Blank Pages

Five

AN: Hello, everyone!! Once again, thank you all SO MUCH for your wonderful comments and feedback over here and on Twitter—I really, really appreciate it. I told myself I wasn't going to update again so soon, but you ever get the feeling like you just HAVE to get something out of your system or else you'll have no peace? Well, I just couldn't wait to introduce Tricia to you all. I think this chapter is kind of a turning point of sorts, so after this, I don't plan to update again until Sunday, as previously promised. So hopefully that sets your expectations. As always, please feel free to tweet me your thoughts @silent_shipper, I would dearly love to know what you think. One last thing: this chapter is especially for Ninna, whose advice to pace myself I have flagrantly ignored. Ninna—I'm sorry, thank you for everything, and I promise I'll finally take a break after this.

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At 21, Richard Faulkerson, Jr. was living the life. Fresh out of college and only nine months with the company, but already he was making waves and impressing his superiors. To most people (including the poor author of this fanfiction) the phrase "business development" meant nothing other than that it sounded vaguely boring and utterly corporate and white collar. But to Richard—whose idea of a guilty pleasure was to devour John Maxwell books as if he'd be quizzed on them—it was his passion, and he plunged eagerly and enthusiastically into the dynamic world of "biz dev" with the energy and vigor of a bright young man in his prime.

At 23, he received his first promotion, and it was at a corporate networking event, while he was standing in a circle of higher-ups who were congratulating him on a job well done, that he first laid eyes on Tricia. Beautiful, alluring Tricia, dressed all in black from head to toe, with her stick-straight hair stylishly cut into a chic bob, and her striking oriental features making masculine heads turn wherever she went. Richard was no exception. His eyes followed her as she made her way around the room, snapping photographs for the company's website, posing powerful executives together with a confident smile and not even the slightest hint of being intimidated.

Richard was a very determined guy. He decided he wanted to get to know this captivating photographer, and by the end of night, he was helping her into the passenger seat of his car to drive her home. Two months later, he was moving into her modern minimalist condo—a consolation prize from her Daddy, given just before he left her mother to run off with another woman, a flashy, busty wench only nine years older than Tricia. For three years, Richard and Tricia lived together in domestic bliss—two gorgeous, young people, each successful in their chosen fields, and the world was their oyster.

Then came an exciting new opportunity for Richard. He was asked to manage the company's Cebu office for a year. This meant that he had a good shot at becoming an executive once his assignment was over. It was too great a chance to pass up. But the thought of being away from Tricia for a year...

It was a cold, rainy night in June when he told her the news. She had just come home from covering a first birthday party—not your average Jollibee kiddie event with a hundred people crammed into a room meant to accommodate a maximum of forty, but a lavish affair for the only child of a wealthy mestizo couple, held at the Manila Polo Club—and she had icing on her collar and confetti in her hair. She carefully set her gear on the counter and collapsed on the couch where Richard sat, sliding her aching feet onto his lap. Then she noticed the tense expression on his face and sat up. "What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

She listened in silence as he explained in an earnest, subtly pleading voice. When he was done, she moved closer to him, cupped his face in both her soft hands, and looked directly into his eyes. "I'll come with you," she said, simply but firmly, in a tone that let him know her mind was made up.