“Mom, it hurts so much,” I cried while holding my mother’s hand.“Child, I can’t go in with you anymore. You can do this. I went through the same thing when I gave birth to you. Be strong,” she encouraged.“Okay, Mom,” I replied, and then they brought me into the delivery room.After three hours, I gave birth to mine and Gabriel’s daughter. I lost consciousness after delivering our baby girl.“Doctor, how is my daughter?” my mother asked the doctor.“Ah, are you the patient’s mother? She’s stable now. Where is the baby’s father?”“He’s gone, doctor. He left them,” my mother responded.“I see. Then please go inside, Ma’am, so someone can assist the patient.”“How are you, child?” my mother asked me, full of concern.“I’m okay, Mom, but giving birth really hurts.”“Here’s your baby, Ma’am,” said the nurse, carrying my child.“She’s so beautiful, she looks just like you,” said my mother.“Really, Mom?” I smiled as she held the baby.“My grandchild is so lovely. What are you going to name
“Where could you be now, Gabriel?” I asked myself, still completely confused.“Samantha, stop thinking about Gabriel. Edward’s right there—he’s handsome too. That Gabriel, I thought he was a good guy!” Erika said.“Erika, can you watch over things for a bit? I feel dizzy.”“You’re really pale, Samantha. Have you eaten yet? I brought some pakbet with me.”“No, I don’t want any. I feel nauseous—maybe it’s just my acidity.”“It might be something else. Why don’t you get a checkup? I’ll come with you.”“No need, I’ll go alone. Just stay here.”“Okay, I’ll let the boss know. Text me the result, okay?”“Alright, Erika. Thanks so much for always being there for me.”Even though I was feeling dizzy, I still forced myself to go see a doctor.“Good morning, doc.”“Good morning. What seems to be the problem, ma’am?”“Doc, I’ve been feeling dizzy and nauseous for two weeks now.”“Let’s take a look. Come in, we’ll run some tests.”“There’s no major issue, ma’am. But the reason you feel dizzy and n
“I’ll go book a flight first, Mama.”“Alright, your dad and I will be waiting here, Gabriel,” she said. He immediately told his cousin what happened.“Alexa, Dad had a heart attack. I need to go back to America.”“What? How’s Uncle doing?”“Dad’s in critical condition. Alexa, please don’t tell anyone I’m leaving. Not even Samantha.”“Okay, you have my word.”From that day on, Gabriel never showed up at the casino again.“Erika, have you seen Gabriel?” I asked my co-worker curiously. It had been almost a week since I last saw him at the casino, and I was starting to feel suspicious.“You’re right, I haven’t seen him either. I wonder what happened. Why don’t you ask the boss—maybe he knows where Gabriel went.”“Right, they are close, aren’t they?”“There’s the boss now, go talk to him.”“Boss,” I called out while he was in a conversation.“Oh, Samantha, is there a problem? Just a second, let me step away. What’s going on, dear?”“Boss, do you know where Gabriel is?”“No, he didn’t say a
Gabriel had been drinking that time and leaned against me. I couldn’t help but look at his gentle face. I just waited until he woke up.“Samantha, sorry, I fell asleep. Let me take you home,” he said.“It’s okay, Gabriel. I understand you’re a little drunk. Sure, take me home.”He brought me home and didn’t do anything inappropriate. I still couldn’t wrap my head around why me—why Gabriel liked me when there were so many women chasing after him.The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I had to call my parents because my father needed medicine for his condition.“Hello, Nanay. How is Tatay?”“He’s okay, anak. But I need to buy some medicine that the doctor prescribed.”“I told you Tatay doesn’t need to work anymore. I’ll send money—he doesn’t need to do anything.”“You know your father, anak. He hates relying on others, especially you.”“He’s so stubborn. Alright Nay, I’ll send money later before I go to work.”“Take care, anak.”“You too, Nay. Please take care of yourselves. Tatay nee
“You know, there’s only one thing I want right now—and that’s Samantha,” he told his cousin.“Who? That girl from the casino? Is she the one you’re talking about?” his cousin asked.“Yeah, that’s her,” he replied.“What if your mom finds out about her?”“You know, my mom doesn't care about me anymore. With all the girls she introduced to me, none of them lasted.”“Alright, I’ll get going now,” his cousin said, saying goodbye.“Say hi to Uncle Armand for me.”“Didn’t you see him at the casino?”“I haven’t seen him around for a while.”“You and your dad are really the same—ladies' men, even at your age,” his cousin joked as he headed out the door.“It runs in the family. What can we do? We’re just made that way.”Then he turned to the housemaid and gave instructions.“Yaya, don’t let any woman in here, no matter what they say—whether they claim to be my girlfriend, wife, or anything else. Don’t let them in unless it’s Alexa, because she’s my cousin.” Then he added, “I’ll be out later. I
While playing poker, Gabriel couldn't help but steal glances at Samantha. Suddenly, Edward, his friend who also enjoyed going to casinos, arrived.“Edward, so you're here! You've been gone a while.”“Yeah, I just came home yesterday to visit,” he replied.“Ah, I see. Let’s play then.”“Hold on, I’ll grab us something to drink,” he said and went over to Samantha.“Excuse me, two beers—one each. Please have them delivered.”“I’m just the cashier, sir. I’ll have someone deliver your order,” she explained.“Gabriel, look, the new cashier is pretty,” Edward said.“Don’t even try. She’s mine.”“So you beat me to it again. You're really fast, Gabriel.”“Gabriel, I’m going home. They might be looking for me already, and I’m sleepy,” said Alexa.“Wait, let me take my cousin home first, Edward. I’ll be right back. Wait for me, okay? Don’t leave.”“Alright,” Edward replied. They left without saying goodbye to Samantha.When Samantha looked over, Gabriel was gone again.“Where’s that Gabriel agai