Chapter 6:

“Oh, Aviannah, it’s good that you’re here.”

“Hi, Yaya!” Aviannah greeted with a smile as she entered the gate of their mansion.

Vangie glanced at the luxurious car outside that had just dropped off her ward. “Who brought you home?” Vangie asked Aviannah while following her inside. Aviannah headed straight to the kitchen to get a cold drink from the fridge and took a sip.

“Uhm… it was Alfred,” Aviannah answered simply, making Vangie momentarily pause.

“What? Did I hear that right? Did you just say Alfred brought you home?”

“Yes, Yaya. Why?”

“Oh, nothing. But why did he drive you home? Does that mean you spent the whole day with him?” Vangie pried further.

“What?”

“You left so early this morning. When I went to your room to offer you breakfast, you were already gone.”

“I was at the shop early in the morning, Yaya.”

“And then? How did Alfred end up driving you home?”

“We met.”

“Why did you meet?”

“Wait a minute, Yaya. Why do you have so many questions about him?”

“Well, it’s just that… haven’t you two not spoken in a long time?”

“Yeah, we stopped talking for so many years, but that doesn’t mean we’re no longer friends. We’re still friends, Yaya. And besides, the reason we met earlier was because of business,” Aviannah explained at length to Vangie.

“Oh, is that so? So, you’re still friends despite what happened in the past?”

“Yaya, nothing bad happened between us in the past.”

“But… weren’t you supposed to get married—”

“That was just something my dad and his parents wanted. Besides, we were both still young back then. We both decided to go against their wishes for us to get married, and we remained good friends after that.”

“Okay, I understand now.”

“Yaya…”

“It’s just that I’m not used to seeing another man driving you home. And it’s all because your brother decided to give Lito a one-week leave. Now, there’s no one to drive for you,” Vangie said.

“Well, that’s fine, Yaya. Maybe this is the right time for me to learn how to drive.”

“Oh, really? You want to learn how to drive?” Vangie asked in surprise.

“Yes, Yaya. Actually, Alfred offered to teach me how to drive,” Aviannah replied with a smile.

“Really? And what did you say? Did you agree?” Vangie asked one question after another.

“Yes—”

“But why would you ask him to teach you how to drive?” Vangie quickly interrupted Aviannah.

“What?”

“Your dad could teach you instead.”

“Yaya, you know how busy Dad is, right?”

“That’s true. In that case, Lito can teach you instead. Or maybe even your brother, Andrei.”

“What about me?”

Aviannah and Vangie quickly turned around when Andrei suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Aviannah met Andrei’s gaze as he looked at her.

“Oh, you’re here,” Vangie said.

“Are you talking about me?” Andrei asked Vangie, but his eyes remained fixed on Aviannah.

“Ah, Aviannah and I were just talking about who could teach her how to drive. I told her that Lito could teach her, or even you, since her dad is too busy. So instead of learning from someone else like Alfred, she should just learn from you or Lito,” Vangie explained in her usual talkative manner.

“Oh… really? Alfred is going to teach you how to drive?” Andrei asked Aviannah directly.

“Yup,” Aviannah answered straightforwardly. “But what like Yaya said, I could also learn from Mang Lito… or maybe even from you.”

“What?” Andrei's forehead creased slightly as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.

“What do you think? Can you teach me?” Aviannah asked Andrei, catching him off guard.

“Huh?” It was as if Andrei wasn’t prepared for Aviannah’s question.

“I said, can you teach me how to drive?” Aviannah repeated her question to Andrei.

“S-Sure. Of course,” Andrei replied, still looking puzzled by Aviannah’s sudden change in demeanor toward him.

Aviannah flashed a sweet smile at Andrei. “That’s good then.”

Moments later, they heard footsteps and voices approaching.

“Oh, you’re here, ma’am, sir,” Vangie greeted Cristy and Ark, who had just arrived with a beautiful woman—Khyline. She was the woman Andrei introduced to Aviannah last night as his girlfriend.

“Yes, Vangie, we just got here,” Cristy replied with a smile before turning her attention to Aviannah. “Avie, you’re here too. Perfect timing! Join us for dinner. We asked Vangie to prepare a delicious meal since Khyline will be dining with us tonight. By the way, have you two met?”

“Yes, Tita,” Aviannah quickly answered, smiling at them. “We met last night at Kuya Andrei’s party,” she added, which made Andrei suddenly fix his gaze on her.

Everyone seemed to pause for a moment after she spoke as if she had just said something unusual.

“Kuya?” Cristy asked in surprise. “That was the first time you called Andrei ‘Kuya.’”

“Oh… I’m sorry about that. But don’t worry, from now on, you’ll hear me call him that all the time,” Aviannah said with a smile, making Andrei clench his jaw.

“Wow. That’s great, Avie. Thank you!” Cristy said happily, and shortly after, she invited everyone to the dining table.

Aviannah sat quietly across from Andrei, while Khyline took the seat beside him. At that moment, Andrei carefully observed Aviannah’s every move, still unable to believe her sudden change in attitude toward him.

“Vangie, join us for dinner,” Cristy invited.

“Oh no, ma’am, I’ll eat later. I’ll just join Lisa,” Vangie replied, referring to her fellow housemaid.

“Okay, suit yourself,” Cristy said before turning her attention to the others. “Let’s eat. Enjoy your meal, dear,” she added, addressing Khyline while serving her some food.

“Thank you! Everything looks delicious,” Khyline replied with a polite smile.

Aviannah could clearly see how much Cristy liked Khyline for her son, Andrei. The older woman was delighted that Andrei had finally introduced a girlfriend, something Aviannah was trying her best to ignore.

“Andrei had all these dishes prepared, especially this boiled chicken. I heard it’s your favorite,” Cristy said with a smile.

Aviannah’s gaze shifted toward the boiled chicken Cristy was referring to.

“Yes, Tita. It’s my favorite. Back in Canada, Andrei used to cook it for me all the time,” Khyline responded.

Aviannah froze for a moment, her eyes still fixed on the boiled chicken.

A strange pang of pain stirred within her, accompanied by memories that suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

“I’m coming in, okay?” Drei said before slowly opening the door. He peeked inside, and Aviannah, who had been lying on the wooden bed, immediately sat up.

“Eat first,” Drei told her, and she looked at him with curiosity.

He walked closer and sat beside her.

“D-Did you cook this?” she asked, eyeing the dish he had brought—boiled chicken, which looked and smelled delicious.

“Yes. So eat up so you can take your medicine,” he replied. She paused for a moment and stared at him.

“W-Why? Is something wrong?” Drei asked.

She swallowed. “Uhm…” She quickly looked away. “N-No, nothing,” she said shyly.

“Come on, eat now,” he urged her again. Slowly, she started eating.

“Does it taste okay?” he asked, sounding a bit nervous.

She smiled at him, making him freeze for a moment while her heart pounded in her chest.

“Yes, it’s delicious! I didn’t know you could cook so well,” she said happily as she continued eating.

But moments later, Drei suddenly stood up and stepped away, causing her to look at him in confusion.

“I-I’ll head out now. Just finish your meal, take your medicine, and once you’re done, leave your dishes there and get some rest,” he said all at once.

“O-Okay—”

“Kuya,” Drei quickly interrupted, making her frown.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t I tell you to call me ‘Kuya’?”

“But I don’t want to—”

“Don’t be so stubborn. I’m older than you—”

“But you’re not my brother. So why should I call you ‘Kuya’?” she interrupted him. His throat moved as he swallowed.

“S-So what? I’m still older than you, so you should call me ‘Kuya’ like the kids—”

“But I’m not a kid anymore!” she cut him off again, now feeling annoyed at his insistence.

“H-Huh?”

“I won’t call you ‘Kuya’ because you’re not my brother. And I’m not a kid.”

“F-Fine! Do whatever you want!” Drei finally gave up and stormed out of her room.

“Oh, is that so? Andrei, why don’t you cook boiled chicken for Avie next time as well?”

Aviannah was immediately pulled back to reality upon hearing Cristy’s words. She lifted her gaze to the woman, looking at her with curiosity.

“She doesn’t eat that,” Cristy added, making Andrei stare at Aviannah. Aviannah felt his gaze shift toward her, so she met his eyes.

“I just thought that maybe if you cooked it for her, she might start liking it too,” Cristy said with a smile, completely unaware that Andrei had already cooked that dish for Aviannah before. In fact, it was the very reason she no longer ate it—because for Aviannah, it was just another memory of Andrei that she wanted to erase.

“No need, Tita,” Aviannah replied after a moment, forcing a smile at Cristy. “I think even if Kuya cooks that dish for me, I still won’t like it.”

“Are you sure? You really don’t want to?” Andrei suddenly asked, making Aviannah turn to him.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she answered him directly.

“Why don’t you give me a chance first?”

“What?”

“You never know, you might change your mind in the end and end up liking it,” Andrei said seriously.

Aviannah clicked her tongue at Andrei’s words. “I don’t think my mind will ever change.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ark cleared his throat, causing Aviannah and Andrei to stop their serious exchange.

“Just eat and stop arguing about that,” he said.

“O-Oh, right. Let’s eat,” Cristy agreed, and everyone started eating.

However, after a moment of silence, Ark spoke again, addressing his daughter.

“By the way, where were you last night?” he asked, turning to Aviannah.

“Pardon?”

“You disappeared early from the party. Your staff stayed behind, and they said you left, mentioning you had something urgent to attend to.”

“Ah… uhm…” Aviannah didn’t know how to respond to her father. The truth was, after Andrei introduced Khyline to her as his girlfriend, she no longer felt comfortable at the party. Her entire night was ruined, and she couldn’t hide the pain she felt. So, she left and spent a few hours with her friend, Sandra.

Aviannah’s gaze shifted to Andrei, who was sitting across from her. She saw him intently watching her as if patiently waiting for her response.

“Uhm… I met up with Sandra, Dad,” she finally answered.

“Sandra?”

“Yes, Dad. We just talked about business.”

“Is that also why you left early this morning?” Ark asked again.

“Yes, Dad.”

“I see,” Ark nodded while taking a bite of his food. But moments later…

“Then how about Alfred?” he asked, making Aviannah momentarily freeze.

“P-Pardon?”

“I heard you were with him earlier. Is that true?”

Aviannah didn’t know why, but her eyes instinctively landed on the man in front of her. Her heart pounded harder when she saw the sharp look Andrei was now giving her.