Raymond walked down the stairs and into the dining room where Frankie was already seated and having breakfast. He sat down and poured coffee into his own mug.

Frankie continued eating his breakfast but asked, “Did you get home real late last night? Didn’t Steven give you my message?”

Raymond sipped the hot brew and said, “Yes he did but I didn’t get home till about 3 in the morning. You were asleep already and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Frankie looked up from his plate and said, “That’s pretty late for you. What held you up?” He assumed it was because of Charmaine but was taken by surprise when he heard another name.

“It’s Bosco,” Raymond explained, his head aching at the memory, “For some reason he wanted me to drink and drink. It’s like he wanted me to get drunk or something. It was so weird.”

Frankie chuckled, “Bosco may be weird at times but there’s always a motive behind it.” He looked at Raymond, “I wonder what he’s trying to get out of you.”

Raymond shrugged and grinned at his brother, “He won’t be able to get anything out of me since I have nothing to hide.”

Hearing those words, Frankie gave Raymond a grave look, “Are you sure about that?”

Raymond noticed the seriousness on Frankie’s face and asked with a sigh, “What’s wrong now?”

Frankie put down his fork and sat back against his chair, crossing his arms. “I heard you danced with Charmaine last night.”

Raymond stiffened at Frankie’s tone and said, “Yes, what’s the big deal?”

“Are you getting soft on her?” Frankie half shouted, “Don’t you remember what she did to you?”

Raymond looked away from Frankie’s accusing eyes. Quietly, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Frankie shouted, “For what? For letting a woman hurt you over and over again? Why does she have this effect on you? She’s nothing but a spoiled, selfish…”

“Stop it,” Raymond warned. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and when he re-opened them he looked straight at Frankie. In a voice of steel, he said, “Stay out of my personal affair.” He then pushed away from the table, knocking his chair down in the process, and walked out of the house.

Frankie stared after Raymond with concern and anger etched on his face. He won’t allow Charmaine to hurt Raymond again. He would do anything and everything to make sure of that.

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Selena stirred sugar into her cup as she waited for Steven. He was late and she thought he wouldn’t show up but finally, she saw him striding towards the café. “You’re an hour late!” she said as a greeting.

Steven stood in front of her, catching his breath. He gave her an apologetic smile and sat down, “Traffic everywhere and my cell phone died out on me.”

Selena accepted the excuse and signaled the waitress to bring another cup of coffee for him. “First of all I want to congratulate you on a successful event last night. Bosco and I had a lot of fun.”

Steven laughed, “Thanks. I’m glad you guys enjoyed it.”

Selena lifted her cup and took a sip. When Steven did the same, she asked, “I heard that Raymond used to work for your father.”

Steven was baffled by the question and didn’t know why she was asking it, “That was five years ago. Why are you bringing this up?”

Selena looked straight at Steven and said, “Listen, you know I don’t like to play with words and prefer to speak whatever is on my mind.” When Steven smiled in agreement, she said, “Do you know whether Raymond and Charmaine knew each other from back then and whether they dated?”

Steven was stunned by the question and stammered, “W-Why do you want to know?”

Selena kept her eyes on him and said, “Because I have a suspicion about something and I need more information to confirm it.”

Weakly, Steven persisted, “Suspicion about what?”

“I can’t say. Can you just answer my question?”

Steven looked away from her probing eyes and managed to laugh, pretending to ridicule Selena’s absurd question, “Of course not. From what I remember they were only introduced once and Kenneth was there as well. Since then, Raymond has been in the states.”

Selena’s hopes plummeted hearing the news. Her suspicions were wrong again. Now it was her turn to look apologetically at Steven, “I’m sorry for these questions. You must think I’m very nosy.”

Steven patted her arm, “Not a problem. Now it’s my turn to ask you a question: why are you asking this?”

Selena looked sadly at Steven and said softly, “It’s because of Charmaine. Since she’s also your good friend, I don’t mind telling you this: she had a tragic relationship around that time and it hurt her tremendously. But yet, she’s still not able to forget that guy. It may sound crazy to you but I suspected Raymond to be that guy.”

“Did she tell you that she still loves the guy?” Steven asked hoarsely.

Selena shook her head, “No, but I believe she does. That would explain why no one is able to capture her heart all these years. She’s still waiting for him.”

Steven knew he had to tell the truth now. He stood up abruptly, “Selena, thanks for confiding in me. I promise Charmaine will soon be reunited with that guy again.”