Chapter 34

October 15, 2019

The Palace Mall and Hotel

The employees paved the way for Thera as soon as she began picking up her pace towards the exit door. She just finished debating with a few board members in the conference room a little while ago. Two of the employees of The Palace were gathering outside the mall, threatening to file a complaint to the labor union. To add more tension, they were holding a banner in hand, which clearly showed strong protest.

They were Lira and Rose from the marketing department. Just a week ago, Thera caught the two gossiping about her inside the restroom with a newbie.

But their protest failed to move her. It was evident in her eyes that the amount of care she possessed as she watched them is equal to the amount of common sense they have.

She could not believe them right now. After bad-mouthing her, she was considerate enough to let them stay in the company. After receiving their overtime and differential night shift paycheck in full, they sure had the nerve to complain in her face.

The uniformed hotel personnel was quick to stop the elevator door from closing as she saw Thera approaching. With long strides, she reached the lift just right in time. She then put her sunglasses on as soon as she got into the car.

The elevator girl panicked, feeling Thera's stern presence. “S-shall we go down, ma’am?”

With a sharp glare, she turned to the personnel. “State the obvious. This is the top floor, isn't it? Is there any higher story existing in this building that I didn't know? Bring me to heaven if you can.”

The elevator girl stood speechless, biting her lower lip. Thera could sense from behind that Yumi was silently telling the personnel which floor to go. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Thera crossed her arms against her chest. As if Saint Peter would welcome her in heaven just in case she can take her there. What an idiot.

As soon as they reached the ground floor, Thera hurried towards her car parked at the building entrance. Ringgo quickly opened the door for her.

“Thera!”

They all turned to the origin of the voice. Thera paused for a moment, hand gripping the door handle of the car. Then, her brows furrowed when she recognized who the woman was.

It was Mara. The one who was head over heels for Sean back in the day. She was also the same woman who humiliated her in front of the customers in Tea Caf a long time ago.

Relatively, Thera purposely made her confused about the size of the beverage she ordered before. That way, she could make Sean sort out the situation himself, and she could finally get a chance to talk to him personally. It was a fat chance, but somehow, it kind of worked.

Age took a toll on Mara. No more arrogance and excessiveness vibrating in her character. She used to see her wearing elegant dresses and high-heeled shoes. But now, she wore a simple polo shirt and a pair of faded jeans.

Her nails were bare and undone. She had no make-up on as well. It was as though she had transformed into a different person. Perhaps, Mara just needed some inner restoration and complete exterior overhaul to doll herself up, just like what people do to a timeworn car.

“I am Chito Asuncion’s wife,” she said.

Thera tried to think where exactly she heard the name.

“My family relies heavily on him. We don't have any source of income other than his job. Don't kick him out.”

She got it now. Chito Asunción. He was the head of security at The Palace Mall. She was informed about his suspension a week ago on account of negligence. So he was Mara’s husband. Mara was carrying a child in her arms. She reckoned it's their offspring.

For Thera, she sounded pushy to her. But for the sake of her child who kept staring at her with those innocent big eyes, she'll try to contain her irritation.

“That's out of my scope so it's not my decision to make. Excuse me,”

Thera was about to get into the car when Mara stood in the way.

“I know why you're doing this to me, Thera. I know what kind of a person you are. You never learned how to forget and to forgive. It has been years, for God’s sake. I have my own family now. If you can't forgive me, fine. Forget about that.”

Thera's brows met. It was true that she couldn't forget what she did, but her husband's suspension had nothing to do with her. Judging from the evidence gathered by the security, he deserved to be suspended from work for disciplinary procedure.

“What are you talking about?”

“You need to forget about the past, Thera. You need to stop hurting other people.”

A broken smile formed Thera’s lips. What a life. In the end, people had the balls to pin anything on to her even though she had no connection with whatever she was trying to point across. They certainly love pointing their fingers at her. These folks hilariously enjoyed putting words inside her mouth.

She sighed, annoyed. “Let me tell you what, Mara. If I really hate you and your husband that much just like what you're trying to claim, I'd terminate him from his position right away. No more suspension dramas and whatnot. Why would I waste my time for that crap?”

She was about to hop in the car when Mara gripped the car door, preventing her from getting into the vehicle. Thera exhaled sharply in annoyance.

“How could you ruin someone else's life like this? You're not getting any younger, but you're growing more and more heartless over the years. Is this what money can make you? Do you think you can own everything in this world, including a person's dignity, with your own filthy money?!”

Blood rushed to Thera's ears in anger. Her fist clenched. Surprised by the level of audacity this bitch had. She was bold enough to lecture her as if she was super clean and righteous.

If not for the child she was carrying, Thera will be spitting insults and profanities at her face.

“I am thoroughly unmoved by your predicament. Get out of my sight before I lose my patience. And by the way, please send a word to your husband on my behalf. He's so damn fired, thanks to your filthy, disgusting mouth.”

Mara's eyes widened in shock.

Thera turned her attention to the car and finally got in this time. Her face held no emotions.

“If only I had known this would happen, I should have stolen Sean from you! I should’ve messed with you for real, bitch!”

Thera scoffed in disbelief. Her words almost rendered her speechless. Her blood boiled in anger. But instead of wasting her time on a catfight, she slammed the car door in her face. She turned her gaze away from the innocent child who kept staring at her.

“I should have stolen Sean from you!”

She should have done that a long time ago. Maybe the curse may have been invoked upon her.

“Hey, what a piece of—” Thera sneered in annoyance seeing her driver enjoying the scene. "Hurry up and drive!"

Her driver immediately followed as told so. Thera tried to calm herself down once she’s settled.

THERA placed the bouquet of white roses right next to the ceramic urn. The urn was empty. Year after year, she would come back to the columbarium to commemorate the death of her child. Yumi usually came with her.

She was waiting for her back in the car. She had been her secretary for two years now.

Thera would put white roses beside the urn, she'd do a little chit-chat, then later found herself weeping over it. But after a few hours of pouring her heart out, she'd collect herself again and leave like she didn't shed a tear or two.

But today was different. Aside from the white rose, she also put a small box beside the urn. Inside of it was the ring Sean gave her at their wedding—the one he gave a few hours before he left her without even saying his very precious goodbye. She was rummaging through her stuff in her house to look for jewelry to wear when she found the ring.

Thera shut her eyes. She wanted to say her prayers for her deceased child, but it seemed like something's blocking in her throat. And it's been preventing her from doing so.

When did she last pray? Was it the year 2015? She had no idea. Nor did she remember when was the last time she went to the church. She can't even set up a candle to offer a prayer for the soul of her child.

Not because she was busy or anything. It's just that she didn't give time. She felt like there was nothing left for her to be thankful for anyway. She was lucky she had the glory of life served right before her. Yet, she's miserable.

She wanted to get out of that situation, but all she felt was resentment living inside her and it was consuming her. Though she was damned content with her career, she was still having a hard time looking for inner happiness and peace she really wanted for the past nine years.

Thera carefully caressed the handcrafted ceramic cremation urn. This was one of the few times where she felt envious of her child. Based on the spiritual belief she used to hear growing up, her child was forever safe from anguish, hatred, and pain. While she was left in the world, living an accessible lifestyle. However, her emotional being was sinking into the abyss and seemed couldn't shun dark sentiments.

“Does heaven really exist, sweetheart?” she asked, staring directly to the urn. “It has been four years. Did you meet Him up there already?” she exhaled deeply. “Your daddy’s coming home. No, he must have arrived already. I know you wanted to meet him. Mommy’s sorry because I can never let that happen. You know I hate your father, and I still do no matter how hard I try not to.”

Thera felt a slight twist tightening her chest. Her tears blurred her vision. “I'm not sure whether you've ever seen God there but could you ask Him to take Mommy’s pain and anger away? Mommy’s too exhausted. I just want to forget everything. Even just for a day would be fine.”

Thera blinked her eyes as she began to shed a tear. Everything felt like draining her. She could feel that her soul was slowly fading. Anger, resentment, and longing for her lost child overshadowed her to the core.

Harshly, she wiped her tears off of her cheeks. Slightly regretting what she just said. Choosing to get rid of all the pain was such a selfish move.

“It’s not okay for me to forget everything, right? It means forgetting everything about you. So I’m taking those words back. I may be sad for now but I’m okay… I’ll be okay.”

Thera stayed in the mausoleum for a little more before deciding to drive back to her condo.

As soon as Thera's car left the parking lot, a car appeared from behind. Settling in the driver's seat was Sean, who had been tailing her back in The Palace.

God knew how he missed Thera a lot. He had been refraining himself to rush to her and embrace her as tightly as he could.

Sean turned to the mausoleum after making sure that Thera had left. It's been four years since they lost their child. Every year, he'd come back to visit the place. He would bring flowers but later got them back home so Thera would not suspect.

Sean would stay there for hours. He'd speak to the urn and asked for forgiveness over and over again. He would express all his regrets to the jar, including those he failed to say to Thera.

He got out of his car, bringing white roses with him.

“It’s been a while, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Did you miss Daddy? I miss you so much.”

Then his eyes caught the small black jewelry box beside the urn. The box looked familiar to him. The mausoleum was glass-enclosed, but Thera had locked it. However, he already had an idea what's inside. Sean touched the glass barrier. His heart hammered against his chest. Since the columbarium was locked, he could not confirm if it was really the other pair of rings inside the box—Thera’s wedding bond.

His smile was brittle. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Misery was evident in his eyes as he opened his mouth. “Did you tell her what I told you last year, sweetheart? Did you tell her to forget everything about me and start all over again?”

Thera had been doing that for too long; which he had been urging her to do so. That's why he was forcing the annulment.

He shook his head. “I love her, you know that. But your mom deserves to be happy with someone way better than your father. I don't want to be selfish over and over again.”

Thera had been through hell because of him. If only he had not signed the deal with Mr. Hernandez, Thera would not have suffered at all. If a miracle did exist, he'd do everything to get back in the past and change their fate for the better. He would trade everything to give her the happiness and life she deserved… with or without him in there.

He gently patted the glass barricade once more. “Please let me meet your mother in our next lives, sweetheart. I’m going to do everything in my power to get my second chance with her there. I promise.”