Chapter 55

Weeks have gone by, my thoughts of her never wavered. I thought maybe a part of me has moved on by now. Whether it’d be big or small. And yet it felt like nothing had changed, I still feel the same way about her… deeply and irrevocably.

Why can’t I love her any less?

On the bright side, my relationship with Leandro was growing better. After I walked out of our talk that day in the park, he still came after me. He was relentless. He didn’t stop until he conveyed what he wanted to say. Even though I refuse to believe it, he still hinted that there was a reason why Cara did what she did and it was for my benefit and so as for my family.

This is probably one of the reasons why it’s so hard for me to move on, aside from the fact that she’s my first everything. I’ve never desired anyone as much as I desired her. Even my feelings for Amilia couldn’t compare to her. I wasn’t this obsessed and sulky when I had feelings for her for a longer time.

Mom was so happy that we were able to bond again like a complete family like old times. I guess Leandro being persistent made me realize my lacking ever since I came home. Mom noticed that and even thought that it was because of their relationship why I was acting that way, which is definitely not. After I cooled down, I tried my best not to let my issues consume me. It has become a hindrance and I don’t want that to happen again. I love them so much and becoming a jerk isn’t exactly going to be an answer to the problems at hand. It will only create another.

I was now open to them. Leandro and mom knew the entire truth, every detail of it while grandma knew partly. We didn’t want to stir extreme emotions from her. She’s too old and fragile. Damian only knew that Cara and I were just having a petty argument. Apparently, he likes Cara and was sad that there’s a possibility that we’re going to break up. I made him understand that he’ll know when he grows up and that relationship will always be complicated. I laughed at him when he said he doesn't want to enter a relationship. I doubt that since mom shared to me how many little girls are attracted to Damian. He’s just a kid and he’s already the school’s heartthrob.

I gotta admit, my chest didn’t feel as heavy as before. Although my feelings for her didn’t change, knowing my family is there for me, lessened the burden. I was grateful for them. And I was grateful for Leandro who had acted like a real father to me and stopped at nothing for me to feel better. And recently he’s been climbing his way to a best friend level along with Miles and Aiden. I really miss those two. I hope someday that the four of us could bond. Just the thought makes me feel excited.

Leandro and I connected really well. We almost did everything together. I’m kinda embarrassed to admit this but I was slowly neglecting my work and came out almost every time to hang out with him. He is a cool guy and I’m genuinely having fun with him. Mom found out about this and I immediately felt guilty. She reassured me instead that she’s more than glad that I finally stayed out of my room. She’s always worried for me. She also said that Leandro was loaded. He dreamed of being the one to support the family as a father, husband and the man of the house. He’d be happy to know that I would rely on him sooner rather than later. I gotta hand it to him. He’s really stepping up and taking everything seriously. Although he seldomly displays it in front of us, I know that he’s super in love with mom. I sometimes catch them all lovey-dovey when they think we’re not around.

Speaking of which, last week, he finally proposed to mom. Originally, Leandro was secretive about it which was, at first, I didn’t know why. Damian, Ollie and I caught them in the corner of our backyard. We were hiding as we watched them talking until Leandro awkwardly proposed. Ollie was the one who gave away our cover. He ran to them barking. We emerged from our hiding spot and shouted to them congratulations. Leandro was so red from blushing so hard that I finally knew why he didn’t propose openly. I had to tease him about how shy and awkward he was.

Today is their wedding day. The two decided to have a civil wedding with just us in attendance. It was what they wanted. Mom just wanted it to be simple and private. Leandro wasn’t opposed to that since all he wanted was to marry her and officially take the role as our father and mom’s husband.

All the times I hung out with him, he was effortlessly a funny guy, especially when it’s about mom. He acts like a love sick fool or a naive teenager. He really made me laugh. I must admit he was a good distraction.

Leandro is invading my room right now as he waits for my mom to finish dressing up. He was wearing a white shirt with sleeves rolled up, hints of tattoos showing on his forearm and a black dress pants. I gotta hand it to this man. Though with his rough look, he still looks charming. Well, my mom is beautiful as well. If the two decided to have another sibling for us, my baby brother or sister would be so gorgeous.

He was pacing back and forth while biting his nails nervously. I’m finding it hard to control my laughter. There was just something about him that easily made me laugh. Did I mention he’s been doing that for the last twenty minutes?

“Will you just sit down? I swear you’re making me dizzy with all the pacing.” As much as I wanted to laugh, he really was making me dizzy. He was like a pocket watch swinging back and forth to hypnotize me.

“Why is she still not done?” He asked worriedly.

“Women take time to dress- especially, on their wedding day.” I reassured him. I have attended enough weddings of my friends from work to know that.

“She’s taking too long.” I watched him in amusement. He still hasn't stopped pacing. By the way, did he just disregard what I said?

“Relax, will you? It’s not like my mom’s going to back out.” He stopped, head whipping towards my direction.

“Do you think she’s going to back out?” His eyes were wide with worry and alarm.

What the- “Are you kidding me?!” I exclaimed. This was no longer funny. He was making me frustrated. “Dude, did you hear what I said? You know what…” I stood from the bed, his anxiety was already overwhelming me. “I better tell her to hurry up.”

“No!” He stopped me, grabbing my arm. “I’m sure she’s just taking her time to dress up. This is a big day for us.”

I slapped my face with my hand in frustration. Fucking hell, this man.

—

The day went by so fast with both Leandro and mom feeling giddy with huge grins on their faces. Leandro reminded me of a kid who received a lot of gifts during christmas. The gift contained all of what he wished. My mom was trying to be modest but her eyes sparkled with incredible happiness.

It was the first time that I’ve felt pure and insurmountable happiness. I was truly happy for them. As I stared at the couple, I asked myself when was the last time we were this happy- I was this happy? I remembered the time we spent together as a complete family when dad was still alive. Dad was indeed irreplaceable but Leandro managed to fill the void. He made us complete. I see that every time we bond. I don’t know why he’s single until now but I could see that he would be a great father because he is already a great man.

After the short ceremony, we went to the beach resort we booked. It was supposed to be their honeymoon but Leandro wanted to have an outing with the family instead. I asked my mom if she wanted the time to be with her husband instead, I even offered to take care of Dylan and grandma. But mom felt the same way with him. She’ll be more than happy to spend time with us as a whole family.

For three whole days, the family spent the honeymoon on the beach. I’ve never seen Ollie swim in the ocean so much.