Chapter 77: Chapter 77

"Mom, I will introduce you to my boyfriend Stephen tonight--"

"Boyfriend? You have a boyfriend?! Why didn't you tell us!"

"Mom, I told you a week ago, I mentioned him while we were eating--"

"What is that man's name? What family does he come from? is that rich or poor?"

"Stephen Wilson--"

"Wilson? Is her mommy's name Stella?!" He smiled at me, but that smile was strange.

"O-Opo," he bit his lip in response.

"Divorce that man now Vanessa!" He said authoritatively.

"A-What? Mom, I can't do that yet,/I love Stephen...."

"Don't you understand Vanessa?!! When I say it, you do it! Is it clear?!" My tears started to flow.

"I-I'm pregnant, so I won't divorce Stephen. We're both going to have a baby."

On the day of our graduation, something happened to Stephen and me, and even then, I have no regrets.

"What did you say?!!" He stood up and spread his palm strongly on my face. I held my cheek, while my tears continued to flow.

staring at my stomach so I immediately covered it.

"When the child disappears will you divorce him?" He looked at me intently.

"Mommy!"

"Abort that baby or I will reject you as a child? Go shopping Vanessa! Oh no, no don't go shopping because I already know what you are going to say!! I'll make the decision for you because if I just let you go like that, your dad and I will just ruin what we worked so hard for!!"

"M-Mom please..." I knelt in front of her and held her hand.

"You can't pass me like that Vanessa." He said coldly while shaking my hand.

"Next week you're going to the States and you're going to live there." He added.

_

(End of flashback)

"WHEN MY SISTER HAS A BOYFRIEND IT'S OKAY! WHEN MY SISTER GET PREGNANT IT'S OKAY!! EVEN IF THEY BREAK UP WITH HER BOYFRIEND AFTER SHE DIDN'T SAY THEY HAVE A CHILD IT'S OKAY WITH YOU!!! BUT WHEN I'M LIKE THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR YOU!!"

"I JUST DID SOMETHING WRONG, I JUST DID SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T LIKE TO REFUSE, SPEAK TO ME BADLY BUT WHEN SISTER IS OKAY!! YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT I SHOULD IMITATE MY SISTER, YOUR GRADE IS HIGHER THAN HER, I AM SMARTER THAN HER BUT FOR YOU! HE'S STILL THE BEST!!"

"NEVER ONCE YOU HAVE BEEN PROUD OF ME!! IT'S ONLY MY MISTAKES THAT YOU SEE, YOU ARE IGNORING YOUR DEEDS IF RIGHT!!"

"V-Vanessa..."

"Not once have I been happy in this house, not once have I felt love here! I feel like I'm invisible because you can't see me, I'm just Ate, Ate! It's like he's your child and I'm not! While he's your adopted son and I'm his real son, but why do you love him more than me!!" I just laughed at a sudden thought.

"Oh maybe... maybe it's the other way around, I'm really your adopted son and he's not?" I asked them they were silent so my tears flowed even more.

"I'm not asking you to love me more than Ate, I just want you to love me even a little... even if you love me a little... is that hard to give? S-Maybe you just adopted me to use..." I breathed deeply.

"You're just using me in the States, that's why you sent me there, right! You want me to steal others boyfriend, steal others husband just to get revenge on your enemies or maybe your enemy's son! and when I didn't do that you didn't give me money or feed me! What do you think of me? Robot? Oh, an obedient dog?!"

"OH, MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW THAT I AM A PERSON!! I'M HURT TOO!! I JUST LOOK STRONG, COURAGEOUS, COURAGEOUS, CURSED OR SOMETHING ELSE! BUT THE TRUTH IS I'M WEAK, I'M JUST TRYING TO BE STRONG, TO BE STRONGER, AND TO KEEP MY FACE I'M TRYING EVERYTHING FOR MYSELF AND YOU!!!" I screamed, feeling the pain in my throat.

"Are you even human? Don't you have hearts? can't you even see that I'm struggling? Can't you see I'm hurting!!You keep my only happiness away from me, even Stephen... I-I wish you would have left me with S-Stephen... he's the only one I can lean on, he's the only one I draw strength from because if I don't I met him then I-I'm really going to go crazy... I should have been dead a long time ago!"

"How many times have I planned to kill myself and how many times has Stephen saved me... yes, how do you know that, you are of no use to me!"

"A-Son..." my breathing seemed to stop for a moment when I heard that word from mommy.

"This is the first time you called me like that mom, I've never heard you called me daughter just like that before. I don't know if I should be happy because you seem to feel sorry for me now or maybe I feel guilty."

"Because to be honest, I really don't want people to beg me. because I don't need your mercy, I don't need you... Stephen... I need Stephen! He's the only one... but he can't because he already loves someone else, it can't be because it's too late for everything. If you hadn't done that, we wouldn't have been separated!"

"He looks at me differently now because of you! Is that really the case mom huh? It looks like money and flirty?!" They can't answer me now. I wiped my tears and took a deep breath.

"P-But don't worry, I'm not mad, that's okay because he's happy now. because if we had been until now and our son hadn't died, he would have been hurt more and I don't want that to happen,"

"The only thing I would like to ask of you now is that you don't send me back to the States because I really don't like the people there, I'm really afraid of you mom... because those are the men you order to give you the money you give me..." I didn't finish what I was going to say becausI hesitate to say."B-Why? A-What happened?" He held my hand and my cheek.

"T-Look into my eyes Vanessa..."

."W-When they come to where I live, they touch me, they rape me several times..." I can't help but sob when I remember what happened.

"Damn you bastards!! I'm gonna kill them all!" I looked at daddy and I couldn't help but smile, I felt that he was concerned about me.

I calmed myself down and tried to smile at them both.

"I want to do the things I couldn't do when I was young. I also want to eat the things I want. I know you're busy, but I hope you give it to me. I'll be gone too, so you don't have a problem, nothing. when your child has a headache, you have no child to be ashamed of." I will wipe away my one tear that fell.

"V-Vanessa, don't m-say things like that or you'll m-get lost here--" I didn't let him finish what he was going to say.

"I have a brain tumor, I won't last a month." I said straight to mommy and smiled.

"I-I did everything, so I don't care if I go to jail for pushing Manang Daley down the stairs, for taking my sister's son. Because my life in this world will not last long. even though I'm very selfish, I only think about my own happiness... but I thought that now is the time... now is the time to be selfish. In my whole life, I have never been able to choose those things and people that make me happy."

I see if mommy and daddy's tears flowed, they came to me and hugged me.

"S-Sorry son... I'm sorry for what I did. It's okay that you won't forgive me..."

"What are you doing mommy, I wish I wouldn't make you laugh for the rest of my life... because I thought I would live for a long time but since I'm going to die anyway, it's up to you! That's in the past... the important thing is now."

"Vanessa," I looked at my sister who was behind me.

"Hey Sister Essa, you're going to tweak me, aren't you? Come on, I'll give you my birthday present for next month. P-I'm sorry that it looks like I won't make it to your birthday. But that's okay, isn't it, because there's no one to trouble you anymore, you don't have a jealous brother anymore, cursed..."

"Vanessa!" He came to me and hugged me too.

"It's like I'm going to die now, if you guys get there." I said laughing.

"N-You're actually laughing at your situation!" Ate shouted.

"D-You should have told us, maybe I-I'll catch up."

"If it's my time, it's really my time. There's nothing I can do but accept it."

"M-Mom, I wish my dish today is fried chicken, because I can only eat when you're not around... I can only eat what I want when you're not around--"

"Shhh, we'll buy the ones you want, just tell me, Mommy will buy them for you."

after our drama here, we ate first, it was my first time to eat with them, the one where mommy didn't tell me what I should or shouldn't eat... she just left me alone.

I want this, I wish I had experienced it before. it's just annoying because I just want to live longer so I can be with them.

After eating, I went to the bathroom to wash my face, and I saw the paleness of my lips as the red lipstick disappeared from my lips.

I was already lying in my room and I looked at the door when mommy came in.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. He came to me and sat on the edge of the bed.

"W-Would you like mommy to sing to you while you sleep son?" I smiled as my tears fell. I just nodded because I couldn't speak properly.

He started singing and I covered my mouth to stop sobbing, I hugged him tightly and he did the same.

Thank you, God has fulfilled my wish...

_

Alyana Perez's Pov.

"Alyana!" I woke up suddenly to that voice.

"Are you okay? You're crying, what did you dream about?" I slowly looked at Stephen who was now looking at me worriedly.

"I dreamed of Vanessa..." I don't know but my tears suddenly fell.

I got up from lying down and stared at Stephen.

"Why? Did he bother you even in the dream? Did he hurt you?"

"No, he apologized to me then..."

"Then what?"

"T-Then it suddenly disappeared." I bowed down.

"That's all, what makes you cry?" Stephen rubbed my back.

"No... I didn't know when he apologized, I felt if it was sincere and my chest tightened when he suddenly disappeared... it was as if it was real, I don't know why I was hurt even though it was just a dream" that."

"Shhh hold on, take care of our baby." I'm trying to calm down.

"Why are you still here, you've been here for two days, don't you have any plans to go home?"

"My mom's said to watch over you."

I suddenly frowned at his answer.

"So, you're only here because aunt said? If he didn't say you wouldn't come here huh!" I hit him on the head.

"No, even if mommy didn't say that, I'll still come here and sleep here, eat..."

"Tsk," I tormented him. I said no kiss, no hug, no touch, but last night he still stubbornly did those things.

"Come on, let's eat, your mom has already cooked."

***

I'm sitting outside the house, enjoying the fresh air.

I'm the only one here and it's too much inside so I just went out. Because Stephen visited Manang Daley, I really want to come but I don't know if I'm lazy, it's like my body is telling me that I should be here first because it's as if someone is coming here to look for me. mom, sister and brother were at the mall, I gave them money to buy household items.

"Alyana," I looked at the shoes that were in front of me now. it's nice, maybe those shoes will be loved... little by little I lifted my head and I was surprised to see Vanessa standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him but he didn't answer, he sat next to me and looked up at the sky, he raised his hand as if covering his eyes so that he wouldn't be blinded.

"Nice to hang out here." He said and turned to me with a smile.

"I'm sorry," I stared at him.

"I'm sorry Alyana, sorry for what I did to you." It's the beginning.

"I'm just so desperate to get Stephen, if you're there, his attention is only on you, so I did everything to grab his attention. I know if we're not like before... I know for myself that he loves you," he smiled bitterly at me.

"I know, I'm selfish to only think about my own happiness but it's just too painful that I can't even be with Stephen for the signing. As for Effren, you probably know first that he is not really Stephen's son, I took my sister's son because I thought I could make it easier to snatch Stephen from you..."

"I haven't told this to Stephen yet, the truth is that Stephen and I were going to have a child 2 years ago but my mom doesn't like Stephen and especially the child so she made a way to capture me."

My eyes widened at what he said, I could see the pain in his eyes as his tears continued to fall.

"P-It's like I'm just imagining that Effren is our son, k-if our baby is still alive, Effren is just his age. That's why I just want to experience it as if we were a family, a complete and happy family."

"Vanessa... I'm sorry,"

"What are you doing, why are you so sorry, it's not your fault."

"You know the truth is that I will return her to you when I'm gone, if I could take her for the rest of my life, I would do it, but I can't do it." He said and suddenly he laughed.

"When you're gone? Are you leaving?" I asked wonderingly.

"Yes, I'm leaving, I'm going far away. I'm going to live here so I won't bother you and S-Stephen anymore." He wiped his tears.

"Do you want to know my dream Alyana?" I didn't answer, I just kept quiet here because I don't know what he ate, did he come here and voluntarily apologize to me.

"P-My dream is to m-marry Stephen, m-the two of us are a family. m-We will have many children and grow old at the same time, we promised that to each other to be honest. But you know it hurts? Not one of them has been fulfilled, I think Stephen will fulfill all those promises to you..." she said and burst into tears. I slowly raised my hand and hugged him.

Vanessa knows how to cry, the cry that isn't plastic.

"But it's okay, you're kind and very kind. I'll be happy because Stephen can fulfill that, I'm happy for you and your future child." He held my stomach and rubbed it, I smiled at what he was doing.

He said he was leaving far away...but I feel he meant something else.

"Your son is lucky because you are his mommy, I didn't even know the real parent. I'm laughing because I'm thinking now that I wish you were like my mom, that kind." I wiped the tears on her cheek.

"You're kind Vanessa, you're just trying not to show that you're kind. It seems you've gotten used to everyone not liking you and I've become one of them. I'm... I'm sorry for hating you."

"Don't be sorry, Alyana. I know, I deserve it..."

"What are you doing in here??!" We looked at Stephen standing in front of us.

"Hi, Stephen!" Vanessa still waved at him.

"Alyana did he do something to you?" Stephen pulled me away from Vanessa.

"He didn't do anything, he just apologized for everything he did." I explain.

"Is your sorry really true or is it just acting so you can get close to Alyana and do something bad to her again?!"

"I'm sincere in apologizing Stephen, I'm not kidding or joking. You know I don't just say sorry or even thank you."

"Oy bro, you and Alyana have made up--what is she doing here?!" John is specific to Vanessa.

"Hi Flyn...este John," I scratched my head, why did he call John Flyn.

"Uhm, Alyana, can you cook for me...ahm, what is that? That vegetable you cooked at Stephen's house, I really want to taste it." I smiled at him.

"Sure, come on in.... are you okay here? Maybe you're not used to it." He looked around our house which is not that big.

"It's fine," his expression was still the same, as if nothing happened to him.

there are still vegetables here so I cooked, Stephen even helped me cook.

"Wahh that's too bad! What are you doing here Vanessa?" John asked, he was alone without Flyn now.

"To apologize to Alyana." This is a straight answer.

"Owws really? are you sorry? Pfft... unbelievable!" This is really John who is very talkative.

"Manang Daley told you to be kind."

"Who is Manang Daley?" John asked this question.

"Huh?" I put what I cooked on the table and sat down.

"A-Ah, yes it is Manang Daley. why what happened to him?"

"You pushed him down the stairs, didn't you?" When John reminded him.

"T-Pushed? Me?" He asked himself as he held his head as if he was worried about something.

"O-Oh right, sorry I forgot..."

"Forgot stupid! just say you don't want to admit that you pushed Manang Daley."

"I already said sorry, didn't I!" I was surprised because Vanessa's voice suddenly got louder.

"S-Sorry Alyana, I didn't mean to surprise you." Take it back.

"Are you okay Vanessa? Why are you looking pale?" I asked worriedly as he held his head and I noticed his pale lips. It's refreshing that I just saw her without lipstick on her lips when we were at Stephen's house, even though she had makeup on in the morning.

"Ahh, I'm okay... my head just hurts a little but it's okay, I can still do it."

"Are you sick?" Stephen suddenly asked.

"Nothing!"

"I mean, don't you have a fever?" Vanessa shook her head.

"I'm fine." He looked away at the same time.

"Bro, I'll go first, my head gets hot when I look at this girl." John has left and only the three of us are left here.

"Hey," he got Stephen and I's attention. Stephen and I were next to each other and he was in front of us.

"I-I'll tell you later when I taste it."

He started eating. "You're really good at cooking, I'm Stephen's luck because I don't even know how to cook." He said and laughed.

"Learning to cook Vanessa, I can teach you if you want."

"D-Don't, I don't have time for that." He took a bite again.

"Are you sure you will forgive him?" Stephen whispered a question in my ear.

"I forgave you, didn't he?" Come back if you whisper to him.

He just smiled at me and put his arm around me, I leaned my head on Stephen's chest.

Vanessa looked at us and smiled, I could see her tears were about to fall but she immediately wiped them away and looked in another direction.

She's acting so weird right now...