Chapter 20

ALEXANDER walked into the cellar of their newest fermented wines. He looked at every bottle and checked its concentration and color saturation. Montefort Winery has been in the Wine Industry for more than three decades, and Alexander can still remember the winery’s humble beginnings. Building a winery made of grapes in Ilocos was his mother’s dream. But, she passed away before she could see the first fermented wine of their business.

But Alexander’s thoughts weren’t on the wines. It was on Amara and how she has changed a lot since the accident. It’s been months since she gained her consciousness, and it’s been months since the new Amara seemed to brighten up the hacienda, especially their daughter Billie. Among them, it was their daughter who suffered emotionally because of Amara. She never spent time with her nor asked her if she has eaten her meal or how she felt. Amara has never been a mother to her daughter.

Then, the accident happened, and Alexander dreaded that he might lose them both. He blamed himself numerous times during the days that Amara and Billie were in the hospital and under the doctors’ care. Alexander regretted letting them fly to the Maldives alone. Because of his decision, Amara booked an earlier flight instead of their planned date together. If he just sticks to his promise to Billie that they’ll go together to the Maldives’ beaches, they wouldn’t be one of the victims of the plane accident… But would Amara change even without the accident?

Alexander doesn’t want to say it, but it was as if the accident made Amara realize the importance of her family, the people who surrounded her, and the things she has. It was as if the accident turned Amara into the better version of herself, or perhaps it made her transformed into a different woman.

“A different woman…” Alexander heaved a deep sigh. It will be hard for Billie if Amara suddenly remembered everything. What if she turned back to the evil woman she really was?

He took several bottles of wine. Each bottle has a label of the duration date it was fermented and what kind of grapes it was made. Wine tasting used to calm his thoughts before. The aroma and pungent smell of the wine brought a calming sensation to his mind. He just hoped that his sanctuary and comfort drinks could help him ease the chaos in his thoughts now.

A few knocks on the door interrupted Alexander’s thoughts. At first, he thought he was hallucinating. But then, the wooden door opened, and Amara stepped inside. Their eyes immediately met, and Alexander thought for a moment that his heart jumped in surprise. Amara never visited the wine cellar. She doesn’t like the ambiance of the basement and the pungent smell of their wines. He remembered that Amara used to call their wines rotten drinks. For her, winemaking is only for the lowly. That’s why he pushed himself to work in the office and leave the vineyard.

“What do you need?” Alexander asked, trying his best to hide the surprise in his voice. “You don’t like the smell of the wine cellar.”

The woman knotted her forehead. She looked around the cellar and paused on the wine bottles displayed on the rack. Alexander saw the lights sparkled in her eyes like a star that shone in the night sky.

“I didn’t know that there’s a place like this here,” she said, still looking around. “Or, I just can’t remember?” She walked towards the rack and leaned closely on the bottles. “These are all your wines?”

“What do you need?” Alexander repeated in a knotted forehead. Even her movements have changed… he said in her mind as he watched Amara roamed inside the cellar.

She looked at him and pressed her lips. “I’m here to apologize for what I said earlier…” she said, walking towards him. “I know I became insensitive and didn’t think first before speaking my mind…” She lowered her head. “I’m sorry if I have offended you.”

Alexander’s brows furrowed. The Amara that he knew never lowered her head to anyone. He took a step forward to her. “You’re sorry?”

Amara looked up at him and nodded slowly. Now, she was giving those persuasive eyes that tell him to accept her apology. “I don’t want you to feel bad because of me…” She clutched on his sleeve. “I promised you that I will never make you feel bad, right?”

He didn’t answer. He doesn’t know what to say or to react to her. She can’t still remember. That’s why she’s acting like this. She doesn’t know what she really was…

“And, I really wanted the phone…” She lowered her gaze as if she felt embarrassed about what she admitted. “I refused when you gave it to me because I thought you just bought it in exchange to…” She hesitated. “I remembered what you told me in my room… That whenever I need something—”

“I didn’t mean to say it to you…” he cut off, “forget about it.”

She looked up to him. “You haven’t dumped it, right?”

Alexander studied Amara’s facial expressions. Her eyes were sparkling and full of emotions, far from the dull marble eyes that she has before. Even her smiles looked brighter and warmer. And the way he moves around was full of energy and joy, unlike before that she always looked tired of everything that surrounds her.

“Did you dump it?” Amara asked him again and clutched on his collar. “Don’t tell me that you dumped a thousand-dollar worth of smartphone?”

Alexander scratched the corner of his brow. “Well, I-I…” He looked away from her. “I threw it on the well—”

“What?!” She let go of his collars and caught her head. “I can’t believe it. You threw a thousand dollars’ worth of the latest smartphone on the well? How could you do that?!” she shouted at him. “My gosh, my monthly salary couldn’t afford to buy a phone as expensive as that.”

“What did you say?” Alexander asked, brows drawn together, “monthly salary?”

***