That's a great idea. This will help Ericka become familiarized with the establishment." She heard her grandfather say.Meanwhile, Ericka still couldn't move on from the topic from earlier, resulting in her bewildered stature. She was there visibly but her mind was floating through the clouds."Our company will surely continue to grow and since it is managed by two intelligent people then it is unlikely that we all want to prosper from it," Shawn's father said, chuckling to himself. He was talking to her father and grandfather, making her fazed.Since th
Once they turned their gazes towards the waiter's back, they noticed a woman standing idly.It was none other than Jenna's bestfriend with a narrow smile flashing through her lips."Madison, what a surprise! What are you doing here?" Mr. Gray exclaimed as he stood up to greet the woman. The two embraced each other into a hug before her eyes happened to meet hers.Ericka rolled her eyes on her. What an eyesore."We'll, I just happen to dine here in the restaurant together with Jenna," the woman answered and then turned to look at her uncle. "Mr. Holmes, it's a good day to see you," she started. "However, I would like to inform you that your daughter is crying for some reason," she said, pointing towards Ericka's stepsister.Immediately, a frown flashed through her face before they all looked at the supposed poor Jenna.She was a p
On the other hand, Ericka's grandfather who was silent the whole time managed to join their conversation until he noticed that Jenna was hogging the attention of the whole group.He was obviously unwilling to let this woman be alone with the Grays, knowing full well that she and her mother were nothing but parasites in the Holmes to a point that they drove her granddaughter away from their household and put his son into ruins."So you two came here for just that?" the old man uttered before his eyes shifted towards his granddaughter for a second. "Anyway, if that is the case then it is a coincidence that we are celebrating something," he added before a smirk flashed through his wrinkled lips."What that may be, Grandpa?" Madison asked. Her eyes then shifted towards everyone as though she was a clueless kid before her eyes finally landed at Shawn."Shawn, what are we celebrating for?" she asked
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