Love Awaited

Aftermath

Beam POV

Present time

It took two days after waking up from his coma before P'Phupha called for me.  I avoided going to the wing where his ward was located because I knew Tian was there with him. I'm not that stupid to deliberately hurt myself more.

When I entered his ward, P'Phupha greeted me with a warm smile. His body suffered as he became thinner in the span of three months that he was in a coma. But nevertheless, I still saw the usual P'Phupha. That gentleman that I admired and Tian loved. Somehow, I was able to breathe wider. He was back, that's what's more important, even if it will affect me in an entirely different reason.

"I thought you'll never show yourself to me again," He said with a weakened voice. "Do you hate me now?"

I couldn't speak. But I forced myself to say something to finish this once and for all. " I... wanted you to die..." I said before breaking down into sobs. 

He just let me express my emotions and stayed silent. It took a while but I eventually calmed down.

"If we were in a reverse position, I would have wished for the same thing..." He said while he flashed another smile. "I probably have done something to kill you too if it were me."

I chuckled at his lame attempt for a joke.

"But believe it or not, I've always wished you two the best." He added.

I walked over to his bedside and held his hand.

"I thought you will be the one to continue my hopeless love story." He confessed as his eyes watered. That's when I realized what kind of hell of a life he was living all these years. He never stopped loving Tian.

I closed my eyes in a bid to calm my nerves. When I opened them again, I found him staring at me. "It had always been you, phi. For Tian, it will always be you..."

Finally, I said it out loud. I guess, it came with acceptance of that fact. Yes, I wasn't a replacement but I was never number one either. But I guess life does not permit heavy drama in my story because once I was already in my momentum, someone interjected again.

"GAWD! Can somebody just kill me now?"

Both P'Phupha and I turned to the direction of the door where Forth's irritated voice originated.

"Nothing can ever get any gayer than this," The just apparated devil said without brakes before walking over to us and placing the basket of fruit he brought on the bedside table. 

P'Phupha grimaced when he saw what Forth brought for him. Well, I will do the same if I were given a dozen pieces of chesa or canistel fruit.

"Chesa? Really?" I commented.

"It's what I wanted to give, any problem? It's not for you!" Forth replied, annoyed.

"What took you so long to come here?" I got irritated. If there was one person that I thought who will rush to the hospital after what happened to phi, it would be Forth.

"Why do you care?" He fired back before facing P'Phupha.

Ugh! Why can't this guy just speak normally? ARGHHH!!!

"Fuck you jerk! P'Phupha almost died! His been in a coma for three months and that's the only thing you can say?! What kind of a friend are you?!" I erupted. 

"Oh come one! He's not going to die! He still hasn't transferred his properties under my name!" Forth replied nonchalantly.

My hand flew on it's own and slapped that handsome devil in front of me. I got hurt in the process but Forth just raised a brow at me. But what shocked me was when his tears suddenly fell down his cheeks.

"Awww, are you crying?" P'Phupha quipped as if mocking Forth. Looking at Forth, he had eyes that could kill. Which was totally opposite of P'Phupha's demeanor who was evidently touched while smirking.

Forth glared at P'Phupha but sat down on his bedside and held the latter's hand. My chest tightened. 

"You're not doing this to me ever again, you hear me?" Forth's voice was shaking as he said this. "I can't believe I almost lost you..."

Even though those were simple words, I felt Forth's sincerity in the way he spoke it. Whatever reason why he was late to come, it doesn't matter now.

My eyes welled up as well but I left the room to give them privacy. P'Phupha just let me. I gave them one last look before vacating the ward. In my peripheral vision, I saw how Forth's shoulder moving up and down as I closed the door.

P'Phupha is one lucky guy. He has Tian. Forth too. 

He stayed for another month in the hospital before he was allowed to be discharged. But even then, he still needed some therapy so he regularly comes back for them. Most of the time, Tian was the one accompanying him since Forth went back to the Middle East after a week.

It was P'Phupha's third therapy session when Tian and I finally had the chance to talk. It was my break and I planned to just peek at P'Phupha when I found Tian sitting in the waiting area. When he saw me, he invited me for coffee and I accepted. He didn't come home to our house for two months and I knew that he was staying with P'Phupha. I already packed his things and I only needed courage to deliver it to P'Phupha's doorstep.

My mother also learned of the situation and as expected, she cursed my two friends. 

"Mom! Stop overreacting! You know I was the one who meddled in between them." I reasoned out. 

But of course, she's my mother, so she'll take my side no matter what. P'Kris, Anita, and Misty also supported me. If ever Tian was found dead somewhere, those four women should be the primary suspects.

When Tian and I arrived at the coffeeshop, Tian just kept his head low. I shook my head.

"He needs you more than I do and you need him more than you need me. I already accepted it." I told him although it still stung.

I used three years of my life to be with Tian. But as they say, you need to know when to fight and when to retreat. And in our love game, I was the one destined to lose. We played and now it's over. Perhaps, three years are enough that we all suffered in our own ways.

"Thank you..." He said softly. Thank goodness he didn't say he's sorry. Well, he had no reason to. I knew he loved me too. He just loves P'Phupha more.

Soon enough, P'Phupha and Tian officially became a couple. And I'm one of those who were genuinely happy for them. If there was one thing that the whole experience taught me, it was the love is possible. No matter your sexual preference.

I finally understood why P'Phupha let Tian go to be with me before. If you love someone, it's more important for you to see them happy even if it means giving them up to be with another. Thinking about it, P'Phupha and I just exchanged roles. Now, I'm the one letting go of Tian so he can be truly happy. But cliche as it sounds, that's how some love stories go. It ends in one part only to continue to another.

On my end, I didn't actively look for a relationship after that. If someone comes, good. If there's none, still good.