The Day After

What Ifs and Apologies

A/N: 🔞

After five years, Roxy summons the courage to meet with Archie, the man who pledged to stand by her side when she became pregnant.

As they come face to face, their past promises and unresolved emotions resurface, setting the stage for a potentially life-altering encounter.

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Roxy smiled at Archie as he leaned against her stomach, his eyes closed as he tried to listen for his son's movements.

With a hesitant gesture, Roxy discreetly reached for Archie's hair, softly tracing her finger through it while he remained in place.

"Hey, I felt that." Archie remarked, looking up at her, causing Roxy to blush and withdraw her hand.

Unexpectedly, Archie grabbed her hand and gently guided it back to the top of his head. "You know you can touch me anytime you want, Roxy," he teased.

Roxy frowned as she aggressively tugged Archie's hair, causing him to flinch. "Ouch! Roxy, my hair!"

"Ikaw eh, nang-aano ka nanaman!"  Roxy said angrily.

"What nang-aano nanaman?" he asked innocently.

Roxy tried to retort, but no words came out, and she gritted her teeth. "Feelingero!" was all she could manage to say.

"Joke lang." he softly said, taking her hands once again and placing them on his cheeks.

Their eyes met, and despite being six months pregnant, his gaze still held the same desire and admiration for her as before.

"Thank you for letting me stay Roxanne, I promise dito lang ako parati for you and para kay baby. Hinding-hindi kita iiwan." Archie said earnestly.

She remained silent, her heart racing in her chest.

Then almost without thinking, she found herself leaning towards him, feeling the loud thud of her heart as he gently cupped her face.

And she felt his lips on hers.

In that moment, Roxy realized that she had finally opened her heart to Archimedes Aguerro.

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RINNGGGGGG!!!

Roxy opened her eyes and quickly reached for her phone. As she struggled to open her eyes, she noticed that the timer for her one-hour lunch break had already expired. Closing her alarm, she was greeted by the wallpaper of her five-year-old son.

She had been dozing off again, forgetting to eat once more. Rising from her chair in the nurse's locker room, she popped three pieces of menthol candy into her mouth.

Glancing at the chart, Roxy prepared the medication she needed to deliver to some patients. As she checked the medicine, she let out a loud sigh.

Here she was again, having another dream about the guy who had suddenly ghosted her five years ago. Dream or memories?

"Uy Roxy, bat andito ka pa? Di ba, dapat out mo na?" Alice, her fellow nurse asked.

Taking a deep breath, Roxy glanced at her yellow watch. Alice was right; her shift had ended 30 minutes ago. Yet here she was, once again, stuck in unwanted overtime due to short staffing at the hospital.

"May choice ba tayo mars?" Roxy replied wearily. "Eto na, tapusin ko lang to, tapos pauwi na din ako."

This had become her daily routine since she started her job at the hospital. Nursing was never her first choice, but the prospect of working overseas with her sister had made her reconsider.— Once Ria was settled abroad, she would bring Roxy and her son along. Roxy would work overseas just like her sister.