Once a Wife [English Version]

Chapter 39

They say there are three things every person fears the most in life: to be forgotten, to be left behind, and to lose something—or someone—they can never get back.

To be forgotten means watching memories fade that were once meant to last.

To be left behind means watching someone walk away while you stand still.

And to lose means knowing you'll never touch what you once held again.

"Hello, sir..."

Dominic turned, and there she was—the one person he once forgot, once left behind, and now... the one he couldn't imagine losing again.

"Sorry I'm late," Huffle said breathlessly. "Kuya took too long, but he said he'll come back for me after."

Dominic shook his head, pulling out a chair. "No problem, anak."

Anak.

One word, yet it thundered through the quiet room.

He saw it in her eyes—the way they widened, as if she couldn't quite process what she'd just heard.

"Your brother told me you love cake," Dominic said, trying to steady his voice. "So... I ordered some."

She smiled shyly. "Thank you, po."

Silence filled the space between them—gentle, hesitant. Then he spoke again.

"Huffle, anak..." he began softly. "I owe you an apology. For everything."

Her eyes flickered with surprise. "Do you... remember me now?" she asked, hope trembling in her voice.

He shook his head slowly.

Disappointment flashed in hers, but before she could look away, Dominic reached into his bag.

"Can I show you something, anak?"

He placed a sketchbook in front of her. The cover was worn, edges frayed. When she opened it, the first page read Hogwarts.

"Your mom loved Harry Potter," Dominic said with a faint smile. "She was a Ravenclaw. I was a Gryffindor."

He flipped another page. A sketch of a small house filled the paper, shaded with care.

"Huffle?" she read aloud, noticing her name written across the drawing. "Why is my name there?"

"Because..." Dominic's voice softened. "We never thought you'd come."

Her brows knitted in confusion.

"Your mom almost lost Slyther. It was hard—she nearly didn't make it. We got scared... both of us. But when we wanted to try again, it just... didn't happen."

He turned another page. More sketches. Little drawings of a baby girl who, somehow, looked like her.

"So we renamed the house Hogwarts to Huffle," he said. "And as the years passed, I started to imagine you... as a baby, as a child, as a woman."

Huffle's eyes welled up, her hands trembling as she traced the lines of the sketch.

"I didn't remember you, anak," Dominic admitted. "But I dreamt of you. Long before you came back... I dreamed of you."

Her tears fell freely now, soft and soundless.

"I'm sorry," Dominic whispered. "For not being the father you deserved. For leaving. For all the ways I broke you before you even knew me."

He reached for her hand, but before he could speak again, she squeezed it.

"Thank you, Dad," she said, voice trembling. "And... I forgave you a long time ago."