WINTER:
My heart was racing as I struggled to walk towards my husband's bed as I finally confirmed that I had no incurable disease. Just like how Mother died. My fears and confusion were now cleared and I felt the relief I had been longing for. Another thing was that I was with a child. My greatest blessing. My husband and I will be going to be parents soon.Would Calcifer be happy? I hoped he did. This was our goal so far—a baby that would inherit everything he built so far. I'm going to protect my baby for as long as I can. "Everything is clear, Miss Winter. I already checked everything and nothing is to be worried about," I remembered my doctor said when I finally had the guts to visit the hospital. Our family had been carrying an incurable disease which had been passed from generations to generations. The females would die at the age of thirty years old and now that I was already thirty years and that nothing happened to me, I decided to visit the doctor. If I should have known, I should have been at the hospital a couple of months ago and not let my heart sway with fear. Now...I had a fair chance that I will live. With my husband—Calcifer.My heart warmed as I remembered him. He made coffee for me while making sure that I was not cold during the night. And when he saw that I was shivering, he would draw me close to his body and lull me to sleep. "Calcifer, I am so sorry," I whispered inside my head when I remembered how I treated him these past few months. It had been only a few months since I grew distant from him. "You can tell me what's wrong, pumpkin," he asked one time when he found that I was near the window, looking outside. "Shutting me off is not like you. You're my wife now and together we can fix everything."He was only pretending, right? There was no way someone would accept me if my father was not a billionaire. Calcifer married me because of the money we have. Glancing over my shoulder, I spat, "Stop pretending that you care about me! You only married me because of our money."He was taken aback at my statement and realizing it now, how I wished I had said sorry that time. That I didn't mean it. That I want to attune myself for everything that happened. Calcifer...I could sense he was full of questions as to why I was acting like that.It had only been a year since we married each other. It was a marriage of convenience. With his family's real-estate company on verge of filing for bankruptcy, due to mismanagement. Calcifer's father got involved in gambling. Some money was gone without proper documents. Embezzlement. The investors started to lose confidence in the company and started withdrawing their shares, but Calcifer, one of the promising businessmen, had stepped in and tried to save their company. Calcifer approached Father to help them, but then Father said the only way he could help them was that he married me. Calcifer.That man was my sunshine when I was drowning in misery and fear. I was only hiding it, but I loved him so much. I admit that I did not love him at first, thinking he was only after our money, but when I started to know him well, of how ambitious and good he was to me, I could not help but fall for him.Clutching my chest, I stopped in front of Calcifer's room. No. Our room. I will tell him how sorry I was for the past few months. I will come clean and tell him the real reason. The results were in the car so that he will believe me. As I was about to twist the knob, when I heard something that forced me to stop."The divorce paper is here with me. This has been with me for quite some time now." Calcifer's voice. Who was he talking to? Maybe his sisters? "I'm sure of this one. I've never been sure. I have been thinking about it for quite some time."Divorce paper? Who is getting a divorce? His sister? Calcifer had a big family composed of seven sisters. He was the only who was a man and the eldest top of the Peterson family so he was the one who was forced to save his family from bankruptcy. In short, he became the sacrificial lamb that was offered to our family because father only wanted me to experience the feeling of how it would love someone until my last breath—at the age of thirty. "I know. I know. We have not talked about this. I don't know how to start. I don't know if I have the will to tell her." At least he sounded worried and not happy about the divorce. "A lot has been going on in her mind these past few months. She looked like a stone. She lost her warmth and looked like nothing but a doll. She's scaring me."Scaring him? Me? How did I scare him?It was not like I forced him against his will. I leaned on the wall as my heart started to race. Calcifer was not talking about our marriage, right? He was not?I admit I was not a good wife to him for the whole year. I was drowning in my own sadness and misery as well as the misery that I won't be with my husband for a long time, forgetting that I should live in the moment and should not allow the past to taint our relationship."I'm going to divorce Winter. This evening. I already thought about it a couple of times and then I finally made up my mind."My heart raced violently as I struggled to breath.I paled. He was going to divorce me? Why? Did he no longer want our family's money? His father was facing a lot of charges against him. The investor's lost their trust in their family. And without us, his family would be in ruin. He still needed us. "Yes. Yes. I know I owe it to her that the company is back again to its feet and is stable now, but I'm no longer happy with her. She's..."I automatically covered my mouth when a sob nearly broke out.Calcifer was going to divorce me because he was no longer happy. Could I blame him? No. It was my mistake from the beginning. I forgot that I still had duty as his wife. He had needs even if there was no love in the beginning. I stared at the ceiling as my eyes simmered with tears. I don't want to divorce him. Calcifer…I loved him. He was the only man whom I loved. Is this the right time to let him go?Still...it hurt the most. The door suddenly opened."Pumpkin?"I whipped my head to where he was standing. Pumpkin. Hearing him call me pumpkin every passing day was one of the happiest days of my life. But now...hearing him call me brought nothing but pain in my life.I am no longer happy with her.Those words kept on ringing in my head. I deserved that. "Calcifer."I forced myself to smile as my gaze landed at the folder he was holding. Probably the divorce paper that he would ask me to sign. When everything was already fine, when I was more than ready to spend the rest of my life with him, Calcifer had given up on our marriage. When I already planned to live my life to the fullest, without getting afraid, Calficer had given up on me."Yes. What's up? Have you eaten lunch?" I tried to make my voice as cheery as possible, but failed. Calcifer's expression softened. I wanted to hug him and say sorry so that he would change his mind. I did not want to let him go. "Are you done visiting your father?" he asked, not answering my question. "You return earlier than I expected."Maybe that was the reason he did the call, thinking I would never listen to the conversation. Ah, yes. He thought I was visiting Father because I was home sick. I never told him about the sickness in our family. No one talked about it except for a few family members. Others fear that if their significant others will find out about it, they will run and never come back.Who would marry someone who would die when she reached thirty years old? No one. "Y-Yes, I did. He is fine." I visited my doctor and said I had no cancer cells. That everything was clear and that I should have nothing to worry about. "What's in your hand?"As if remembering he was holding something, he hid it in his back. "T-This is nothing.""Is that our marriage certificate?" I asked, even if I already had an idea what was in that folder. Our divorce paper. You can tell me the truth, Calcifer. I will understand. But instead of telling the truth, he said, "Y-Yes. This is our marriage certificate." And he averted his eyes.WINTER: My insides were shaking as I struggled to keep up the smile on my face even if that was the last thing I wanted right now. It was the truth.I wanted to curse. To shout while asking him the reasons. The real one. Was it only about me? No. This evening, I will know the real reason. I extended my hand. "Can I have it? I will show Father that our marriage was real and that you did marry me. He would surely be happy about it."He gulped. "Pumpkin...I."Do you want to divorce me? Is there a new woman you love, Calcifer? Tell me the truth, please?"Yes, Calcifer?""I-I will give it to you later. Please excuse me. I have a business meeting to attend to.""Why later when I can have it now?""Later, please?" he asked, almost begging me. He was about to pass me, but I asked, "Calcifer. Do you want me to cook for you? What do you want to eat?"His eyes widened. "You will? Aren't you busy? You're always…busy." During our first few months of marriage, I had been cooking for him. I
WINTER:My heart was hammering against my chest as I sauntered towards the dining area. The smell of rose flowers wafted across the air. But it did not help me at all to calm my nerves. Ynes, our house helper was already at the dining area and gaped at me as she scanned my looks. It had been a long time since she saw me doll myself. In the previous months, I looked like nothing but a walking zombie. "You look gorgeous, Miss Winter," she whispered. "Thank you," I whispered and my gaze wafted through Calcifer who was eyeing me too. I shifted my weight from foot to foot. "Do you like my dress, Calcifer?" I asked nervously even though I didn't have any reason to.If there was someone who should be nervous, it should be him because he was asking for a divorce. He blinked a couple of times as if he was mesmerized. "Y-Yes, pumpkin," he muttered under his breath. And as if reminded by something, he got on his feet and offered his arms. Anchoring myself on him, we both sauntered to the t
WINTER:Calcifer held his breath. He was not expecting anything. He believed I could not ask him?"H-how can you think that?"He put the spoon down and faced me. His eyes held a lot of emotions which I could not decipher, but above all, I saw pity. Pity for me that he would be leaving me?It was not hidden to me that women were after him. Especially Carmela. Maybe the two will be celebrating after I sign the papers directly. "Tell me why I should not get worried, Calcifer. Tell me because that might be the reason why you have forgotten about our second wedding anniversary."His eyes widened, remembering this important day. "Pumpkin. I'm so sorry. I forgot. This was an honest mistake."He never forgot even if this was only a marriage of convenience because the Calcifer I knew was not like that. He was putting all his efforts into something if there were some upcoming important events. "Let's forget about this anniversary and talk about the most important thing you wanted to say, Cal
WINTER:I smiled sadly at the realization that my husband had already decided he was going to leave me. “You cannot be stopped, Calcifer.”Calcifer smiled sadly. “I already decided, pumpkin. I am leaving,” he stated quietly. “This is for the best.”For the best? What kind of twisted idea was that? I loved him so why was he leaving me? How could he be so unfair?My heart continued to bleed like crazy.If only I had the power to make him stay…You can make him stay if you tell him that you two are expecting a baby!My hands laid protectively on my stomach.If he already left me over some simple thing, how much more if it was already serious?Calcifer was the type of man who would leave whenever he had the chance to and telling him that we would soon be parents just to make him stay was something I did not want to do.I tried to memorize his face for the last time. His nose. His jaw. The beautiful colors of his eyes. Everything about him. How could it come to this? I loved this man so mu
WINTER: One month later…The house looked empty when Calcifer was no longer with me in the house. No matter where I looked, I was always reminded of him and the things he did for me. Of the way he took care of me. Of pampering me.It had been a month since I last saw my ex-husband. Daddy still did not know what happened to my marriage, but I knew it sooner or later he would find out about this. And he would explode in anger. As much as I hated my ex-husband, I did not want Dad and him to fight because of me. I don’t know if I was able to face him. Or not. It was scary to know the things Dad might be capable of doing against Calcifer and his company. “Miss Winter? Are you okay?” Ynes, my maid asked. She was a forty-year-old woman who had been with us for quite some time now. And sometimes, her children would come over to the house and help her clean it which I welcomed. After my ex-husband left, the house seemed sad. “Maybe it’s best if you just sit, Miss Winter.” She came to my sid
WINTER: Three Years Later…“Come here, Liam,” I ordered to my three-year-old son. We were done taking our breakfast and were now strolling through the children’s park in the neighborhood. His attention was caught when a bird landed on the floor, staring down at him. “You’re not going to catch him, alright? The bird is only looking at the children.”“Why does the bird have small eyes, Mommy?” he asked, his brows forming a straight line. “Why do his eyes don’t look like mine?”I chuckled while looking for some answers in my mind. I really did not know why.“Ahm…God designed him that way. Come on, now.”At three years old, Liam can talk now and can form sentences. He was chatty like her father and the resemblance between them was uncanny. Seeing him was like seeing my ex-husband. Calcifer and I had never met again and I believed that was for the best. I did not want him to approach me because the reason was our child. I sighed as I watched him continue staring at the bird, his curios
WINTER:My mouth fell open as I continued staring at my husband. Calcifer. He was as handsome as ever. The curls in his hair reminded me of the waves on the ocean rushing towards the shore. Just like my pretty Liam. My heart clenched as the memories of our marriage rushed through my mind. And our last meeting. The signing of the divorce papers. Was he happy now? Maybe because there was no longer the woman who was giving him a hard time.Did he still remember how he hurt me? Did he still remember how he was cruel by giving up on me? If I did not stop Dad, Calcifer would be dead by now. Out of his anger, he nearly ordered someone to kill Calcifer. It was evil, of course, but I could not blame Dad.Despite what had happened to our marriage, I did not want anything to happen to him. I wanted to focus on the things when we were still happy and how good he was to me. I was brought out of my shock and rushed to my crying son.The man. No. Calcifer was stunned for a moment realizing it w
WINTER:My heart thumped wildly against my ribcage. I should not be listening to my ex-husband now and turned my back. He was already part of my past and that I was no longer to return to it. But what was this little part of me that wanted to listen to him?Am I that foolish that I was seriously considering listening to him?“Pumpkin…” He grabbed my hand and as if burned at the touch, I slapped it away. Calcifer looked at me with pain in his eyes. You're not going to fall for those crocodile tears, Winter. Don't you ever dare try!I pulled myself together and laughed at him. “Are you getting poor?”His forehead knotted. “Poor? No, pumpkin—”“Liar!” I spat while my knuckles turned white. “You're only saying this because you're losing your money. You want me back? Really? How come you never looked for me or attempted to look for me during those three years?”He heaved a sigh. “I did. But you were nowhere to be found. You went abroad.”Well, that was true. I did and gave birth there