The Catch (COMPLETED)

Net

She

This felt good. Being here with you, having you and me and the baby together felt good. For the past week since I came back and I stayed here with you, I felt like this could be it. We could be a family. We SHOULD be a family but somehow I still question if this is right.

This whole situation... Us. Living together, having a baby, all of these weren't even a distant possibility in our minds six months ago. Six months ago, I was going to marry another guy... your friend, Ivan.

We had it all figured out then, you were contentedly working to achieve your goals and dreams for your family, Ivan has planned our entire life together from where we will live to where we will send our kids for college then one stupid emotional night of abandon and we all end up here, caught in this net of uncertainties.

I don't blame anyone but myself. I was the one who called you that night, who confessed a love I convinced myself I was over with, who broke the virginity pact I had with myself that even my then fiancé honored to the very end.

I did all of that it was my fault. This mess we are all in is my fault.

That was why I felt so guilty and confused the next day... waking up next to you on to day I promised to marry another man.

I'm a slut and I hated myself for it. I needed to get away from it all and sort things out on my own.

All I needed back then was a few weeks of solitude to figure things out and I did. A month after I ran away, I decided to go back, to end things with Ivan properly the to tell you we can start over and take things slow and see where things will go. No pressure.

Then I found out I was pregnant and that changed everything. I couldn't go back not like that.

I couldn't just barge back into your life like that. I need to have a plan. I need to put things in order. I can't just put all the weight of this responsibility over your shoulders. You already have too much to work for your siblings.

So before I came back, I made sure everything was settled.

I called the university and filed an indefinite leave instead of the month-long one that I already have. Thank God for tenure.

I contacted my building's administrator and asked if there was any 3-bedroom units available so I can move there. Fortunately, they have one. I will need the extra rooms for the nursery and the nanny. My best friend and cousin, Kat, who is based in London but thankfully was in the Philippines for a couple of months, helped me look for the secondary caregiver for the baby in secret and also facilitate the move.

I was 15 weeks pregnant when I finally mustered enough courage to call Tatay and had the longest and most emotional phone call of my life. The weight of his anger and disappointment was so heavy even when he spoke to me calmly. I didn't tell him who the father was just that it wasn't Ivan. Two weeks later, he flew to Bali where I was staying at the time with my older brother Nico and personally showed me his love and support.

"Tatlo na nga lang tayo. Simula ng mawala ang Nanay niyo, kami na lang ng Kuya mo ang nagpalaki sa'yo. Iniisip ko na marami kaming naging pagkukulang sa'yo. Walang babaeng gumabay sa paglaki mo." He paused when his voice cracked at that last sentence and I broke down.

I fell to my knees and hugged him around his waist where I cried and cried like a baby. The last time I cried in front of my father and brother was when I was ten.

I heard my Tatay sob and felt his arm around my shoulders then Kuya Nico joined us. Suddenly, I was a little girl again, enclosed in the loving embrace of two of the most important men in my life.

"Tama na yan, Menggay. Tumayo ka na diyan." My dad said and smiled when I looked up at him. "Mahal na mahal ka ng Tatay. Buong buhay mo, naging napakabuti mong bata. Ipinagmamalaki ka namin ng Kuya mo at hindi yun nagbabago. Kasama mo kami. Sa lahat. Kung ano mang maging desisyon mo, susuportahan ka namin."

"Salamat po, Tatay, Kuya."

"Uuwi ka na ba?" Kuya Nico asked but I shook my head.

"Tsaka na po. Kailangan ko pang mag-isip." I said.

So they went home and I stayed behind. I updated them each time I moved to another place, it was always at a beach of course because the ocean never fails to give me peace and courage.

I needed more time before I could face you and... and Ivan.

He deserves an explanation. He has done nothing but to love me and understand all the complications of loving me. He loved me although he knew how I felt about you and loved me enough for me to finally move on (or think I've moved on).

Then one day as I was walking along the beach in Maldives, the whispered that it was time to come home.

So, I did. I went straight home to you.

I hear three knocks on the door. Six pm.

"Hindi talaga mahuhuli sa dinner." I chuckle as I turn of the stove. "Pero bakit kumakatok?"

I shrug off that question. You must have forgotten you keys again.

I take off my apron and check myself in the mirror before walking to the door.

There are knocks again.

"Apurado? Sandali lang. Gutom ka na..." My voice trails off when I open the door and feel a cold sensation creep through my veins.

"Hi Maine." He says.

"Ivan?"

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Unbeta'ed and not proofread.

Halaaaah... Ayan na si Ivan! 😱 Paano?

I guess we'll find out next chapter. 😊

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Thank you for reading. xoxo