CHAPTER 48

"I HOPE Aunt Caroline is fine…" Anastacia said with a sigh. "And, I hope she'll reply to my message to her on IG."

Benjamin touched his daughter's head and gave it a tap. "She'll call soon," he assured Anastacia even though he knew that it might never happen.

His daughter, Antonette, remained silent while doing her sketches. She hasn't spoken to him since they left Bohol. And, it's been a week now. One week since Caroline suddenly left him in the wine cellar of their lodging house in Alona Beach. They don't know what happened. Even his kids and Nanay Dolor didn't realize that Caroline had left.

Benjamin regretted what he told Caroline during that day. If he only controlled himself, Caroline is still here with them. Was she? What if she really has a plan to leave him? Lucas disappeared too on that day even he had pain.

"Nanay Dolor called yesterday, asking if Caroline has called us," Anastacia said. "Where did she go, dad?"

Benjamin doesn't know what to say. "Maybe an emergency happened—"

"Do you know where she lives?" Anastacia asked. "Let's go to her house."

Benjamin has called Hyacinth, but she refuses to tell him anything about Caroline. "I'll go in her office tomorrow morning," he said. "Don't worry too much, okay?"

"I missed her so much," Anastacia said. "Don't you miss Aunt Caroline, Antonette?"

From her sketch pad, Antonette looked up at her sister. "Let's give her time," she said knowingly that made Benjamin knotted his forehead. "Maybe Aunt Caroline got overwhelmed by how things turned out so fast…"

"What do you mean?" Anastacia asked, brows furrowed. "What could be the reason for her sudden leaving? She left without saying goodbye to us—"

Antonette looked at him and then turned to her sister. "This is just my theory. I noticed that she and dad were getting intimate with each other. I even saw them—"

Benjamin cleared his throat. "Caroline's sudden action doesn't have to do with me."

Antonette's brows raised. "Are you saying that you don't like her, dad?"

Benjamin paused. Antonette's eyes seemed to be penetrating his soul. "It's not what I mean…" he trailed off and then heaved a sigh. "Okay, we had a misunderstanding. But, it's not that serious… that's why I was also shocked and puzzled why she just left like that."

Anastacia covered her mouth in disbelief while Antonette just shook her head.

"Hey, I really didn't mean to make her feel whatever she felt—"

"Dad, if it wasn't that serious, do you think Aunt Caroline would react like that?" Antonette cut off with a scowl. "She just left without letting us know, even Nanay Dolor."

"Did she left with Sir Lucas?" Anastacia asked, worried about what she found out.

"Probably… He wasn't in their room when we looked for Aunt Caroline," Antonette said, letting out a sigh. "He sent us a message that Aunt Caroline went home here in Manila a few hours after."

Benjamin watched his daughters talking seriously at each other. They're intentionally ignoring him, making him feel guilty.

"Okay, I'll talk to her tomorrow," he said, standing up. "Let's go to sleep—"

"Apologize to her, dad…" Anastacia told him. "Aunt Caroline did nothing but cared for us."

Benjamin felt a sudden pain inside his chest. Anastacia's right. Caroline was always there for them. She even helped them find a new house by renting her home, making it convenient for him to monitor his children.

He caressed his daughter's head. "I will, Anastacia."

*

"HAVE you eaten your lunch?"

Nanay Dolor's worried voice aired inside the Demitasse kitchen. Benjamin paused on mixing the whipped cream in a bowl and looked at his cell phone screen. "Yes, `Nay. I also brought food to Antonette and Anastacia."

"Did you talk to Caroline?" his mother asked. "Is she okay?"

"I'll go to her office after making pastries," he said, not looking at the screen. He doesn't want her mother to see the emotions in his eyes. "I'll talk to her—"

"Do you love her?"

Benjamin stopped mixing the cream and heaved a sigh. He looked at his mother and forced a smile. "Is it obvious, `Nay?"

His old mother smiled. "It's time for you to let go of your past, Benjamin. Give yourself a second chance to love and be loved," she said to him. "Open your heart again and let yourself explore how beautiful love can be."

"I want to, `Nay… But—"

"No buts, Benjamin! You're grown up now. You're not a kid anymore," Nanay Dolor said in a raised voice. "Don't make decisions that you'll regret soon."

Benjamin smiled. His mother was really a fighter when it came to love, just like what she did for his father. She loved him and took care of him until his last breath.

When he finished preparing the chocolate cupcakes that he'd give to Caroline, Benjamin went to her office building using his motorcycle to avoid tBenjaminfic. He was currently parking his scooter when his eyes caught Hyacinth walking out of the building.

"Hyacinth!" Benjamin called her as he ran towards her. "Are you with Caroline? Where is she?"

"Benjamin!" Hyacinth exclaimed, surprised to see him.

"Where's Caroline? I need to talk to her," he said and looked at the main building exit. "Is she about to go out for lunch?"

Hyacinth hesitated to answer. "Benjamin…" She stopped him from going inside the building. "Caroline wasn't here anymore."

Benjamin knotted his forehead. "What? Wh-What do you mean she's not here anymore?"

Hyacinth heaved a sigh. "She went to France. Her flight schedule was today."

"France?" Benjamin felt his limbs weakened. The paper bag of chocolate cupcakes in his hand slipped and fell down onto his feet. "She left…"

"She didn't go to work for a week since she came home from Bohol. I didn't know what happened because she refused to tell me. Even Lucas was clueless—"

"Is she with that guy? Lucas? He took Caroline, right?" he asked and clenched his jaw. He tried his best to fight his emotions.

"Of course not!" Hyacinth answered. "Why would my boyfriend go to France with her?"

"Boyfriend?" Benjamin asked, surprised. "Lucas, is your boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Hyacinth said with a knotted forehead. "Anyway, Caroline was here earlier to give me this box and told me to give it to you," she said and showed him the pink box in her hand. "I was about to go to your coffee shop when you approached me."

Benjamin stared at the box and felt something different inside his chest. Hyacinth continued talking, but Benjamin couldn't digest what she was saying anymore. He took the box from her and left without speaking. Caroline has left him, and he doesn't know how he will explain it to his daughters.

***