HIDING HIS DAUGHTER (UNDER EDITING)

CHAPTER 25

ANGELA'S POV

Althea was fast asleep now - her chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths. I was just staring at her peaceful face, tracing the outline of her nose and lips with my eyes. Sobrang ganda niya, hindi na ako magtataka kapag nagdalaga siya ay maraming manligaw sa kanya- even with the small bandage on her forehead, she still looks like the most beautiful little girl in the world.

"Napaka ganda," Jaiden said quietly from beside me, leaning against the wall as he watched our daughter too. His voice was soft, like he was scared of waking her up.

"Tsk," I scoffed playfully, but deep inside I was smiling. Hearing him say that about our child just felt so right.

"Bakit naaasar ka? Ayaw mo bang maganda anak natin?" he asked, turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

Anak natin - those three words sounded so good to my ears. Parang biglang tumigil ang mundo ko nang marinig yun mula sa kanya.

"Gusto syempre, pero kamukha mo e," I said, rolling my eyes but still grinning a little. Hindi naman ako naiinis talaga - actually, I think it's sweet that Althea got his eyes and his smile.

"Don't you like that?" he asked, moving closer to me until he was standing right in front of me. I shot him a glare, pretending to be annoyed.

"Anong klaseng tanong yan? Malamang ako ang nagdala ng siyam na buwan tapos ikaw ang kamukha," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Parang hindi naman ako nag-effort para manganak no? Joke lang - I'm actually proud that she looks like him.

He let out a soft laugh at what I said, and I slapped his arm lightly. "Dapat lang magigising ang anak mo kapag malakas ka pang tumawa," I warned him, even though I was laughing too.

"Ibig sabihin non, malakas ang lahi namin," he said with a wide grin, puffing out his chest a little like he was bragging. Anong akala niya sa lahi namin - mahina?

"Hoy Jai-" I was about to give him a piece of my mind when he suddenly cupped my face and kissed me. It was quick but warm, and I just stood there blinking in surprise. The f*ck, bigla bigla siya ng ganyan!

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat behind Jaiden, making both of us turn around. My face immediately burned bright red when I saw Catherine standing there, grinning from ear to ear like she just witnessed something really good.

"Cath," Jaiden said, acting like nothing happened - parang hindi niya ako biglang hinalikan kanina.

"Ahem... masarap?" she asked teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows at us. I wanted to hide my face behind my hands.

"Yes," Jaiden answered without even thinking twice, and I hit his arm again harder this time.

"What the f*ck!" I exclaimed, my face getting even hotter. Bakit ba siya ganun!

The two of them started laughing together - magkapatid nga talaga itong dalawa, pareho silang walang pinapahalagahan ang hiya ko.

I just gave them both a sharp look, then turned to fix Althea's blanket - making sure she was covered properly ng maayos. After that, I headed for the door, wanting to get out of there before they start teasing me more.

I was about to walk out when Jaiden grabbed my hand, making me look back at him. His face was no longer joking - seryoso na siya ngayon.

"Where are you going? Take me with you," he said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

"Hindi, bantayan mo si Althea," I told him, pulling my hand away and turning my back on him. But then Catherine spoke up.

"Ako na ang magbabantay kay Althea," she said, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside our daughter. "I'll call you guys if anything happens - promise."