Ignorance

Chapter 8

Bliss. Just bliss.

This is the first morning that Amor actually feels like herself. She woke up with a smile on her face, and the strange urge to celebrate her happiness with the rest of the world. David, on the other hand, had other ideas of spending his first day of summer—and that's to sit in the living room with the balcony doors wide open, making BB-8 roam free across the expanse of the floor. Amor was in such a good mood that she didn't even feel the need to reprimand him for scratching the hardwood.

Bliss is what brought Amor to Salcedo market on a Saturday morning for the first time in a really long time. It's what got her to smell the flowers on their display, to taste the artisanal ice cream at 9 in the morning, to soak up the sun by the benches. It's what brought her to replay yet again the events of last night, to recall the easy conversation, the chemistry, between her and Eduardo. Bliss is what brought her to realize that Eduardo isn't her boss—well, he still is—he's much more than that. He's a friend, and even then, it's not enough for her.

She wants more with him. She wants the whole deal. She wants all of him, his faults, his virtues, his pride, his heart, his—

"Amor?" someone calls from behind her, pulling her out of her bliss.

She turns around, a stupid smile still plastered on her face, and halts. Gasps. Stops breathing all together.

And perhaps that's the thing about happiness—it doesn't last too long. Because when it does, especially for someone like Amor, with someone like Eduardo Buenavista, things are bound to go downhill at some point. Hers is just coming way too soon.

"Amor, I knew it was you," he continues, and stands next to her bench. "You're looking good."

She clears her throat, clutching her chest in vulnerability. "James," she breathes. "It's... good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," he says.

So much for bliss, when the ex arrives out of nowhere. "What brings you to Manila?"

"Oh, the usual. Business."

He hasn't changed one bit. He's the still the same tall, blonde, and sinfully handsome man that he is. And the longer that Amor stares at him in surprise, the more she realizes how closely her son resembles his father. They have the same hook of the nose, the tinges of light hair in David's exactly like James', the same lopsided smile. Even David's eyes, who follow her almond-shaped ones, are in his. It's been far too long that Amor has completely forgotten what made her fall head-over-heels for James Powers.

"How have you been?" he asks warily, while taking a seat across her.

"Good, really good," she says, letting the ghost of her remaining joy with Eduardo seep through. "You?"

"I've been tons better," he responds with a small laugh. "I just flew in yesterday, actually. I'm doing business with a company near here. Small world, huh?"

"You could say that."

They're quiet forever, and it isn't the kind of silence she liked. Some silences were bearable, some even welcomed, but this silence is excruciating. She wants nothing more for it to go away. James, say something. Or better yet, Amor, say anything. Say something about David. Tell him he has a son. Tell him that when he took off on you, he left you with something much more than a broken heart, but the single most important thing to her. Tell him not of the pain you went through, but of the blessings he made you have, blessings you didn't know you needed. Let him feel that her greatest revenge is moving on to better things, to a better life.