CHAPTER EIGHTY-ONE

CYREL had no idea how long she had been staring at the photo on her phone. It was bedtime, but she could not bring herself to sleep. The lights were off except for the lampshade on the nightstand. Gabriel, on the other hand, was snoozing in his own crib peacefully.

It was a tagged photo of Ross with Jasper. They were at an amusement park. They sat on the bench before the merry-go-round while eating cotton candies. They were not looking at the camera. Sapphire uploaded it. The two looked so happy.

At least he was doing well, she told herself.

She was doing great, too. Being a volunteer at the orphanage was a great distraction. Cyrel felt like she still had a purpose. But her longing for Ross each day grew and grew.

She was not meant to leave him just like that. But he was hurt, and she did not want to make it hard for the both of them. It was just that Cyrel wished she had the courage to call Ross and apologize.

Cyrel drew a breath as she wiped the corner of her eyes. She put her phone away on the nightstand and wrapped herself in the quilt.

CYREL prepared her bright smile the next morning. She rushed outside the building and found Georgia’s car entering the tall gates.

“Hey!” Georgia called.

“Hi!”

They hugged as soon as Georgia got out of the car.

“We missed you, Cyrel.”

“I missed you, too.” And Cyrel felt like crying again.

“Mom, don’t forget me!” Jackson squealed from the passenger’s seat.

“Oh, yeah. Our man, Jackie.”

Cyrel laughed as Georgia rolled to the other side of the car. She removed his seatbelt and pulled him out.

“Aunt Cyrel! I missed you!” Jackson was hyper as ever.

Cyrel’s heart melted at the sight of his cute face.

“Jackie! Come here!”

“HOW ARE you? Have you heard from Ross?” Georgia asked as they walked along the hallway.

“I’m good. I just talked to my mom yesterday, and she told me Dad is going to admit to the charges against him.” Cyrel sighed. “I mean, it’s all I ever hoped for. I believe things are getting better. As for Ross…” She forced a smile. “He’s doing great, I supposed.”

I would not be surprised if he suddenly told me he wanted a divorce, she added inwardly.

“That’s great. Doesn’t that mean you can go home now?”

“I don’t know. I needed more time to prepare myself in case, you know….” She shrugged.

“In case what?”

“Georgia, I hurt him. I haven’t apologized to him yet.”

“I don’t think he’s mad at you.”

“How about I give you a tour?”

Georgia laughed.

“AND my most favorite part of all, the music room. This is where your storytelling will take place.” Cyrel stood beside the piano.

“Yeah.” Georgia smiled as she looked around. “Are you excited, Jackson?”

Jackson jumped while he held her mom’s hand.

“Of course, Mommy!”

Mother Bianca entered.

“Cyrel, the kids will be here in a few minutes,” she announced.

“Great. Georgia, I’d like you to meet Mother Bianca, the head of this orphanage. Mother, this is Attorney Georgia Wang and her son, Jackie,” Cyrel introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mother Bianca,” Georgia said. “What do you say, Jackie?”

“Hi, Mother Bianca. Cool dress,” Jackson said.

Mother Bianca laughed.

“Oh, thank you, Jackie. You look so sweet. I’m so happy to welcome you here, Georgia. I hope you have a great time.”

“We will, Mother Bianca.”

The staff and volunteers of the orphanage came with boxes of doughnuts and drinks Georgia brought with them. There were also art materials and storybooks.

Then the children came in one line.

“Wow, look at all these kids,” Georgia remarked. “Are you ready to make friends with them, Jackie?”

“Yup!”

“Children, this is Attorney Georgia and her son, Jackson. She brought us doughnuts today, and she’s going to share a story,” Cyrel said giddily. “What do you say?”

“Hi, Attorney Georgia. Hi, Jackson! Welcome!” they greeted happily.

“Wow.” Georgia turned to Cyrel. “They’re all great. I’m so excited.”

Cyrel giggled.

“I know.”

“Cyrel, Gabriel is crying. I think he’s looking for you.”

Cyrel turned to find Connie by the doorway. She was holding Gabriel in tears.

“Oh.” She gave Georgia an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I got to take care of Gabriel first.”

“Don’t worry about us. Mother Bianca is here to help me. Go ahead.”

“Thank you. Excuse me.”

She reached her arms, and Gabriel came to her at once. He was still sobbing as he buried his tiny face against her neck.

“It’s all right. I’m here.”

“I forgot his milk in the nursery,” Connie said.

“It’s all right. I’ll get it. Thanks, Connie.”

“YOU DON’T want to drink anymore?” Cyrel put his feeding bottle on the garden table.

She brought Gabriel to the backyard. She sat on the rocking chair under the huge tree. She rocked slowly.

“Ah-ah!”

“Yes, but don’t tear it apart, okay?” She took the sonogram from him.

“Ah-ah!”

Gabriel tried to reach for it with his short arms.

“Yeah.” Cyrel giggled. “You’re going to be a big brother soon. Are you excited? Me, too.”

She stared at the printed ultrasound. She was about eight weeks pregnant now. Mother Bianca was the first person to know. She even accompanied her to the OB-GYN because she was throwing up and missed her period.

The first thing that came to Cyrel’s mind the moment the result came out positive was to call Ross and tell him the good news. But her fear stopped her. Will it fix everything? Would that make him forgive her?

Cyrel thought of ways to tell him if the situation was different. She knew Ross wanted to have a child of his own.

Cyrel was distracted by Gabriel’s yawn.

“Are you sleepy already?” She gently pulled Gabriel’s head to her chest. “Fine. At least you’ll grow fast. I can’t wait to see you walk.” She planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Cyrel,” Mother Bianca called. “Is Gabriel stressing you again?” She stopped in front of her. “Someone wants to talk to you.”

“A benefactor?” she guessed.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Mother Bianca laughed. “I’ll take him so you can talk. You shouldn’t be stressing yourself, remember?”

“Gabriel is my stress reliever,” she said sheepishly.

“All right.” Mother Bianca took him into her arms. “I’ll bring him back to the nursery.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Mother Bianca left. Cyrel spent another moment staring at the sonogram. With a sad smile, she finally stood up.

When she turned toward the direction of the building, someone was already standing there. Cyrel stopped dead in her tracks. The sonogram slipped from her hand, and it dropped to the ground. Her heart began to pound.

Ross…