When Gio finally returns to the condo after a long day, she finds the place quiet, with only a dim light from their bedroom spilling into the hallway.
A sense of unease tightens in her chest as she makes her way to the room, where she sees Sari lying on the bed, asleep.
The sight of her still form, her face pale against the pillow, stops Gio in her tracks. The shadows under Sari’s eyes look deeper than ever, and her skin has a fragile, almost translucent quality.
Gio’s heart clenches, guilt and sorrow washing over her. She sits beside Sari, reaching out with a gentle hand, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. “ bebe…” she whispers, her voice breaking as she takes in the exhaustion and grief etched into her girlfriend’s face.
Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, Gio leans down, wrapping her arms around Sari’s sleeping form, holding her close. A few silent tears slip down her cheeks, and she presses a tender kiss to Sari’s forehead, her heart aching with the love and pain she feels all at once.
“I’m so sorry,” Gio whispers, her voice choked with tears. “I’m sorry for not being there sooner. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I wish I could take it all away.” She presses her lips to Sari’s cheek, lingering there as if her touch alone could somehow offer comfort or bring back a glimmer of the Sari she once knew.
Sari stirs slightly, her brow furrowing, but she doesn’t wake. Gio holds her tighter, feeling the fragility in her, the weight of everything Sari has carried alone. She lets her tears fall freely now, her quiet sobs filling the silence of the room.
“andito na ako, bebe,” she whispers through her tears. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll help you through this… I’ll do anything if it means I can see you smile again.”
As she watches Sari’s soft breathing, Gio finds herself clinging to a hope that feels both painful and precious.
She knows there’s a long road ahead, but at this moment, she holds on to Sari, promising to help her carry the weight of the loss, even if only by being by her side.
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The day Sari learns the truth about Miyuki’s leukemia feels like a fresh wave of grief. She sits alone in the condo, holding the medical report she found tucked away among Gio’s things.
Her heart pounds as she reads, her mind barely able to process the words. Miyuki’s illness, it turns out, was a painful inheritance a link traced back through Gio’s family.
When Gio arrives home, she immediately senses something is off. She finds Sari sitting at the kitchen table, the report resting on the surface, her face pale and eyes rimmed with red. Gio’s heart sinks as she realizes what Sari has discovered.
“Sari…” Gio starts, her voice soft but laced with a tension that’s hard to hide. She walks over, feeling a mixture of guilt and sadness. “I… I didn’t know how to tell you.”
Sari’s gaze is hollow as she looks up at Gio. “bakit hindi mo sinabi sakin agad?”
Gio’s shoulders slump, the weight of her guilt almost overwhelming. “I didn’t know for sure, Sari. Dahil kahit sabihin ko sayo huli na. Huli na nang malaman ko na malala na ang sakit niya.” Her voice breaks as she fights back tears. “I thought I was protecting you. Protecting her.”
Sari lets out a bitter, quiet laugh, shaking her head. “Protecting us? Or protecting yourself from the truth?” Her tone is sharp, but beneath it lies the raw pain and heartbreak that has been consuming her.
“dapat sinabi mo parin sa'kin, Gio. I held her through every painful treatment, every night she cried… while you knew, and you said nothing.”
Gio’s face crumples, tears filling her eyes. “I was scared, Sari. Hindi ko alam kung pa'no ko sasabihin sayo. I can’t undo what happened, but I swear, I never wanted this… not for Miyuki, not for us.”
Silence stretches between them, thick with grief and tension. Sari’s gaze drops to her hands, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’ve been carrying so much guilt, Gio. Akala ko ako ang dahilan, kung bakit hindi ko napansin ng maaga ang sakit niya. But all this time… it was something I couldn’t have prevented.” She looks up, her eyes filled with sorrow. “Why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me?”
Gio steps closer, reaching out, but Sari pulls back, and the distance between them feels deeper than ever. “I’m so sorry, Sari,” Gio whispers, tears streaming down her face. “Nag Kamali ako. I see that now. I should have told you, I should have… I failed both of you.”
Sari closes her eyes, trying to steady her emotions, but her shoulders tremble with the weight of it all. “I need time, Gio. I need time to make sense of this… to figure out how to forgive you, and how to forgive myself.”
Gio nods, her heart breaking as she watches Sari turn away, the silence of the room echoing with the pain they both carry.
And as the door closes softly behind her, Gio is left with the heavy truth that the burden of silence, once meant to shield, has only deepened the wounds they both now struggle to heal.
YOU ARE READING
MY FIRST AND MY LAST S2 (HAMBEBE AU)
Fanfiction(🐰) and (🐨) A couple deeply in love and committed to building a life together. From the early days of friendship that blossomed into romance, they face life's highs and lows side by side, showing what it means to be partners in every sense.
