“Mom?” I knocked on her door before coming inside.
My mother raised her head and stopped reading upon seeing me. She motioned for me to sit down while she leaned on her swivel chair. I could see how tired she is from all the works that she’s doing and I somehow regretted not really taking everything seriously.
“Are you ready for your flight?”
I nodded. “Yes. I just want to talk to you about something.”
“Do you still have time for that?” She checks her watch. “The plane will leave in two hours.”
“Don’t worry about it, mom,” I smiled at her. “I just want to ask. Is the CEO the guy you wanted me to know?”
“Yeah. Who else? Do you know him?”
That would confirm that he doesn’t know about Gray yet and I don’t have any intention to tell it to her.
“No. I just want to know. Does he know about me? I mean, what if he doesn’t like me?” I pretended to worry about it even though I know Gray wouldn’t like to see me.
“He doesn’t know about you, dear.” My mother assured me. “And, it’s okay if you don’t like him. I mean, we cannot teach our heart to love someone.”
“Can we teach our love to unlove someone?” I directly asked her.
I never talked about things that bothered me. I used to keep it to myself because I don’t want to bother anyone so it was my first time asking her things like this. Usually, we’re just casual, no deep talks, and she has been really busy since I was growing up that she doesn’t usually have time for me.
It was my father who took good care of me until he died from an accident when I was nine years old. After that, it was our caretaker and Dave’s family that looked after me since my mother was busy with our business in Spain. I only get to see her during vacation. Although, she never made me feel alone because she still checks on me from time to time and she never puts pressure on me. Well, she used to remind me to behave and be responsible because what she will be giving me isn’t something that should be taken lightly. It was her hard work and our ancestors' hard work.
“I believe we never really learn to unlove someone,” She sadly looked at me. “We just learn to love someone much deeper than our last love.”
“So you never learn to unlove Mr. Gray Elizalde’s father?” I asked which surprised her. “I heard things, mother.”
She chuckled. “He was my first love and my first in everything. But your father is my greatest love. There’s still space for him but my love for you father took so much space in my heart.”
I smiled. “I missed him.”
“I always do.” She looked at our picture taken when I was a kid and my father was still alive.
“Do you still love the guy who broke your heart?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
It’s the truth. Why would I lie?
“Perhaps, when you meet the guy we are talking about, then you will forget about that guy.”
I laughed a little.
How could I tell my mother that they are the same person?
“I asked Ethan about the guy,” Mother told me and I felt a sudden mini attack because Ethan might have told my mother what happened, but to my surprise, he didn’t say anything.
“He told me that his brother is a great guy. And, I am so sorry for investigating him. I just want the best for you and now...”
I smiled. “I’ll see you soon, mother.”
She rolled my eyes when she realized I no longer want to continue the conversation. What she did was the right thing to do. I was able to know Gray’s lies. There’s no way someone would tell me that that’s not real. I heard it.
“I will see you soon, dear. Call me.”
I nodded.
I hugged my mother and whispered goodbye before leaving her office.
Ethan was already waiting at the door. He brushed his hair upon seeing me.
“Why?”
He lifted his brow.
“What do you mean why?”
“Why did you tell my mother that Gray is a great guy?”
He stopped for a moment before smiling at me.
“He is a great guy, Deanara.” He said seriously. “I was the one that wasn't worthy.”
“We all make mistakes,” I told him. “What’s important is that we learned not to do it again.”
“Yes, I know.” Ethan placed his arms on me as we walked out of the building.
The car was already waiting for us outside the building. Misha bid a farewell to me and said she will be missing me though she will be flying next month to join me in the Philippines. She just needs to finish some papers before doing that.
“Hey, I have a question…” Ethan asked while we were already inside the car. Good thing, there isn’t any traffic around the place so it would be easy for us to go to the airport. We still have some time for coffee.
“What?”
“Do you still love Gray?”
“Would it make any difference?”
He shrugged.
“I haven’t seen my brother since we left. Maybe, he was cursing at the both of us.” He laughed.
“Go and reconcile with your brother.” I urged him.
“Are you not going to tell him the truth?”
“What truth?”
“The truth about that night.”
I smiled a bit.
“It was already too late for that, Ethan. What’s done is already done.”
“Why did you do that?”
I looked at him. “I did it for you, mainly. For myself, too. But, I think, that night I thought about you and the damage that Vivian had done to you. So, I said, it’s payback time.”
“You hurt Gray. You could have talked about it.”
“I no longer know the truth, Ethan. I don’t want to say it without trust. I heard what I heard…” I sighed. “Let’s not talk about it, okay?”
Ethan agreed. “Yeah. It’s ruining our moment.”
I faked a laugh.
“I hope he is already happy. Is he together with Vivian?”
Ethan moved his head sideways. “I don’t have any idea.”
“Can you do me a favor?” I said.
“Sure. What?”
I dropped the words that I would somehow regret.
“Can we still pretend that we are together?”