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What Happens Now?

Author's Note: Hi guys! In order to make the fic more realistic, it'll have a necessary time jump to the present time. Hope it's alright with youuu :)

--

At exactly 10:31 pm of August 4, 2017, Alas Joaquin Abrenica was born. 

The journey to his birth was not an easy one, but as soon as his loud cry was heard in the walls of the delivery room, his mother, Kylie, instantly forgot about all the hardships that were intertwined to his very birth. 

"He's so beautiful." She said, upon seeing her child up close. 

"He is." Aljur agreed. "And I'm glad he's ours."

Despite the fact that he was hurting after what he had seen earlier, Ruru was mature enough to know his place in this situation. He wasn't the father of Joaquin, and he wasn't going to act like he was. 

He was going to give this moment to Kylie and Aljur, the parents of the baby, even if it killed him deep inside. 

"Totoo nga. Kuhang kuha ni Joaquin ang mga mata at labi ni Aljur." Ruru said as he looked at Joaquin from the nursery at the hospital.

Right by his side, was his mom, who knew that the simple strain in Ruru's voice as he said this meant that he wasn't in such a good state right now. 

"Sigurado akong magiging gwapo 'yan paglaki niya. Mahahawa 'yan sa kagwapuhan mo eh." His mom said, in an attempt to make her beloved son smile. 

She was relieved when he managed to, even if it seemed a little forced. 

"Ma," Ruru said as he turned a little bit to look at his mom. "Kung ikaw yung nasa lugar ko, ano bang gagawin mo? Sa tingin mo ba, tamang ituloy ko kung anung meron kami ni Kylie kahit na may anak na siya sa iba? Kahit na ang laki ng posibilid na dahil kay Joaquin, magkabalikan sila ni Aljur?"

Mrs. Madrid sighed in reply. 

"Sa totoo lang, anak, hindi ko talaga alam. Kahit na anung pilit kong isipin kung ano ang tamang gawin sa sitwasyong 'to, talagang napakahirap at napakakumplikado." She admitted. "Bilang isang ina, ibang saya ang hatid ng pagkakaroon ng isang buong pamilya at alam ko, na ngayong ganap na ina na si Kylie, 'yun din ang gusto niya."

"Kaya lang... nasa kanya pa rin ang huling desisyon kung bibigyan ba niya si Aljur ng isa pang pagkakataon para magbago at maging ama sa anak nila."

"Alam kong tama ka, ma, pero hindi ko pa rin maiwasang maging selfish dahil sa totoo lang, gusto ko na ako yung kikilalaning ama ng bata. Gusto ko na ako yung magpapalaki at magpapasaya sa kanya, pero hindi tama eh. Hindi dapat." Ruru sighed. 

"Anak," Mrs. Madrid said, as she placed her hand on her son's shoulder. "Pwede ka pa rin namang maging ama sa bata kahit na dugo ng iba ang nanalaytay sa kanya. Mahal ka na Kylie, hindi ba? Alam ko na, maghahanap siya ng paraan para mapalapit ka din kay Joaquin." 

"Anak, wag ka sanang panghinaan ng loob dahil lang sa mga nakita mo kanina. Intindihin mo nalang si Kylie. Kahit na nasasaktan ka na, piliin mong intindihin siya dahil ganun talaga kapag nagmamahal ka. Handa kang isakripisyo ang lahat para sa taong mahal mo."

Despite the heaviness in his heart, Ruru knew that his mom was right. It was his personal choice to love Kylie, to stick with her through the thick and thin, and if this was the price he had to pay, so be it. 

--

After four days of labor, Kylie couldn't hide the fact that her exhaustion remained, despite the hours of sleep that she was able to consume. 

Giving birth to Joaquin wasn't as simple as what she had originally thought, but she was more than glad to have survived it. 

A few minutes past one in the morning, Kylie was lying on her bed with thoughts of all the recent happenings in her life. Despite the fact that she was overwhelmed with happiness because of the birth of her child, a certain type of sadness had also enveloped her at the mere thought of Ruru. 

When the doctor had announced that she was ready to give birth, it was him that she wanted by her side, not Aljur. The latter may have been the biological father of her child, but he never really acted like one. 

He didn't deserve to be by her side during those crucial and pain-filled moments, but there was nothing else that she could do... she didn't have enough energy to object his presence in the delivery room, because her priority had been to deliver Joaquin safely no matter what. 

"Kailangan kong mag-sorry kay Ruru," Kylie thought as she looked at the ceiling of her hospital room. "He deserves way more than the treatment he received that night."

Just when she was about to reach for her phone, Kylie saw a piece of paper that had been neatly placed under one of the bouquets of flowers that had been sent to her by her management. 

Feeling intrigued after seeing such, Kylie decided to take the paper in her hands and open it. 

She was surprised to see Ruru's print all over the piece of paper, making her all the more anxious as to its content. 

"Ky, 

Congratulations sa safe delivery ni Joaquin. Kahit na hindi ako yung nasa tabi mo nung mga oras na nahihirapan ka, parang andun na rin ako, dahil sa sobrang kaba ng dibdib ko nung sinasabi nilang ilang beses nang muntikang lumabas ang baby. 

Kahit na ang saya ko ngayon dahil safe kayong dalawa ni Joaquin, hindi ko pa rin maitatago ang nararamdaman kong lungkot at takot dahil sa mga maaaring mangyari ngayong nandito na si Joaquin sa mundong ito. 

Ang tanging masasabi ko lang sa'yo ay... ayokong maging selfish... at dahil sa kagustuhan kong ito, lalayo muna ako para makapag-isip. 

Mahal kita. Mahal na mahal. Pero nahihirapan lang talaga ako ngayon. Sana wag mong isipin na iniiwan kita, dahil hinding hindi mangyayari 'yun. Kailangan ko lang talaga ng oras para sa sarili ko, para mapagtanto ko kung ano ang tama at kung ano ang mali. 

Sana sa pagbalik ko, nandiyan ka pa rin at sana, maintindihan mo lang kung bakit ako nagkakaganito.

Ruru

Bittersweet was the word Kylie had thought after reading Ruru's letter to her. It felt like a goodbye, an unofficial one, the kind that left you hanging, the kind that left you with no answers to a ton of impending questions. 

But yet again, she chose to understand because she loved him with all her heart. 

"How bittersweet it is to read words of goodbye from a loved one through a letter." She tweeted that night. 

"... When it was through a letter that your love first began."