To Love Again

Background

Okay. Deep breaths y'all! I hope that this chapter brings some closure to a lot of the hanging questions. I know it's a bit monotonous but I feel that it's essential to the story. Please understand where each of the character is coming from. Mental health disorder is no joke.

Strong language used. Thank you!

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"Yap. You heard me right. My older brother, Kuya Daniel, is Bella's biological father. Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?" Christine asked rhetorically to which Maine shook her head in response, the shock still evident on her face. But Christine was on a roll. "It probably would've been better for Bella if Kuya Alden is her father but anyway, I digress" she added.

Maine watched as Christine began pacing in front of her. The thought that Richard isn't Bella's father kept circling through her mind. But why was his name on the birth certificate? But isn't it great news to find out that he is not the biological father? Yay, Maine. Wait...what?!? Why are you celebrating Maine? Hhhmmm? Maine got distracted from her inner monologue because Christine was still blabbering on.

"Your sister and my brother met at a mental health support group. You see, Kuya Daniel was at his lowest point when he and your sister met." Christine lets out a heartfelt sigh and looked out the window, seemingly lost in thought. "I guess I should tell you more about my brother's back story. You see, Kuya Daniel was a mama's boy. And I guess it's safe to say that he is, or was rather, favoured by our mother as well. When our mother was diagnosed with cancer, we weren't prepared for the severity of it. We thought she had time to do chemotherapy or radiation at the least and surgery at the most. But being our mother, she already knew about her diagnosis 2 years before and she decided not to tell anyone. Not even my father. She lived her life like she wasn't suffering. She took pain medications secretly. My father is out of country half the time, so it wasn't hard for her to do that. Finally the day came when her body just couldn't take anymore." Christine paused to gather her thoughts and wipe the tears that she wasn't aware was falling.

Maine remained seated, giving the other woman some time. Then, Christine puffed out her chest and continued.

"I was the one that found her. I can vividly recall that day. I came home and found her slumped on the dining table, barely breathing. Of course, we rushed her to the nearest hospital where we were told that she had cancer and it already metastasized to her brain, and to her lungs, and that there was nothing we could do." Christine's voice broke as she uttered the last sentence. "The day before this happened, Kuya Daniel and my mom had a huge fight. Up to this day, I don't know about what. But that same day, Kuya Daniel had left for Russia for a business trip. We couldn't get a hold of him until 3 days after. He rushed back home but it was too late. Mom had already passed away. That was the start of Kuya Daniel's downward spiral. He became self destructive. It was so hard to watch because he used to be such a stand up guy, you know. He would lash out at anybody who wanted to help him. He became so depressed that he would seek illicit drugs for company, to forget about his pain, I guess. At some point, we didn't know where he was for three months. When my father found out about Kuya Daniel's drug habits, he froze all of his credit accounts. Well, Kuya Daniel retaliated by selling his condo and his car collection and blew through the money in under 6 months. All of his hard work, down the drain." Christine paused again, looking out the window, looking at nothing in particular.

"Christine. You don't have to tell me all these" Maine stated in a low voice.

"Oh but I do. Kuya Alden won't tell you so I need to. I want you to understand why my brother behaved that way yesterday" Christine replied.