Chapter 33 MAKE ME PREGNANT
Chapter 33 MAKE ME PREGNANT
He rested his head against the couch and stared at the television, though I could tell he was seeing memories instead.
“Our fathers were close friends. I first met her at her seventh birthday party.”
His lips curved at the memory.
“You were there too, but you are hiding..” You were shy even then.
I wrinkled my nose.
“That sounds like me.”
He chuckled softly.
“She was beautiful,” he continued, his voice gentler now. “Even as a child, she looked like an angel.”
There was no bitterness in his tone. Only nostalgia.
“I developed a crush on her almost immediately. I transferred to her schools—preschool, elementary, high school. Everywhere she went, I followed.”
I stared at him in amazement.
“You were that devoted?”
He nodded.
“I started courting her when I was thirteen. It took me two years before she finally said yes.”
I gaped at him.
“That is some next-level persistence.”
A faint smile touched his lips.
“My father knew. My whole family knew.”
I leaned closer, fascinated by this hidden piece of my sister’s life.
“So Mommy and Daddy knew too?”
Because if they had, it would be the greatest family secret of all. And somehow, I had never known a single thing about it.
“Wow,” I breathed, unable to hide my amazement. “So it really was love at first sight.”
The thought was almost unbelievable. They had been so young.
I turned to Rare Cedrick, curiosity burning brighter with every detail he revealed.
“Did Mommy know?” I asked. “Honestly, I had no idea any of this happened.”
He nodded, his gaze fixed on the television though I knew his mind was somewhere far away.
“They knew I liked your sister,” he said quietly. “But they didn’t know I was courting her.”
A laugh escaped me.
“So your relationship was a secret.” I shook my head in disbelief. “My God. Young love really does make people reckless.”
His lips curved faintly.
“Your father and grandfather never wanted Akisha to have a boyfriend. You know that.”
The humor drained from my face.
Of course I knew.
My grandfather had been fiercely protective of Ate Akisha. She was his favorite, his precious princess, and he guarded her with an intensity that bordered on terrifying. I remembered the stories Akisha used to tell me—how every boy brave enough to pursue her had been intimidated, humiliated, and, in some cases, punished so severely that they never dared return.
My grandfather was a powerful man. No one challenged him.
As for me, no one had ever suffered such a fate.
Mostly because I had never given anyone the opportunity.
While other girls entertained admirers, I hid behind novels and preferred the company of fictional characters to real people.
“Yes,” I murmured. “They were especially strict with Akisha. She was always the favorite.”
I hesitated before asking the question that had been lingering in my mind.
“So... how did you break up?”
Rare fell silent.
His fingers intertwined, then tightened, as if the memory still carried enough weight to hurt.
“Before I left for the United States to study,” he began, “our relationship was already struggling.”
His voice was calm, but the tension in his jaw betrayed him.
“We barely had time for each other. Your grandfather became even stricter. Even though he knew Akisha and I were friends, he wouldn’t let me see her.”
He exhaled slowly.
“So I said goodbye through a text message.”
My chest tightened.
A goodbye sent through a screen. No final embrace. No last look. No proper farewell.
“We never even got the chance to see each other before I left,” he continued, his voice roughening. “At first, we stayed in touch. But college happened. Life became busy. Weeks passed without us speaking.”
He paused, staring at nothing.
“Then I asked a friend to keep an eye on her and let me know how she was doing.”
His bitter smile told me what came next before he said the words.
“That’s when I found out she was entertaining another suitor.”
I frowned.
“What happened?”
“I confronted her,” he said. “And she chose to end our relationship.”
The quiet pain in his voice was sharper than any dramatic outburst could have been.
I felt my heart ache for him.
Their story, which had begun like a fairytale, had unraveled into something heartbreakingly ordinary.
“Did you just let her go?” I asked softly. “Why was she accepting another suitor if she wasn’t even allowed to?”
There was so much I had never known. During those years, I had been living with my grandmother in Los Angeles, consumed by my studies and completely unaware of the silent tragedy unfolding back home.
Rare let out a humorless laugh.
“Of course I didn’t let her go easily.”
His eyes lifted to mine, and what I saw there made my chest tighten.
“I booked the first flight back to the Philippines, even though I had classes.”
His voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“I begged her.”
The words were simple, but they struck me harder than anything else he had said.
“I cried in front of her, baby.”