Three Little Heartbeats

Chapter 48: The Marcoses' Reckoning

The peaceful morning at their estate was soon to be interrupted by an unexpected storm. Alexia stood in the kitchen, the twins nestled in their high chairs, their little hands smacking the table as they waited for their breakfast. Sandro had left early for a brief meeting, promising he'd be back by lunchtime.

It was one of those rare, calm moments. Alexia cherished these small fragments of normalcy—just her, the babies, and the quiet hum of domestic life. The air smelled of fresh bread, and the soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the room.

Then the phone rang.

Alexia wiped her hands on a towel, glancing at the caller ID. It was an unknown number. Hesitant, she picked up the phone, curiosity nibbling at her.

"Hello?"

"Alexia, this is Senator Marcos."

The voice on the other end sent a jolt of tension down her spine. It was Sandro's father—Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the formidable patriarch of the Marcos family. She hadn't spoken to him since everything with Sandro began. She knew this day would come, but she didn't expect it to arrive so suddenly, or so forcefully.

"Senator," Alexia replied, her voice steady but cautious. "Is something wrong?"

There was a long pause on the other end, and she could almost hear the weight of what he was about to say.

"I know about the children."

Alexia's breath caught in her throat. Her heart began to race as the reality of the moment set in. They knew. The secret that she and Sandro had kept buried, the one that had torn them apart and brought them back together, was no longer hidden. The Marcos family—the political dynasty Sandro was part of—had learned about the twins.

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. She could hear the twins babbling in the background, oblivious to the shift in their world, and she tried to steady her nerves.

"I see," Alexia said, keeping her voice calm, though her mind was racing. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation," Senator Marcos said, his tone sharp but not unkind. "Our family is constantly under the spotlight. Every move, every decision is scrutinized. And now, I find out that my son has children—children who have been kept from us, from the public eye. This isn't something we can afford to have come out without careful consideration."

Alexia felt a chill wash over her. She knew how tightly the Marcos family controlled their image, how meticulously they crafted their public persona. Sandro had always been careful, balancing his political career with his personal life, but now the stakes were higher than ever.

"These are my children too," she replied firmly, her protective instincts flaring. "This isn't just about politics. It's about family, about what's best for them."

There was another pause before Senator Marcos spoke again, this time softer, almost weary. "I understand that, Alexia. But the reality is, Sandro is a public figure. This will affect his career, and by extension, the future of our family. We need to be prepared."

Alexia's stomach churned. She hadn't fully considered the ramifications of this secret becoming public. She had been so focused on protecting her children, on keeping her family intact, that the political consequences had faded into the background. But now, she couldn't ignore it.

Before she could respond, she heard the front door open. Sandro walked in, his brow furrowed with concern as he took in the look on her face. He quickly crossed the room, his hand gently resting on her arm.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes darting to the phone in her hand.

"It's your father," Alexia said quietly, handing the phone to him. "He knows."

Sandro's face paled as he took the phone, his jaw tightening. He stepped into the next room, his voice low but tense as he spoke to his father. Alexia stood frozen, listening to fragments of the conversation, her heart pounding in her chest.

"She's right here with me, Dad. Yes, I know what this means."

There was a pause as Sandro listened to whatever his father was saying on the other end. Alexia could see the tension in his shoulders, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. He had worked so hard to balance his life in the public eye, to keep his personal struggles hidden from the media. And now, the walls were closing in.

Finally, Sandro ended the call, exhaling sharply as he turned to face her.

"They want to meet. My parents," he said, rubbing his temples. "They want to discuss how we're going to handle this."

Alexia swallowed hard. "And what do you want, Sandro?"

He walked toward her, his expression softening as he cupped her face in his hands. "I want to protect you and the twins. I don't care what the media says. I don't care about the politics. But my father is right—we need to be careful about how this comes out. If we're not, it could cause a media frenzy, and I don't want that for our children."

Alexia nodded, her throat tight with emotion. "I don't want to hide anymore, Sandro. But I also don't want to expose the twins to that kind of scrutiny."

"We'll figure it out," he promised, his voice steady. "Together."

The next few days passed in a blur of tense discussions and quiet moments stolen with the twins. Sandro's parents arrived at the estate, bringing with them the weight of expectation and the cold calculation of political strategy.

Senator Marcos was polite, even kind to Alexia, but there was an undercurrent of tension in every word he spoke. Imelda, Sandro's mother, was more emotional, her eyes softening as she looked at the twins, but even she couldn't ignore the implications of the situation.

"We will support you," Senator Marcos said, sitting across from Sandro and Alexia in the living room. "But we need to control the narrative. The public needs to hear this from us, in our own way, on our own terms."

Sandro nodded, his hand gripping Alexia's. "We'll do it your way. But this is our family, Dad. I won't let politics come before that again."

The Senator's gaze softened for a moment, and he gave a small nod of approval. "Family comes first. Just remember, Sandro, in our world, the two are not always separate."

As the meeting came to an end, Alexia felt a strange sense of relief. The secret was out, and while the road ahead would be challenging, they no longer had to hide. The Marcoses knew, and soon, the world would too.

But in that moment, surrounded by the people she loved, Alexia realized that no matter what came next, they would face it together—one family, one future.