Twice The Trouble

Chapter 62: Call It Fate

Sophia

Sunday rolled in.

If I had any plans to spend the day with Stacy, I just kissed them goodbye because my twin sister was a freelance designer for a popular fashion label and her boss had called her in for some consultation on a new line for the upcoming month of December.

While our family was not wealthy but well-off due to the (Sentimental Sweets) bakery's chronic success, my sibling and I had long adapted to a more independent lifestyle, earning savings in our own clever methods---I had my authorship and novels while my twin worked commissions, clothes alterations, and was an assistant designer for a medium-scale fashion business.

She was also a part-time model for Glam magazine and Glitter catalogues, the latter of which was owned by the prominent Ortiz family: one of the richest and most powerful families and business groups in Asia, Europe, and multiple countries. The only daughter of the couple, Elias and Dahlia Ortiz was Jasmine Ortiz, a supermodel and a close friend of our 22-year old cousin, Ate Jolene.

My stomach grumbled as I jerked up in my olive-green bed. I instinctively touched my tummy.

It continued to growl violently so I hastily brushed my teeth, took a short bath, and slipped into more casual attire: A psychedelic shirt and denim shorts and flowery flip flops.

Serves me right for staying up until two in the morning on my laptop.

It was already 12 pm!

I hastily climbed down the staircase and when I rushed into the sizeable kitchen, I was welcomed by a Filipino man in his early fifties. He had combed black hair, dark brown eyes, and a kind, affable smile that helped lure in more customers at the family bakery. Today he was dressed in a breezy red shirt with short sleeves, a pair of blue pants and black shoes.

Benjamin Hernandez is one of the most loving people I've had the good fortune of meeting. I didn't share his blood nor his surname, but I treated him as my father the same way he treated me and Stacy like his true daughters.

He and Mama May were best friends with our biological parents. And when the latter passed away soon after my twin and I entered the world, Papa Ben and Mama May immediately took us in as their own. Never mind that they already had two children at the time, namely, Ate Jolene and Bro Benny, who are currently in their twenties and with steady jobs. Pa Ben and Ma Ben worked hard for their kids, and they managed to handle two more additions to their family.

I'll always be thankful for them.

"Going somewhere, pa?" I asked Papa Ben as I pulled open the fridge for a pitcher of water.

He flashed me a cheeky grin,his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Your mom and I are going out."

"Like a date?" I reached for a tall glass from the wooden shelf and placed it on the counter.

"Not like a date. An actual date." My father smoothed down his red shirt. "How do I look?"

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Handsome, as always. Ma is a very lucky woman."

Papa nodded his head and told me: "Thanks, kiddo. Let the others know we'll be back after dinner. You can order takeout." He took out his wallet and handed me a wad of bills.

Fast food? I could feel my face light up at the thought of ordering from McDonald's or Jolly Bee, but a voice was gnawing at the back of my mind. It was a familiar male voice from months ago.

"You know, fries can cause cancer."

"Err.. what?"

"Fries. They're oily and unhealthy."