He Married the Stripper.

Bugaboo* - Two.

---NARRATOR---

Luna was disowned by her own family more than five years ago. They discovered that she was not going to dental school like she promised but is instead still wasting her time and their money in a little shop she's apprenticing at. They threw her out and took all her credit cards effectively cutting off all contact but what they didn't know was that she was diagnosed with lupus just two days prior. Nobody aside from her and her doctor knew about her illness but somehow Xander found out and asked to meet with her. 

So with Luna being homeless, with no money to her name, and freshly diagnosed with an autoimmune disease she was given a choice as Xander put it. He would help her with her predicament and in return, she's going to break up with Alex and just disappear. 

"So she left. I helped her get settled in Australia and I found her a specialist that can help her with her illness. I didn't keep in contact with her after she got there. So I didn't know what happened after that. I just did my part of the deal and I left her alone after that." 

Alex silently listened to his story, never once interjecting to clarify or ask questions. Alex thought his story sounded rehearsed as if he's been practicing for a long time like he knows one day he'd come and ask him. He looked up and stared at him.

"Why did you do it? Why did you 'help' her disappear as you so lightly put it?" He asked through gritted teeth. Alex already knows the answer but he wanted to hear it from him nevertheless.

"Because if you stayed together, your grandfather would have disowned you too."

"And you didn't think I would have been okay with that? That maybe I'd rather be disowned than lose her?"

"I knew you would choose her if you were give the chance and we both know that would have been a stupid decision and you know I wouldn't have been able to help you if that happened."

"I wouldn't want your help." He mumbled. 

"Alex, you're my son and I just want what's best for you." Alex laughed.

"If you wanted what was best for me you would have told me, you could've given me a choice as well. Parehas lang kayo ni Lolo, the only difference is he has the guts to tell me when he's about to ruin my life and hurt me. But you... you never had the guts to look me in the eye and tell me! Instead you play this righteous father who THINKS he's doing something right!"

Alex sat motionless in his car, he's exhausted from banging on his steering wheel and forcing himself to regulate his breathing. So now he's been replaying the conversation he had with his father over and over again for the last ten minutes. Digesting and regurgitating his words over and over again. Wasn't it Luna who told him before that being oblivious is better than the misery of knowing? It sounded stupid to him then but now he understands what she meant, now that he's sitting here, paralyzed and burdened with the truth. Even after all these years she still knows how to torment him because why else would she change her tune and tell him to ask his father. He took another deep breath and turned the car on. This relaxing weekend had turned into such a nightmare.

Luna couldn't wait for the elevator and chose to take the stairs down to the lobby instead. It's late and she was getting ready for bed when she heard her phone ring. She was going to ignore it since she had a long day but something inside her made her check and she thanked whatever it was that she did. 

She found him sitting on one of the benches at the entrance of the garden. He looked up when he heard her coming, he motioned for her to sit beside her and she did. She's never been patient but she always tried to be when it comes to him, so she waited for him to say or do something not wanting to ruin moment or the magic that made him come to her.

"Bakit hindi mo sinabi sakin? I could've helped you. We could've gone through it together." He finally said, his eyes on her. He's finally looking at her again, not with contempt or disgust but with sadness and maybe regret. It's still not the look she'd want but she knows it's a start so she accepted it and smiled. 

"You were finally fulfilling your goals, you were proving yourself to your family with little help from any of them but I know Lolo Al could've taken all of that away if you chose me. I couldn't ask you to throw everything away for me."

"You know I would've done just that if you'd asked me to, if you told me the truth." Luna nodded, of course, he would. He would've done anything and everything for her. She knows how much he loved her and she knows how much it hurt him when she left. She wanted to feel regret for her choice but she knows that was the best option she had. It was the only option where they would both thrive despite the heartache.

"We were young and we both know we wouldn't have survived if we stayed together. Sisiguraduhin ng pamilya natin na hindi tayo magiging masaya at alam ko rin kung anong mangyayari satin kung hindi ako umalis. We'd be happy for a while, we'd try to make things work but eventually, everything would start falling apart. You'd start hating yourself for losing to your asshole family and I'd hate being poor and helpless until finally, we'd start hating each other. Limang taon akong nawala at limang taon ko ding pinag-isipan lahat ng what-ifs, ilang beses ko na ding nireplay sa utak ko lahat ng possible scenarios and every time I played around with the thought of staying it ends up with the both of us miserable and full of hatred for each other."

"That's exactly what happened though. I hated you for leaving without an explanation, for disappearing without saying anything. All you've left was a letter telling me you're leaving and there was nothing I can do about it. So you didn't really change shit. I still hate you."

"I know but I know I deserve it because it was my choice. You know I wouldn't survive being poor and knowing your Lolo he would have taken everything you owned. I didn't hate you in the end and that was the last thing I ever want to feel for you."

"We have the most fucked up family." Alex laughed softly.

"Pero salamat din sa kanila dahil nahanap natin ang isa't-isa. We understood each other and that's why we got closer. We fell in love because our family made us miserable."

"We weren't always miserable, we were happy. We made each other happy." He whispered, Luna looked at him but he was looking straight ahead. 

Alex looked more handsome in the moonlight, the light reflected in his brown eyes. His eyes were her favorite part of him. His eyes that always looked at her with love. If things were different, if she was just brave enough, she would've kissed him under the bright moon and in a perfect world, he would let her. 

"So why'd you come back?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I wanted to see you. I wanted to come back because I couldn't bear the fact that you moved on. It hurt me to know that you found someone else to spend your life with while I was still aimlessly looking for someone to fill the hole in my heart. I wanted you to be mine again. I came back because I want you back."

"I wanted to come home, show my parents everything I accomplished without them, and also because I wanted you to stop hating me." She half lied instead. She couldn't possibly tell him the whole truth. Not when he's already married, not when he seemed happy with how his life turned out without her.

"So revenge?" He chuckled as he remembered the first time they talked.

"Yea." She smiled knowing exactly what he was thinking. She's glad she answered the phone.