All Chapters of My Drop-Dead, Gorgeous Rebound: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

FAEI stared at him in surprise. Okay, that was fast. That’s… good.“What will you tell your grandma?” I didn’t want to talk to his grandma about this. I might find myself saying yes because she could be that sweetly persuasive, and I really couldn’t say ‘no’ to her. That old lady had a steel backbone and liquid fire in her blood. Whenever I was with her, it was like facing a queen. Even if she smelled like expensive baby powder.I suddenly realized where her grandson had gotten his steel charm from. Ugh!“I don’t know yet. I’ll think of something,” he was saying. “As long as you continue to see me even if the family I belong to used to be connected to your father’s old crowd and, well… I guess I remind you of Carl, too.” He didn’t like that. I saw a muscle ticking in his jaw.“It’s not like that. I still want to see them. I will go to birthday parties and whatever event they will invite me to. They’re family. But in my professional life, I want to find my place on my own.”“Because y

FAEI didn’t know how to cook. But I wanted to do something special for him when he arrived, so after taking my shower, eating a late lunch, and cleaning up, I decided to find out what food he liked. Shyly, I called the only person who knew about Jigo and me and whom I could trust—Maria.His favorite dish was Sinigang Prawns, a tamarind-based sour soup with prawns and lots of vegetables. Maria’s professional tone as she listed the restaurants he frequented for a Sinigang fix was a relief. I picked one, ordered a takeout, and added a few other dishes from their menu. Cooking it myself would have been a disaster, though I did plan to learn someday. The thought of preparing good food for someone made me smile—something I hadn’t felt since Dad died. Well, there was Carl. Back then, I’d attempted pancakes for him, unsupervised. That was chaotic, but he ate them anyway, laughing the whole time.I caught myself smiling and froze. No pain. No sadness. Just a fond memory. A bit of moisture stu

FAESo we married.After the marriage, I reflected on myself.I searched for those uneasy doubts I felt about my impulsive decision—because it was. I knew it. I tried to find any feeling of disappointment or dismay for what I had done. But whenever I looked at Jigo, those feelings disappeared. They were replaced with wonder. Because I still couldn’t understand how a man known to be commitment-phobic and someone I could never imagine would ever pay attention to me convinced me to marry him so quickly.We had become lovers for just barely a month. Definitely carried away by our feelings.I thought we were supposedly a bit smarter than anyone I knew.Unfortunately, time would tell.We had gone over expectations and rules a day after I agreed to marry him, to be written in a contract we both would sign. I video-recorded it, too. Yes… he’d indulged my lawyer-side. Quite relaxed, even, because he already got what he wanted. He knew I wouldn’t back out.I didn’t think he would let me, anyway

FAE“This is gonna be good for you,” Pam said next to me, her forefinger dancing in the air with expressive gestures. “Go get him, girl!”Joana and Kacey nodded, wide smiles splitting their faces.“What’s important is you don’t look miserable anymore, and you’re distracting yourself,” Joana added.‘Go get him?’ Gotten already. ‘Distracting?’ We’re married.But of course, I didn’t say those. I felt guilty, but I have to pace this one day at a time not just for them but for me, too.“So, does he have any clones?” Kacey asked. “I’ll move on with you, friend.”The four of us giggled like idiots.“Have you really moved on? That fast?” Joana insisted. Clearly, even though she wanted me to be happy, she was struggling to keep up with the speed of events.I smiled and looked for Jigo again, seeing him returning with the tray of drinks.“No, it’s him. It’s all because of him. If he hadn’t come along, I probably wouldn’t even be leaving the house right now. I definitely wouldn’t have thought I

FAEThe next day, Jigo brought me to his—no, our—house for the first time. Previously, I had only been to his penthouse suite in Manila, but we usually stayed at my condo. The penthouse, located in the heart of BGC, always seemed bustling with people, whereas my place, on the outskirts, offered more privacy.His residential property was a gated one-hectare estate in Quezon City. The manor-style house stood at the back of the expansive grounds, a two-story building with a left wing. The gardens were lush with various plants, but my favorite spot was the man-made koi pond. It was surrounded by different tropical plants, banana trees, and palm trees, with river stones and limestones forming the border. Wide, rough-cut marble slabs created steps down to the clear water where I could play.When I asked how the water stayed so clear, he explained there was a nearby solar-powered filter system, making the pond and gardens self-sufficient. Even during power outages, the irrigation continued,