LOGINDr. Jessa’s eyes widened the moment she saw me. Shock and fear flashed across her face. She just stared, frozen and unable to move. I took a step forward. Her eyes followed every slow stride I made. Only when I was just a few steps away did she seem to snap back to herself. She straightened up and cleared her throat. “Mr. Fabriano,” she said, trying to stay calm, but I didn’t miss her trembling lips and the fear hiding behind her eyes.“Vianna May?” I asked, uttering my wife’s name.“Sir…” she managed to say as she held onto the backrest of the linked chairs, as if drawing strength from it just to keep herself from collapsing.“Where is my wife?” I asked without beating around the bush.She swallowed hard, another thing she failed to hide. “Mr. Fabriano…” she stammered.“Doctor… the director has been calling for you!” a nurse suddenly cut in.Without a word, the doctor quickly moved away from me. I followed her straight to the elevator.“Why is he looking for me?” she asked her comp
I kept taking deep breaths while staring at Aunt Violy, who was still fast asleep. I held her hand and gently massaged it.Regret weighed heavily on me. It was my fault she ended up here. Every time I remembered her reaction when I told her what she needed to know, it felt like my chest was being crushed.“Aunt Violy, I’m sorry…” My grip on her hand tightened. If only I had protected Vianna May, none of this would have happened. My wife wouldn’t be missing, and Aunt Violy wouldn’t be lying here now.I kept apologizing to her over and over. I kept promising I would find my wife. And when that time finally came, I would make sure we would never be separated again. I would do everything just to keep us happy.“Bro… get some rest. You’ve been staring at her for a long time. Remember, Aunt Violy is still upset with you. What if she wakes up and sees your face? She might slap you or faint again from anger.”Nelson suddenly squawked; apparently, he had been watching me in silence for a while
My chest felt tight as I watched Aunt Violy busily attending to her customers. I could only see her from inside the car, but my feet were already itching to move. I wanted to go to her, to finally introduce myself as her son-in-law, but it wasn’t that simple.I wondered if I would ever get the chance to call her Mom. What if she hated me for what happened to Vianna May?“You sure about this, bro? You’ve really decided to talk to Aunt Violy?” Nelson asked. I glanced at him briefly, then gave a bitter smile, my eyes drawn back to where she stood.I exhaled and leaned against the seat, weighing whether I truly dared to face her. It had been almost two weeks of driving here, watching her from a distance, and losing my nerve every single time.“Don’t tell me you’re backing out again? Tomorrow’s your last therapy session. You’re stronger now. I’m sure you can handle whatever your mother-in-law says to you.” Nelson’s voice carried its usual rough confidence.I forced a smile. “Mother-in-law.
DIEGO Danica covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her sobs.“Diego… what happened to you? Where’s Vianna May?” she asked, clutching me tightly.I couldn’t answer right away. I didn’t even know what to say. My eyes shifted to Nelson, who subtly wiped his tears and looked away.I wanted to ask why my cousin was here. Why did he tell them where I was? He knew I didn’t want my family to worry. I didn’t want them to know about my condition—about our condition, my wife’s and mine.I wanted answers. I wanted to read them in his eyes, but he quickly turned away.So, I just hugged my cousin, who was still crying uncontrollably, refusing to let go. My own tears fell, but I wiped them away immediately. I didn’t want her to see the grief in my eyes. The pain that was eating me alive. But I didn’t know how much longer I could pretend to be strong.“Diego…” she sobbed again.I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her back a little.“Danica, stop crying. Look at me, I’m fine,” I
I had nothing else to say to my friend but that. There was really nothing we could do except hope and pray that Mia was still alive.He buried his face in his hands again, his shoulders still trembling. And there I was, useless as ever, able only to pat and rub his back.“Bro, that’s enough. Being sad all the time will only make things worse for you. Remember, you just woke up. Take it easy, okay? Try to stay strong.”“I’m trying to, bro. I want to believe that my wife is safe, but every time I think about her being with Romeo, I can’t stop imagining the worst. He hurt her before, and it happened again when he kidnapped us!” His voice broke, and he tried to hold back his sobs.I rested my forehead on his shoulder. I didn’t know what else to do. How do you comfort someone who’s already breaking? Should I just hug him?“Come on, bro. Stop crying before I lose my manly composure and end up hugging you out of nowhere.”He turned his head sharply, eyes still wet with tears. I instinctively
"Bro, wake up already! People are starting to think we’re a couple. My image is getting ruined!" I shook him, hoping he would wake up, but he didn’t. "If I end up single for life, it’s your fault, bro!" I added, still trying to wake him.I sighed. He was alive, breathing normally. But he still hadn’t woken up. He was still in a coma.Even the doctors couldn’t explain why. There were no other complications in his body. He had stayed in the ICU for several days because his heart had stopped, but he fought back. His heart began to beat again, even though his body was weak and nearly lifeless—all because of that bastard Romeo.Diego was lucky that some divers happened to spot him. Otherwise, I’m sure he wouldn’t have made it.We couldn’t do anything when we chased after them. We didn’t even see which direction the yacht had gone. All we found were the panicked foreign tourists aboard the rented boat.As we approached, my chest tightened with fear. Even before we reached them, the boatm







