CHAPTER 38

MELISSA QUIZON

"Mommy. Mommy."

"Hmm?" I moaned.

Reid woke me up early in the morning. I buried my face on the pillow.

"Mommy, Daddy's not in his room," Reid said as he kept trying to wake me up.

"Maybe he gets to work, baby," I murmured.

"His clothes aren't in the closet either."

It was as if cold water had been poured on me. I got up and ran to where Wright's room was. I violently opened his door. I opened his cabinet drawers one by one. There was not a single garment in it. My knees were weak. I did not know what to think.

"I told you, Mommy. Where did Daddy go?"

"I don't know." I was confused. I forced myself to smile at my son. "Maybe your Daddy left a note downstairs."

We went down, holding hands. There was a fear in my heart that he might have left us.

The smell of flowers greeted us as we went down. Reid and I stopped when we saw the living room.

There were a lot of flowers arranged, and on each chair, there were big and small teddy bears.

What the…

"Roses?" He did this? Lots of red roses were arranged in the living room. Our living room surpassed the most beautiful garden in the world in terms of the number of beautiful roses.

"Teddies! Mommy, look! So many teddy bears!" Reid said cheerfully.

Reid ran over and hugged the biggest teddy bear, which was sitting on the one-sitter sofa that Wright always sat on while I could not believe what I was seeing. How could he have done all this when Reid and I were just upstairs?

"Mommy, what's that?" I followed Reid's lead.

My eyes widened, and my feet walked on their own towards the stuffed toy.

"Is this…S-Sassa?" I raised the toy; this was my former gift to Wright during our months of dating. Sassa was the first gift I ever gave to Wright. I had worked a summer job just to buy him that.

The moment I touched Sassa, I was reminded of the happy times Wright and I had had.

I was distracted by the white paper that had fallen when I picked up Sassa. I was shaking as I picked up the letter.

To my beloved Queen,

Smile now, My Love.

You're burden-free now.

I let you go. Like a free bird.

I'm so sorry for clipping your wings.

I'm sorry for hurting you.

I'm sorry I ruined your life.

I'm sorry you met someone like me.

But I will never regret meeting you, loving you, and most importantly, I will never regret that you're the mother of my only child.

I love you. So much. More and more. Forever. You're my greatest love.

Take care of my heart, My Queen.

Your lost King,

Wright Agoncillo

I couldn't breathe while reading Wright's letter. Tears welled up in my eyes. I weakly sat down on the sofa and stared at Wright's letter. I covered my mouth with my right hand to shut down my sob.

Reid went to my place. "Mommy! Why are you crying? Did Daddy make you cry? Do you want me to punch him? What's wrong, Mom?"

I shook my head a few times. No words came out of my mouth.

I read the back of the letter. It was for Reid.

I sat him on my lap and caressed Reid's cheek. "Baby, y-you listen, o-okay?"

He was curious, but he nodded.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and started reading Wright's letter. "To my loving, sweet Prince." I gulped to clear my throat. I read it slowly so Reid could understand it better. "Baby, don't think that I left you again. No. I love you. I love you so much, my son. It breaks my heart whenever I face my days without you in my arms. It's so cold. So cold, son. But I need to do this because if I don't, I might hurt you both. I'll come back. I promise. "My treacherous tears flowed again. "Wait for me. Take care of our Queen for a while. I'm so proud of you, son."

After I read that, I looked at Reid.

"Daddy left us again?" he asked seriously. Tears welled up in his round eyes.

I nodded and bit my lip to avoid shivering.

"Where did he go?" he mumbled.

"I don't know, baby."

I was hurt when tears dripped from his eyes. He looked down. "Daddy said he would never leave me. He'd never leave us."

"I guess he broke his promise."

He raised his little finger. "B-but, we pinky-promised!"

"Reid, baby, I know you're hurt, and I'm sorry. I'm so selfish," I said between my sobs. I hugged him tightly.

"No. Don't cry, Mommy. I'm fine. You taught me how to be strong. I know Daddy will come back to us. I'll protect you," he murmured.

You're so kind, my son. You can sacrifice for me. Not like me. I did nothing but make the choice that I knew would hurt you.

Pride.

I felt his shoulder tremble. I hugged him more tightly to calm and comfort him.

"As long as you're happy, Mommy. Because I love you so much," he sobbed. What kind of mother was I? I hurt my son.

I didn't know how long Reid and I hugged for. We were both surprised when the doorbell rang.

Reid immediately jumped down on my lap. "Maybe it's Daddy. I told you, Mommy, Daddy won't leave us!"

I chased Reid across the gate. He had already opened the gate, and a woman in formal attire was standing there. She was wearing a skirt and coat. She adjusted her glasses and sniffed.

"Who are you?"

"Good morning, Miss Melissa Quizon. I'm Fritzie Faye Angeles. Mister Wright Agoncillo's lawyer," she said seriously and coldly. "Can I talk to you, please?"

"About what?"

"May I come in? This is confidential," she said formally.

I let her in. She stopped when she saw the inside of our living room.

"Oh. I see." She stared at me. I knew she noticed the swelling of my eyes. "Do you know that red roses symbolize eternal love? A kind of love that will conquer all. There's an ancient belief that when you have a teddy bear, it'll be your protector—"

"What do you need, Miss Angeles?" I said frankly.

"Okay. That's quite rude, but I understand. Please sit down. All I need now is your ability to listen and understand, Miss Quizon." I nodded and sat down on the one-sitter sofa. Reid leaned over me, hugging a large teddy bear. I hugged his shoulders. Miss Angeles pulled out a white folder.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A contract. Signed and approved by Mister Agoncillo." She took a deep breath and opened the white folder. "I, Wright Gomez-Agoncillo, donate all of my wealth, company, and assets in the Philippines and America in the name of my son's mother, Melissa Flores-Quizon. She has the rights to run the company I used to manage." She looked at my expression before continuing to read. "And I instruct my trusted attorney, Fritzie Faye Cruz-Angeles, to guide Melissa Flores-Quizon in running the Agoncillo Group of companies."

Miss Angeles said a lot more, but none of it sank into my brain. Did Wright give me everything that used to be his? Why would he do that?!

"Wait! Everything?" I cut her off.

The lawyer nodded. "Yes. Everything, Miss Quizon."

Oh, shit! She must be kidding!

"But where...where is he?"

She shook her head and closed the folder that she was holding. "I'm sorry, Miss Quizon. But I have no idea where he went."

"How…are you kidding me?!"

She re-adjusted her glasses. "Miss Quizon, I'm a licensed lawyer. Top six in 2013 bar exam. I graduated with full honors. Do you think I wouldn't take my profession seriously?"

I apologized to her.

"But what is left for him when all of his wealth and property are in my name?"

"He left with…nothing."

Nothing?