Yvanna's and Justine's claim about me was proven right when I let the woman kiss me on the lips. And I kissed her back until we ended up lying on one bed with nothing left on our bodies. "Who the hell are you to stop me from doing what I want and whom I spent the night with, Yvanna?" I furiously breathed in the middle of our journey back to the mansion. "We're getting married soon, Norman. You should be thinking about how to become a good husband and a father to your child. Noah will be out in this stomach in a few months." she insisted with tears in her eyes. "They were all my circle of friends, Yvanna. What's wrong with spending the night with them, huh? We were simply celebrating for passing our midterm exams." I debated as I don't allow anyone to dictate to me what a dela Vega can and cannot do. Now that I knew my future as the sole heir of my grandfather's multi-billion corporation was as clear as the brightness of a smoldering sun, I was not gonna let anyone step on me. I ca

But to my surprise, Justine pulled me up and blew a hard punch straight into my face. "You got to be kidding me, Norman!" he blurted. "No wonder Yvanna doesn't want to be with you anymore. Because you only think about your reputation and use your money to cover up for all your mistakes." "Of course," Mother Luciana seconded, "A family that flocks together stays together. No wonder for seven years, all my daughter got from that evil family was nothing but suffering. If and only I had known the mask behind those faces from the beginning, we could have disagreed about our daughter marrying you." "Get away from here, Norman! We don't need an evil like you here. You and Yvanna are already done." Justine pushed me away from the operating room. "Eat all your money or hire someone to have sex with you. That's who you are. We don't need your money." "But money is all I have, Justine. Please, tell me what to do to make it up with Yvanna. I love her." I defensively replied as I i

One month later, in the middle of my work in the office of the mayor, my phone suddenly rang, breaking the deafening sounds of silence that dominated the room. "Mr. Emilio, I can't talk much right now. I'm a bit busy in the office." I uttered those words without moving my mouth as we were in the middle of an emergency meeting to address an important issue that struck the city. "So, if it's not urgent, and you can fix the problem yourself, please, do the honor." "It's about Yvanna, Mr. dela Vega. I want you to know that she will get discharged this afternoon." Hearing him softly breathing out her name almost made me depart from my seat. It has been a month since she was admitted to the hospital and within those days, I didn't get the chance to take a glimpse of her because my work as the city mayor and CEO of my empire swallowed my schedule in whole. And I was put in the middle of deciding either to let them continue the meeting without me or just ignore I got th

Despite the huge announcement, everyone was put into silence this time, far from the way I expected. It was the kind of silence when we could hear nothing despite our mouths chewing the food, our spoon, and fork scooping in and out of the plates, and gulping the glass of water. I barely heard those sounds apart from my roaring heartbeats. Or perhaps I was the only one who felt the time in the dining area stopped ticking. Well, there is one sound that broke the silence between all of us -- Noah's continuous slurping, ignoring the heavy tension of the elders' discussion. Mr. Emilio who stood in the corner behind me, and was supposed to be the family's legal advisor, kept his mouth shut. The truth is, since my grandfather's passing, my old position as the president of the empire has been vacant. After inheriting everything, I haven't found it hard to manage everything alone to the point that the said position has been vacant and dormant. Dad did not even ask for it

The way we expected, Noah was in high spirits when we told him about us. He even poured us his blessing and that he was happy for having two dads. But I was most proud of Justine when he explained it to the kid from a kid's perspective, allowing him to understand things better, and promising to protect me from those who will hurt me. Even if he already knew that I had a very complicated past, let alone, that I had a kid from someone's dad, Justine still accepted me with open arms. He even treated Noah like his own when we lived in his house for a few days. Because of that, I vowed to love him for the rest of my life with or without my memories. "Mom, let's eat. I'm already hungry." Noah let go of my hands and rushed to the dining area after sniffing the sweet and sour scent coming from the kitchen. "I think this is the farthest I could go, Yvanna." Justine glued his feet as soon as we stepped foot into the entrance of the main house. A part of me wanted t