WINTER:
My insides were shaking as I struggled to keep up the smile on my face even if that was the last thing I wanted right now. It was the truth.I wanted to curse. To shout while asking him the reasons. The real one. Was it only about me? No. This evening, I will know the real reason. I extended my hand. "Can I have it? I will show Father that our marriage was real and that you did marry me. He would surely be happy about it."He gulped. "Pumpkin...I."Do you want to divorce me? Is there a new woman you love, Calcifer? Tell me the truth, please?"Yes, Calcifer?""I-I will give it to you later. Please excuse me. I have a business meeting to attend to.""Why later when I can have it now?""Later, please?" he asked, almost begging me. He was about to pass me, but I asked, "Calcifer. Do you want me to cook for you? What do you want to eat?"His eyes widened. "You will? Aren't you busy? You're always…busy." During our first few months of marriage, I had been cooking for him. I tried to make myself the best wife he could ever have despite the loveless marriage. Because I wanted him to know that I was also someone whom he could love. And that I was worth a shot.However, when I started getting symptoms, I got scared and stopped serving him. I remembered how devastated my father was. He was crying almost every night and hid it from me, hiding it from me. I completely shut him off and let fear swallow me whole.I felt Calcifer reach out to me before…a couple of times, but I shoved him away. The more I imprisoned myself in our room and hid away from the world. My husband wanted to know what was wrong, but I did not answer."Yes. I'm in a good mood now." I want this dinner to be the most memorable. Which also reminded me that today was our second wedding anniversary. For both of us. "So anything in mind? Or would you rather eat me instead?" I felt my cheeks flushed red at my joke, but who cares? This was the last time that we would be happy like this.Everything was my fault.Sadness flashed in his eyes. "I don't have anything in mind. You can cook whatever you like, pumpkin," he said softly. "Anything you want."I clapped my hands even if my chest was getting heavier as seconds passed."Perfect. So, I want to see that folder.""M-maybe later."Is it also heavy for you, Calcifer? Perhaps you have feelings for me, too?"Why? Are you hiding something from me?" I pressed. "Aren't you happy in this marriage?"His face went blank, then laughed as he tried to hide his nervousness. "I will give you this later."He did not want to answer me. Why? I would rather accept the painful truth than be given sweet promises of lies.I will never leave you, pumpkin. That was what Calcifer had said. "Okay. Sure." I sauntered towards him and straightened his necktie. "You looked handsome as ever, Calcifer. Please remember that I did not regret marrying you even if this was only a marriage of convenience."He gulped. "T-Thanks?"I suddenly slapped his butt.He gasped. "That was...""Inappropriate? We are both husband and wife. It's not like we have not seen each other naked in bed."He was amazing in bed. Whenever he took me, it was full of tenderness as if he did not want me to be hurt. He was always gentle, but sometimes, I wanted something more from him. Maybe an extra rough.He cleared his throat and stepped away from me, with no plans of giving me the divorce paper. So he wanted to prolong my agony now?Maybe I was the worst wife for him. "I-I have to go." And he scrambled away from me, not even glancing at me. I heaved a sigh. Was there no chance at all? ---------I smiled sadly as I finished setting the table. There was a scented candle, delicious foods that I cooked alone, and wine. On the other side was our photo album together. Those contain our happy memories and I did not know if we would be able to open them later given the serious topic that we will discuss later. Instead of a second anniversary, this felt like a funeral. The atmosphere was romantic, but this was far from it. Tonight, Calcifer will divorce me.Too bad I had not created a lot of memories with him. When he wanted to get to know me better, I suddenly drowned myself in despair and hopelessness until Calcifer drifted even more away from me. It was already too late to fix everything.It's not late, my mind whispered. He has not offered the divorce paper, yet. There is still a chance for the two of you to patch up.Still, Calcifer did not even love me to begin with, and staying in this loveless marriage on his part was too unfair. But despite that, I was still thankful that I was given the chance to be with such an amazing man who never let me down and was kind to me in every possible way. I was reminiscing about our marriage life when my phone beeped. "My meeting has now ended. I'll be there at eight o'clock, pumpkin. Don't tire yourself too much. Ask the servants to help you."Who would not fall for someone like him? He always thinks of my welfare. It was seven thirty in the evening. And I had thirty minutes more to prepare myself. I wanted to make this evening extra special by wearing the most beautiful dress, hoping that by staying beautiful in his eyes, he will not proceed with the divorce.I went back to our room, changed into a red dress with a high slit in the legs, and applied make-up.Looking back at the mirror was one of the most beautiful women who had stayed hidden for a couple of months. I should have never let myself get drowned by my fear.All the possible things I could do for Calcifer during those days. If I did those things with him…then…he won't leave me. I heaved a sigh.I could not turn back time. I wasted so much time until I could no longer take back those times.Everything was my fault.I shook my head. It was no longer time to blame myself. The damage had been done.A knock resounded, chasing my thoughts away."Miss Amor." It was our house helper. "Yes?""Mr. Peterson is already here. He is waiting for you in the dining area."I picked my phone from the table and scanned my messages if he had informed me that he would be coming.He did not. Maybe he wanted to surprise me? "I'll be there in a minute," I answered. "I'll be there," I repeated, gave myself one last look and stepped outside even if that was the last thing I did not want to do.I did not want to sign the divorce paper and I hoped he would change his mind.WINTER:My heart was hammering against my chest as I sauntered towards the dining area. The smell of rose flowers wafted across the air. But it did not help me at all to calm my nerves. Ynes, our house helper was already at the dining area and gaped at me as she scanned my looks. It had been a long time since she saw me doll myself. In the previous months, I looked like nothing but a walking zombie. "You look gorgeous, Miss Winter," she whispered. "Thank you," I whispered and my gaze wafted through Calcifer who was eyeing me too. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "Do you like my dress, Calcifer?" I asked nervously even though I didn't have any reason to.If there was someone who should be nervous, it should be him because he was asking for a divorce. He blinked a couple of times as if he was mesmerized. "Y-Yes, pumpkin," he muttered under his breath. And as if reminded by something, he got on his feet and offered his arms. Anchoring myself on him, we both sauntered to the t
WINTER:Calcifer held his breath. He was not expecting anything. He believed I could not ask him?"H-how can you think that?"He put the spoon down and faced me. His eyes held a lot of emotions which I could not decipher, but above all, I saw pity. Pity for me that he would be leaving me?It was not hidden to me that women were after him. Especially Carmela. Maybe the two will be celebrating after I sign the papers directly. "Tell me why I should not get worried, Calcifer. Tell me because that might be the reason why you have forgotten about our second wedding anniversary."His eyes widened, remembering this important day. "Pumpkin. I'm so sorry. I forgot. This was an honest mistake."He never forgot even if this was only a marriage of convenience because the Calcifer I knew was not like that. He was putting all his efforts into something if there were some upcoming important events. "Let's forget about this anniversary and talk about the most important thing you wanted to say, Cal
WINTER:I smiled sadly at the realization that my husband had already decided he was going to leave me. “You cannot be stopped, Calcifer.”Calcifer smiled sadly. “I already decided, pumpkin. I am leaving,” he stated quietly. “This is for the best.”For the best? What kind of twisted idea was that? I loved him so why was he leaving me? How could he be so unfair?My heart continued to bleed like crazy.If only I had the power to make him stay…You can make him stay if you tell him that you two are expecting a baby!My hands laid protectively on my stomach.If he already left me over some simple thing, how much more if it was already serious?Calcifer was the type of man who would leave whenever he had the chance to and telling him that we would soon be parents just to make him stay was something I did not want to do.I tried to memorize his face for the last time. His nose. His jaw. The beautiful colors of his eyes. Everything about him. How could it come to this? I loved this man so mu
WINTER: One month later…The house looked empty when Calcifer was no longer with me in the house. No matter where I looked, I was always reminded of him and the things he did for me. Of the way he took care of me. Of pampering me.It had been a month since I last saw my ex-husband. Daddy still did not know what happened to my marriage, but I knew it sooner or later he would find out about this. And he would explode in anger. As much as I hated my ex-husband, I did not want Dad and him to fight because of me. I don’t know if I was able to face him. Or not. It was scary to know the things Dad might be capable of doing against Calcifer and his company. “Miss Winter? Are you okay?” Ynes, my maid asked. She was a forty-year-old woman who had been with us for quite some time now. And sometimes, her children would come over to the house and help her clean it which I welcomed. After my ex-husband left, the house seemed sad. “Maybe it’s best if you just sit, Miss Winter.” She came to my sid
WINTER: Three Years Later…“Come here, Liam,” I ordered to my three-year-old son. We were done taking our breakfast and were now strolling through the children’s park in the neighborhood. His attention was caught when a bird landed on the floor, staring down at him. “You’re not going to catch him, alright? The bird is only looking at the children.”“Why does the bird have small eyes, Mommy?” he asked, his brows forming a straight line. “Why do his eyes don’t look like mine?”I chuckled while looking for some answers in my mind. I really did not know why.“Ahm…God designed him that way. Come on, now.”At three years old, Liam can talk now and can form sentences. He was chatty like her father and the resemblance between them was uncanny. Seeing him was like seeing my ex-husband. Calcifer and I had never met again and I believed that was for the best. I did not want him to approach me because the reason was our child. I sighed as I watched him continue staring at the bird, his curios
WINTER:My mouth fell open as I continued staring at my husband. Calcifer. He was as handsome as ever. The curls in his hair reminded me of the waves on the ocean rushing towards the shore. Just like my pretty Liam. My heart clenched as the memories of our marriage rushed through my mind. And our last meeting. The signing of the divorce papers. Was he happy now? Maybe because there was no longer the woman who was giving him a hard time.Did he still remember how he hurt me? Did he still remember how he was cruel by giving up on me? If I did not stop Dad, Calcifer would be dead by now. Out of his anger, he nearly ordered someone to kill Calcifer. It was evil, of course, but I could not blame Dad.Despite what had happened to our marriage, I did not want anything to happen to him. I wanted to focus on the things when we were still happy and how good he was to me. I was brought out of my shock and rushed to my crying son.The man. No. Calcifer was stunned for a moment realizing it w
WINTER:My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage. I should not be listening to my ex-husband now and turned my back. He was already part of my past and that I was no longer to return to it. But what was this little part of me that wanted to listen to him?Am I that foolish that I was seriously considering listening to him?“Pumpkin…” He grabbed my hand and as if burned at the touch, I slapped it away. Calcifer looked at me with pain in his eyes. You're not going to fall for those crocodile tears, Winter. Don't you ever dare try!I pulled myself together and laughed at him. “Are you getting poor?”His forehead knotted. “Poor? No, pumpkin—”“Liar!” I spat while my knuckles turned white. “You're only saying this because you're losing your money. You want me back? Really? How come you never looked for me or attempted to look for me during those three years?”He heaved a sigh. “I did. But you were nowhere to be found. You went abroad.”Well, that was true. I did and gave birth there
WINTER:I was glad I never fell on my ex-husband’s scheme. He wanted me back and Liam even after he had a child on his own? What a tough face. Had he no shame? What about Carmela?What if it was not his child? What if he was only babysitting that child?Say for example if that was the case. But then, he could hire someone to do it for him. As much as I knew, his company had prospered a lot and all businessmen were always after him.I mentally shook my head.Why would I let him confuse me again? Calcifer had already done great damage in my life and ruining it again for the second time was already foolishness.We had long gone to the children’s park, but my mind was left to Calcifer. Hawk was eyeing me every once and again, wanting to ask something, which he contemplated if he would pursue or not. He never knew anything of my past except Ynes. Sometimes, the two would talk and I had a feeling that Ynes had already given him snippets of my past. Ynes could blurt out some things which h