Chapter 48

PART OF THE FAMILY

Diane’s P.O.V.

It was a good thing that he was starting to realize what I truly wanted. Because of that, my hopes soared up high. As fast as the speed of light, I nodded while looking straight at Leandro’s eyes.

“Okay. If that’s what you want, then don’t cry anymore. I’m sorry for doing this to you, Diane. I’m sorry for always forcing you and for not winning your heart the proper way. I had my chance, but I wasted it,” Leandro said out of regrets.

“Now, I will be sacrificing for the sake of your happiness. This way, at least I will be able to show that my love for you is real. I want you to know that I still love you, and if ever you’ll change your mind, I’m still here. I will be waiting for you until the end.”

After that, Leandro did not utter a word. It was as if he already had enough agony, which led him to finally accept his defeat. He did not force me to love him anymore and just kissed my knuckles again. He got up from his knees, shrugged his shoulders, turned his back from me, and stepped towards the door, where Liam was waiting.

“We are not yet done, Liam. Remember this, bro—once I learned the fact that you hurt her, I will take her back even before you notice it!” I saw how he pointed his index finger at Liam, which the latter ignored. He might have called Liam as ‘bro,’ but it was all sarcastic.

Not sure how close those two were before, I was beyond hurt by how they were treating each other now. But what could I do? I could no longer ignore how I felt for Liam. I loved him so much, and even if I didn’t meet him, I would never be able to love Leandro back.

“That will never happen, bro. In the first place, you don’t have to take anything back because nothing had been yours,” Liam replied calmly, but his eyes were speaking otherwise. I could see sarcasm blended with fire.

Leandro had finally left. I even heard how he derisively slammed our gate as if he was going to break it. It made an ear-splitting clank that could even disturb our neighbors. Actually, I could imagine some of them gathering outside while gossiping about what happened here. I just didn’t have the power to peek through the windows to see it myself.

Liam immediately approached me and wrapped his arms around me on the sofa. “Ssh, stop crying. Everything will be alright now. It breaks my heart to see you cry, Diane. I promise you. You don’t have to worry about him, okay? I will make sure that he will not cause any trouble to us again.”

While hugging him in return, I just nodded while sniffing on his chest.

He was still hugging and wiping my tears away when Mom and David arrived. “Oh, Liam is here too, but Diane, what happened? Wait, are you crying? Who is that rude guy who just went out of the house, and it seems like he wanted to smash our gate into pieces? Doesn’t he have any manners?”

With puffy eyes, I looked at Mom. She just worriedly approached me and sat beside me. I was about to open my mouth to respond to her question when my brother meddled.

“Yes, sis! Who is he? Should we report and file a blotter for him? I think he’s your stalker, and last Saturday night, he was the one who came here and even punched our marble post! Such a jerk,” David asserted, and that explained Leandro’s bandage on his right knuckles.

Then, David continued, “Wait, I think I have to contact Uncle Greco to blacklist that guy. We don’t know what he can do next time!” He motioned to leave the house again if it had not been for Mom’s playful squeeze on his right ear.

“Leave that alone and just take care of the things we bought, okay? Your older brother Liam is here, you didn’t even pay respect,” Mom instructed David, and the latter only laughed along while holding his ear.

“Sorry, bro!” my brother said.

“Anyway, Liam… thanks for the dishes last night, huh? You shouldn’t have bothered. But Denise was still awake and enjoyed herself with potato mojos as midnight snacks. She can’t even wait to see you again,” Mom merrily told Liam.

Liam motioned Mom to give him her hand, and he put it into his forehead. “It’s nothing, ma’am. For Diane and her family, I will continue to do my best for as long as I can. Anyway, Diane had already placed in the kitchen the things I bought for Denise again.”

“Oh, really? Thanks, Liam. You know what? I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Denise will really like you to be with her sister. You’re buying her vote!” Mom happily bantered as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“But what really happened here earlier, huh? People are gossiping outside, claiming they heard lots of screams here? And there’s another bouquet here! Did you bring this again, Liam? It looks like we will soon be changing our house into a flower shop!” Mom smilingly remarked.

“Hmm… Leandro likes me for a long time, Mom. I have known him for two years now. He is Liam’s brother, and I always talk to him in the club. He was the one who came here earlier, and these flowers came from him. I’m sorry for causing such a scene here, Mom, but Leandro can’t accept the fact that I liked Liam,” I affirmed.

It took me a few minutes to tell her and David the whole story. They were all ears to listen. After that, Mom pulled me into a sweet and motherly embrace. She made sure that I could indeed feel her support, love, and care.

But afterwards, she couldn’t help but look at me suspiciously. Then, she gave her eloquent stares between me and Liam, who was just behind me.

“You don’t have to say anything, sis. I can see the glow in your eyes. You two were officially together, right? And that was the main reason why that Leandro caused a scene here and left out of rage!” David even teased me.

Shrugging my shoulders, I did not confirm David’s assumptions even though he was right. I also hesitated to smile at Mom. I even bit my lower lip before my lips finally curved into an awkward smile. It was as if I was waiting for her blessing first, before I confessed.

“Oh my! Are you, guys, for real? My eldest daughter already has a boyfriend. Oh my God, alright! It’s fine with me, so you two can be together without worrying about me. Just don’t hurt my daughter, Liam huh? Otherwise, you’ll pay for it because you have to deal with me!” Mom was threatening my boyfriend, even pointing a finger at him.

My eyes glinted with happy tears as I hugged Mom even tighter. “Thanks for giving your blessing to us, Mom. I love you!”

“Yes, ma’am. You can always count on me that I will never hurt Diane. I will only love her in the best possible way I can. Thank you for accepting me,” Liam responded politely.

“From now on, you have to change the way you addressed me too, son. Change that ma’am into Mom, as in m-o-m, okay? Just call me Mom starting today. You are already Diane’s boyfriend, so you are no longer different from us. You are already a part of this family,” Mom declared.

Liam blushed. “Okay, M-Mom.”

Mom is really one of a kind! Anyway, won’t she allow me to have a boyfriend when I am already twenty-one? I couldn’t help but melt and feel elated with the whole ambiance.

I released my hug on her and moved closer to Liam. He placed his left arm over my left shoulder, and I just encircled mine behind him, hugging him on the waist.

“Wow, I knew it! You two have great chemistry together, and aside from me, I’m sure that Denise will be happy too. I already have an older brother, cool!” David cheerfully shrieked before asking Liam.

“Big bro, any tips? How were you able to get my sister’s ‘yes’ so easily when she rejected a lot of men?” I couldn’t help but threw him a pillow after revealing that to Liam. He was fast enough to catch it though.

“Alright, Dave. I’ll tell you later.” Liam then laughed. I pinched him on his waist and glared at him, silently telling him to never disclose to my brother that we kissed first, even made out, before I answered him!

“Hey, David Cristoff! What tips are you asking there, huh? Your sister—she is old enough to have a boyfriend. While you? You don’t know anything about life yet. You’re only sixteen, and you have to study real hard so that your sister’s efforts will be paid off!” Mom chucklingly reminded my brother.

She stood up, and this time, playfully twisted his left ear. She often called him David Cristoff, his full name, especially when she was a bit astonished. Me too—a loud and long Dayanara Clariz will rumble throughout our whole house whenever she gets struck with panic.

Happiness enveloped my whole system when they wholeheartedly accepted Liam as my boyfriend, despite our brief acquaintance. Perhaps, because they could feel that I really loved this man. All the painful emotions I felt earlier because of Leandro causing trouble here were suddenly replaced by contentment and fun.

Even my brother was very close to Liam right away. I must admit that they looked like real brothers.

Denise was not even here yet, but I could already visualize her reaction after hearing the great news. She was the one who was much closer to Liam, and it looked like he could spoil her better than me when I was the sister.