CHAPTER 42
BENJAMIN clenched his jaw when Caroline walked out of the dining suddenly. He doesn’t understand why she’s acting liked that. If she’s trying to lure him again with that innocence, he won’t fall for it.
“What happened to Caroline?” Nanay Dolor asked, surprised at what Caroline did. “Benjaminfy, what did you do to her?” she asked, pointing at Benjamin.
Benjamin didn’t answer. He felt guilty, and he knew that he shouldn’t be.
“I should talk to her,” Mario said, standing up. “Maybe she got tired of walking by the beach.”
Benjamin watched Mario followed Caroline outside. He heaved a sigh. It’s his fault. He shouldn’t treat her like that, but he can’t help it to feel this way. Now, he’s torn between following her outside or just let it pass.
“I don’t like to see her like that…” Anastacia said, shoulders slopped down.
Antonette rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so attached to her if you don’t want to get hurt.”
Benjamin paused to what his daughter said. Did he just let himself be attached to Caroline? She gave herself to him wholeheartedly, and he felt it. But, it can also be just out of lust.
Was it, Caroline? Benjamin asked while looking outside the dining, hoping to see her coming back. Was it just pure lust?
“I like Aunt Caroline…” Anastacia whispered. “I really do… she was like an older sister to me.”
Antonette made a ‘tss’ sound. “So, what am I to you?”
“Stop it, kids,” Nanay Dolor said. “Start eating your dinner. Caroline will be back later.”
“Antonette’s been rude to her…” Anastacia said hesitantly. “I know that you don’t like Aunt Caroline for dad, but you should be nice to her because she’s helping us—”
“Anastacia…” Benjamin cut off. “We shouldn’t be talking about those things in front of the dinner table.”
“Can’t you see it, Anastacia? That woman is just trying to get our trust—”
“Antonette!” Benjamin banged his fist on the table. “Didn’t I tell you to—”
“It’s fine, Benjamin… I heard it all,” Caroline said coldly.
Benjamin turned and found Caroline standing at the dining entrance. Mario was standing behind her, completely puzzled by what his daughter had said.
“I know that I shouldn’t be here because I am not a part of your family.” Caroline walked towards them. “But, I am here because I know that Anastacia wanted me to be here.”
“Aunt Caroline…” Anastacia stood up and ran to her. The girl hugged her tightly.
Caroline caressed her hair. “But, I don’t want to ruin your family trip, especially Nanay Dolor’s birthday.” She turned to him and smiled. “I will leave tomorrow—”
“No one’s leaving tomorrow,” Nanay Dolor said with finality. “I don’t know what’s happening between you and Benjamin. But like you said, Caroline, you don’t want to ruin my day, then don’t leave. I need a hand tomorrow. You’ll help me prepare for my birthday party.”
When Benjamin turned at Caroline, she was already looking at him. But, what he saw in her eyes now was far different from what he saw in them a few hours ago.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Antonette said, shaking her head. “Let her leave if she wants—”
“Antonette, I’m warning you…” Benjamin glared at his daughter. “Stop acting like that.”
Antonette smirked. “Acting like what, dad? Why? Do you like her already?”
Nanay Dolor touched Antonette’s shoulders. “Antonette—”
“You don’t love our Mom anymore?” Antonette’s voice started to quiver. She’s looking at him straight in the eyes.
Caroline stepped forward. “Antonette—”
“I’m not talking to you!” Antonette stood up and glared at Caroline. “I don’t like you,” she said and ran outside.
“Antonette!” Benjamin stood up to follow his daughter, but Caroline stopped his arm.
“I should be the one to talk to her, Benjamin…” she said softly. “It’s my fault—”
“No…” He touched her hand, holding his arm, and squeezed it. “It isn’t, Caroline. It’s not your fault.”
But to his surprised, Caroline avoided his gaze. “I’ll follow her. I won’t come back without her.”
She turned her back to him and sauntered towards the foyer. Benjamin wanted to follow her, to pull her in his arms, and say the words that could ease the pain he knew she felt.
Benjamin wanted to say sorry to whatever he’d think about her and on behalf of his daughter, Antonette. But he also knew that Caroline would understand Antonette. He doesn’t understand why he was so sure about it. He just felt it and witnessed it with his own eyes. Caroline cared for his daughters, just like how he cared for them.
“Dad…?”
Anastacia’s uncertain tone of voice pulled back Benjamin from his thoughts. When he turned to look, his daughter’s face was full of doubts and uncertainties. And, it hurts Benjamin to see his daughter felt like that.
“Dad… do you like Aunt Caroline?” Anastacia asked in a low voice. “Do you love her?”
Benjamin hesitated. He stepped forward, but his mother was the first to approach her first. She put her arms around Anastacia’s shoulders and brushed her arms to comfort her.
“Anastacia, eat your dinner. Come on. I cooked your favorite dish tonight.” Nanay Dolor ushered Anastacia back to her chair.
“Benjamin…” Mario called his attention with a tap on his shoulder. “Can we talk outside?”
Mario and Benjamin went to the veranda. As soon as they reached the balustrade of the terrace, Mario spoke up. And he started the conversation by mentioning the name of the person who was now talking to his daughter somewhere on the beach of Alona.
“I saw her staring out at the beach,” Mario said, pertaining to Caroline. “At first, I thought she was crying, but when I stepped closer, I heard her murmuring something I couldn’t figure out.”
Benjamin’s brows furrowed. He remembered the night that Caroline went into their house drunk. When she fell asleep in bed, she was saying something repeatedly in her sleep.
“And then, she pulled her hair and started hurting herself—”
“Mario…” Benjamin cut off. “Don’t tell this to Nanay Dolor. I don’t want her to get bothered—”
“I think Caroline is not okay, Benjamin…” he said, ignoring what he said. “I studied psychology and—”
“I will talk to her,” Benjamin said with finality.
Mario paused and gave him a scrutinizing look. “I should be the one to talk to her.”
Benjamin heaved a sigh. “It’s my fault, and I know how to solve this.”
Mario shook his head. “You don’t understand, Benjamin.” He turned on his back and was about to walk back into the dining when he spoke again. “It just proves that you don’t really know her.”
***
Chapter Forty-Three
CAROLINE found Antonette kicking sandstones to the ocean. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to kick the stones as far as possible, the girl just plopped down to the shore, where the waves met her feet.
“You’ll get wet by the sea waves if you stay there,” she said as soft as she could. “Antonette—”
“Go away…” Antonette said without looking at her. “I don’t want to see you.”
“I know…” Caroline said. “I know that you don’t like me. I can feel it.”
She heard Antonette smirked. “Then, get lost.”
“I want to… but, I don’t want your sister to get disappointed—”
“Really?” Antonette looked up at her. “Is it because of my sister? Or, my dad?”
Caroline pressed her lips together. She took a deep breath and released it slowly.
“I’m right. You like my dad,” Antonette spat the words. “And, you’re just using Anastacia to get near to dad. You’re taking advantage of her weakness in order to do your plans on stealing dad from us.”
Caroline’s brows furrowed. She can’t believe that this twelve-year-old girl thinks of her like that. She heaved a sigh and sat beside her, ensuring that there was a one-meter distance between them. She doesn’t want Antonette to think she’s invading her private space, just like how she felt that she invaded their private life.
“You’re smart, Antonette…” she murmured. “And, you know that I can’t steal your dad from you and Antonette.”
Antonette smirked. “Guess what, Miss Valdez… you already stole him from us. And, Anastacia, you stole her from me—”
“I didn’t… I will never do that—”
“Everybody likes you!” Antonette shouted; her tears were threatening to fall in her rosy cheeks. “Tito Mario, Nanay Dolor, and even the tenants here in the islands like you.”
“But, you don’t like me…” she whispered.
“I hate you…” she hissed. “You will never exceed Mom’s effort. You will never replace my Mom in our hearts.”
Those words cut like a knife in her heart. “I know… And, I wish I had a mother like your Mom. She loved you very much, took care of you, and spent her whole life with you and Anastacia.”
Antonette paused and stared at her with a knotted forehead. “All mothers would do that to their children.”
Caroline smiled bitterly. “Well, maybe I wasn’t just heaven’s favorite when it comes to family giving.”
Antonette looked at her, a bit confused with what she had said. Caroline took that chance to speak again and open herself to her. Caroline can understand Antonette’s feelings because she has experienced them herself.
“I’m an unwanted child…” she said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “My mother left me when I was just eight. She left me with my drunkard father, that also chose to leave me with my Aunt.”
“And your Aunt became your mother?” Antonette asked with an arched brow.
Caroline let out a heartless laughed. “She abandoned me when I was in high school.”
Antonette’s eyes showed shock and confusion. “That’s sad…”
“It was… But, I’m not mad at them.” She smiled and turned to look at the ocean. “Honestly, I am thankful to them. If they didn’t abandon me, I might not be the person that I am now.”
Antonette remained silent. Caroline can see in the corner of her eyes that she’s watching her.
“You and Anastacia are blessed to have a father like Benjamin. He loved you so much that he’s willing to sacrifice everything to give you a better life.” Caroline smiled and closed her eyes. She let the cold breeze kissed her skin. “When I was at your age, I used to envy my classmates during our Parents-Teachers-Association meetings. All of them brought their Moms and Dads with them. The others were with their guardian while I was all by myself.”
“Mom loved PTA meetings, but for me, it’s just a waste of time,” Antonette commented.
Caroline chuckled and looked at Antonette. “For me, it was the worst moment of my teen years.” She sighed. “But, I’m still lucky my Aunt managed to send me to high school. But even so, she never showed affection to me. I grew up feeling alone. And, since then, I learned to love myself more than anything else…Until I met your dad.”
Antonette knotted her forehead. “Dad said that you were schoolmates in high school. So, you knew my Mom, too?”
She nodded. “But she doesn’t know me. I wasn’t really that friendly back then. I only knew a few.”
“Was it because of your background?” she asked without hesitation.
“Yeah… I’m ashamed of my life outside school.”
“How did you meet my dad?”
Caroline hesitated to answer. “He’s my ultimate crush back then.”
Antonette smirked. “Same reason with mommy. So dad was really a heartthrob in his high school days.”
“Benjamin is the kindest person I’ve ever met,” Caroline said with a genuine smile on her face. “He became the light of the darkness—”
“Then why didn’t you end up with dad?” Antonette cut off. She was now facing her.
“Because your dad was in love with someone else,” she said. “And, that was your mom.”
Antonette looked at her as if scrutinizing her. “Do you love my dad? Is he the reason why you’re still single now?”
Caroline wanted to laugh. Now, she noticed that Antonette was a bit like her twin, Anastacia. They both need immediate answers to their questions.
“The reason for my single status is that I am still afraid…” she said truthfully. “I don’t want my children to experience what I have gone through in my childhood days.” A series of flashbacks about her dark past clouded her mind. Vivid details of traumatic events made her chest tightened. “I know how it feels to be alone, unwanted and abandoned. And, those nightmares were still haunting me…”
“Aunt Caroline…” A soft voice followed by a warm hand on her arm pulled back Caroline from her dark past. “You’ll be okay now…”
Caroline looked at Antonette. She wasn’t aware that she was already shedding tears. “I’m sorry… I was just carried away…”
“I’m sorry I didn’t treat you right…” Antonette shyly apologized.
Caroline wiped her tears and shook her head. “Don’t be sorry about what you truly feel.” She took her hand and squeezed it. “I understand you, Antonette. It’s hard and painful to live without your Mom. But your dad is still here, and he’s doing everything for you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry…” she murmured. “I just got jealous because Anastacia was always talking about you, and I can see that daddy’s starting to like you.”
A smile formed on Caroline’s lips. “That sounds like music to my ears.”
Antonette rolled her eyes. “Let’s go back inside. I’m starving.”
Caroline stood up. She helped Antonette stand up, and when the girl didn’t protest, Caroline felt a warm feeling wrapped her heart. On their way back to the lodging-house, she remembered something.
“Wait, Antonette,” she said and stopped walking. “Did you call me Aunt Caroline a while ago? Or, am I just dreaming?”
Antonette’s cheeks turned red. She looked away from her and continued walking. “You’re just hallucinating.”
***
