Chapter 34
NARAE AND Anurak both fell on the sofa in the living room of DAWN's penthouse. They were both stunned by the absence and sighed minute by minute. They both felt drained after a load of trials to make Wynter and Charles talk to each other.
"Can you think of anything else?" Anurak asked his cousin even though he was still staring at the turned-off television.
"Gone. My brain is very dry, Oppa,” was her lifeless answer. They sighed once again.
It has been two months since those two’s soon-to-be wedding was announced in public, and it has been two months since Wynter and Charles talked to each other. Both of them act as if they do not exist in each other's worlds.
Last month, Wynter flew back to the Philippines and worked her ass off to keep herself busy. Charles, on the other hand, stayed in Thailand but separated from them and did not live in the penthouse.
That is why Anurak and Narae are so tired that they fly to the Philippines and back to Thailand just to make sure of the situation of their two friends.
They also have no news from Angelo but they both believe the young man is safe. Because otherwise Charles and Wynter would go crazy.
Charles’ life has become a real mess. They would always catch him in his place where he is currently intoxicated or has fallen somewhere due to intoxication.
"Where is Dom now?" the woman asked.
“Unconsciously lying on his bed. Still wasted,” he replied then finally lay down on the sofa. "I should make him stop."
"You just realized now?" his cousin sarcastically asked him. He rests his head on her thighs. "I should also stop ate Wyn from working too much." She looked at him. "How about let's switch?"
Anurak laughed softly. “Sure. That’ll be different. But I'll be able to do that maybe next week.”
Narae's lips formed into an O. “Right. You have a job. Then the moment where you actually have found BBB but your situation is shocking.”
Anurak couldn’t help but chuckle. “Stop calling him BBB. He has a name, Narae.”
The lady pouted. “Doesn't he want that? I have a nickname for him. That’s very rare.”
Anurak just shook his head. "Let's just go back to the Dom and Wyn topic."
Narae sighed. “I’ll hide all of kuya Dominique’s liquor and ban him from buying those. I’ll also cook for—never mind. I’ll just order food or just send us some of your cooking, Oppa.”
He just smiled. “Fine. And once I file my leave, I’ll fly to the Philippines to drag Wynter to malls and road trips.”
Narae smiled and agreed with his plan. The two of them went to the kitchen of the penthouse to cook dinner and then they could go to Charles.
“LET’S STOP this. Please.”
Charles seemed deaf and just stared at the man who was breaking his heart. “Please tell me that you’re joking. G-Gab, please.”
“Let me go, Nick. I think it’s the best… for this situation—”
"No!" he couldn't stop himself from shouting at the man. “You’re not leaving me again, Gab! I will not allow it! I don't want to!”
Angelo's tears began to flow again. “We have no choice, Nick. Your parents have decided. Nothing… We have nothing against that.”
“I don’t fvcking care!” He cupped Angelo’s face. “I don’t care, Gab. Because as far as I know, I'll go crazy if I let you go again. I can't take it again.”
The man just shook his head. “M-Maybe, we’re not just for each other—”
“Don’t motherfvcking say that, Gab!”
Angelo let out a humorless chuckle. “Didn't you notice? This is how we always end. Maybe it’s the world saying we’re not meant for each other—”
Charles, at his weak state, still cut off what the young man was saying. “You’re just saying that for me to hate you, am I right? You’re making me hate you,” he said, almost as a whisper. “I’m sorry for always hurting you. I’m sorry if I can’t do anything right for you. I'm sorry if I can't make you happy—”
Charles' words were cut off by Angelo's lips on his. Before their kiss deepened, Angelo let go. “You made me happy, Nick. Knowing that you love me makes me so happy.” He was smiling but his eyes were shining with tears. “But maybe our happiness ends here.”
Charles burst into tears, one after another. “I’m—I’m so sorry, Gab. I’m so sorry.”
Angelo tried to dry his tears but was failing. “I love you, Nick. I love you so much.”
He stared into his eyes. “I love you too, Gab. So much that it’s killing me.”
“Shh. I’ll leave now and don’t you follow me. You'll have to marry my sister. Make her happy for me, okay?” Angelo tried to smile.
“G-Gab—”
“Shh. I love you, Nick.” He gave him a kiss. Deeper than the last one. “Goodbye.”
Lying on the floor while holding a bottle of rum and tears flowing from his eyes, Charles’ thoughts flew all the way to the US. He just woke up and his head hurts because of the hangover but he did nothing but worry about the young man who chose to leave him.
Two months have passed but it seems like it only left him yesterday. The wound made by Angelo's words to him was still fresh.
Charles tried to stand up to clear his own clutter or else, Anurak might find him again unconscious on the floor. He knew he had been troublesome for his friends but he couldn't make himself feel better. He felt lifeless.
Charles was in the middle of throwing his empty bottles in his bin when the door of his unit opened and two people entered his place as they owned it.
Anurak kept walking to his kitchen and arranging dinner for the three of them, while Narae helped him clean up.
“Still haven't talked to ate Wyn?” Narae asked, which made him stilled.
For a long time in the unit he took, he never called his best friend. She didn't call him either so it's fair. It's her fault that they are in this situation of the person he loves. She could’ve done something—anything but she chose to accept the marriage for some unknown fvcking reason.
"Dom?" the lady called him, pulling him out of his reverie.
“Huh?”
The woman just stared at him then shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. I’m just relieved that you're in a better mood today. Planning on quitting drinking?”
He felt lost. “I don't know.”
Narae tapped his shoulder. “Don’t worry. If you can't make yourself stop, you have me.” His forehead frowned. "I'll throw away all your liquor," she explained with a smile that made him shook his head.
“Come here, you two. Dinner’s ready,” Anurak announced to them.
They both smiled as they approached Anurak and took their places at the table.
The table set was for four and staring at the empty chair, he somehow missed his best friend. He tried to get rid of the sadness he was feeling and then turned his attention to his two other friends who were taking care of him. She broke my trust, I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive her.
ALONE IN a place, he doesn’t exactly know for two months was difficult for Angelo. Only his father knows where he is because this is who he asked to help him get out and hide.
Thankfully, after living for two months, he finally met someone he could easily talk to.
“You are a fool. How dare you leave someone willing to risk everything for you?” Tere complained to him again.
Theresia Myers, also known as Tere, is a single mother living with her parents in the USA. He only met her at a museum he had been to before. Her baby is a beautiful girl named Martha who he immediately noticed.
They automatically clicked after one funny encounter, and here they are, in a restaurant, eating like a family.
He smiled sadly at the woman and then replied, “He will be the one to be caught in the situation, Tere. I love all of them, especially him. I don't want him to be in any more difficult situation.”
"You're crazy." Tere fed her daughter before looking at him again. "Do you think he's not having a harder time now?"
He stared at the woman seriously. “All right, Tere. If you are in a situation where Martha's father is in front of you and then he marries someone else—not to mention a public announcement huh?—Can you stop that so that Martha can grow up in a complete family?”
The woman stared at him for a second before she pulled away. She looked at her own child then sighed. “I don’t know. I want her to be happy, but…”
"But you can't easily make that happen because of your messed-up situation," he continued. “My situation is the same. I want to be happy with him, but in this kind of situation we have. It seems unlikely that what I want will happen.”
Tere sighed at the same time and then went back to eating. They dropped the topic and opened up a lighter one.
When their lunch was over, they parted ways. Angelo went back to his apartment, and Tere and her daughter went back to their home.
As he walked, Angelo remembered what he had done for two months. He was able to remember some of his past that he clearly forgot. He remembered his college days… With Charles. How he first liked him, how he loved him, and how he hurt him.
When he entered his apartment, he was surprised to see his father sitting on his single sofa.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" he asked confused.
His father just remained in the chair and motioned for him to sit on his bed just opposite to it. "How have you been, my son?"
Still surprised at the scene, Angelo managed to smile at his father. “Muy bien, papa. Y usted?”
“Fine as well. I have something important to tell you.”
“Is that why you came here?”
His father nodded. “I’ll be telling you the truth about your lost memories as well as the past that I promised your mom that I'll hide from you forever.”
Angelo’s forehead creased. “What did you promise mama Summer?”
His father, Gilberto, sighed, then spoke again, “First of all, Summer isn’t your real mother. Your mom's name is Adalina Lizárrada, pure Spanish. That makes you pure Spanish as well, not half-Filipino.”
His brain stopped at the first thing his father said, as he tried to process what was happening. As his father continues to tell him the truth, he suddenly felt tears falling from his eyes.
“I hid the truth about my other life. I thought I'd be able to protect her but… But I was wrong. Y-Your mom was killed during a battle between two Mafias. Her last words were about keeping you away from me, from that part of me, and that's why I wasn't there when you were in your high school days. I didn't want to give the enemies a hint that you exist. You might be their next target and I would be breaking my promise to your mom.”
Angelo was having a hard time taking everything but he chose to remain silent and continue to listen to his father's explanation.
“And your sisters investigated, especially Wynter. She did not stop until she found you. At first, I thought the enemies wouldn't find you interesting so I let Wynter and Autumn talk to you and visit you, but then… we got a tip that they were also investigating your identity. I wanted to bring you in and train you to protect yourself, but that'll mean introducing you to our chaotic world.” Gilberto was able to smile a little. “Good thing, Wynter took the responsibility. She was a bit hesitant at first but when we told her about your situation, without a doubt, she said yes.” He even softly chuckled. “Except for the marriage part. She continued finding loopholes to extend the deadline since it cannot be avoided.” Then he seriously stared at his eyes. “But right now, since I'm telling everything to you, it already means that we badly need you to enter our world. To the point that I'm willing to break my promise with your mother.”
Angelo remained stunned and no words came out of his mouth. His father found his reaction normal and stood up to pat his shoulder.
He was about to say something to him again when his phone suddenly rang. “What is it? Make her stop overworking. Reason out with her. Anything else? Fine. I'll be there tonight.” When he finished the call, he confronted him. “I have to leave now. But I’ll be sending someone. You'll be trained for everything you have to know. I apologize if I'm rushing everything to you, mí hijo but like what she said, it's the only way to make you happy. So listen to me, okay?”
He just nodded at what his father said and then guided him out of his apartment. And when he was left alone he went back to his bed and lay down while silently staring at the ceiling and processing everything his father said.
All in all, he had one main realization. That Emerald and Nick live in that kind of world.
