Dale’s POV“Babe, I have a surprise!!”There she goes again with her surprise.“What?”“Let’s go camping!!”“Camping? Where?”“You’ll know. Just trust me with this”“I’m busy with the business. Can we postpone that one?”Camping is not a good idea. I never experienced that one and I never want to try that.“Babe, I already reserved a spot for us. I wanted to surprise you because I was expecting that you would like it”“But---”“You’re not coming?”“Argh I-I have work…”When I saw her on the verge of crying, I couldn’t finish my word.“Fine! Just one night”“Yes?!”“Hm”“Yay!! I love you, babe! This will be fun! You’ll enjoy this. I am sure of it!!”She couldn’t hide her excitement that she jumped around the place.“I’ll meet you at six tomorrow. Bye!”She smacked a kiss on my cheek and left the house. She never lost her energy.[MESSAGE RECEIVED]Pack your things. I’m excited. Tomorrow going to be fun!I just don’t know what to say.[MESSAGE RECEIVED]Want to grab some coffee?Huh? Wh

Dale’s POV“Where have you been?” Stacey asked the moment I got in.“Downstairs. I accompany her” I simply replied.“Why are your eyes red? Did you cry---”“No. Something got into my eyes while going up here, so I scrubbed it because it was itchy… it still hurts now” I lied.What I did was heavy and torturous. I wanted to turn back and hug her and take all the words I said, but if I did that, I would only make her miserable. From now, I just want to make her forget about me and move on. I have to do whatever to save her.“Do you want me to put some eye drops?” she asked.“Hm”If I denied her offer, she might notice that I was really lying to her.“Sit. I’ll put you some”I sit on the couch and elevate my head so she can put some of it.“How was your business going?” she asked.“Good. It’s doing fine”She looked at me and smiled after she was done putting on some eye drops.“She’s nice. I like her” she stated.I couldn’t say a word to agree with her because it might cause misunderstand

Chelsea’s POV“Are you sure about this?”I look at Dad and give him an assuring smile. He’s not putting pressure on me but I want to do this on my own will. I have decided. I want to do this for them.“I’ve made my decision. It took me this long because I thought I could find another way to help but I was wrong”“I don’t want to put you in a tight situation and regret it later on”“Dad, it’s okay. I’ll do it”“Okay”He was unsure what to say last night when I told them that I would do the marriage. He was stunned and confused as to why I suddenly changed my mind but I kept insisting and I assured them that I’d be fine.We headed to the house of the family of the person that I’ll be marrying. This will be the first time I’ll be seeing them. I don’t know what to expect or how to react but I’ll be as pleasing as I can.“We’re here. Let’s go”The house looks very modern. It’s refreshing to see. They have good taste in design though. As we entered the house, a man welcomed us.“Mr. Castro,

Chelsea’s POV“What’s with the frowning early in the morning?” Dad asked.“Since when did you come here?” I asked in surprise.“Just now and that face welcomed me. Anything bothering you?”He sits next to me. I took a sigh before saying anything.“Not a big deal Dad. It’s my problem” I simply replied.When they decided to live somewhere closer to their work, I was left there and I felt disconnected from them that I couldn’t cry or nag at them when things messed up. It was Dale who fulfilled that role for me.“Is it about the marriage?”“Huh?”I was surprised that Dad seemed to read what was going on inside my mind. I don’t have reason to deny that to him though.“I’m just overwhelmed with everything”“I’m sorry, my princess”I look at Dad and he’s giving an apologetic reaction.“I want to help you. This is the least I can do”“Come here”She wraps her arm around me so I dig myself close to him leaning on his chest while his chin rests on my head. I miss the feeling of being babied by

Dale’s POV[KNOCKING] I ran to the door and hurriedly opened it thinking that Chelsea had come back but I was wrong.“Stacey, what are you doing here?” I directly asked.I thought it was Chelsea.“Are you drinking?” she asked after her sight went through the dining where cans of beer were scattered.“Uhm… yes I was”“With whom?”“I’m with myse---”“I saw Chelsea leaving. Is she from here?”“Y-yes…”“Are you not going to let me in?”“Yeah, sure come in”I don’t have a choice but to let her in and tell her an alibi why Chelsea was here.“She needed a friend to talk to because she’s… heartbroken”That was such a lame reason! I couldn’t think of any reason to say. I haven’t even anticipated this situation.“Heartbroken? Does she have a new boyfriend? His fiancée just died…”I suddenly realized that it was the reason to tell.“I guess she’s dating… new people to forget about his fiancée”“It must be hard for her. Is she okay?” she casually asked.“Yeah. I guess”“You’re good wit