this may or may not be an unreleased spades chapter
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He thought it was all in his mind. That this whole thing was a charade that he just so perfectly happened to know the answer to. Something he pieced together and was completely wrong about. That this connect-the-dots thing he did was purely coincidental and not something that truly existed.
How wrong he was.
—
1
The first of all the pieces he put together happened when they weren't dating yet. He was a suitor that she was reluctant to accept. But he was determined to charm her, hanging around her still but still kept his distance. He didn't want to get on her bad side. She agreed that they be friends, emphasizing her rejection to his advances. He accepted, thinking that maybe, if he played his cards right, they could be more than friends sometime in the future.
He guided her to the living room, panicking slightly when she almost tripped over one of her kids' toys. He helped her sit on the couch before going to the kitchen to fetch some water for her. From the corner of his eye, he saw her lay her head on the backrest and close her eyes.
For someone who claimed to be happy, Risa sure didn't look like it.
Especially since he just saw her down more alcohol than he thought she could consume. They were out with a few mutual friends and he offered to bring her home after noticing she was too drunk to function. The rest of their companions agreed since they were sure he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.
He turned the lights on and walked to Risa, handing her a glass of water. "Ris, inom ka muna tubig."
She shook her head and closed her eyes again. The lifeless chuckle she made tore his heart. What baggage was she carrying and why was it so heavy?
"If I tell you now that I'm in love with someone else, would you accept it?"
"What do you mean?" He asked, his curiousity piqued by the sudden topic.
"I'm in love with someone else. Pero...we can't be together. And she..."
"She?"
"She."
Now that was new. He didn't think Risa was attracted to women. Never in his life. No one told him about it, maybe no one even knew in the first place.
"She loves me too," Risa whispered, a tear falling down her cheek. "She loves me more than I love her."
"Who is it?"
Instead of answering his question, Risa stood up, knees wobbly as she walked up the stairs to her room. He followed her, afraid she'll hurt herself if he lets her do things on her own. He handed her a set of clean clothes while she fixed herself in the bathroom, reminded her to brush her teeth before going out, and forced her to drink the glass of water before she went to bed.
It bothered him — what she said earlier — but he didn't know if she meant it. Perhaps it was just a drunken musing, a random thought that popped in her head that she decided to say out loud. Instead of pushing it though, he thought he'd bring that up another time. Now, his priority was to take care of her without crossing his own boundaries because if he does, he won't be getting the chance with her that he so badly wanted.
