Chapter 87

"You're still under the company's name, and even the music and the MV you're going to make, it's still going to fall with Aether. That's my concern, Tanya."

"Miss G..." Her sudden laugh was random. "We will go through making them cute if they suddenly become tigers."

“Aether's strength is its artists, and so its weakness. When their artists disappear, the company is also closed and they won't make any more money. And I know they don't want that."

With the kind of behavior Tanya has, I admit that I get a headache from her being cunning. But still, it does something... essential.

*****

I'm on my way home today to get some clothes that Audrey will need at the hospital. It looks like it will take up to a week for her to heal there, and my daughter who doesn't change her clothes won't agree.

*phone rings*

On the passenger's seat, almost next to the door, my cellphone was ringing. I can't reach it since I'm driving and my hands are short. When I checked the caller, it was Audrey calling me, so I really had to answer.

I tried to reach for it and temporarily did not look at the road. I stretched my bones and stretched my body, so that my index finger could reach the body of the phone-

“OMG!”

I immediately braked when I saw a woman crossing the road. When I peeked outside, I didn't see any more woman. So, what I thought was that I might have run over it, so I immediately got out.

"Miss, are you okay-"

I frowned when I looked closely at the face of the woman sitting on the road but there was no injury.

“Maui, is that you?”

She looked up at me. Her lips were pale when she tried to stretch them. "I've been looking for you, Gwen."

"Why are you looking for me?" In order not to look like a shameless person, I bent down and took her hand to help her stand up. I made sure to put her in the car. "Why is your face so pale? Are you sick?"

"I ran away from home."

"At your house?" My forehead wrinkled slightly and my eyes rolled. "What comes to your mind to do these things? Are you crazy?!”

"Is it called rebellion if all I want is to have fun and be free?" Her face was focused on the edge of the window, and in a few moments of silence, I heard her take heavy breaths one after another. "Because I can no longer bear the responsibility for the lies that I tried to pretend were true to my parents."

"I don't understand. Why can't you be satisfied with your life if you are going to marry Henrix and have a child with him? What else is missing in your life to make you satisfied, Maui?”

I'm a little pissed at the part that for me, Maui's life is perfect. She and her ex got back together and Hen chose to marry her over a fake me. Dream comes true what is happening in her life... and now, she says she still can't be happy?

"After all... even I don't know what to give to someone who already has everything. What will make the person who is already happy in life even happier," I added.

Nothing, for me. And I feel envy.

“There's a lot missing in my life, Gwen. Lots of room for trouble. And… I'm not happy with my life right now either.” While I was looking at the road, I felt from the corner of my eyes, Maui stared at me. "If you think I'm happy because I got what I wanted, you believed the wrong things."

"What are you talking about?"

"The moment of truth, Gwen."

It seemed as if the air that Maui had no end, she could not get tired of sighing.

"Because the truth is... Henrix and I... we're not romantically connected."

I first pulled the car over to the side of the road, so I could be comfortable listening to Maui. It's hard to gossip when we don't have eye contact with each other.

“We're not even having our own family. Because what you found out about us before, that's not true." She raised her head to try to stop the tears from falling. "Henrix is ​​not the one I want to be my husband. I don't want to marry him. Because our relationship ended a long time ago, Gwen. So, if you believe we got back together… you're wrong, okay?”

"Because truth be told, I'm in love with someone else." She looked down at her stomach. "If there's someone I want to marry and be with forever... it's the father of my child."

"I-Isn't Henrix… the father of your child?"

She wiggled her head. "It's not Henrix... but someone who I'm not even allowed to touch or talk with."

"W-What the fvck..." I cursed at myself. "Well, who is that father? Why can't you touch or talk? Is it a fictional character that got you pregnant?”

But Maui didn't even laugh at my corny joke.

"Part of Aether, Gwen..." She was stunned in the air until tears began to flow from her eyes. "Echo."

---

I really intend to search the whole Philippines to find Hen since what I know, he is not in the hospital today. Fortunately, Maui had the initiative to tell me where Henrix was–she said he was in the cemetery right now. Possibly he's visiting Gwen's grave, so I should go to the old cemetery.

But then again, as I arrived at the place, I couldn't continue to go to Gwen's grave since I ran into Henrix at my Mom's grave, heading to the tombstone of my loved ones while his left hand held the bundle of white flowers.

"If you were going to visit them, why didn't you tell me?" I opened the conversation by asking a not so important question. I don't want to look rude that I will immediately fight with Henrix while he's missing my family.

"I didn't bother you anymore because I know you're busy taking care of Aud." Using his thumb, he wiped something on his cheeks--tears. "Anyway, how did you know I was here?"

"Why is it like... you're asking me like I'm finding you?" I asked laughingly and approached Mama's grave for a moment. "I also thought of visiting them, that's why I'm here today."

"I've missed them. Every day. Even though many years have passed, it's still hard to get used to not being with them anymore. If it wasn't for you and Aud... maybe. .. I just wanted to follow them."

Henrix dropped the flowers he was holding next to the grave, and used his arms to wrap my body, that's why. Maybe he's starting to feel any minute now, I'll drown in tears again. Because when it comes to my family, I am very weak. Every time I remember what happened to them before... that I didn't even do anything to save them, I will never forget my stupidity.

"Because you have come back to me." In between the taps he's giving to me, those words were whispered by him. "The door of my house is wide open in case you think of coming back to me, Kris."

I broke up with him. Besides the feeling that he was hugging my shoulder too much, I wasn't able to face him while staying in that position.

"Why did you lie to me, Hen?" Perhaps he doesn't understand what I'm trying to say, I continued, "Maui confessed to me earlier. She confessed everything to me!"

"What... what did she admit to you?"