“Ma, why are you here?” Chun asked in pure agitation. He furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes just to make sure that was he was seeing isn’t in any way fiction.

Delilah’s jaw dropped having to have to see his step son with the girl she cursed the most, Ella. Who, for her own opinion, would be on the bottom list if ever she’d have to choose the right woman for Chun. She glared at her, and then looked back to his step son who was still trying to analyze the situation. She knew immediately that they were back together, looking in their intertwined hands and it made her fume with anger even more, adding up to Chun’s three weeks absence from the office.

Chun, on the other hand, stepped in front of Ella just in case her step mother’s up to no good, which he’s a hundred and one percent sure of. He reached out to her hands backwards, trying to calm her. He knew she was nervous, there was no thinking twice.

Delilah paced her steps towards Ella, passing through Chun. Ella wouldn’t look up, her head was bowed down, and she didn’t want to see Delilah. She knew her courage was more than enough to confront her, but she just doesn’t want to stir something up, not right now and she didn’t know why. Her mind was telling her to do what she thinks is right, but at the same time, she felt like it was such a disrespectful behavior if she does so. So she just gripped hard on Chun’s warm hands, let loose her grip on her luggage, not wanting to let go.

“Didn’t I tell you not to get yourself caught of me seeing her with you?” Delilah paused. “You didn’t even attend Charlene’s wake. There were so many of them thinking that you’re just so crazily in love with her that’s why you got crazy and didn’t show up.” She continued. “And the company’s sharing stocks are decreasing. Why are you ditching your work just for her who must no be named?”

Chun narrowed his eyes, looking absolutely raging with anger because of what his step mother was talking about. “She has a name.” He protested.

On the other hand, Delilah’s speech pierced through Ella’s heart, making her feel frail and dejected once again. She sniffed, but she didn’t cry knowing that it was of no help. This isn’t the time to get all melodramatic, is it?

Delilah then reached out to Ella’s chin with her left hand and tilted it aggressively and with full force. She raised her right arm up, ready to run a hand through her face, but Chun held Delilah’s hand back and yelled at her, moving Ella gently aside, able to see the whole event, “Can’t you, just for once, respect my decisions? After all that you’ve done? I know you’re the reason behind my mother’s death. She grieved in pain just because she found out that my father was cheating on her with you. As a result, she died.” He received a slap, but he didn’t care and continued on. “It was then at that cruise. She drowned herself, because she couldn’t take any longer your flirting sessions with my dad. I tried to stop her, I told her that she still has me, but what happened?”

Then he received a slap again, making Ella who was standing aside cupped and cried, unable to do anything to help him. There were so many questions and thoughts running through her mind. She didn’t know that there are so many obstacles and challenges they’d need to go through just because he loved her. She didn’t know that this day would come, she was unaware and as a result, taken aback.

“I was a child back then, yes, but I knew what and how pain felt. I stood there aside and watched everything happen in a blink of an eye until my dad married you and I didn’t complain.” He slapped his forehead, and then balled his fists. “I respected his decision and I respected yours as well, but what about me? Every time that my dad had to go to business trips, isn’t it that you’d always give me a scolding and hit me endlessly? I thought then that there isn’t any tomorrow for me, but then Ella came to my life. She lit up my dim heart. She became everything to me, yet you wouldn’t approve our love for each other. She taught just everything there is about love to me, and let me see things I was unable to see back then.”

Chun was now so red in anger, his veins almost popping out. But even before he could speak any further yet again, Ella who felt so devastated and lost just had to run towards him and compose herself to be able to have the courage to hug him as tight as she could right at that scene. She slammed towards his hard chest and braced him with the warmth of her embrace.

Delilah couldn’t say anything. She was too lost for words, after having to have to hear Chun’s speech. She felt so much guilt building up her systems, and then she thought of the past reason why she’d marry Jacky. Two words, extreme wealth. But is that all she could really feel for him? She asked herself and then backed off every second from Chun.

“If you’ve got nothing more decent to say, you must leave.” Chun said. “I might, just might be able to do something you wouldn’t find pleasing if you won’t leave right now.”

“I-I will,” Delilah stuttered, and then quickly fled away from Chun’s vision.

And then after everything settled down, Ella broke down to tears, pressing her cheek on his chest, trying to soothe herself. Chun tousled her hair, tapped her back gently, trying to calm her. “Everything’s okay now,” He whispered and kissed the top of her head.

She only nodded, unable to speak because of so much elation and sorrow mixed to one. She whipped off the tears that were still threatening to fall down from her eyes with the back of her hand and then suppressed a smile.

He pushed her off of him gently and then rubbed her tear-stained cheeks with the back of his hand. For the tenth time, since they’d got back together, he thumbed away her tears again and cupped her cheeks, looking straight in her innocent-looking and mesmerizing eyes. Then he kissed her forehead, her eyes, her nose, both sides of her cheek, and then her full pink lips.

!@#$%^&*

Another day’s passed and it was then at that time that Ella started acting up. Her head throbbed in pain as she carefully sat up straight from his embrace. She felt nauseous and didn’t know why.

“Did I eat something raw or food left in the open?” She shook her head, not remembering to eat some food that’s past its expiry date. She just remembered about the argument with Chun and Chun’s step mother, and nothing more than that.

She opened the bathroom door hurriedly and then shut it close, gripping on the edge of the toilet bowl; vomiting. She didn’t want him to get worried, so she tried decreasing the utterly unusual noise that he might hear coming from the bathroom.

On the other hand, he freely rolled back and forth the king-sized bed and noticed that she wasn’t beside him anymore. He then immediately worried again that she might have ran away yet again, but when he heard strange sounds coming from the bathroom. So he immediately shifted his steps going to the bathroom and turned the doorknob open.

“I thought you left me again!” He exclaimed and heaved out a sigh of relief.

“I won’t, of course, silly.” She just smiled and then whipped her lips clean with the back of her hand and then gargled on the sink.

“What were you doing?” He furrowed his eyebrows at her. “I heard strange sounds.”

“Uh…” She looked left to right, trying to think of a cover up. “I woke up with my head throbbing in pain, and then, well...” She scratched the back of her head and then spoke once again, “Maybe I kind of ate something spoiled last night that’s why I felt nauseous early in the morning.”

“You sure you’re not hiding anything from me?” He asked, putting his arms around her shoulders as he ushered her out of the bathroom. “You know… any secret diseases that was triggered by my mom and made it even worse?”

“Right,” She reiterated sarcastically, sitting at the edge of the bed beside him. “Would you want that? It’s easy to get one, most especially a STD.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” He looked angry and looked seriously at her. “You know, I wouldn’t want that. But I think it’s quite alright if it came from me.”

“You’ve got nerve,” She rolled her eyes. “Then by then, we’d both die. Ah, die.” She laughed and slapped him playfully, leaning her head down on his broad shoulders. “I hope we could forever stay like this.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” He reiterated, and chuckled because of her playfulness. “We’re free now.”

“Aren’t we all along?” She asked and smiled. “You know, it was my first time to see you all fired up yesterday night.”

“You’ll see more of that so often once we get married,” He teased.

“That makes me want to change my mind,” She went with the flow. “I won’t marry you, then.”

“Not a fat chance, you liar!” He exclaimed and tickled her sides. “You made a commitment already.”

“I can always back off,” She panted, laughing so hard.

“Maybe,” He bit his lower lip for he noticed that he was already atop her.

And then she kissed him, but for some reason, nothing happened.

!@#$%^&*

LOL. Excuse me for the STD part. I was so going insane and high lately, but it just didn’t sound so right so I`m apologizing. AHAHA. :]] Next chapter would include BeBu once again, hahaha. :>