Chapter 05

"Is she still vomiting? I told you, she's really pregnant." I scratched my head and told Kuya Mateo while he was cooking soup for Ate Fayra.

He looked at me for a moment. "I asked her right away when you told me that, but your sister just got angry. I almost got stoned when she threw me all of her lotions. She said maybe that's why I thought she was pregnant because she was fat, which is not true." The frustration in my brother-in-law's voice was obvious.

I have also heard that sometimes from Ate Fayra. During my two-day stay with them, I witnessed how they argued because of Ate Fayra's assumptions, which were the opposite.

Fayra didn't really gain weight; in fact, her body shape got better. She became more mature and curvaceous, which is why when we went out yesterday, Kuya Mateo almost shut down the whole mall because everyone was looking at his wife. I'll never forget the indescribable look on his face yesterday.

"You don't want to believe it yet. It's like you don't know Faith about this scenario." I'm still light on my words.

"I don't know, Mira. To be honest, I'm confused about your sister; it looks like I'll be more sad if she's really pregnant because her mood swings are hard to deal with."

"That's fine; it's your fault," I said without hesitation. Well, it's totally his fault, right? He insists on having more kids, and now that he has them on the way, he should deal with them.

"I don't know if you're on my side or what." He grimaced. I was in agony.

"I would have been on your side if you hadn't obeyed Ate Fayra's wish for me to live here for a while. You know I can move better in my place than here."

For two days, I did nothing but get out of bed, go on family walks, and go back to bed again. I don't even know what's going on in our company. All I know is that Kuya Mateo is temporarily in charge of my place—particularly Giovanni Rossi.

"Don't just say thank you to me. At least here, we can take better care of you. You are always full, and you always sleep well."

My face turned to him. "What am I kid? You are too inferior to Ate Fayra," I grinned at him. My brother-in-law was obviously holding back a smile, as if he were about to lose his mind. Yeah, that's how love made him.

"As long as she's happy ruling me around, I can't say anything. I love your sister so much, Mira. Whatever she wants, I'll be there."

I just nodded. "It's obvious; you look like you're going to be a fool. You keep smiling even though she's not here; you're crazy."

"You woman, watch your words! I'm still older than you, tsk. That's what your heartbreak did to you, huh?"

"Alright, bring it up; I'll dig up the past too. Let's see which of the two of us shuts up first." I challenge him.

Kuya Mateo grinned bitterly at him and turned back to what he was doing. I grinned at the reaction I got from him. This is how we both tease each other. It's annoying because he keeps going back to the past, so I have no choice but to bring back his past with Ate Fayra. I was a witness to all of that, and I know that he also knows that I won't be defeated, so he kept quiet first.

It's not a big deal to him. To all of us. But he still doesn't want me to mention that thing or anyone else because it's like he's being stabbed, even though he's the one who did that to Ate Fayra. He's lucky enough that my sister still wants him in her life; a second chance exists for her and also for me, but having a past of being heartbroken for my first love is not going to happen.

"That's one of the things that scares me now. When she was five months with Faith, your Sister Fayra almost cursed me. She's giving me cold shoulders and says she's better off alone than having me by her side. Now, I don't know what I will face."

"Your negative, brother-in-law," I praised him sarcastically. He pointed at me with a spoon, which made me laugh.

"You've been around for a while now. You're strong enough to piss me off."

"You're a fool. Are you too old to tease Kuya Mateo? Tch, I wish I would have voted for Kuya Noah then, just in case."

"Shut up, Amira. Damn it, I'm the only one for your brother. There's nothing else, so shut your mouth if you don't want me to take back to Gio what I told him not to come here anymore."

My forehead furrowed for a moment. "And why is your friend coming here? If I were to know, my sister doesn't want you working here."

"He's coming because he will discuss Pablo's case, but then I stopped him since I know you'll not be comfortable having him around for now. I know that you and him were going to be intact with each other again due to the fact that your own father suggested it, but I'm aware that you're not yet ready to face him, so I stopped."

"But it's about Pablo—"

"Still, he's not coming over. I don't want to hurt you. Prepare yourself first, so that when I know you're fine, I'll confront you."

I smiled. "I'm not affected anymore, Kuya Mateo."

As soon as I said that, it seemed like something was stuck in my throat. I want to laugh at myself. How many times have I said that I am no longer affected? Even though three years have passed, I can't deny that my love for him has not diminished at all, but on the other hand, the hatred that lives in my heart is greater. I'm no longer the soft-angelic Amira Angelyn Fabian he used to know; I'm more than that. I'm beyond everything, and I should thank him for making me this way, because somehow I manage to stand and give myself the title of being the most known entrepreneur not only in Asia but worldwide.

Because of my pain and disgust. I was here, standing with my head held high, because I knew enough.

"Say it all, Amira. Say what you want to say, but you can't hide the truth from me. I know those lies and I understand why. I'll protect you though; I won't let you get hurt again. But I hope you will forgive us for allowing Giovanni to be part of our watch over you. You know how much power he held; we need him to make you safe," He explained further.

I didn't argue anymore. I understand. Also, my company was not the only victim; Giovanni was also there, and although I know those checks are not important to him, we only have one goal: bring Pablo down together with his assets.

"Tomorrow you can come to the office. I'll take care of your sister when she looks for you. You're obviously bored here at home; maybe later I'll see you twirling your hair with your fingers." He was still joking.

I was exhausted. "It's good that you thought about what to say. I thought I needed to feel sorry for you."

Kuya Mateo was shaking his head and laughing. "Heartbreak does something different. It really changes a person, in any way and for any reason. It seems that my friend made a mistake in his decision."

"I changed for myself, Kuya Mateo. There's nothing more," I said, making our conversation to stop.

"I wanna punch that moron. I want to feel the soft baby sister once I adored, but I also love this feisty side of yours, anyway." At the same time, he raised the tray containing various foods. "I'll take this to your sister's room; she might wake up; I don't want her to greet me with a yell."

I just followed Kuya Mateo as he walked out of the kitchen with the tray containing Ate Fayra's food. I quickly returned to my food and reached for my phone to entertain myself on social media.

I opened my I*******m and immediately raised my eyebrows when I got a request message. I clicked it and saw Giovanni's account hitting on my DMs.

"What with you, jerk?" I mounted while licking my spoon and clicked his message.

Giovanni Alastair Rossi

Can you please accept me again? I followed you three days ago, unless you didn't know.

I rolled my eyes at his message.

I chewed as I clicked on his account without hesitation. I was surprised because it was obviously a new account. It immediately occurred to me that I had blocked him after I flew to the States.

Giovanni Alastair Rossi        3          3.7m              5

CEO of Rossi's Corp.            post   followers  following

Public Figure

I stared at his I*. He even beat an actor. I backed up and tried to search for his username before, but it wouldn't come up. I tried searching it on G****e, but all of a sudden, I was immediately exposed to the headlines from two years ago on his social media accounts.

Well-known business tycoon Giovanni Rossi deleted his I*******m account with 5 million followers.

Respected business tycoon Giovanni Rossi answered why he deleted his account. View the full statement below;

“I only used my social media to address my whereabouts to my girlfriend before. I really don't need it, but my girlfriend wants me to have one so we can post our pictures together. I don't mind having millions of followers, but then I'm thankful for those because they're still part of our love story because they witness our celebration and so on. To go beyond after our break up, I decide not to have it. That's all. It's not important to tackle here, but media is demanding me, so here it is.”

— Rossi

I swallowed and quickly turned off my phone. I quickly fell on my chest and shook my head.

"That was two years ago, Mira. Why are you minding it? It's all in the past; don't make it so hard for yourself, c'mon."

After convincing myself, I stood up and went to my room. I then dialed Zari's number, and without a second's hesitation, she answered it.

"M-Mira!" Before long she was ahead of me. Her noisy background immediately filled my ears.

"What's with the noise? Where are you?"

"Orphanage. I'm visiting my daughter here, and freaking guess what! Isaih was here too; he's even holding my daughter!" She's full lf frustration.

"He saw you?"

"No, but I think he will if I can't escape immediately. But damn, Mira. I want to hold my daughter first; I didn't come here just to watch her from afar." i can feel how her voice turned low and her feelings when she said those words.

I held my breath. What is that policeman doing in the orphanage? I didn't know that he liked children.

"I'll call him; update me if he'll go okay."

I hung up and immediately dialed Isaih's number. He answered that in less than a few seconds, and I just closed my eyes when he greeted me.

"Hello, baby, what's with a sudden call?"

"Where are you?"

"Why do you want to know? You want to visit me?"

I winced. If he were in front of me now, I would definitely punch him.

I cleared my throat. "Can you get here to Kuya Mateo's house in a minute? I need to discuss something about you."

"I'm off duty right now, baby. But since it's you, okay, I'm ready to work for you." When he said that, he accompanied it with a shrill laugh.

"Stop hitting on me around, Isaih. Come here now and talk to me about Pablo's case," I said before hitting the end call button.

I eventually threw myself on the bed and just let myself look at the ceiling of my room.

It's been messing with my brain for a long time. I wonder if Isaih was aware of it; by the time I let him meet Zari, I saw how Isaih's eyes shimmered.

Isaih hit on me before he met Zarina. I turned him down because I'm not capable of giving him the same energy he's giving me. I don't deserve it at any cost because I can't love right now. Not because I still have feelings for Gio, but because I'm still afraid of getting hurt.

I've changed anything about myself but this one... I can't change it anymore.