"NO, there's no need, I'm good," Lara assured then lowered her spoon to the plate and reached for the glass of water to drink. "I'm okay, it's not your obligation so you don't have to be sorry," she said with a smile. It was only a matter of time before she finished talking so she had the opportunity to continue eating lunch.
"Let me guess, it's Ramil and he's sorry because he can't pick you up. Is that right?" Cynthia asked as they ate together in the admin's pantry of their outlet branch.
Lara nodded with a sigh. "I'm getting tired. I can't help but feel guilty sometimes because he's so nice," she said telling the truth.
"How I wish I could do something, sadly the only thing I know and it's very obvious is that the attraction that he feels for you is really strong so he is determined to make you fall in love," said Cynthia. "Wait let me ask you this, have you ever been in love in your life?"
With that question, Lara laughed softly.
“I don’t know either, that’s the truth,” she admits.
Cynthia stared at her for a long time before she opened her mouth to speak. "Are you serious?" she asked her in a tone of disbelief.
She nodded. "But maybe if I stayed with my daughter's father longer, I might fall in love with him," she admitted again.
That is exactly the truth. She was really attracted to Joaquin and she has to admit that his charm was included in the reasons on what caused her fragility that night.
"Is that man really handsome? As in?" Lara is already familiar with that reaction of her best friend because that's what she always sees whenever Callie's father becomes their topic.
"He's so handsome. He's almost perfect for me, and he's kind," she replied.
"I think that man is rich that's why he didn't tell you, his surname. Maybe he doesn't want his name to be dragged in case you chase after him."
Lara shrugged her shoulders. "Same here because he wouldn't leave me that much money on a non-personalized atm card if he wasn't rich."
“Three hundred thousand pesos is a lot of money,” Cynthia agreed.
Lara didn't say anything about what her friend said and instead just continued eating.
The money Joaquin left helped her a lot. Like what she has said it was on a non-personalized atm card. At first, she seemed to want to be offended, but eventually, she realized that she didn't have to feel that way because she did her job.
She gave herself to him twice aside from the fact she was still a virgin. It is only right that she takes the compensation for what she has lost even though in reality it cannot be repaid with any amount of money.
She saved her Papa and used that money to change her life with her father.
"You know as your best friend and in fact Callie's second parent there is a part of my heart that secretly prays for you to meet that man again. I hope it will be in the most romantic way and I hope you stay together. As far as I can see he seems to have set a high standard in you so it's hard for anyone to surpass or even match him."
Lara was stunned by what her friend said. For a few more moments she just stared at her face as if estimating whether all the words she heard came from her mouth.
"Oh, why? Is there something wrong with what I said? Didn't you like that? I'm sorry but that's just my point of view and I can't take it back because I already said it," Cynthia said in a teasing tone along with a wide smile on her face.
"No, actually I think you're right. I'm not in love with him, am I? What do you think?" it's funny to admit but she was suddenly nervous about anything Cynthia could answer because of that question.
Cynthia shrugged her shoulders and then finished the food on her plate. "Only you can answer that and that will only happen when you meet again," she said in a tone of intense romantic excitement in her voice as she giggles.
Lara thought deeply because of that.
Cynthia was right. Joaquin set a high standard on her so now it’s hard for any man to match that.
Well, not because he is the father of her daughter but honestly for her, there is no man like Joaquin.
Regardless of what happened, they had sex yes and twice.
And even though she was drunk then she knew that everything they did was better than what anyone could do for two years as a couple.
That is why when everything comes back to her mind, how he kissed her, the gentle way his hand caressed her skin, and the tender way on how his tongue devoured even on the most secret and sensitive parts of her body she could always feel the delicious and familiar bliss that Joaquin gave her that night.
That was the moment she almost went crazy with the intensity of the insane ecstasy, desire, passion, and fiery heat that the man had ignited in her body.
But despite everything she has no regrets because after all that came the best gift Joaquin left her, and that was Callie. So, no matter how hard she tried, she really couldn't open her heart to others.
She didn't know if she also wanted to see Joaquin just in case. But she also has to admit that there are times when she wonders what if that happens? How will she react?
What is the assurance that Joaquin won't even recognize her just because of the mask she was wearing that she didn't remove even though he asked her several times?
"Even if we meet, I don't think he'll recognize me," wherever the reason why she said that came from, Lara didn't know.
"What?" Cynthia asked her who had stopped standing because of what she had said.
That's when she looked up at her friend. "When, you know---," she said not knowing how to explain to Cynthia what she meant without having to go into detail.
"Yes?" two eyebrows raised and a trace of amusement on Cynthia's face.
"Right," she said taking a deep breath then glancing at the wristwatch she was wearing. "We still have thirty-five minutes so I think I can explain to you what I mean," she added.
Cynthia nodded then returned to her seat. "All right, but while you're telling the story, keep eating," she said with a meaningful laugh. "You're so anxious because of that man's memory, I'm so curious about him," she teased her.
She clicks her tongue. "Stop," she rebukes her.
"Okay," Cynthia said still smiling.
"I told you everything, didn't I? Those three men took me as payment for Papa's debt, then they sold me to a club, that's how I ended with Joaquin. But as you know," she stressed the last words she said to indicate to Cynthia that sex was what she meant there. "I didn't take off my mask, because I don't want him to see my face, so there's a good chance that even if we meet, he might not recognize me either, apart from the fact that I didn't give him my real name," she explained.
Cynthia thought for a moment after hearing what she said before she opened her mouth to speak. "I don't think so, you told me he looks like Callie. Do you think that man won't feel a rush of blood when he meets his daughter? And also, the heart has a way of how it can recognize its missing part. Remember what I told you. Joaquin may not even know you in appearance but you have qualities that I know he will notice and will give him a hint that you are the woman he once saved," said Cynthia.
"Correction, he saved and ---,"
"Excuse me, I'm not defending that handsome man but didn't you tell me that you wanted what happened?" Cynthia snapped at the other things that she wanted to say which were after all was right.
Lara laughed. "Looks like I'm going to lose an ally just in case, you're definitely going to Joaquin's side?"
"If it's about the two of you getting married, I'll really help him. But if not, of course, I'm just here by your side to protect you," Cynthia said afterward.
Lara did not respond to what her friend said.
Joaquin maybe just a memory of her past. But whether she admits it or not, she knows he is a good memory that makes her happy when she thinks about him.