-=Ang's Point of View=-
"How long will you keep yourself locked up in sadness, Ang?!" My mom angrily said this to me when she entered my room that morning.
To be honest, I don't know how long it's been since I let go of Atilla from my life, but even so, everything still hurts as if it happened just yesterday.
"Just leave me alone," I answered lifelessly. I woke up to her angry voice and was about to grab the bottle of alcohol by my bedside when she aggressively knocked it out of my hand, causing it to shatter.
"You want me to leave you alone? It's as if you're saying that I'm a useless mother," she said with pain in her voice. I couldn't stop the guilt from rising in my chest, especially since I knew I was becoming unfair.
"I'm sorry..." I said it weakly, feeling her concern for me.
"Ang, please think about it. We're here; we're your family, so we're ready to help you. Please don't push us away," my mom said as tears flowed freely from her eyes.
"I'm really sorry, Mom. I'm sorry for keeping my problems to myself," I apologized as I held her tightly, causing her to cry even more.
I know I became too self-centered by locking myself up in sadness. I didn't think about my family, who needed me, especially because of what happened to my brother, Anthony.
After that talk, it was as if a switch was flipped inside me. I quickly threw away the alcohol bottle in my room. My mom was right: there is life after heartbreak. Yes, it hurts, but I know I can get through it because there are more people who love me. Furthermore, my family needs me because of what we're going through with Anthony. It's been over a month, but there's still no change in his condition.
He remained in a coma, and all we could do was wait and hope that he'd wake up one of these days.
After tidying up my room, I decided to visit my brother, who was in the room next to mine.
I realized that I hadn't visited him in his room for a long time, so I felt a lot of guilt and pain when I saw my younger brother again. I saw his body slump, with only machines helping him breathe.
"Hi there, kiddo," I greeted him sadly. I couldn't force a smile, especially since my heart was breaking at the sight of my younger brother's condition.
I quietly sat on an empty chair beside his bed and held his cold hand tightly in mine.
"I know I've been neglecting you, Anthony, and I'm sorry I let myself be consumed by too much sadness. But I promise you, for you and for Mommy, I'll do everything to move on," I promised. I stared at his face firmly, hoping to see any sign that he heard me, but several minutes passed, and I still didn't get any response from him.
"Stay strong, kiddo; we're not giving up on you," I said firmly as I kissed his forehead, and then I decided to go out of the house to breathe in some fresh air. It was a bit hot that day, so I decided to walk towards the pool, which was located at the side of the house where the garden was.
As I approached, I suddenly stopped when I saw that someone else was using the pool. I was hypnotized watching Miranda swim back and forth; every movement she made stirred something inside me that felt wrong. I lost all sense while I quietly watched her.
I felt the lust starting to consume me as the organ between my legs grew while I watched her swim beautifully. She momentarily stopped, perhaps sensing that she was not alone, and when she looked up, our eyes briefly met, but I quickly averted my gaze because I was afraid she would read my feelings during those hours. First of all, I was angry at her because I knew she was a bad woman and not worthy of my brother, and secondly, I could not stop my desire for her, even though she was already my brother's wife.
"Good morning," she greeted me with a smile as she slowly emerged from the pool, and my desire intensified when I saw her curvaceous body, wearing only a black two-piece swimsuit, dripping with water. I could already imagine having sex with her in the water.
I quickly dispelled those thoughts because I knew I was sinning just by thinking about them.
"What are you doing here? You prioritized swimming over visiting your husband?" I said angrily, trying to hide my voice's tremble caused by the lust that still burned strongly inside me. I tried to hide my erection from her sight, especially since I was only wearing a white pair of shorts.
"For your information, I already visited Anthony earlier, and I just wanted to swim because the weather is so hot. Is there something wrong with that?" She bravely answered back, which made me pause momentarily as I compared her with Atilla. Why did I have to compare them when Atilla was a saint and Miranda was a sinful woman?
"Whatever! Just stay out of my sight," I said, focusing more on my anger than on any other emotions I felt while looking at Miranda's seductive body.
I was about to go back inside when she called my name.
"Ang..." she called me, and even though I wanted to go away since everything about her screamed sex, I chose to stop and listen to whatever she had to say.
"Speak up already, Miranda; I don't have all the time in the world," I replied flatly.
"Why do you hate me so much?" She asked, and even though she was trying to hide it, I knew she was hurting, and even though I did not want to, I felt some kind of emotion in my chest that I promised I would not feel for her, and that was pity.
"I don't hate you, Miranda; I despise your kind. You women will do anything just to become rich. When I look at you, I only see a gold digger who is not worthy of my brother," those words came out of my mouth like acid, and I saw the pain on her face because of what I said, so I decided to continue walking back to my room.
"Whether you believe it or not, I did not marry Anthony because of his money," I heard her shout after me, but I didn't pay attention and continued walking back to my room. As I entered the room, sweat was dripping down my forehead, not because of the walk or the weather, but because of the woman I left at the pool.
"I think I need a cold shower," I said to myself, and I started stripping until I was in my birthday suit. I quickly entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, trying to quell any desire I was feeling.
"Dude, relax," I said to the thing between my legs. I was probably in the bathroom for thirty minutes before the heat I was feeling finally dissipated.
"I need to remember who Miranda Sandoval is, I need to remember that she is my brother's wife."
-=Ang's Point of View=-As much as possible, I try to avoid Miranda because I don't want to commit any mistakes. I don't understand why I am so attracted to her. I hate her, but I can't stop myself from lusting over her.This is not right, especially since she is my brother's wife. When I went to the US to stop Anthony from marrying Miranda, I immediately noticed the sexual attraction I felt towards her. No wonder she fooled so many wealthy men and convinced them to marry her before my brother. Atilla and I could have been together, and I love Atilla so much, but that doesn't stop me from having sexual attraction towards Miranda."Miranda Sandoval," I gasp as I remember seeing her swimming in a skimpy two-piece. I can only imagine removing her clothes with my teeth and tasting what's behind them. But I quickly dismissed those thoughts because it's not right. I quickly get up from my bed and try to remove those thoughts from my mind. "I need a woman, real bad," I think to myself.I che
-=Ang's Point of View=-I did everything I could to avoid Miranda because I don't want to get caught doing something that is completely wrong in every way, something I will regret for the rest of my life.I should despise her, but what I feel is frighteningly different. I don't want to be like the other men who find themselves drawn to her or like my brother, especially now that I know her true nature as a gold digger who just cares about herself.I got up early that morning and decided to go jogging when the sun was still not up. I stretched and started running around our subdivision. I smiled at the familiar faces I spotted along the way. I jogged for more than an hour and was sweating when I arrived home. I discovered my mother tending to the plants in our garden."Good morning, mom," I greeted her and kissed her on the cheek."Good morning, son. It's nice to see you out," she said with a smile, and the sincerity in her voice made me understand my mistakes.My mother and I wanted t
-=Ang's Point of View=-I'm experiencing an excruciating pain that feels like my head might shatter. I tried to recollect the events that led to this agony, but the more I forced myself to remember, the more intense the pain became.In a desperate attempt for relief, I shut my eyes momentarily, longing for the pain to dissipate. However, I soon realized that it wouldn't be that simple. After taking a few calming breaths, the throbbing in my head slightly subsided. As I opened my eyes, my gaze fell upon a pitcher of water within reach, accompanied by a comforting pain reliever."Thank you, mom," I murmured gratefully. I was certain that my mother had prepared the medication for me. Her support and care have always been unwavering. I patiently waited for a little while longer until the pain in my head completely vanished.As the anguish in my head gradually faded away, the memories of yesterday and the events that unfolded throughout the evening started to resurface."I kissed her." Tha
-=Ang's Point of View=-I didn't know what pushed me to follow and trail Miranda; my feet just sort of moved on their own to follow her, and instead of using one of the cars in the parking lot, I decided to just take a cab instead."Seriously, Ang. Why are you doing this?" I heard a voice at the back of my mind ask as I continued to follow the taxi that Miranda was in.I thought deeply at first before coming up with a sensible reason why I was acting like a creep and stalking Miranda, and that is because maybe I wanted to apologize to her. After all, I feel like I judged her too harshly. Perhaps she loves my brother so much, which is why they decided to get married.I continued following the taxi she was in, which, in retrospect, was kind of stupid considering that I could have just called her phone to meet me.Finally, the car stopped at a mall in Makati, and after paying the fare for the cab, I immediately tried to locate Miranda, but when I got inside, I couldn't see where Miranda
-=Ang's Point of View=-It wasn't until the cab driver informed me that we had arrived at our destination that I even realized we had arrived home.My mother gave me a warm greeting as soon as I walked inside the house. I excused myself politely and headed straight for my room, locking the door behind me.While lying in bed, I still couldn't brush off the thought of Miranda and her lover. Yes, in my mind, I knew that Miranda was betraying my brother, and some images made it hard for me to calm down.I imagined them in a private place being all cuddly and maybe doing something more; however, it turned out that I was overthinking when I later discovered that Miranda also arrived home that night.The following morning, I decided to head out to start my responsibilities in managing the family company. It was too early when I got there, and when my mom's husband got to the office, he appeared off guard, seeing me in the office."You should have told me that you would be here," he said."I
-=Ang's Point of View=-The following morning, I decided to take my plan into action, so I looked for Miranda, who happened to be in Anthony's room."Good morning!" I cheerfully greeted her, and I found her talking to the comatose Anthony.I could tell that I caught her off-guard since it hadn't been that long since I showed her animosity, but since we agreed on a truce, it wouldn't be that surprising if I tried to treat her better."Good... morning," she hesitantly replied, her confusion evident on her beautiful face.For some reason, I felt a sense of irritation inside me when I noticed her touching Anthony's hand, seemingly genuinely concerned for my brother. If she really cared for him, she wouldn't be flirting with any other man, but of course, I stopped myself from saying things that would blow up my plan.My objective was to win Miranda over and remove her from my brother. I would make sure she had no choice because she refused to voluntarily sign the divorce papers. The most c
-=Ang's Point of View=-I didn't have to get up early because it was Saturday, and I didn't have to go to the office today. Nevertheless, I got up early to carry out my scheme to win Miranda over.I saw Miranda leave Anthony's room that morning, so I approached her decisively, "Miranda, can I talk to you?""Yes," she curtly answered. To avoid Mom hearing us converse, I decided to speak with her outside in the garden.I informed her, pretending to be hesitant, "Uhm, I need your help. I'm planning to surprise Mom and her husband," and saw the joy light up in her eyes.She smiled and said, "Sure, what's your plan?" I gave her a response with a hidden smile in return.I began to tell her about my claimed "plan," and she listened intently to everything I had to say."I'm organizing to have a family dinner later, but the fact is, it's for them, and we'll leave once they're comfortable and let them enjoy their intimate meal," I added with a grin on my face.She said, "Wow, that's nice, but t
-=Ang's Point of View=-"I like her."As I lay in bed, those phrases kept going through my head. To be honest, I had no idea where that began. I've been lying in this position for some time, turning and tossing, still unsure of the emotions surging inside of me. Even though I despise her, I can't help but think about her.The scene where I was dancing with her kept appearing in my memory, making it hard for me to fall asleep.I must have fallen asleep around three because I awoke with a minor headache, unhappy that the housekeeper had woken me up, and when I opened the door, the maid told me that Mom wanted to see me.I went to the bathroom to fix myself, and after looking in the mirror and seeing that I was somehow presentable, I made my way to the dining room where the others were waiting.I forced a grin and said, "Good morning," to everyone. I avoided looking at Miranda, who had her head lowered."Good morning to you too, son. I was told that last night didn't go as planned, but f