"It's a good thing Erik decided to return to work. Even if you say that our future brother-in-law is extravagantly wealthy, he still needs to work hard. After all, why let the opportunity to earn money go to waste? Right, Rosanna?" Dahlia remarked with a strong undertone. It had been two weeks since she was discharged from the hospital, and they came to visit her.
"Of course. By the way, Mia, how are you and your future in-laws doing?" Rosanna replied, briefly aligning herself with Dahlia's comment before facing her directly.
They were assisting her in preparing the ingredients for the Kare-Kare she was cooking for lunch. Erik had told her that he would only be working a half-day at the office today and would continue with other tasks at home.
Honestly, she couldn't understand why Erik had been overly attentive to her since she was discharged from the hospital. It seemed as if he already knew about her pregnancy. It wouldn't be far-fetched since she had been admitted for a few days and underwent numerous tests.
But since Erik hadn't mentioned or asked about it, she continued with her plan to surprise him at the right time. When exactly that would be, she felt it depended on the circumstances. For now, she hadn't experienced any morning sickness.
"Mama is doing fine. She's been kind to me again, just like when Erik and I were in high school," she said, unable to contain her excitement as she mentioned it.
She observed the exchange of beautiful smiles between Rosanna and Dahlia.
"It's good if that's the case. Because, you know, if the same thing happened to me and she offered me money just to stay away from his son," Dahlia said, shaking her head before resuming the vegetable chopping.
"Stop it, Dahlia. It might make things worse instead of better," Rosanna intervened, trying to calm their friend down.
"I'm not saying anything wrong, am I?" Dahlia defended herself.
Mia knew exactly what Dahlia meant by her earlier statement. And she understood it. Because, in all honesty, that would be the normal reaction of anyone who had experienced what she had gone through. But because she loved Erik and wanted to put an end to their problems, she chose to forgive Aurora.
"Didn't you have any doubts, even just a little?" Dahlia asked when Rosanna remained quiet.
Mia sighed at that question. "To be honest, I did have some doubts," she finally admitted to them.
"You see?" Dahlia said, looking at Rosanna, who remained silent and listened to their conversation.
"But because I love Erik and all I want is for everything to be okay, I thought it might be alright. After all, whether I like it or not, I have to get along with his parents," she explained.
"You did the right thing. Honestly, I admire you for what you did," Rosanna said.
Dahlia nodded in agreement with what she heard. "But I hope you won't trust too much for now. Because if she was able to offer you money to leave her son, there's a big chance that she didn't really want you in the first place. And honestly, how did it happen that she suddenly thought of asking for forgiveness in such a short period of time?"
From the tone of Dahlia's speech, it was evident that she was confident in what she said. And Mia felt that no matter what she said, she wouldn't be able to convince Dahlia that Aurora's apology was heartfelt.
"I felt, Dahlia, that she was sincere," she replied in a low voice.
Dahlia responded with a shrug. That was before she opened her mouth to speak again.
"It's fine, really. I mean, you did the right thing. And we're happy for you," she said, smiling.
"Oh, why have you been saying all sorts of things since earlier, then?" Rosanna asked, chuckling softly.
"I just meant to tell her," Dahlia said, briefly glancing at Rosanna before facing Mia again. "Don't trust too much. You know, if there's a wicked stepmother, there can also be wicked mothers-in-law," she added.
"Not in this case, Dahlia," Mia replied, smiling. "I can feel that Mama Aurora is genuine," she said with certainty in her voice.
"Well, that's good to hear. Because if not, I'm sure her son would be really angry at her. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't have a not-so-good plan in mind," Dahlia retorted with another snide remark.
"Oh, come on, just be quiet!" Rosanna scolded Dahlia once again.
"Our older sister here, Mia. She's too grumpy," Dahlia joked in response.
"It's because you seem to be instigating Mia to be angry at her future mother-in-law. But for me, it's no longer important whether she's sincere or not in making amends with our friend. What matters is that everything is resolved. There are no more obstacles in their way, so they can finally have the grand wedding Erik wants to give Mia," Rosanna explained in a gentle tone.
Dahlia just shrugged and flashed a smile at her, exchanging glances and winking. That's just how they were. They loved to argue. But despite everything, they were always there for each other, even from the beginning.
"Doesn't he know that you're pregnant yet?" Rosanna asked.
Mia shook her head, standing up and leaning over the sink to rinse the sliced meat. "I don't know. It seems like he still doesn't know," she said.
"But there were so many tests done on you at the hospital. It's impossible that they didn't find out about your condition," Dahlia commented.
"You're right, sis. But he hasn't said anything, so I didn't ask either," Mia replied, chuckling softly.
"Well, when do you plan on telling him the truth about your condition?" Dahlia asked.
"It depends. I'm waiting until I start experiencing morning sickness. The truth is, I'm still looking for the perfect timing. I really want to surprise him," she confessed.
Before lunchtime, Mia was able to finish cooking with the help of Dahlia and Rosanna. Before eleven o'clock, the two bid their farewells. Mia packed some Kare-Kare for them since she couldn't convince them to have lunch at her house no matter what she did. She was left alone, waiting for Erik's arrival. She also planned to send some food to her in-laws’ house, but she decided to do it later. The sun was scorching, and she didn't want to exert herself walking in the heat.
She was in the living room, engrossed in a book when her cell phone rang. Assuming it was Erik, Mia quickly grabbed her phone. However, her eyebrows furrowed in surprise when she saw that the number wasn't registered in her contacts. Nevertheless, she decided to answer, thinking it might be an important call.
"Hello?" Mia greeted the caller.
"I'm glad you answered my call."
A familiar voice responded from the other end of the line. Mia immediately stood up from the racking chair she was seating upon recognizing the voice.
"B-Bernie!"
If there was a sound that escaped her lips when she uttered his name, Mia couldn't tell for sure. But one thing she was certain of in those moments was the overwhelming pounding of her heart. It felt like her heart was going wild with an intense mix of nervousness and fear as if it wanted to break free.