The Gangster Princess

Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Coming home

Aisha Fancy Lee

I barely slept.

Maybe it was the way he said “Secret” before walking away, or maybe it was just the thought of not seeing him for a week. The room felt colder without his presence, as if even the walls knew he wouldn’t be around tomorrow.

I hugged the stuffed bear he gave me last month—yung color brown na may red ribbon sa leeg. He said it reminded him of me, small and soft and makulit. That was the night he told me he liked me. That was before all of this.

I tried to close my eyes, but instead, they stayed wide open, staring at the ceiling, wondering if w could feel like forever.

☽ a//z ☾

The Morning of his Flight

“Baby, I’m leaving na.”

His voice cracked through the silence of my phone.

I sat up in bed, hair a mess, eyes swollen from barely sleeping. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you sa airport?”

“No need. Ayokong makita mong umaalis ako. I won’t survive that.”

I smiled a little, bittersweet. “Video call ka pagdating mo, ha?”

“Promise.”

There was a pause.

“Reid?” I whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Promise me one more thing.”

“Anything.”

“Promise me that when you come back, you won’t bring back just business plans or pasalubong."

He chuckled. “Then what do you want me to bring?”

I bit my lip.

“Yourself. Yung buong ikaw. Kahit pagod, kahit stressed. Just… be here. With me.”

There was silence for a moment. Then his voice came back, softer this time.

“I promise. I’ll come back to you always.”

☽ a//z ☾

F

ew days passed, Reid and I never forgotten each other, and continue talking for a whole day, hindi pa ata busy ang lolo mo.

Reid kept his promise.

Video calls every night. Texts in between meetings. Photos of random things from Korea—his hotel room, the coffee he drank, the rainy street view from the 18th floor. But even with all those updates, the distance was real.

Sometimes I would stare at my phone, waiting for it to vibrate, missing his presence more than I thought possible. The silence of my room would stretch longer after every call ended.