WINTER: One week later… Just like what I wanted, it was a small wedding only, attended by some important people. The wedding only happened in the mansion, something Calcifer did not approve of, but agreed to in the end. Did he have a choice? He did not. In the end, he had no choice but to give in. My wedding dress was nothing fancy. It was a simple one which I bought at the mall. Cali wanted to hire someone to make the dress for me, but I declined. I didn't want anything extravagant. It was better to donate the money to some charities. After all, what was more important was the marriage. Our marriage life after the wedding. We only invited the pastor to come into the mansion. The press found out about our wedding. It was all over the news, but I told Cali not to give any statement about it. I will do it when I want. Despite the venue, Cali was still able to ask the wedding planner to transform the hall into something beautiful, with a lot of flowers on each side. The servan
WINTER: My heart was racing as I struggled to walk towards my husband's bed as I finally confirmed that I had no incurable disease. Just like how Mother died. My fears and confusion were now cleared and I felt the relief I had been longing for. Another thing was that I was with a child. My greatest blessing. My husband and I will be going to be parents soon.Would Calcifer be happy? I hoped he did. This was our goal so far—a baby that would inherit everything he built so far. I'm going to protect my baby for as long as I can. "Everything is clear, Miss Winter. I already checked everything and nothing is to be worried about," I remembered my doctor said when I finally had the guts to visit the hospital. Our family had been carrying an incurable disease which had been passed from generations to generations. The females would die at the age of thirty years old and now that I was already thirty years and that nothing happened to me, I decided to visit the doctor. If I should have k
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
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