Chapter 2

Chapter II

Bridgette had just put her child to sleep, so she stood up to cover him with a blanket. She sat beside him for a moment and watched her child sleeping peacefully.

I am sorry, baby. I thought my love would be enough. But I guess I still cannot make up for your search for a father, she thought to herself.

She wiped the tears that escaped from her eyes, kissed his forehead, and then left the room.

Jake leaned back in his swivel chair and closed his eyes tightly. He had so much work to finish, and he had a business trip to the US in two days.

"Resting is a thing, you know." He opened his eyes upon hearing the voice.

"What are you doing here? And don't you know how to knock?" he asked irritably.

The visitor walked near the window and poured liquor into two glasses.

He handed Jake a glass filled with liquor, which Jake immediately accepted.

"So what brought you here? Did something happen to Alliyah?" he asked, taking a sip while looking at Philip.

Philip shook his head, walked toward the window, and gazed outside.

"Alliyah is just worried, Jake." Jake saw him take a drink and put one hand inside his pants pocket.

"Worried about what?" Jake asked, setting his glass down and turning his attention back to the document he was studying before Philip arrived.

"She’s worried about you," Philip added.

Jake immediately looked up at him. Philip's back was still turned.

"She said you’re burying yourself too much in work, man. If her pregnancy weren't so delicate right now, she might have come here herself to smack some sense into you." Philip finally turned to face him.

"So what is your point then?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you need a vacation," Philip answered as a suggestion. "You must unwind. Or maybe find yourself a woman, you know..." he said with a smile.

Jake laughed at his remark. "You think I can still find someone? When you stole the only woman I ever loved?" he teased back.

Philip just laughed and approached him. "Seriously, man, take a vacation. I'll take care of things here for now," he said, setting his glass down on the desk.

"I'll just finish my business trip to the US, and then I’ll take a vacation," Jake answered. Maybe he really did need a rest.

"Good," Philip said with a smile before leaving the office.

Jake let out a heavy sigh, stood up from his seat, walked to the window, and looked outside.

He put his hands in his pockets and stared into the distance.

He was now a well-known businessman with Philip's help. He had achieved the things he wanted, but he knew something was missing.

He closed his eyes. He knew what that missing piece was: his heart. Because until now, he still loved Alliyah, even as he saw her happy in Philip's arms.

He could only sigh.

Maybe it was finally time to move on from the past.

He turned around and walked back to his desk.

Late into the night, sleep still eluded Bridgette. Up until that moment, she was still thinking about what happened earlier when her child asked about his father.

She got up from her bed and went outside the house. She walked over to the swing and sat down.

She looked up at the stars in the sky.

It had been two years since she and Philip separated. Perhaps Zion did not remember him anymore since he was barely two years old back then.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Back then, she thought of nothing else but to give her child a father figure until she met Philip. He was nice, a gentleman, kind, and loving—but not to her; he was loving to "their" child.

They always fought over small things. And the most painful part of all was that after they got married, they slept in separate rooms.

Even if she wanted to regret blackmailing him, she couldn't do anything about it, because she chose to fight for her child to have a father. She was desperate—a massive check on that.

It felt as though they were playing house. More than a few times, she found out that he had a girlfriend in the Philippines while he wouldn't even visit her and Zion in the US.

So one day, she decided to return to the Philippines, and there she found out he was keeping a woman in his home—it was Alliyah.

Eventually, Philip left her when he found out the truth: that Zion was not actually his child.

She wasn't hurt by him leaving them, but she was hurt for her child, who lost a father.

She cried not for Philip, but for Zion. She thought everything would be okay. She thought he wouldn't look for a father because she was giving him all the love she had.

Whenever he wanted to play basketball, she accompanied him. She even taught him how to ride a bike—something his father should have been teaching him.

She wiped the tears that wouldn't stop falling. Was this her karma?