Chapter 2

The young woman walked slowly through the quiet place, with only the chirping of birds around and the rustling leaves carried by the wind, seemingly in sync with her feelings. This place was peaceful, a private cemetery owned by the dead. 

The sound of Monica's shoes was clearly heard as she walked through the vast and silent area, carrying white roses. She wore black shades, a white blouse paired with a black pencil skirt, and black 3-inch heels. She let the wind blow her waist-length naturally wavy hair.

She walked for a few more minutes before finding what she was looking for.

She took a deep breath and looked at the sky as if she was talking to God. She removed her shades before slowly kneeling on the grass and placing the white flowers on the tombstone.

Aldrin Christ R. Fuente

Born: Feb. 18, 1993

Died: Jun. 25, 2015

"It's been 6 years, hon, but it's still hard to move on. It still hurts… " the young woman said as if her loved one was just around, gently caressing the resting place of her dead boyfriend.

"It's hard to live carrying the pain in my chest. There were times I thought of wasting the life that God had gave me. I'm such an idiot, selfish, and pathetic to do such a thing that can't even lessen the pain I've been through for almost six years. I didn't even pay attention to my mom.”

She spoke tearfully, realizing her mistakes in life as a daughter. She had been too self-centered to understand even her own mother.

"And now, my mom is dying, and I regret all these years I had chance to spend more time with her. The feeling of guilt is eating me, hon. But my mom still worries about me despite of her condition. And I know, sooner or later, she will leave me.. ”

The young woman finally broke down, covering her face soaked in tears, unable to hold back the pain and self-loathing any longer.

“I'm not ready for her decisions , but I want my mom to be happy and not worry about me anymore. She wants me to get married and have a family before she leaves this world. I know you've wanted this for me too. You visit me in my dreams every night to let me know you're happy and at peace. Even your wish for me to forget my feelings for you, I couldn't grant.”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, took a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped her tears.

"I think this is the right decision. I want to settle now. I want to bring back everything, my abandoned self. I want to live a normal life, even if my mom will soon gonna leave me. We may not have ended up together, but I'm still happy I met you, even for a short time. I'm happy you were part of my memories through happy moments. And, with everything that's happened in my life, mom is right—God has a purpose for all of this. Now, even though it hurts and is hard to accept, I'll try to be strong for you, for mom, and for those who love's me.” 

The young woman closed her eyes for a moment before a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Sorry for the drama, I just can't help but cry. But I promise that from this day, I'll try to change and discover the world. Remember, I love you so much. I may forget my feelings for you, but you'll always be here in my heart. You have a big part of me that will never go away no matter what happens. Thank you for everything, hon. I've awakened by the reality, and I'm ready to face it.”

She stood up, dusted off her slightly dirtied pencil skirt, straightened herself, put on her shades, and fixed her hair that had been slightly tousled by the wind.

"I'm leaving now, hon. Wherever you are, take care and guide us who still love's you. I love you, hon, and I miss you," she said softly, wiping away the last tear that flowed from her eyes.

The young woman walked slowly and gently moving with the flow of the abundant wind when suddenly...

"It's been a year since the last time I saw you," a baritone voice spoke from behind her, startling her and causing her to jump slightly in a surprise.

She slowly turned to face the speaker, and her shock grew as she saw who it was.

"So, it's you. Why are you here? Even now, you're still like this, Mr. Castrio, always ruining my day," she glared at him, realizing he was the one her mother had been talking about the in the past days. This sht Assh*le. She looked at him disdainfully, one eyebrow raised, while he smirked.

"Is this your way to welcome your FUTURE HUSBAND?" he emphasized the last words, smiling teasingly.

"Wait a minute. I don't know that I have a FUTURE HUSBAND. As far as I know, I refused to my mom's proposal . You really have the nerve Castrio to say those words to me. Let me tell you this: I don't have a plan to be your wife. It sucks," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him, truly irritated. Just seeing him ruined her peaceful day. She was furious at the Japanese man, almost wanting to curse him to death.

"Are you trying to kill me! ? Tsk!” she was annoyed as hell. 

“I rushed my flight just to come here to talk about this situation because your mom wanted me to talk to you about the proposal. And I just obliged Auntie. Why are you so angry? I didn't do anything to you," he said, squinting at her, with annoyance she rolled her eyes again in irritation.

Monica felt even more annoyed, her eyes almost bulging out from glaring at him. She gritted her teeth and stared at him for a while, scrutinizing him thoroughly.

The young woman could say that he had changed a lot in appearance. Before,in the past. he always wore a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, cargo pants, and combat boots that highlighted his fair skin and bad boy aura. Now, he wore a more formal business suit that suited his mature and well-built body. He had become even fairer. His hair color once was mint green with a Faux Hawk cut but now neatly cut in a clean business style.

His Japanese features were more emphasizes now. His mother was pure Japanese, while his father was half-Filipino, half-Spanish, giving him Chuck Hazel eyes, which looked greenish but not quite. His eyes were alluring, with wavy eyelashes, thick black eyebrows, a perfectly curved face and cheeks, and a well-shaped nose. Everything about his face was masculine and attractive.

The young man had always been handsome, likely due to his different races, but now his looks had matured even more. It was just his bad attitude towards her that she couldn't stand.

The young woman was suddenly brought back to reality when he flicked her forehead. She didn't realize she had been staring at him for so long.

The young man smirked, noticing she had been checking him out for a while.

Then realization hit Monica. She felt embarrassed, worried he might think she found him handsome. The thought made her shiver, as if she had swallowed a rock . It wasn't that she found him disgusting; she just didn't like him.

"Don't you ever lay your hands on me, you stupid jerk!" she snapped, irritated that he had flicked her forehead. It made her even more angrier.

"Satisfied? Am I that handsome to you that you had to check me out for so long?" he said, amused, which only made her angrier.

"Excuse me? I didn't intend to look at your ugly face. i was looking at your suit  I like your it, but that's all. You're too assuming," she retorted, rolling her eyes at him. He just smirked and shook his head, seemingly not believing her.

"Stubborn, still the same. Too loud and easily annoyed " he muttered, but she heard it clearly.

Monica's eyes widened, resembling Emillie from "The Corpse Bride," about to pop out in anger.

"I heard you. and you don't have to pick me up here. Besides, I have my own car to drive, and I'm not crippled, I can walk," she said, rolling her eyes again and putting on her shades, which almost fell off earlier due to her annoyance.

“Hahaha! Why still stupid, Monica? You might be the one assuming between the two of us. What do you think of me, stupid? I'm not going to waste my time on a stupid woman like you. And to tell you this, I'm here to visit my grandmother's grave. Tsk, you're too exaggerated," he smirked before walking ahead, leaving the woman behind. 

She felt embarrassed and irritated. He could have just said he was visiting his grandmother's grave instead of teasing her. But it wasn't new to her. Knowing Akiero, it was his habit to annoy her and ruin her peaceful days.

"This is ridiculous. That jerk is really awful. Arrgggg!" she stomped away from the cemetery, frowning and extremely annoyed. Her day was completely ruined because of him.

Author's note: This is my first story, guys. I hope you enjoy it. Sorry for any typos and grammatical errors ; I'm still learning to write. I hope you'll support me. If you have any suggestions, just comment, and I'm always open to your feedback.

If I made any mistakes, feel free to tell me and correct me. Don't worry, dear readers i understand. 

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