Three weeks passed and Luke and Naomi’s wedding invitations are already sent to their acquaintances. Naomi opened the rose gold envelope and pulled out the cotton cardstock paper with cursive fonts colored in gold. She caressed their embossed names gently; she felt flutters in her heart and she got emotional all of a sudden.
They flew back to Australia to add finishing touches for their wedding happening in three days. She slid back the invitation to its envelope when she felt an unusual feeling in her stomach. She went to the sink as she felt nauseous all of a sudden. Luke saw it and so he followed her in the bedroom’s bathroom.
“How do you feel? You know you can’t get sick right now” he said while gently patting Naomi’s back. She wiped her wet lips with a paper towel and replied, “Maybe I just ate something bad. I’ll get it checked later”. Luke nodded, “I can’t go with you later. I have to attend to a business”. Soon as she felt better, Luke already left.
She sat in her bed and started thinking of possibilities why she has been having episodes of morning sickness lately. She secretly drove to the nearest pharmacy with her face mask on; she can’t be seen buying pregnancy tests since it is broadcasted that she will soon be married with Luke. She bought a handful just to be sure. When she got home, she immediately tested; what she assumed is far from the test’s result.
“No… this can’t be!” she whispered while looking at the pregnancy test showing two red lines. She weakly sat down in the bathroom tiles and pulled her own hair. She overthought and planned to do it first thing in the morning tomorrow since it is more accurate to test with the first urination in the morning.
She heard a knock in her bedroom’s door. She quickly hid the pregnancy test kits and attended to the one who is knocking. She opened the door to see her mom’s worried face; who could be more worried knowing that her kid is getting married and she suddenly falls ill? Therese held her arm, “You don’t look pale at all. Why is Luke worried earlier and saying that you are sick?” she asked.
Naomi replied, “It’s nothing, mom. I will get it checked tomorrow. Besides, I do not feel any pain anywhere”. Therese nodded, “Very well then. Tomorrow afternoon, you will be checked in in a hotel near the church. Please take care of yourself and be well… your wedding is awaited by almost all investors in our industry” she said. Naomi just nodded in reply.
When she closed the door, she felt the pressure from what her mom said. What if she is really pregnant? How can she make people believe that the kid inside her womb is Luke’s blood even though it is really JL’s? She facepalmed and stared at the used pregnancy test she pulled from her pants’ pocket. Those two red lines struck her hard; she can’t even believe that what she is seeing now might destroy the future her family planned for ten years.
Naomi is now getting checked; she is facing the gynecologist she trusts. The gynecologist looked at her with a smile. “I almost said you are reproductively unstable but suddenly, we found an embryo inside your womb. There is a fighting life inside you. You are two weeks pregnant, Miss Nievez” she said.
Naomi felt like the world made her deaf. “C-could you please repeat that?” she asked to confirm. “Miss Naomi Nievez, I know it is quite surprising but you have a child now and you are already in your first trimester” the gynecologist said with a smile. Naomi stared at nowhere; she does not know what to feel and how to react.
She went home to pack the things she will be needing in the hotel. She removed her dress and faced the mirror in her bathroom. She faced her side and felt her womb looking bloated. “I thought this was because of the meat I ate. I guess you are really JL’s child. You are quite big in size” she uttered while caressing the small bump in front of her.
She changed her attire to a looser dress and pulled her trolley bag to her car. She drove to the hotel near their wedding’s venue and prepared the things she will be needing. She still has two days to think of what will she do to protect the developing child in her womb. She is deciding on making the people believe that it is Luke’s child.
She found her wedding gown being dry - cleaned in the hotel’s balcony from her room. It looks elegant from the style to the wholeness of it. All the cosmetics she will be using is already present in the vanity mirror. The staff and the organizers are already present and is currently managing the dry run for the entourage.
Her hair is already tested to different hairstyles that will match her whole appearance in the aisle tomorrow. Her heart is pounding like crazy; she wishes for nothing but for her tummy to not look obvious while wearing her gown that will hug her body’s curves.
The day finally came; Naomi glanced outside; the sun is just about to rise. There are cameras and drones everywhere to record the first moments and on the spot videos of their preparations before the actual wedding. The hair and make up artists got busy styling her. Her beauty is effortless and so few touches in her face made her look like an alive goddess.
An aesthetic retro - styled car fetched him to drive her to the church. She is holding roses colored in lilac formed in a bouquet. Everything happened according to what is planned. The entourage started entering the church batch by batch. Luke is already standing at the front while wearing his charming smiles.
The driver opened the car’s door for her. There she heard the soft romantic music played from inside the church. Her veil is being arranged by the staff. She held the bouquet tight; her heart is pounding for an unknown reason. Suddenly, when the song’s chorus played, the church gates opened. Both of her parents’ hands are welcoming her to step closer.
She walked slowly while tears starting to flow from her eyes. She is now seeing Luke after two nights of departing with each other. She looked at him emotionlessly. The more she steps closer, the more she recalls the moments where Luke became abusive of her.
She recalled the time where Luke had an affair, the moments he threatened her and hit her physically, and the time where he made her feel that she is unworthy. Her parents held both of her arms but they were shocked when Naomi refused to be held.
She looked at her groom and whispered, “I’m sorry”. Just as that, she turned around while pulling her own long wedding gown; no one dared to stop her. The guests just stood in surprise. She rode her wedding car and instructed the driver to go back to the hotel. There she quickly removed her wedding gown and pulled the trolley bag containing her flight details. She drove to the airport with a face mask on.
She dialed JL’s phone who is currently battling in his family’s legacy. “Check if there’s something damaged with your things. We can’t trust anyone here” said JL, still being cautious. Gladly, there is none. JL stepped out of the place because his phone rang. An unknown number flashed through his phone.
“Hello?” said JL. “It’s been a long time since we hanged out JL. Listen, I will not beat around the bush. I’m carrying your child and I’m sure it’s yours” the girl from the other line said. “What the heck are you saying? Who are you?” JL is confused about this serious matter. He is busy right now so he does not have time to fool around.
“I am dead serious JL. Meet me tomorrow, at your workplace’s cafeteria. We’ll sort things out, have a good night” The girl said then eventually hanged up the phone. JL was returning back to their dressing room when Elijah, a member of Clan B tapped his shoulder. “Relax buddy, you look puzzled” Elijah said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control” JL said. Thinking that maybe the other team plotted the story to distract him from the contest and from his team.
Clan B looked furious; they can’t accept the fact that they lost to the Tiuecos. They played fair, but that cost them misfortune. Lt. Abucay tapped Lt. Col. Peredo’s shoulder. “See you on the next round, Tiueco”. Lt. Col. Peredo answered, “See you. But expect that we’ll never fight again”.
Team Tiueco won the first round. Instead of having a competition on the current month, the administrators decided to move the second round on March as requested. Dior glanced at the clock, “It’s two a.m. what are we going to do?” he asked. “Sleep” Silas simply said. The Team retreated back at their camp. Everyone was exhausted.
Lt. Col. Peredo uttered, “You made me proud today. Congratulations team”. The team had a group hug with their medals in the center. Numerous calls and messages flooded their social media accounts. More of them are greetings from their family.
JL opened the opposite room. “Silas should only be the one to sleep on the bed. Now you two, sleep on the couch, or on the floor”. Referring to Olivia and Zaydi. “No worries” said Zaydi while placing a sleeping mat on the floor.
The six slept in peace. No trainings waiting for them on the next day, no practices, and no anxiety. Lt. Col. Peredo who’s attending to their greetings carefully walked on the room beside his. He’s worried but he is not expressive. The kids lost weight, some of them got hurt. He saw two kids sleeping on the floor. He tugged their blankets because it’s still cold in February.
He visited the opposite room, seeing the two elder men and their youngest. Endrei is secured between his two older cousins. He did the same for the three. They really did a great job, no one can be brave as them.
He went outside to see the medals they achieved, he picked it up and went to his room. Seven uniforms are hanged, he caressed the embroidered surname and initials in their uniforms. He pinned the medals on the left chest part of the uniform. A gold edgy medal for JL, gold sun - shaped for Silas and Olivia, gold flag for Endrei, and gold armor shields for DK and Zaydi.
Those little pinned medals meant a lot to him. After numerous years, they got what their family deserves. He took a picture and sent it to their group chat. “Round 1/2. 6/6 medals earned”. He said in the message box. It gained many reactions especially from their aunts.
JL at the moment can’t keep his eyes shut. He turned from one place to another which disturbed his two younger cousins. Dior commented, “Come on, JL. Make us sleep, we are freaking tired!”. JL stood up, “Why is it that I can’t sleep? Is my body clock adjusting?” he asked himself.
He opened his phone and scrolled to his social media accounts. News in the business industry highlighted the wedding of Naomi and Luke is already happening. He felt a pinch in his heart but he understood that it is already the time for him to fully let go of their past. Naomi already thought of him as someone she knew from the past. While he, on the other hand, is still clueless on how he can label Naomi as one of the people he used to know.
He saw Naomi and Luke’s prenup photos; he saw love in their eyes just like what he sensed in their photos from when they are the ones in love with each other. Lt. Col. Peredo saw him scrolling through more of Luke and Naomi’s photos. “Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?” he asked. JL got startled and answered, “I just can’t sleep. I feel like I have to accomplish something even when I already accomplished half of the legacy a while ago”.
Lt. Col. Peredo sat beside him and said, “JL, I think you are just anxious of things you missed out because of our family’s legacy. Your body is finding things you normally do outside this camp. But remember, you need not to rush things just to get where you used to go. One step at a time, Doctor Tiueco”. JL understood his senior’s point and now he is left thinking of what he will do next for the second round of the competition in their legacy.