No, Neil, you should not apologize. You were actually sacrificing your happiness for her future so, please, consider yourself as hero.
"I...." he breathed. "I will miss you. A lot. For sure."
I did not answer.
"I am not sure if you feel the same way, though."
"I will. Of course. We are friends."
"Friends... Alright." Then, he pointed his hands on mine. "Friends are doing this thing.."
"Friends do holding hands."
"Well..."
I chuckled. "Just be safe in there. Contact me if you need to talk to Kyra."
"I will contact you from time to time, then."
"Sure. And please, focus on your own goal. I can take care of my own business."
"I have... Something to confess about, anyway."
My eyes furrowed. Aside from his love to me, what was the something he was talking about?
"Mom, what did Dad tell you?" Kyra snapped me out from my overthinking. I stood up, panicking. I forgot I was cooking a rice and now I wond
I almost kissed him. I meant, I almost kissed him! Marcus' appearance was really right so that Neil wouldn't think that only Azucalda would soften my heart and push me to kiss him. Goodness, I still had to control myself. It was not because I was happy with what he said that I would tolerate it. You were indeed a great fool, self."Oh, why did you two stop? Go on with what you were supposed to do and I will just quietly watch it." And as expected, Marcus never left us again. He would really use what he saw to make me die of nervousness. "It's a pity that Kyra did not see you almost kissing. I hope I was able to take a picture too!"Neil picked up some sand and threw it towards my cousin's face. I also wanted to keep laughing at him because his cheeks were red like a ripe tomato."Jerk! Get out of here! You have a business problem so prioritize that over messing with us here!" I told him. Really, right? His business was also in danger so that was what he should f
"You are really sweet, Dad! Mama must have sweetly answered you so you prepared all of these!" Kyra shouted happily at Neil. Neil, on the other hand, still looked serious, who also seemed to just chose to smile even though the truth was, just like me, he also felt a lot of embarrassment right now.Soon, the cold wind blew, and we all sat down to begin what had to begin."Kyra, darling, don't be surprised by what we are going to say but ..." Neil took a deep breath, and in the depth of it, I almost drowned. "I'm doing this for you, for your future and for your mommy's. I can't just be here forever and happy without worrying about of our business."Kyra fell silent. Her smile faded. She turned to me, and I averted my eyes. I had tears in my eyes now, and I did not want them to see me being emotional.Maybe it was just because I was so tired. Tomorrow, I would definitely okay again."Are you leaving?" My daughter's voice was full of fear. I also rarel
"Thank you, Sydney," said the one in front of me. Because of the bonfire, his eyes seemed to be on fire as well. You could even mirror yourself through those orbs. "I will be back. I will be back safe. I am not going to hurt myself."I knew. Because of Kyra, you would have even more reason to be safe forever. We both knew we could not afford to see Kyra struggling, so that was enough reason for both of us to make sure we were safe."Are you cold already? Do you want us to go inside?" he asked me."You? Do you want to?""Yeah, so that Kyra can lie down properly."I laughed and immediately stood up. We entered the house, and I helped him put Kyra to bed. Even though I was just helping, I could already feel the weight of my daughter."I'm leaving--"I stopped him."Just sleep here. It's okay with me."He was shocked. He looked at me with indescribable amazement in his eyes. "All right. But I will just sleep on the sofa so y
When we were at the venue, we looked around. Until the woman who invited us to be in here acknowledged us with a big smile. I immediately recognized her because of the sweetness of her smile. She talked to us and the other guests. I could say the event was really social and prepared for elites because you could just see from the guests' gowns that they were really expensive. Not to mention that Neil Sandoval was admired by many."Hi, there is still an empty table near the long table. Other guests also want to meet you. Because you know how much everyone admires you, Neil Sandoval," the woman praised him again.Neil was really grabbing attention now, not only because he was handsome in what he was wearing, but also because he looked like the girl he was holding so tightly. Just a look at them and you would know that they were blood related - the way they walked was similar.Anyway, he was no longer wearing jogging pants. Before we finally went here we also reserv
How many times had I tried to love my child as much as many mothers like me love. But even so, I still could not bear to look at her without remembering what his Dad did to me and how he hurt me until I was exhausted.I could say that me giving her birth was the most important event in my life, but like I said, I could not... I could not afford to love her, because whenever I smiled at her, I felt like I just forgave her Dad right away. And for me, that shoul not have happened. No one could stop me...I did not know if my own child hated me. If she wanted to hate me until she voluntarily gave up, go on! I did not care. Even if it was bad in the eyes of others, I would do what I thought was good for me, for the comfort of my chest."Is the average yourself from studying? How dare you smile at me while you were showing this shit to me? How many times have I told you that this grade is not enough for me? You are stupid, really. I am still wondering why you ev
"Starting today, you are the only one I will love. Expect me to love you every day."I closed my eyes when Zimon, my husband, gently gave his tender kisses to me. To this day, I still could not believe it. We were married. We were officially legal.Our family welcomed us as well. Nothing could stop us from being together. We would also be able to form our dreams together, and one of them was having a child, or if possible ‘children’. We even wanted a girl to be our first child. But what the Lord gave us, we would wholeheartedly accept it."Zimon, here is your lunchbox. Please, do not stay up too late at work. I know you want to give us a very good future but we are already rich. I am not proud of our living condition, but I just hope you learn how to rest, okay?"That was really what I kelt reminding him of. Health was important so I wanted him to take care of himself. We would have a chi
We still lived in the same house, and I witnessed how they both loved each other. But I never liked that."Auntie Trinidad, I successfully closed the deal," Neil announced to me. To my delight, I smiled. "Thanks to Sydney, though. He pushed me to work hard."I heard a lot of news from work, especially from company employees. Because Sydney and Neil worked often at the same time... they also went home together so that caused surprise to others."I know they are both married," Marcus threatened me. This businessman had never really changed. Still ruthless. There was no sanctification. Even so, I still treated him well because we were just relatives. I know he was not gay to spread the word."Just do not let them know." I got up. I would have planned to build a boutique. Because since I was a child, that was really what I wanted to have. Now that Neil was taking care of the company, maybe
"If I could just turn back the time."I was used to say that statement to myself. Days and years without Sydney, I realized life was hard without her. Though I had no choice, I could not get her back because I had no right. I hurt her. I should face the consequences of my actions."Sydney has a daughter, Auntie. And she is now currently studying. She is an academic achiever," Marcus informed me. Marcus was one of my enemy before even though we were blood related, but as time gone by, we became close and decided to help each other."I have a granddaughter, then..." I whispered using my weak voice. That meant that Sydney was pregnant during the moments she was not in this country. That meant she lived without my guide. That meant she raised my grandaughter alone. "I have remembered what you told me before. You told me she has a business in this country, right?"He nodded. "She owns a grocery."&
Mom and I were finally okay. She asked for my forgiveness even though I never loathed her. For all the bad things she had done to me, I still loved her. Nothing could change that fact."What is the name of this place once again, Mom?" Kyra asked curiously as she roamed her eyes around the place.A smile touched my lips. "Azucalda."We were safe to live not worrying about anything. Ambrosia's family were now settled in jail. Daniel, also, already found his life, the woman who would change the fake romantic love he felt towards me. "This is where we belong, Kyra. Be comfortable in this place, because starting from now, we will leave here, we will start new memories," I hugged her."When Dad will come back?" she asked me out of the blue. "I mean, we have been already waiting for years! Last night, Dad and I talked, but since this morning, he never texted me anymore. I am worrying, Mom! What if he alread
"If I could just turn back the time."I was used to say that statement to myself. Days and years without Sydney, I realized life was hard without her. Though I had no choice, I could not get her back because I had no right. I hurt her. I should face the consequences of my actions."Sydney has a daughter, Auntie. And she is now currently studying. She is an academic achiever," Marcus informed me. Marcus was one of my enemy before even though we were blood related, but as time gone by, we became close and decided to help each other."I have a granddaughter, then..." I whispered using my weak voice. That meant that Sydney was pregnant during the moments she was not in this country. That meant she lived without my guide. That meant she raised my grandaughter alone. "I have remembered what you told me before. You told me she has a business in this country, right?"He nodded. "She owns a grocery."&
We still lived in the same house, and I witnessed how they both loved each other. But I never liked that."Auntie Trinidad, I successfully closed the deal," Neil announced to me. To my delight, I smiled. "Thanks to Sydney, though. He pushed me to work hard."I heard a lot of news from work, especially from company employees. Because Sydney and Neil worked often at the same time... they also went home together so that caused surprise to others."I know they are both married," Marcus threatened me. This businessman had never really changed. Still ruthless. There was no sanctification. Even so, I still treated him well because we were just relatives. I know he was not gay to spread the word."Just do not let them know." I got up. I would have planned to build a boutique. Because since I was a child, that was really what I wanted to have. Now that Neil was taking care of the company, maybe
"Starting today, you are the only one I will love. Expect me to love you every day."I closed my eyes when Zimon, my husband, gently gave his tender kisses to me. To this day, I still could not believe it. We were married. We were officially legal.Our family welcomed us as well. Nothing could stop us from being together. We would also be able to form our dreams together, and one of them was having a child, or if possible ‘children’. We even wanted a girl to be our first child. But what the Lord gave us, we would wholeheartedly accept it."Zimon, here is your lunchbox. Please, do not stay up too late at work. I know you want to give us a very good future but we are already rich. I am not proud of our living condition, but I just hope you learn how to rest, okay?"That was really what I kelt reminding him of. Health was important so I wanted him to take care of himself. We would have a chi
How many times had I tried to love my child as much as many mothers like me love. But even so, I still could not bear to look at her without remembering what his Dad did to me and how he hurt me until I was exhausted.I could say that me giving her birth was the most important event in my life, but like I said, I could not... I could not afford to love her, because whenever I smiled at her, I felt like I just forgave her Dad right away. And for me, that shoul not have happened. No one could stop me...I did not know if my own child hated me. If she wanted to hate me until she voluntarily gave up, go on! I did not care. Even if it was bad in the eyes of others, I would do what I thought was good for me, for the comfort of my chest."Is the average yourself from studying? How dare you smile at me while you were showing this shit to me? How many times have I told you that this grade is not enough for me? You are stupid, really. I am still wondering why you ev
When we were at the venue, we looked around. Until the woman who invited us to be in here acknowledged us with a big smile. I immediately recognized her because of the sweetness of her smile. She talked to us and the other guests. I could say the event was really social and prepared for elites because you could just see from the guests' gowns that they were really expensive. Not to mention that Neil Sandoval was admired by many."Hi, there is still an empty table near the long table. Other guests also want to meet you. Because you know how much everyone admires you, Neil Sandoval," the woman praised him again.Neil was really grabbing attention now, not only because he was handsome in what he was wearing, but also because he looked like the girl he was holding so tightly. Just a look at them and you would know that they were blood related - the way they walked was similar.Anyway, he was no longer wearing jogging pants. Before we finally went here we also reserv
"Thank you, Sydney," said the one in front of me. Because of the bonfire, his eyes seemed to be on fire as well. You could even mirror yourself through those orbs. "I will be back. I will be back safe. I am not going to hurt myself."I knew. Because of Kyra, you would have even more reason to be safe forever. We both knew we could not afford to see Kyra struggling, so that was enough reason for both of us to make sure we were safe."Are you cold already? Do you want us to go inside?" he asked me."You? Do you want to?""Yeah, so that Kyra can lie down properly."I laughed and immediately stood up. We entered the house, and I helped him put Kyra to bed. Even though I was just helping, I could already feel the weight of my daughter."I'm leaving--"I stopped him."Just sleep here. It's okay with me."He was shocked. He looked at me with indescribable amazement in his eyes. "All right. But I will just sleep on the sofa so y
"You are really sweet, Dad! Mama must have sweetly answered you so you prepared all of these!" Kyra shouted happily at Neil. Neil, on the other hand, still looked serious, who also seemed to just chose to smile even though the truth was, just like me, he also felt a lot of embarrassment right now.Soon, the cold wind blew, and we all sat down to begin what had to begin."Kyra, darling, don't be surprised by what we are going to say but ..." Neil took a deep breath, and in the depth of it, I almost drowned. "I'm doing this for you, for your future and for your mommy's. I can't just be here forever and happy without worrying about of our business."Kyra fell silent. Her smile faded. She turned to me, and I averted my eyes. I had tears in my eyes now, and I did not want them to see me being emotional.Maybe it was just because I was so tired. Tomorrow, I would definitely okay again."Are you leaving?" My daughter's voice was full of fear. I also rarel
I almost kissed him. I meant, I almost kissed him! Marcus' appearance was really right so that Neil wouldn't think that only Azucalda would soften my heart and push me to kiss him. Goodness, I still had to control myself. It was not because I was happy with what he said that I would tolerate it. You were indeed a great fool, self."Oh, why did you two stop? Go on with what you were supposed to do and I will just quietly watch it." And as expected, Marcus never left us again. He would really use what he saw to make me die of nervousness. "It's a pity that Kyra did not see you almost kissing. I hope I was able to take a picture too!"Neil picked up some sand and threw it towards my cousin's face. I also wanted to keep laughing at him because his cheeks were red like a ripe tomato."Jerk! Get out of here! You have a business problem so prioritize that over messing with us here!" I told him. Really, right? His business was also in danger so that was what he should f