Chapter 21 Chapter 11 (i)
Fae
At that moment, I felt like I was suspended between different worlds—one was yesterday and the other today. It was like I jumped from one to this other. I knew perfectly well how I would have been feeling if last night hadn’t happen and I was looking over the same view.
But I wasn’t.
Instead, right then, I had the capacity to enjoy the beautiful view of the sea as I lay relaxed on the recliner. I stayed mesmerized by the view while fresh breeze continued to fill my lungs. I wanted things to stay like this, doing nothing and not overthinking.
But there were things in my life I needed to deliberate about and change so I ended up here instead of staying in Jigo’s bed.
I worked in Carl’s family’s company, with their legal team. All the employees there knew about me. All the people in the legal team knew what I was going through. Even the partners...
They all knew... everything.
They had known me since I was a child. My daddy used to bring me to the office. Every lawyer was my uncle. Every female assistant was my auntie. Each person in the team felt like family to me, from senior partners to apprentices.
And I would miss them all.
I would miss the grind, the headache of research to help with the investigation of cases, sometimes even overnight. I would miss the joy of breakthroughs in our investigations and the dinner celebrations for the cases we won, shared by everyone from clerks, paralegals, secretaries, ITs, accountants, to the attorneys. We always had take-out for Manong Kanoy’s family, the janitor, during celebrations, and Atty. Estanislao delivered it to their house on his way home. They were good people, and I loved them.
This law firm was more of a family even from when my daddy and the old partners were still alive, and I was part of that family. I was a legacy.
But I needed to leave. I couldn’t work there knowing I would encounter Sarah anytime.
I suddenly realized I was crying.
It was a different kind of cry. It wasn’t just about Carl—that one was over last night—but because of the people I needed to distance myself from so I wouldn’t look even more foolish and pitiful.
I deserved this suffering. I should have stopped my feelings for Carl a long time ago because Jigo was right last night. If he had feelings for me, it would have happened earlier on. This Was all my fault.
When Jigo went out to the balcony, he knelt beside the recliner where I was lying.
“Fae,” he said. He lifted his hand to caress my cheek. “Don’t cry...”
I looked at him and shook my head repeatedly. “I can’t stop... it hurts,” I cried.
His fingers traced my forehead, massaging between my eyebrows with his thumb. And I closed my eyes. His touch was soothing.
“Stay here with me,” I heard him say. “I’ll distract you. We’ll walk on the beach, swim… or we can stay here. We’ll do whatever you want. I’ll get your things from your room.”
I sniffed. But what he said immediately made my chest feel lighter. I could postpone what I needed to face because of his invitation. I could postpone the pain of resignation. It felt a little embarrassing to impose, but it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
But I still wanted to be sure.
“Won’t I be bothering you too much from your work?”
As an answer, he kissed my forehead. I responded, closing my eyes when he kissed my lips. He slightly lifted his head and opened his eyes to gaze at me with warmth. “I have the weekend free. Stay,” he whispered, almost pleading.
“Okay,” I replied. And his smile widened as he kissed me again.
That moment ended with us lying side by side on the recliner, talking comfortably and almost tenderly while cuddling and enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view outside.
So we spent the whole day together. My bags were already transferred to his suite from my booked room, so I changed my clothes. We went downstairs and walked on the beach, ate seafood at a seaside restaurant in another resort on the island, and chatted with other guests and tourists at the barbecue party in the hotel that night.
We swam in the sea. I wore a bikini I bought at the hotel boutique and laughed and frolicked with Jigo in the waves. Most of the guests from the wedding had gone, but I didn’t worry anymore if there were still some left because Jigo didn’t care either. I enjoyed his attention too much.
Except maybe if Lola Leah was still there… but the old lady had boarded the family’s private plane with other elders last night, according to her grandson. And she instructed him to look out for me before she left.
“But I would have still done it even without their orders. I just want you to know that I’m not the only one who worried about you,” he said when we were resting on a mat on the beach, sipping wine while a lively bonfire was burning nearby. There were only a few people left on the beach because there was a live band playing at another beach resort.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you so kind?”
“Hmm. Only to especially adorable ones,” he said, smiling with that sexy smile.
“I’m adorable?” I asked in surprise, even though it made my heart leap with joy.
He leaned down and pinched the tip of our noses together. “Yes, you are.”
“Who else? You said girls.”
He paused for a moment, thinking. “Lola (grandmother).”
I laughed and playfully hit his chest. “I knew it!”
He caught my hand and held it in his. “What of it? If there’s another special girl besides you and my grandmother, I’ll tell you. But there is no one.”
“Why? You’re hot,” I said, my face warming with laughter. “Oh, you know it. All the girls you’ve been with were like you, hot and—”
“Right this moment, there’s only one woman I want to see how hot I am, and that’s you...”