Hiraeth (on hold)

Rhododendron

"Okay, as much as I enjoyed that, you're clearly not thinking straight. Maine, what's wrong? What are you doing here? What are we doing here?"

She stares at him, her eyes producing tears upon realising the gravity of the confession that she was about to make.

"I needed to get you out of there," she says as she pulls away from him and turns around to face the sea.

"Bakit?" he asks as he walks up beside her and looks at the ocean.

Alden awaits her response as they both watched the waves build and crash in front of them.

"Alden, I found something out," Maine starts and faces him.

"Ano?" Alden asks out of curiosity.

"Your family isn't who you think they are," she says and this suddenly makes him face her.

"W-What are you trying to say?" he asks and almost chuckles upon the information she had just told him.

"All of this is an act, Alden."

"Maine, you are making no sense at all."

"Your whole family has been playing an act to get you to marry me."

"And why so?"

"I only found out about this recently."

"What did you find out, Maine? Tell me!"

"I didn't know they had it in them, Alden. But my parents used the petrol business to hide another business behind it."

"And what is that?"

"They sell drugs." Alden's eyes widen upon hearing her confession. "Well, they used to. They stopped after getting into some mess with a big customer 15 years ago and they thought that they've already let it go. But what they didn't know is that the people they got into trouble with have sent out this notice to various businesses, including your family's to capture me. In return, they get a whole heap of money. One of the conditions is to keep it on the down low and that's why I think all the other companies have given up in getting me because they know that you basically have me already."

"How do you explain our siblings?"

"Nakuha ng kapatid mo ang loob ng kapatid ko. Your sister was the one who convinced my brother that the whole wedding thing between them shouldn't happen. It's all part of a fifteen year plan, Alden. There's a reason why we were at that beach at the same time at the same instance, so many years ago."

"And what makes you think that I'm not part of the plan?"

"You wouldn't have come here so quickly. I would've probably been captured by your men... You wouldn't have accepted my kiss like that."

"Maine, I'm going to be taking a very big risk if I believe you."

"Then take it. Please take it, Alden. I know you probably shouldn't trust me. I mean, ako nga 'tong tinalikuran ka dati, pero Alden, sinasabi ko sa'yo, no more games."

"Do your parents know about anything? Do they know that you know about what they did?"

"No. They know nothing and they should, for now. I still need to keep them safe."

"Maine."

"Yes?"

"I don't think I can do this."

"What?"

"Are you telling me that my family has been lying to me? For fifteen years?"

Maine couldn't give him an answer straight away. She knew that the whole situation is breaking his heart. She didn't really know how else to lay the news to him.

She watches as he walks away from her, a dilemma brewing in her head because she understood how devastating he must've been feeling, but she also wanted to keep him, herself, and her whole family safe.

Maine chose to let him go, trusting that the love she felt from him will lead him back to her.

-

He goes back to the Philippines, confused, but still, he decided it was better for him to go home.

Alden reflected about his one day away from the country. He thinks about Maine, mostly, and the things that she's revealed to him. He doesn't think she's crazy, but he also didn't think that what she was saying was plausible. What he hoped to be a trip that would clear his head, just made things worse.

He arrives in the airport, dragging himself from the time that he got on to a taxi until he reached his house. All he felt was tiredness. He felt tiredness not only physically but emotionally. It wasn't until the sound of his father's booming voice filled the room, and 'woke him up.'

"Where is she?" Rico screamed in pursuit of finding out Maine's whereabouts.

"What?"

"Asaan na si Maine?"

"She's in New Zealand."

"And you left her there? Alden! I was relying on you. The whole family, and the business was relying on you!"

"Dad, I don't understand."

"It cost us not only money but many years to have gotten to where we are now. We had her, Alden! We already had her!"

"Dad. Hindi kita maintindihan."

"I have no patience to tell you anything right now. Jak!" Rico motions for his nephew's presence. "Please," he directs and leaves the two men alone.

Alden was still waiting to hear what Jak had to say but he was already feeling sick as he had an idea of what Jak was about to tell him.

-

She was sitting at a café, staring out into the ocean in front of her. For the past five days, she had no contact with the outside world. She chose to drown them all out by turning her phone off. So, she figured that it was probably about time since she knew that her parents would be worried sick by now.

As soon as she connected to the wifi her phone pinged. She accidentally pressed the banner instead of swiping it away. It opens up to messenger and what was revealed to her made her drop the mug that she was holding.

A waitress immediately came to her aid and tried to ask her what was wrong. However, the message she saw had too much impact, and it drowned out everything that was surrounding her.

A/N: Don't know how this plot twist is gonna go either, but I guess we'll just have to see 😉