GIRL FRIDAY (Completed)

Chapter 37 - Ground Zero

Good morning my dears, thank you for the surprising response to the previous chapter. I never expected so much impact could be created by the split-up of this couple we have grown to love. The journey to find their way back to each other has barely started, and I have seen a common thread among the more than 300  comments I've read.

Pahirapan mo siya, Maine.  This was the consensus of so many who felt the pain of Richard's words. And I would have agreed with you all if I was still my old self.  I know that part of this thought is for the purpose of self-preservation, to maintain dignity and self-worth. But you know, you don't purposely inflict pain on someone you love.  

If people tried harder to work things out together instead of hurting each other as payback for the pain caused by the other, I am sure more marriages and relationships would be saved. When a man makes the first move to make things work, a woman's usual knee-jerk reaction is to test his limits to see how sorry he really is for what he did, and in the process, some relationships never recover.

So for the purpose of this story, I'm sorry if I don't go that route. Hindi papahirapan ni Maine si Richard. I don't see how they can get back together (which is what we all want, diba) if she purposely makes it difficult for him to get her back. Pero hindi rin naman siya bibigay agad, because our ficMaine is strong and wise, she will think and weigh things before acting.  And our ficRichard loves her so much, to the point that any time away from her is hell. Kaya already, nahihirapan na rin siya. Good enough, my dears?  Have a great day :)

Never before did Maine ever dread a Monday than this one. She walked out on Richard early yesterday and thankfully, he did not follow her. He tried calling her, texted her several times but she refused to answer. She needed to think things over, convince herself not to regret ever falling for him.

She knew he still loved her, and all this mess boiled down to his trust issues. She understood where he was coming from, that his his distrust was rooted from his painful experience with Tania. But she realized that his doubting her over money was a slap of reality that is the economic gap between them.

Mayaman siya, mahirap lang ako. Yun ang puno't dulo. Kung mayaman din ako, hindi ito mangyayari. Hindi niya ko paghihinalaan dahil from the start, hindi ko tatanggapin yung alok saking pera.

She purposely left early to avoid any chance that he might pick her up or have Manong Rod bring her to work. Just like before, she packed her dress and shoes and went to work riding the bus, then a jeep from Ayala to BGC.

Upon arriving at the office, she immediately got dressed and settled on her table to start working. Footsteps made her freeze from what she was doing. She knew those footsteps so well.

"Good morning," He said barely looking at her.

"Good morning sir."

Richard went straight inside and closed the door to his office, effectively shutting her out. He sank into his chair and leaned forward on the table, his forehead on his arms.

He wasn't ready to see her. Not when he missed her like hell yesterday, and she looked at him with such coldness. He came to her place to pick her up but the guard said she left early and it scared him how final it seemed that they were over.

He went to his dad's place yesterday to talk, and while there, found out everything Maine said was true. His suspicions were all unfounded, he marred what could have been a perfect weekend and thus ended their beautiful relationship. Now he didn't know where to start to pick up the pieces.

She called him on the extension line to ask if she could talk to him. He asked her to just come right in. She came in and sat on his visitor's chair, struggling with how to tell him what she wanted to say.