FIXING THE BROKEN VOWS

CHAPTER 16

Days passed like a blur, but my heart. It is still breaking day by day, slowly. The happiness has long gone, forgotten as loneliness visits me again. I look at the sultry ocean as the strokes of the waves touch my feet soothingly. The ocean is still blue, just like my feelings, I'm in a deep blue. Funny how my favorite color and feelings differ. I hug my shoulder firmly as the sun burns my entire body, a brand new day to get hurt. Again and again.

I'm Cleopatra Montaverde, a graduate in law, beautiful but broke, and married to someone who repeatedly deceives and makes a fool of me openly. I don't want to pity myself for the things that have already happened. Even if I kneel and cry blood in front of Miguel, he will never love me like he used to. If only I had seen how things would go in our marriage life, I hope I would have been ready to face adversity. It hurts to be promised a lifetime of love, only to receive pain in return. My heart is being ripped apart because of him, but my love for him has never wavered and withered. How funny it is to keep falling in love with someone who breaks your heart every day.

A phone call interrupted my solitude in front of the cerulean sea.

"Yes?"

"Good day, ma'am Clea. Sir Velarde is scheduled to meet Mr. Shintaro today at eleven am sharp." I nodded.

This is the reason why I'm still here. I can't help but shed tears whenever I see Miguel and Addison going to meet each other. Why is she still here? Can't she sense that she's not welcome? As if I own the place. Addison is a leech, and she will forever be. Class cannot be bought no matter how wealthy you are.

"Thanks, Aya." I ended the call and once again, roamed my eyes around. We've been here in Cebu for a week now.

Nothing has changed honestly.

Miguel and I went to a restaurant to meet Mr. Shintaro. No words were spoken between us. He said sorry, but I feel like it's not sincere anymore. Sorry is only said when you unintentionally do things, but in Miguel's case, he's fully aware of the things he did, and no sorry can fix my broken heart again.

"Clea..." he struggled to say as we finally got out of the car.

He gently held my elbow, our gazes met, but I resisted the urge to embrace him again. It has been weeks since that incident happened, but that scene remains vivid in my mind, and whenever I see him begging for another chance, I want to give it to him again, but it feels like my heart is tired. All I want is for this to end so I can go back to Manila. I have no plans of returning to Dumaguete; it would be pointless. I'm done with that place. Miguel will eventually go back to the company after this deal, and even though I still want to stay, it feels like everything is too much.

"Love... please... talk to me again." He begged, but I looked away.

He quickly withdrew his hand and entered the restaurant ahead of me. Mr. Shintaro doesn't like meetings to be held in overly secluded places. I went inside and the waitress led me to a VIP room. I knew Miguel was following me, but I'm too tired to play along.

"Good day, Mrs. Velarde!" Mr. Shintaro quickly embraced me, surprising me, but I returned the embrace.

I glanced around again and saw how quickly Miguel's expression changed, and he swiftly pulled me away from Mr. Shintaro's embrace. I thought the man would be in his fifties, but I guess I was wrong. Standing in front of me is a man in his mid-twenties, elegant and charming. I blinked as Miguel tightly embraced me.

"I'm sorry, but we're here for the meeting. I'm sure you already knew she's married to me, right?" He asked the man angrily, and the latter nodded sluggishly. "It's hard to compete with me, Avo." Miguel said, astonishing me.

What the hell! They stared at each other as if they were about to devour each other alive, and for heaven's sake, I'm not ready for another commotion. I faked a cough to get both of their attention, and they both turned to look at me. Mr. Shintaro shook his head, smiled at me, and pulled out a chair for me. I smiled back before sitting down.

"It's my pleasure meeting you, Clea. I've heard a lot about you from people." He gave me a warm smile, and a soft laughter escaped from me.

"I hope all of it is good?" I asked him, smiling, and he simply nodded.

"Of course, of course," he nodded abruptly.

I glanced at Miguel, who now looked like he was about to burst into flames in front of the man. I smirked internally when Mr. Shintaro accidentally touched my hand as he reached for the glass of water nearby. Look at you, Miguel... see how much pain you're going to experience after breaking me.

"Love..." he whispered, just enough for me to hear.

I ignored him and focused on the food in front of us. When you're deeply scarred, no matter how many times someone asks for forgiveness, you can't easily give it, or you may be willing to forgive, but you can never forget.