Lisa’s POV
“I know this may be too late, but I wanted to do it the right way. Lisa and Mrs. Cortez, forgive me for being selfish—for proposing marriage to your daughter without your blessing, all because I loved her so much. Now, I want to make everything right.” He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Lisa, like I told you before, you're the only woman who ever caught my attention. The woman who appears in my dreams every night. The woman I look for first thing in the morning. I don’t know how or when it started—before, I just wanted to tease you. Laugh at your silly moments. But—I didn’t realize I was falling for you. And now, I want to ask you, in front of the mother you love the most. The mother who brought Lisa into my life.” He slowly opened a red box. Inside was a ring that sparkled every time it caught the light. “Lisa, will you be my companion for the rest of my life? Will you be my source of happiness? Will you marry me, Babe?” I saw a gleam in his eyes. He gave me a hesitant smile. I swallowed hard as I looked away from the ring and back at him. “Yes,” I whispered. I didn’t know if he heard me or not. I was in tears. I couldn’t understand what I was feeling. A part of me knew this was all just an act—but I wished it wasn’t. So this is what it feels like to be proposed to. To feel loved. I felt special because of the way he was acting. “Did you just say ‘yes’?” he repeated. I nodded quickly, still covering my mouth with my hands. He reached out to take my left hand. He kissed it before gently sliding the golden ring with a round stone onto my finger. It sparkled with every move. Was this real? Of course he wouldn’t buy a fake ring, right? He kissed my hand again, now with the ring on it, then caressed it and gave me a sweet smile. “Finally.” “Congratulations, children!” We both turned to look at Mom, who was wiping her tears with her hands. Her lips trembled as she tried to hold back her emotions. “Mom, please don’t cry,” I said, trying to comfort her. “You’re not supposed to be stressed, ‘nay.” I hugged her while she continued crying. I glanced at Fier as I wiped my own tears. “Lisa’s right. You shouldn’t be stressed. That’s why I hope we can move to Manila soon and begin your treatment. The sooner, the better. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all the expenses. You’re family to me now. Soon, you’ll be my mother-in-law.” I couldn’t say anything in response. I just smiled at him while I comforted Mom. Even though we were already married on paper, we had to go through all this so it wouldn’t be a shock to them. Since that dinner, Fier had always been at our house. He ate and stayed here often. I had grown more comfortable around him—and so had Mom. We still had occasional arguments, but they’d fade quickly, especially when I saw how he made Mom laugh. He was so different from the Fier I first met. A completely different person. I didn’t know if it was just because Mom was watching. What mattered was that he was keeping his promises to me. Even our neighbors had gotten to know him. Our place became livelier with his presence. Before, I rarely left the house and was always working. Now, it felt like there was a celebration every day. Everyone pitched in when he joined us for meals. He brought food for everyone multiple times. We often cooked together. I also took him to the market when I needed to shop and to my school when I had to withdraw my documents. I loved seeing him like this. I hoped he never changed. I hoped the old arrogant, mischievous Fier never came back. We got to know each other better. Actually—maybe it’s more accurate to say we got better at acting our roles. When we were alone, we’d rehearse what to say and do. He even shared stories about his parents, like he was trying to build a full narrative. Say it like this. Do it like that. That’s how it should be. Preparing the lies, as they say!!! We also took lots of pictures as evidence to back up our story and to answer any questions about how we met. He even made a FaceApp account for me that had our photos. Even on his personal account, our pictures were there—on his profile picture, on his latest posts with captions like, ‘the best feeling with the best girl.’ Of course, my friend requests exploded. Some good, some bad. I expected it. One post showed us hugging on a boat, grinning from ear to ear. I remember that day. We weren’t fighting much anymore—just one look and we already knew what each other meant. --- [Scene shift: traveling to Manila] “You okay, ‘nay?” I asked as I picked up the last box we were taking to our new house in Manila. Today was the day we were leaving. “Yes, dear,” Mom replied weakly. We left earlier than planned because Mom suddenly fainted the other day due to extreme weakness. So we decided to take her to a city hospital. Fier handled everything—the paperwork, the transport. He even arranged for an ambulance to take us there, complete with nurses and paramedics in case we needed them. It was a long trip to the airport, then a flight to the hospital where Mom would be admitted before we moved into the house he had prepared. I was beyond grateful for everything he was doing. I couldn’t have done this alone. Especially not with just my own resources. “Ma’am, we need to leave now,” the ambulance driver called. I nodded and glanced at Fier, who was talking to one of our neighbors. “Alright, Manong.” I sat next to one of the nurses adjusting Mom’s IV. She was now asleep, lying in the center of the vehicle, while another nurse took her blood pressure. We had agreed that I’d ride with Mom. She didn’t want me to come, insisting I should keep Fier company in his car. But I couldn’t leave her while I sat comfortably in his fancy car. Fier would be riding with us anyway. I couldn’t leave my mom. “Let’s go?” Fier asked as he climbed into the ambulance. He smiled at the nurses, who blushed as he shook their hands one by one. “Lisa,” he called, raising my eyebrow. Where was his number one rule? Already forgotten? ‘Always call each other Babe, especially when someone is around.’ “Fier,” I responded coolly. His eyebrow rose too, followed by a frown. Then he grinned. “Someone’s jealous.” What did he say?! I squinted at him. “Why are you calling me?” I asked coldly. He laughed, grabbed my elbow, and pulled me close. He glanced at my sleeping mom, probably knocked out from the meds the nurses gave her to keep her calm. “You’re too far away,” he said with a grin. I didn’t respond. I just opened my book and started reading to distract myself—and to forget our next ride: a private chopper Fier had chartered. It would get us to the hospital faster than driving to the airport and flying to Manila. With the chopper, we could land directly at the hospital building. “Babe, remember what we discussed,” he whispered while texting. I nodded. This was it—the start of our big act. Good luck to me. To us. This was all for Mom. Thanks to the ambulance, our trip was fast. We were already at the airport, waiting for final arrangements. I stared at the chopper parked on the runway. It was black and gray, with their company logo: MG.com. So this is theirs? Rich much! He was talking on the phone, smiling while reading from a folder handed to him by a man—probably the pilot. “I miss you, I’ll text you later,” I overheard him say. Hmm. Maybe someone… maybe Ma’am Sab. Missing their cuddles? “Everything is ready. The hospital staff will be waiting. Let’s go! I’ve got somewhere to be later.” He came over and told me that, then put on his shades and walked over to the nurses sitting nearby. I held Mom’s hand—she was still asleep. I was nervous as we boarded. The sound of the chopper’s blades was deafening. My ears hurt. I felt a bit nauseous and dizzy. Good thing I packed lots of candies—they were almost gone from how many I’d eaten! I should’ve just asked them to put me to sleep like Mom. I clutched my bag tightly. We were in the air. I sat in the back, with Mom’s stretcher and the nurses in front of me. Fier was beside the pilot. To my surprise, he could fly too. They had headphones and spoke words I couldn’t understand. I wanted to look outside like the nurses were doing—but I couldn’t. I was too scared. I was already dizzy just sitting here—how much worse would it be if I looked out? Thankfully, we arrived at the hospital earlier than expected. Fier was right. As soon as we landed on the helipad, doctors and nurses were waiting. I felt weak, still dizzy. Even in the elevator, I felt like the floor was vibrating. Good thing there were handrails—those kept me from collapsing. So embarrassing! First time on an elevator—how stupid! The room we entered looked more like a hotel than a hospital. It had everything—a chandelier, air conditioning, a large TV, a fancy couch, lots of flowers. I even saw a mini-kitchen. You could live here. “Based on her medical records, I can say not enough tests have been done. We need to run full diagnostics ASAP. According to this, the illness has spread to other organs. She has lung cancer—stage 3,” the doctor said. I was stunned. Speechless. I knew about it—but hearing it aloud hit different. “Do what you need to do, Doc. Money is not a problem,” Fier answered. I didn’t know what to say. I felt weak just seeing all the medical equipment around Mom. “And one more thing,” the senior doctor added. He was the head and best doctor at the hospital. “Pray, Ms. Cortez. That’s the best we can do now. Hold on for her.” He smiled and left. The room fell silent. Only Fier and I were left, with Mom still asleep. I walked to the couch where he was sitting and collapsed next to him. “Everything’s in place, Lisa. Don’t worry. Do you want to go home first? I already hired a private nurse for your mom. And we need to go. Your new house is ready.” I nodded. It was late. He had to go. “Alright. Go ahead. Thanks for everything. I’ll go to the house tomorrow. I’ll wait for Mom to wake up first.” “Alright. I don’t want to sleep here either. There’s food in the kitchen and the fridge is stocked. If you need anything, call me. And take this.” He grabbed a white envelope from the nearby table and handed it to me. “It has cash and the passcodes for your cards.” I just looked at it and gave a small smile. “Thanks!” I took it and placed it in my bag. “I’m leaving. I’ll visit tomorrow. Bye, babe!” he laughed as he left. I let out a deep breath. I closed my eyes—and I didn’t even notice that I fell asleep with him still on my mind.
