LOGIN“We missed all of you!” he chimed cheerfully. “We missed you too, buddy,” Dino called out, stepping forward with a wide, excited grin. “We even built hammocks and a treehouse at the orchard. You should check them out later.” “Yey! We have a treehouse and hammock!” Atlas’s face lit up instantly,
Four years later— The convoy slowed as it entered Sta. Cristina, the once-quiet town now alive with movement and color. Gone were the uneven dirt roads. In their place stretched smooth pathways that wound through thriving fields—rows upon rows of crops swaying beneath the sun, their greens deeper,
The wedding celebration slowly softened as the sun dipped behind the mountains of Sta. Cristina. Laughter still lingered in the front yard of the humble Greene home—warm, unrestrained, filled with the joy of a union long awaited. But somewhere between the laughter and the fading light—Cassie and A
A breath. “Every day.” Her smile deepened through her tears. “Every lifetime.” Their gazes remained locked—quiet, unwavering—despite the swell of applause rising around them. It filled the chapel, warm and thunderous, echoing against the wooden walls. Pride shone in the men’s eyes, steady and u
"Cassie…” His voice came out quieter than anyone had ever heard it—stripped of authority, stripped of control. Just Ashton. Just a man standing before the woman he loved. After her slow, soulful walk toward him… after Eliseo and Celia had gently, tearfully placed her hand in his— He held her now.
Cassie allowed herself to be pulled forward, though her expression remained stunned, her mind still trying to grasp the sheer extravagance hidden beneath what she thought was simplicity. Behind her, Eliseo and Carmel exchanged a glance. Then, almost in unison, their gazes drifted back to the gown.
I wandered through the mall, my gaze drifting from one restaurant to the next, barely registering the noise and movement around me. Then I stopped short. A familiar sign caught my eye. “Oh,” I breathed, a small smile tugging at my lips. “You’re still here.” I found myself walking toward it withou
“I’ll give you time to explain it to your daughter,” I whispered before stepping away from her grasp. “Bitch,” she spat under her breath, her glare sharp enough to cut. “What nonsense are you spouting, Cassie?” Mirriam demanded, turning to me when she received no answer from her mother. “I’m not
I stiffened at the familiar voice calling my name. After hours of aimless walking, my feet had begun to ache. I had been searching for a quiet café—somewhere I could rest and have lunch—when fate decided otherwise. I had walked straight into someone I knew all too well. “So, you came back,” she sa
"Are you okay, Cassie?” Drie’s voice cut through the haze, sharp enough to pull me back into the present. Six years. And here I was—returning to my birthplace. The city that had watched me fight for a sliver of space I could call my own, only for me to realize, far too late, that I had never been







