Maybe This Time

23

It had been two long days since MJ walked out of their home, leaving Aiah with nothing but a broken heart and a million questions that kept her up at night. Maxwell had asked about his father countless times, and each time, Aiah had smiled and said, "*Busy lang si Daddy, Max.*" But even Maxwell could sense something was wrong—he would look at her with those big, curious eyes, much like MJ's, and give her the tightest hug as if to comfort her. Every time he did, it felt like her heart was breaking all over again.

She had thought about calling MJ, sending him a message, maybe even driving over to where he was staying. But every time her fingers hovered over the dial button, fear stopped her. What if he didn't want to talk? What if this time, he had truly given up?

But today, Aiah couldn't wait any longer.

---

The office buzzed with the usual late-afternoon energy, people packing up to clock out, eager to leave behind their desks and head into their weekend plans. MJ stood at his desk, organizing his papers, looking as if nothing in his life had changed. But Aiah knew better—his silence, the dark circles under his eyes, the tightness in his shoulders—it all screamed that something was wrong.

Aiah had been watching him from her own desk, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't let another day go by without clearing the air, without telling him how she really felt. So when she saw him grabbing his bag, preparing to leave, she rushed after him, barely grabbing her things in time.

"*MJ, wait!*" she called out, her voice wavering slightly as she followed him out of the office. He was walking briskly toward the elevators, his eyes set forward, determined not to engage in any more conversations for the day.

But Aiah wasn't going to let him walk away this time.

"*MJ, please, we need to talk,*" she pleaded, her heels clicking against the tiled floor as she tried to catch up to him. MJ slowed down just slightly, but his face remained impassive, unreadable.

"*We already talked,*" MJ muttered, pressing the button for the elevator. "*Ano pa bang kailangan nating pag-usapan?*"

Aiah stepped closer, her voice soft but insistent. "*Hindi na kami uuwi sa Cebu ni Max.*"

MJ paused, his back still to her, his jaw tightening at her words. There was a beat of silence before he replied.

"*Umuwi kayo,*" he said, his voice low, but steady. "*Hindi niyo kailangan i-compromise yung plano niyo just because of me.*"

Aiah felt the sting of his words, the distance he was creating between them. She took another step toward him, reaching out as if to close the gap. "*Pero, Love...*"

MJ turned to face her sharply, his expression hard. "*MJ,*" he corrected, his tone clipped. "*I'm not 'Love,' I'm not 'Babe.' MJ ang name ko. It's right for you to call me MJ. Or better yet, Engineer na lang, since co-workers tayo.*"

Aiah's heart sank at the coldness in his voice. He wasn't just angry—he was hurt. Deeply. And it was her fault. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice steady as she said, "*MJ, wag naman ganito...*"

But MJ wasn't done. "*We agreed to be a family for Max, di ba?*" he said, his voice sharp but controlled. "*I'm not leaving him. I'm still here for him, I'll always be. Pero that's it.*"

Aiah's throat tightened as she struggled to keep her composure. "*Paano ako? Paano tayo? Is that it? We're just co-parenting?*"

MJ's eyes softened for a fraction of a second, but it was fleeting. "*I wanted to marry you,*" he began, his voice quieter now, almost resigned. "*But sabi mo, di naman kailangan, di ba?*"

Aiah opened her mouth to argue, to explain, but MJ held up a hand, stopping her.

"*It was easy to marry Jeremy,*" MJ continued, his tone matter-of-fact, though there was an edge of bitterness beneath his words. "*And it was easier to brush me off. Hindi mo naman kailangan mag-pretend like you love me just for Max to have a complete set of parents. Anak ko siya, I'll be here for him. You don't have to pretend or act like you love me para lang mag-stay ako. It's fine, Aiah.*"

Aiah felt her chest tighten, her breath catching in her throat. "*MJ... it's not like that. I—*"

"*It's fine,*" MJ cut her off again, his voice soft but firm. He was done talking. He had laid it all out in front of her, and now, there was nothing more to say.

Just then, Cole and JC came barreling down the hallway, laughing and joking as they always did. "*Uy, MJ! Tara na! Sayang yung reservation sa bar!*" Cole shouted, throwing an arm around JC's shoulder.

The tension between Aiah and MJ was palpable, but JC and Cole either didn't notice or were too focused on their night out to care.

Cole gave them a knowing grin, smirking as he teased, "*Piskit JC! Nagpapaalam pa ata kay Aiah. Aiah, MJ! Sa parking na lang kami maghintay!*" With that, the two men sauntered off, leaving MJ and Aiah standing in the tense silence once again.

---

MJ turned back to Aiah, his face calm but distant. "*Una na kami, Aiah,*" he said, his voice devoid of the warmth it once held. "*Send my hugs and kisses to Max. Dadalaw ako bukas or before kayo umalis for Cebu.*"

Aiah's chest ached at his words. He wasn't just walking away from her now—he was walking away from them, from everything they could have been.

"*MJ...*," she whispered, her voice breaking.

But he was already walking away, his footsteps echoing down the hall, leaving her standing there, broken and unable to stop him.

---

As the elevator doors closed behind MJ, Aiah stood frozen in place, her mind swirling with everything she hadn't been able to say. Her heart ached, and tears pricked her eyes as she realized just how deeply she had hurt him.

It wasn't that she didn't love MJ—God, she loved him more than she could ever put into words. But somewhere along the way, between Jeremy's death and the complexity of raising Maxwell, she had lost sight of what they could have been.

And now, it seemed like it was too late.

She could still hear Maxwell's laughter in her head, see his face light up whenever MJ entered the room, the way their son would run into his father's arms like MJ was the safest place in the world. That's what she wanted for Maxwell—for him to have a family, a real one, not just two people co-parenting out of obligation.

But the way MJ had spoken to her, the coldness in his voice, the resignation in his eyes—it made her wonder if that dream had already slipped away.

As the office emptied out around her, Aiah finally sank into one of the chairs in the hallway, burying her face in her hands. She didn't know how to fix this. She didn't know if she could.

---

As MJ stepped out into the parking lot, the cool evening air hitting his face, he felt numb. He had said what he needed to say, and yet, it didn't feel like enough. There was still so much he wanted to say, so much that he needed Aiah to understand.

But what was the point?

He had tried. He had laid it all out there, and Aiah hadn't given him any reason to believe that things would change. She didn't love him, not the way he loved her. She was stuck in the past, and he couldn't compete with a ghost.

As Cole and JC waved him over, MJ forced a smile onto his face, pushing down the hurt that still simmered just beneath the surface.

"*Tara na, bro! Ang tagal mo! May inuman pa tayo!*" JC called out, laughing as he opened the car door.

MJ climbed into the car, letting the laughter of his friends fill the void in his heart. But even as they drove away, the weight of Aiah's words hung heavy over him.

And deep down, he knew that no amount of laughter, no night out at the bar, could drown out the pain of what he had lost.