Amadeus hugged her. “I am sorry. I did not mean to make you worry. What happened to your parents will not happen to me. I am fine. I am alive.”
She slapped his chest. “I hate this feeling. I don’t want to worry about you. You’re not important to me. Why are you doing this to me? Why don’t you stay away? Why are you bothering me?”
He hugged her tighter. "I am glad that you care for me. I am just sorry that you hate yourself because of this." But she wanted to pull away from him. But she did not have the strength because she needed his embrace. She eventually felt peace. Her heart had calmed down. As if it found a home in him.
“I’ll take you home. It’s hot in here,” Amadeus said and wiped her tears away.
“Don’t ever rescue a pair of slippers next time. You can just buy a new one,” she said, pursing her lips. “Don’t scare me again.”
He laughed softly. “I won’t. Promise.”
ESMERALDA was staring at the ceiling as she recalled what happened between her and Amadeus at the river. It looked like she had told him he was important to her. Was it just the same as saying that she was in love with him?
And what was his answer? He did not say that he felt something special. He did not say he loved her. In short, she should not expect anything from him.
“What should I do? While he’s still here in San Luis, he would never leave me alone. Especially that he knew that I’m vulnerable when it comes to him.” What should she do to save herself?
In the end, she called Aiden. He was the only one who knew the whole thing about her and Amadeus. Only Aiden could understand her.
“Hello,” a female voice said on the other line. She sounded like she had just woken up.
“Sorry. I can talk to Aiden, please?” she asked cautiously.
“Wait. Aiden, phone call,” the woman said in a formal voice.
A woman. A woman answered his cellphone in the middle of the night. And that voice was familiar to her.
“Esmeralda?” Aiden asked.
“Sorry. I think I interrupted your sleep. Was it Lexie who answered?” she asked.
“Yes. We’re f-finishing some w-work.”
“Ah! I thought I disturbed you from another thing.”
“Esmeralda!” he scolded.
“It does not matter to me. That’s your personal life. I’ll just call again tomorrow when you have the time.”
He groaned. “That seems important. Spill.”
“Tell your brother to come home.”
“Wow! He’s still there?”
“Yes. He was helping with building damaged houses and shelter. In the morning, he cleans our yard, plows in the field, he sometimes goes with me to the market, and he tutors Jeremy sometimes.”
“What’s the matter? Is his talent fee expensive?”
“That’s the problem. He’s not asking for anything in return. He was not even asking for the payment from our deal.”
“So… Nothing happened since he went to San Luis? He didn’t ask you to have sex with him?”
“He didn’t. He did not kiss me either.”
“Did he tell you the reason why he’s there?”
“He wanted me to see the other side of him. That he was not as bad as I think. For what?”
“So that you’ll like him?”
“And then?”
“Don’t you think that Amadeus is in love with you?”
“He did not tell me.”
“Maybe because he did not know how. Because if he said that, you won’t believe him.”
She grabbed her hair. “What should I do? I don’t want him to love me. I want him to stay away from me. I don’t want to get hurt anymore.”
“It will only hurt if you love him. Do you love my brother?”
She shut her eyes tight. “I don’t want to think about it. I was once ruined because of him. I was almost left with nothing. I don’t want it to happen again. Help me drive him away.”
“I don’t know how to help you…”
“Think about it. It’s partly your fault why I am in this situation. Tell him that his life was happier there with rich and sophisticated women. They suited him better. He’ll get tired of me. Life in the province is boring. He should not expect anything from me.”
“Could you bear it if he walks away from you? Is that what you really want?”
Esmeralda swallowed. “I could bear it.”
"YOUR wild cherries are of good quality. Instead of putting it to waste, you can make it into a fruit wine. It began to make noise not just here in the Philippines but also abroad. If you're interested, you can attend a training about that," Amadeus told Esmeralda on their way home. He accompanied her to the field. The mango trees started to bear fruits, and he wanted to see her other plantation. While the currant tree was ignored by everyone, he thought of a way so she and the people of San Luis could profit from it.
“I’m going to give you the harvest of this field. If you allow me to rent your farm, not for me but for Jeremy,” she told him.
“I’m not asking for a payment. I know you need money to support Jeremy.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to be indebted. I want to pay you back no matter how long it takes,” she said in a firm voice.
“Fine. If you want to pay me, let’s do something about your produce. Let’s make the most out of it. We can be business partners,” he said and offered his hand.
She stared at his open hand. She was not sure if it was a good idea to be his business partner. She just wanted to cut his communication with him and drive him away. That would not be possible if they became business partners.
“Can I think about it?” she asked.
He put his hand down. “It’s okay. I understand. But tomorrow, let me take you to Manila.” They needed to go for Jeremy’s check-up.
She forced a smile. “You don’t have to. It will be a bother to you.”
He shook his head. "It is not a bother. I want to make sure that you and Jeremy are safe. The last time I heard, you checked into a cheap hostel. You did not want to stay at Brava Hotel…"
“I was fine with it,” she protested.
“Now that you’re with Jeremy, you should stay at the hotel. You will be more comfortable there. I would be there. I have a business to attend to. But there will be people who will take care of your needs, and I will join when you return here in San Luis,” he said.
She tightly pursed her lips. “We already have a place to stay.”
“Where?”
Before she could even answer, Jeremy was running toward them even though they were still far from the gate. “Sister Esmie, Brother Aiden is here.”