Chapter 2: Chasing Clyden

Maia

I felt a surge of happiness when I thought about the first time that I met Clyden. Thinking of this, I slapped myself awake and waited for Clyden’s return.

Finally, at 1 AM in the morning, Clyden finally came back.

He was wearing a black suit, but he had already removed his blazer and placed it on his shoulder. His sleeves were also folded up, and the first three buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned. Overall, he looked disheveled and tired but still as handsome as ever. 

“You’re back!” I excitedly said and ran to where he was. I had already forgotten about how long I had waited for him, and I was surrounded with happiness. Clyden, however, remained silent and just looked at the table of food. 

“Did you already eat? Do you want me to go heat some food up for you? I also got your favorite chocolate cake from the bakeshop next town. Do you want me to come to get you a slice? We can eat together and talk about your day.”

“I’m tired.” 

My smile fell a little, but I understood. He must be tired from the business meeting. “Oh, then maybe we can eat them as breakfast tomorrow—“

Before I could even finish my sentence, he had already walked past me and gone straight upstairs.

My excited voice hung in the air, and I became a little bit embarrassed. Maybe I got my hopes up too much.

I just swallowed the lump in my throat and placed all of the food in the refrigerator. I heard my stomach rumble since I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but I paid it no attention. I also didn’t have an appetite anymore.

I went back to my room, dejected. I walked past his office and saw that the light was still on. He’s probably going to be sleeping there again today, I thought. It seems like I’ll sleep all alone once again tonight.

***

Although I couldn’t sleep well last night, I still wanted to wake up early so I could catch a glimpse at Clyden eating his breakfast. 

I went out of my room and was surprised to see Clyden coming out of his office. I smiled at him and said, “Good morning!”

He seems to not have slept well last night because he frowned. But, I still felt happy because he nodded when I greeted him. 

We went downstairs together, him in front and me trailing behind him. We sat down at the table, but I frowned upon seeing that the food on the table weren't the ones I prepared last night, but those prepared by the maids. 

I peeked at Clyden as he ate. His eyebrows furrowed as he focused on eating. I wanted to reach my hand over and smooth out his frown because he looked better when he smiled. 

It’s so early in the morning, yet I feel so happy to see my handsome husband in front of me. 

“Aren’t you going to eat?” He asked, his voice raspy and deep.

I blushed and grabbed my spoon. “Yes, let’s eat together.”

However, just as I was about to scoop the porridge in my mouth, Clyden already placed down his utensils and got out of his seat.

I also placed down my spoon and followed him. I held onto his arm and said, “I’m going to go see my mom in the hospital today. Do you want to come with me?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Send my regards to her. The firm is busy with new projects at the moment, so I can’t accompany you.”

I slowly let go of his arm and nodded in understanding. Although I was a bit disappointed, there’s really nothing I could do about it. 

“All right. I’ll tell her that you said hi.” 

He only nodded his head and went back to our room. I sat back in the dining room and dully shoveled the porridge in my mouth. 

***

“Mom!” I excitedly said while opening the door to my mom’s small hospital room. 

“You’re here? Come give your mum a hug.” 

I ran to her and softly went into her arms. I could see that she was getting thinner and thinner, but I didn’t want her to see that I was worrying too much. 

“Did you eat all of your meals and take all of your medicines?”

“Don’t worry. I’m recovering really well.” She tried to smile, but I could see the tiredness in her eyes. She also started coughing after she spoke, so I went to fetch her some water. 

I looked at her with worried eyes, but she just told me to brush it off. 

“Let’s not talk about my condition right now. I want to know about you and Clyden’s status. Are you both doing well? Has his family been treating you well?”

I wanted to bring my mom some good news, but I couldn’t hide the sadness in my eyes. 

“Why? Is he still indifferent to you?”

I sighed and looked up at the white ceiling. “Yeah, nothing’s really changed. I thought that he’d be able to learn to love me by this time, but it seems like he’s drifting even further away. And his family also acts like I’m just dirt in the bottom of their shoe. I don’t even know what I did, mom. I’m so confused all the time.”

She stroked my hair, and I saw a tear slid out of her eyes. 

“What’s wrong, mom? Are you feeling any pain?” I tried to press the nurse's call button, but she stopped me.

“No, don’t. It just pains me to see you getting hurt all the time when it’s all of my fault.”

I looked at her, confused. “What do you mean, mom? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, it’s all our fault why Clyden and his family treat you with hostility. If only we didn’t threaten him back then, then maybe you would have lived a happier—”

I calmed her down by stroking her hair. “Shhh, mom. Calm down. This isn’t good for your health. I’m sure that what you did back then was for the best.”

She shook her head as she cried even harder. “No, this is all because your father threatened the Gonzalo family back then. If he didn’t do that—”

“What do you mean, mom?” I asked. I’ve never felt so confused in my entire life. What does she mean by that?

What happened back then?

My mom took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes. “What I’m going to tell you right now is something that I really regret doing.”

“You can tell me anything, mom.” 

“Let’s go back five years ago, before your marriage with Clyden.”