When Bad Girls Fall In love -- Special Chapter
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He was late again.
I glanced at my watch for the thousandth time and then wondered for a brief moment if maybe I had gotten the date wrong. It was Sept 25, wasn't it? It's supposed to be our 3rd wedding anniversary and Alex had agreed to meet me at L'Incontro, an Italian Restaurant in Manila, at 7 pm, hadn't he?
As the clock slowly ticked on, I began to doubt more and more. I took out my cell phone and scrolled through the text messages again, and when I found nothing there, I moved onto the incoming calls section. He could've called but I had missed it.
But there were no texts and no missed calls.
The hour hand on the clock moved another notch.
I looked out the window. It had been drizzling for the past three hours. Maybe that was why he was late. Rain always led to angry drivers and unfortunate accidents. Perhaps he was currently in a traffic jam on the highway, frustrated and worried, and even a little bit angry because his phone had no reception and was thus unable to call me to explain his tardiness.
It was that thought that kept me going. But still, my optimism could only go so far, especially when the waitress, who had offered me a fifth cup of coffee, came over-- her face sympathetic.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we're closing."
I blinked and glanced at my watch. 11 pm. I hastily got out of my seat, thanking the waitress profusely for servicing me for four hours.
I stepped out into the freezing September air and my arms around myself. My stomach grumbled and the emptiness in my heart ached a little, but I refused to acknowledge either. All I wanted to do was get back to our house and check if both Cielo and Max are asleep.
I must've looked extremely pitiful at that moment because even the security guard in the parking lot, who was always mean and spiteful, gave me a sympathetic glance
I stumbled over to the house's answering machine in a last-ditch effort to hear his voice that day. But when the automated recording insisted that there were no messages, my shoulders slumped and I felt tears rise to my eyes.
I chastised myself for crying and angrily ran the back of my hand across my eyes. All I needed was a good night's sleep, and then I would go to work tomorrow as if nothing had happened.
"Mommy, Are you crying?"
I turned around only to find my almost five-year-old daughter,Cielo,coming down from the stairs. She was in her cute little strawberry pajamas with that unruly hair. She was rubbing her right eye and stifled a yawn and tried to look as exuberant as possible
I wiped my tears on the back of my hands and pulled up a smile. I gestured Cielo to come and give me a quick hug. She immediately obliged and wrapped her tiny arms around me. I kissed her hair and said "No, Mommy's not crying. It's the rain lang"
Well, at least that wasn't a complete lie.
"Let's get you to bed okay? It's up for your bed time" I said and carried her on my arms
I looked down at the two little angels' right in front of me. Both were sleeping on their own separate bed. Max, my almost three-year-old baby boy, has been soundly asleep. I could only watch in content as his chest rises and falls.
I knew, of course I knew. The moment I heard Alex's story, I knew my marriage with him would never be smooth-sailing. But I had thought I could handle it. Now, as it turned out, maybe I was wrong. Maybe I wasn't as strong as I thought I was.
