M-my Guardian Angel?! [StellJun AU]

Chapter 18: The Spouse and The Father

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven"
-- Luke 6:37

|Tita Maris's POV|
"Son, are you not gonna eat breakfast first before going to work?" I warmly ask my son, Conan, who is rushing to leave. Wearing his office shoes in a hurry.
"Thanks, Ma, but I'm in a rush" I frowned but he didn't notice. We barely bond after Constantine died, and now I feel lonely despite my son being here with me.
"I'm staying late for work, so don't wait for me. I got keys to open the gate"
"Can--" I paused, He stopped for a moment listening to what I'll say. "Can you visit your father, just even for a minute? Let him see you" I pulled so much courage to say that. He ignored what I said and left with furrowed eyebrows. I sighed and covered the food on the table. Once his father left, he never dared to place a foot near him.
"Oh my, I miss the old days..." Saying that hurts my throat, it meant many things to what I experienced as a mother...and as a wife. It's bitter sweet for me.

"Tita Maris" I heard Paulo call outside the gate, I went outside and I was surprised by him and Savion.
"Good morning" I great warmly and let them inside.
"Good morning, Tita" Both of them did a bless gesture before going inside the house, such respectful kids.
"Did you eat breakfast?" I offered and showed the dishes on the table, Their faces brighten and eyes sparkled which already made my day. 3 of us sat on the table and ate together, the lonely feeling I got was turned into a ray of happiness after this 2 came and ate with me. They healed me in a way they didn't know.
"Where's Kuya Conan, Tita?" Savion speaks chewing his food while looking around the dining room.
"Oh, he left early due to work..." They paused from eating and gaze at me sincerely, does the hurt in my voice so obvious?

Savion Helped me take the dirty plates away and washed them for me.
"Thank you, son" I pat his shoulder and he smiles at me warmly.
"This is nothing, Tita. You can even order me to clean the whole house!" He jokes and I slap his shoulder playfully and laugh. After washing the dishes they followed me onto the living room.
"I got something to show you." I sat down on the long modular sofa. I pulled an old medium sized box from the attic to show it to them. Sav sat on my right side, while Pau on the other. I pulled couple of photos, family photos to be exact.
"Aww look at this..." I pulled out a family photo where there was only 3 people and I admire it wholeheartedly.
"Is that Kuya Conan?" Paulo asked and pointed at a 3 years old Conan whom his father was carrying.
"Ahh yes, My Unico hijo" I smiled while admiring it. I took more photos and laid them out on the coffee table in front of us. My Unica hija, Constantine, was still on my womb on the very last family photo we took
|End of POV|

|Savion's POV|
Once she laid out more photos of their family, I began noticing a man in almost all of it. However, Constantine was the opposite, she was never in one.
"Who is that? Is it your late husband?" Paulo asked, curious like I am.
"Oh, no, no. Not late husband... He is still alive"
"Where is he now?" I questioned cautiously.
"He is still alive... but in jail" Me and Paulo looked at each other with the same thought.
"Does Conti knew about this, Tita?" Paulo. Tita Maris then started having tears while shaking her head.
"That was my mistake" She cries her heart out while I caress her back to comfort her.
"I blame myself for not telling her sooner"

"Do you have any grudges to anyone? If yes, did you leave it on earth?"
"Yes, I do... To my father whom I never met." Her voice cracks shortly... The pain in her voice says it all.

"Conti died thinking that her father abandoned her" I purposely showed the pain in my voice to somehow portray what will be Constantine's reaction right now. Paulo nods at my sentence while Tita Maris weeps more to what she heard, I know this pierces her deeply as a mother.
"I never wanted her to think that way, but I can't also blame her... I raised her alone not even giving her the name of their father."
"What is his name? Why was he sent to jail?" Paulo grabs one of the photos and scanned it carefully.
"Vicente... Vicente Hermosa," That seems... oddly familiar...

"Vicente!!" A rough voice calls out with strict and angry tone. A scene flashes again, Who is he?

"I-I actually don't know the whole reason why he was sent," She paused as she starts to whimper again just by recalling her past. "The police just came by the hospital room and told me that he was caught in jail." Tita Maris continued weeping then Paulo hugs her, patting her back as comfort. Now its my turn to scan the pictures. I picked a photo that stands out more. It's a formal family picture where a Young Conan is standing between Tita Maris and her husband.
"Conan was diagnosed in the hospital with severe dengue, a few days after we took that family photo." She speaks within sobs.
"You said that the Police came in the hospital room on the time where Kuya Conan was diagnosed with Dengue?"
|End of POV|

|Paulo's POV|
She nods while wiping her tears. Damn... That must've been so hard for them. But it hurts me that Constantine never even knew their father's name or his face.
"What was the Police arresting him for?" I cautiously ask once again, It might trigger Tita Maris's traumatic memories but I want to know why is he in prison for too long, giving the fact  that he was already in jail, months before Constantine was born.
"Because of too much stress and trauma that gave me, I forgot it completely but I still feel how bad he was sentenced for... I... still feel the heavy pain in my heart. I cried for days as I'm stressing for Conan's hospital bill and his imprisonment" She breathes deeply, releasing a sob before continuing, "After a few months, I found out that I am pregnant with a baby girl and it's Constantine" Every mention of her name makes us remember the terrible accident and it adds to the heavy ambience.
"Does your husband know that you had her?" Savion. She nods with a shaky breath.
"I sent him few of her photos when she was only 9 months old"

"Sons," Tita Maris's then hugs us both, placing both of her arms around our shoulder.
"I am very thankful for God for bringing you here to me" I notice a tear in her eye after saying that. Oh Tita, I'm thankful also for you to be my girlfriend's mother.
"My daughter is surely surrounded by great people and you showed it to me by visiting me every week" She kissed Savion's forehead then mine, both of us smiled warmly at each other at how this little huddle became a soft hour for the 3 of us. I'm glad that Tita Maris showed her fragile side for a while, and it was also a pleasure that she shared it to us. It shows that she really trusts us despite Constantine not being here anymore.
|End of POV|

|Savion's POV|
After finding out about Conti's father, it made me overthink about my past. I hope this doesn't lead to a bad situation where everything connects to me as the main cause of everything.

The Spouse and The Father, Vicente Hermosa.
A person unknown to me yet familiar.
|End of POV|