After another intense love making, Edward slowly got up from the bed.

Mary Dale is sleeping.

Exhausted after what happened between them.

Edward wore his boxers and walked over to the terrace.

He looked out on the still busy streets of Manila despite the wee hours of the morning.

He heaved a heavy sigh.

He raked his fingers through his hair.

Mary Dale stirred and found Edward not in bed.

She slowly got up and went to where he is.

She draped the blanket over her nakedness.

She slowly approached Edward.

Edward could sense her presence immediately but he did not turn to look at her.

She put her arms around his waist and her chin on his left shoulder.

"Come back to bed. It's cold." she murmured.

He heaved another sigh but stayed silent.

And because they were so attuned to each other, Mary Dale couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong?"

Edward removed her hands from his waist and faced her.

There is no other way.

"It's over Mary Dale."

Mary Dale was filled with dread but still she asked what he meant.

"What do you mean Edward?" she said with a catch in her throat.

"I'm breaking up with you." he said so quietly that she thought she didn't hear anything.

She looked at him trying to discern whether or not he's just pranking her.

"My father wants me to marry Elizabeth and I can't do anything about it!"

He looked so serious while saying it that it left no doubt in Mary Dale's mind that he is indeed breaking up with her.

She nodded slowly and stepped back from him.

She tried so hard to swallow the lump in her throat.

"I see..." was all she could say before turning her back on him.

"No! You don't understand!"

Edward tried to reason with her.

Her reaction is scaring him.

It wasn't what he expected.

Mary Dale gripped the blanket so hard trying to calm herself.

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

She gritted her teeth before facing him.

So when she faced Edward, all he could see is the calmness on her face.

"No, I do understand Edward, very well. It's over." she said with no emotions at all.

Edward tried to reach out and hug her.

She avoided him and reached for her clothes.

"Please talk to me! Say anything! Just don't be this way!" Edward implored.

"What is there left to say?"

"One last question...how long have you known?"

She didn't have to say it, he knows what she is talking about.

"Last week..."

"So, that's why..."

He had known a week before that he had to break up with her because of what his family decided.

But like a coward, he had been prolonging the inevitable by not telling her.

He knew that she sensed that something was bothering him.

They had this connection that was unexplainable in words.

They knew it the first time they met.

Before she entered the bathroom...

"Can you do me one last favor by leaving now? I'm going to take a shower and I hope you're gone by the time I finish."

She kept her back turned while saying this.

Edward couldn't do anything but agree to her request.

"I understand."

She went into the bathroom and softly closed the door.

He bought this place for her as their love nest because he wanted to be with her as much as possible.

It is near his workplace.

He picked up his clothes and got dressed.

He knew that this is the last time that he'll be here.

He took one last look of the room.

He won't be coming back because if he did...

he won't ever want to leave.

And he knows that he can't do that.

He closed the door and left.

Mary Dale was leaning on the door trying to hear if he already left.

When she heard the click of the doorknob that's when her knees started to buckle.

"He's gone!" she said to herself.

She stepped into the shower and let the water run through her whole body.

She kept scrubbing herself vigorously until her skin was already so red.

She feels so dirty remembering all the times that they made love.

"Love? Stop deluding yourself! It was all just plain sex!" she admonished herself.

If he really loved you he wouldn't go and marry someone else irregardless of his so called responsibility to his family.

She remembered Jinnie's words.

Jinnie kept telling her to be careful.

Edward John Barber is a rich man and rich men don't marry women like them.

But like the fool that she was, she fell in love with Edward and gave herself wholeheartedly.

She couldn't understand why no tears were falling from her eyes.

She just felt so numb.

Her skin started to feel tender so she stopped scrubbing.

She rinsed herself and finished showering.

She got out of the bathroom.

She doesn't know what to do next.

But one thing is for sure...

She has to leave this place.

She didn't bring anything with her.

Just the clothes she's wearing.

The closet was full of clothes that Edward bought for her.

There's a box filled with jewelries that Edward bought for her.

She carefully took out every piece and laid them carefully on the vanity.

The jewelry box is the only item that she wants to keep as a remembrance of their time together.

It was a birthday gift from Edward.

She loved it because instead of the usual ballerina dancing solo, the one Edward gave her features a couple.

She touched the couple and carefully closed the lid.

She didn't bother putting it in a bag or anything.

She just held it with her hand.

The other hand holding her purse.

She swept a look over the whole room.

Particularly the bed where she gave him herself for the first time.

It was after he gave her the jewelry box.

She looked away from the bed.

It held too many memories of their loving.

Actually, the whole room was filled with memories of them making love.

Even the terrace just outside her bedroom witnessed their love making.

There you go again using the word love.

It wasn't!

At least on Edward's part.

For she knows in her heart that she made love to him.

Hand on the doorknob, she gave the room one final glance.

With heavy steps she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

She kept her glance to the door leading out of the condo.

She dare not glance at anywhere else because the truth is,

the whole place is full of memories them making out in different parts of the condo.

The sofa, the floor of the living room, the kitchen, the dining table...

they made out all over the place.

She couldn't reach the door fast enough.

Once outside the condo she breathed a sigh of relief.

She resisted the urge to look back.

She might not be able to leave if she does.

She took hurried steps towards the elevator and pushed the button for down.

She felt as if a hand was squeezing her heart while the doors of the elevator were closing.

Thank God she managed to get out of the elevator without breaking down.

She put the keys of the condo in an envelope and closed it.

She gave it to the woman in the lobby and told the woman to give it to Edward if he ever came by.

She got out of the building and with head held high she resolved to never look back.

It's still early so she's sure that Jinnie is still at home in their old place.

She shared an apartment with her before she lived in the condo that Edward bought.

A lot of her things are still in the apartment so that's where she's going.

But she won't be staying long.

She needs to find a place of her own.

Good thing she saved money from her salary.

She's a waitress at the bar owned by her aunt and her Japanese husband.

Her aunt was the one who brought her up since her mother died while giving birth to her.

Her aunt loved her like her own daughter and her Japanese husband is also very kind to her.

They didn't conceive a child so they adopted a son.

Upon graduating from college her aunt wanted her to manage the bar they own in Japan.

And they also want to adopt her as their daughter.

But she didn't accept it because she didn't want to be away from Edward.

She didn't spend much eversince she lived in the condo.

Edward provided all of her needs.

She didn't want to, but Edward insisted.

She arrived at their old place.

Jinnie opened the door and immediately hugged her.

"I miss you!"

"I miss you too!"

"Come in! I miss you and all but what brings you here?"

"I just came here to get some of my things!"

Jinnie faced her and with arms on her waist, asked her seriously.

"Why? I thought you don't need those anymore?"

And with a nonchalant voice Maymay answered.

"Edward and I broke up!"

"Oh my God! Really? What happened?"

Concern was written all over Jinnie's face.

Yes, she warned Maymay about the likes of Edward but she couldn't deny the fact that she also prayed that Edward would be serious about her.

She motioned for Maymay to sit down.

Maymay sat down beside her.

"What's there to tell? We just broke up, that's it!" she said with no feelings.

Jinnie is bothered by Maymay's nonchalance.

"And you're okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be? It was fun while it lasted! But it's time for us to move on."

Maymay even said with a hint of a smile.

She couldn't read in Maymay's eyes if she was really just fine with what happened.

But Jinnie has a bad feeling that Maymay is just pretending to be okay.

"What are your plans?" she asked.

Maymay got up.

"Move on with my life?" Maymay asked sarcastically.

"You can come back here if you want!" Jinnie offered.

Maymay shook her head.

"I can't! Anyway, you know I've always wanted a place of my own, so maybe this came at the right time!"

Jinnie stood up and hugged her.

"You know I'm always here for you right?" she asked Maymay.

Maymay slowly nodded.

She doesn't want anyone's sympathy.

She got out of Jinnie's hug and walked towards her old room.

"I'll just get my things and then leave! I'll see you later at the bar!" she said without looking back at Jinnie.

Edward went to his office instead of going to his condo.

He has a spacious office that even has a room where he can sleep in.

The room which he hasn't been using since he met her.

He shook his head.

He can't even bring himself to say her name because it hurts like hell to think about her.

He knows it's his fault for breaking up with her, but it still doesn't change the fact that his decision hurt him too!

The truth is, he lied to her about knowing the engagement just last week.

He had known about it even before he met her.

It was a duty and a responsibility that he accepted because of their family being what it is.

It was a marriage of convenience.

A business deal for two wealthy families.

They've been brought up that way.

He and his older brother, Enrique.

Their father also married Enrique's mother for convenience.

Yes!

They have a different mother.

He was a product of his father's affair with his mother, Catherine.

His mother died from illness when he was just a year old.

His father brought him in to his family  even with his wife's objection.

Enrique was already four years old then.

His brother never treated him differently.

But his step mother was a different matter altogether.

His father and his wife are the ones who are written on his birth certificate as his parents and not his real mother.

They made it seem like his step mother gave birth to him while they were staying in Germany.

He never felt love from his "mother".

While his father is indifferent to him.

He learned all of this when he was thirteen years old.

He always felt when he was younger that their mother treated him differently from his older brother Enrique.

So when he heard it from gossips among their household help, he decided to ask his father the truth.

He was shocked by what his father told him but it explained a lot.

He understood then that no matter what he did, his "mother" would never learn to love him.

He focused on making his father proud of him by excelling in his studies.

And now that he is handling one of their businesses he wanted to earn his father's approval by making his company successful.

A year ago, his father told him that he has to marry his childhood friend Elizabeth for their business expansion and he agreed.

He didn't object because he wanted so desperately to earn his father's approval even if it meant marrying someone he didn't love.

What did he know of love anyway?

No one has ever shown it to him.

Except her.

His plans of accepting the marriage his father decided went awry when he met her.

He was drinking with his friend Carlos at the bar when she met her.

He noticed that she seemed out of place there.

She has this sunny disposition that emanates from her being.

He just got out of the rest room when he saw a guy harassing her.

She kept smiling at the guy even as she avoided his touch.

He doesn't know what made him do it but he approached them and intervened.

He put his arms on her shoulder and asked, "Is this guy bothering you sweetheart?".

The guy was surprised by what he did and just left.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to do it! I  know how to handle guys like him!" and she wriggled her way out of his arms.

She smiled at him and he just stood there transfixed.

Her smile was so bright that it mesmerized him.

She turned to leave.

He held her arm so she looked back at him.

"Anything else I can do for you sir?"

"Edward! My name is Edward!"

And in that moment he knew that he would regret his decision to agree to a loveless marriage.

"Are you sure that you don't want to stay here?" Jinnie asks Maymay for the second time.

She nods and says with finality.

"Yes, I'm sure! Don't worry, I'll be coming to work later!"

Jinnie hugged her.

She dragged the suitcase full of her things and hailed a taxi.

She will stay at an appartelle first and search for an apartment on her day off.

She settled herself in her room and arranged her things.

She feels exhausted so she lay down on the bed.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but couldn't.

So she just stared at the ceiling of her room.

She recalled the events this morning and thought that tears would start to fall from her eyes.

But they didn't.

She felt an unbearable ache in her heart but her tears refused to fall.

She looked at her watch and decided to just prepare for work.

She lays down her waitress uniform on the bed.

Towel in hand, she went to the bathroom.

She took her time in the shower.

Standing ***** in the bathroom, she couldn't help but recall the countless times that she and Edward made love in the shower.

She started scrubbing herself vigorously as if trying to remove all those memories of him kissing her ***** body.

There's no use remembering those times.

They won't be happening again.

Ever.

She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.

She only stopped when her hands started to feel numb from scrubbing.

She rinsed herself and stepped out of the shower.

She got dressed and went to work.

At work, she was her usual jolly self.

You wouldn't know from the way she acted that she just broke up from her lover.

Elisse, her other friend, took Jinnie aside.

"I thought you said that she and Edward just broke up?" she asked confused.

"That's what she told me!" Jinnie confirmed.

"But why does she seem unaffected by what happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out too! I think she's just pretending to be okay!"

"Who's pretending?"

Maymay asks them with a bright smile on her face.

They didn't notice that she already approached them.

"No one in particular! We were just talking about the kdrama series that we watched!" Elisse reasoned out.

"Ah...anyway Elisse, a customer is looking for you in the VIP room!"

"Okay thanks!" then Elisse left them.

Maymay looks at Jinnie.

She knows that Jinnie will tell Elisse what happened between her and Edward.

"Stop worrying about me okay?" she smiles at Jinnie and walks away.

Jinnie sadly looks at Maymay's retreating figure.

She's even more worried now for Maymay.

She hopes that she can talk to Edward but she doesn't know how to contact him.

She wants to know the reason why he broke up with Maymay.

She wants to understand why Maymay is acting like she doesn't care.

She knows Maymay loves Edward.

And cynic that she is, she felt Edward loves Maymay.

She felt it.

You could feel it when you saw them together.

Theirs was a connection that was beyond words.