“BROKEN FRIENDSHIP”

That night, Marius spent the evening in his condo in Manila. His eyes were fixed on the television while he drowned himself in alcohol.

He couldn't explain or even put into simple words how much pain he was feeling at that moment. He accepted that this was his karma. What he did was wrong, plotting against someone as kind as Sam.

As he thought about it, a bitter smile formed on his lips, accompanied by the flow of his tears. He had been crying since earlier, unable to control himself. He had never experienced this level of pain before, not even when Lana decided to accept and marry Andrew.

But now, it felt like he couldn't breathe. He was so sad that he couldn't even quantify it.

"Sam," he whispered.

He cast a glance towards the veranda, remembering the times spent there. In an instant, he saw himself dancing with Sam—their first dance together.

He missed her terribly. He longed to hold her close and, most of all, he wanted to continue taking care of her.

"There are only a few days left until our wedding; why did you leave me?" he asked, tears welling up again. This time, he withdrew his gaze from the veranda and focused on the screen saver on his phone. It was a picture of Sam, taken without her knowledge.

He often took photos of Sam without her knowledge. For him, those candid moments and her natural aura were the most beautiful in his eyes.

"I'll give you time to heal," he continued, gently caressing the beautiful face of the woman on his phone screen. "It's hard, but I'll do it for you. I just hope what Lana said is true. I hope you come back to me. Come back to us, to our child," he added.

Marius took a deep breath after saying that. Perhaps his friend was right. It was painful, but it was the right process. Sam hadn't returned the ring, so he still held onto hope that she would come back and their wedding would proceed as planned.

"You're the one I want, Sam. You're the one I love. So I'll wait for your return," he whispered to the phone before kissing the picture of the woman.

He tried everything. He attempted to contact Sam through all her social media accounts, but he received no response. Some accounts even had him blocked. All of this gave him a reason to follow Lana's advice. He didn't insist on talking to Andrew anymore, either.

*****

The next day, Marius headed back to Bulacan early in the morning. Not to stay there, but to take care of some matters regarding their postponed wedding with Sam. He didn't stay long, though. He also had a conversation with Aling Lourdes, who voluntarily resigned from her job as their house caretaker. He found her cleaning the yard when he arrived. That's when he told her the truth about Sam leaving and not knowing where she was.

He tried to stop Aling Lourdes from doing what she wanted. After all, she wasn't at fault for everything that happened. But he couldn't do anything. Her decision was final. She also felt ashamed of her nephew's intrusion and disruption towards her and Sam.

Marius felt sorry for Aling Lourdes. Eventually, aside from him and Sam, she was also another victim of her nephew's selfishness. But he couldn't do anything about it. So, he just let her be.

In the afternoon of that day, Marius planned to travel back to Manila. Apart from Sam's house in Baguio, this was another place he couldn't stay for long. It was filled with happy memories of the two of them.

Now, all he felt in this place was pain. That was the truth. But because he needed to move on with his life, he decided to leave everything behind for now. He would prepare himself for Sam's return, hoping to be in a better state. Because in reality, he wasn't just waiting for one thing anymore. He was waiting for two. Sam and their future child.

As he thought about this, Marius suddenly felt like a large hand had gripped his heart. Then it squeezed tightly, causing him to struggle to breathe.

"Marius."

That voice from behind was familiar—one that he had hoped not to hear for the moment. But fate had other plans for him.

He didn't speak. Instead, he gave Lena a cold stare. Then he proceeded to lock the large door and walk towards his parked car.

"Let's talk first, Marius," Lena called after him.

"We have nothing to talk about, Lena. You got what you wanted, didn't you? You managed to separate me from Sam. But if you think I'll entertain you just because the woman I was supposed to marry left me, you're mistaken."

"I love you; I have for a long time," was Lena's unexpected response.

With a momentary laugh, Marius released before responding to what was said in front of him.

"I know. Do you think I'm foolish enough not to notice? I've known that, Lena. For a long time. Since we were kids, I knew about it. But I ignored it, didn't I? Why didn't you feel that I preferred you as a friend?"

"I don't want you as a friend, Marius. I want you as mine. I want you to be mine!" the woman insisted.

At that moment, Marius began to feel sorry for Lena. However, that pity quickly disappeared when he remembered the impact of everything on Sam.

In an instant, it was as if he saw Sam crying. Tearful and in deep pain. And all of that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the meddling of this woman, whom he still considered a close friend apart from Lana.

"It's sad to think that everything we've shared has gone to waste, Lena. Just because of what you felt, you traded our long-standing friendship? Why? But maybe that's for the best. At least I saw the truth. The truth is that you'll never be happy for me. If only I knew it would end up like this, I wouldn't have entertained you. I wish I just counted you among the long line of women I dated and then left. Didn't you think about that? Didn't it occur to you that maybe I didn't put you in that category because I didn't want to lose you? Because I wanted you to be present in all the happy events of my life?"

"As a friend? Is that all I am to you? A friend?" Lana angrily questioned, her voice cracking with tears.

"A sister, Lena! That's how I see you! A sister, a friend, but I never saw myself marrying you. Do you know that? I wish you were content. I wish you were happy for me. Because our bond meant a lot to me. But to you, it seems like nothing. Why is that?" he said with bitterness, looking at the now tearful woman.

When Lena remained silent, he continued. "Aside from Lana, you were the other person I expected to be happy for me. This only happened once in my life, do you know that? I admit that I loved Lana before. But not like this, not as deeply and intensely as my love for Sam now. But why is it like this? Why does it seem difficult for you to accept everything? I wish you just looked at it and saw that I am happy. Because when it comes to you, I want you to be happy. Because if you say you love me, you should have seen that I will be happy with Sam. I hope you saw that we love each other and, most importantly, there's a child who could lose a father and grow up without a family. You're selfish, Lena. And it won't be easy for me to forgive you because even my child was affected by what you did."

"I'm sorry," Lena tearfully replied.

"You ruined my life, Lena," he continued.

That's the truth. He felt that he needed it and wanted to say it to her face. After that, he didn't let her speak any more. He left the woman.

"I'm sorry, Marius."

He heard that. And it pinched his heart. But he didn't look back at Lena. He chose not to look at Lena. Because he was really upset with her. And he felt that his heart wasn't ready to forgive her yet.

Perhaps the time will come when he can forgive her. But not now. It's still too early for that.