The next day I woke up with Drei still sleeping beside me, he look so handsome without his eyeglasses, argh! If I'm still on my teenage years I would definitely fangirl over him.
I smiled and kissed his right cheek, stiring him awake, he groaned lightly and hang an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him.
"Too early" he said sleepily, I felt my face heat up, d*mn he's so hot! Eih!
"We still have a long day Drei, get up and help me for breakfast" I excused.
"Hmm? Ah, right" he said and I got off the bed, skipping towards the bathroom to wash my face.
After tying my hair up I walked out to see Drei doing some stretching, I smile at the sight of his morning hair and face without his round glasses, really, I've been away for 2 weeks and I miss waking up to this sight.
"Why are you just standing there?" He asked.
"You look so handsome without your glasses" I hummed.
"You always say that, thanks" he grinned and walked back to the bed to get his glasses.
"But I can't really see your face clearly after 10 meters distance" he added, I smiled.
"I'll head downstairs" I excused and he gave me a nod.
I decided to make waffles and vegetable salad for breakfast- again, I have a doctor here so he usually have an attitude to have vegetables or any healthy food on the table almost every meal.
After mixing the batter I took the lettuce out of the fridge and took some apples, grapes and cucumber on the pantry and rinsed them.
"I'll handle that, you go make the waffles" he suddenly appeared behind me and stole the knife on my hand carefully.
"Yeah, yeah, chocolate syrup or mapple?" I asked and stepped out of his way.
"Chocolate with cream cheese would be nice, might wanna add some blue berries" he smiled.
"Of course" I replied and started to heat off the waffle pan.
We have our usual coversation while making our breakfast, Drei really never runs out of topics especially on our works, he would update me on his schedule and I would do the same.
I only have 2 weeks left before getting back to work and I'm afraid that Drei will be alone for a while again, we can't even call each other daily since it's against the rules in the main head quarters.
After cooking, I prepared some hot choco for us and we finally had our breakfast peacefully, just feeling his pressence here makes me happy.
Standing in front the mall, waiting for Drei who have gone out to park our car when I suddenly saw Honey's car approaching, I smiled and waited for it to stop.
Cherri stepped out of the car as I gave my cousin a wave, Cherri gestured that we'll go ahead and I told him that Drei will wait for him instead.
"So you two finally talked about it? What a relief" she commented.
I have told her about me and Drei finally opening up on getting married by next year and she was really glad to hear it.
"It's still too early for me to get married unlike you guys but I think it's better to settle down before something unexpected happeneds" I told her, I can't garantee my life when I'm on the battlefield.
"Oh Tinay, don't be so negative, Drei would scold you if he hears that" she smiled faintly, I chuckled.
"You're well skilled on the battlefield, 40 missions? Heck that's already a lot, they can't take you down so easily, you know that?" She pat my back and I gave her a nod.
But in all honesty, if that day would come to me, I hope it was after I settle my life properly and have my kids grown up and with Drei ready to accept everything, especially my faith on the battlefield.
I shook the negative aura off me as we entered a wedding boutique- what a grand estate, I wonder who owns this? I haven't been going out too much since my Military Academy day offs cause I'm resting at home.
As if Drei would let me either. Anyways, there's a lot of lovely gowns to choose from, I saw how Cherri's eyes brightened when she saw the whole place.
"Good morning ma'am, I'm Alice your lady in charge for today, how may I help you?" A staff welcomed us.
"Do you have any lavender shaded gowns I can try on?" Cherri asked politely.
"Right this way please" she smiled and we both followed her.
She led us to the corner where the said gowns we're all placed, Cherri looked at every gown carefully until my phone vibrated.
It was a message from Drei saying; 'Hey your other cousins appeared out of no where, I think we'll be taking a while on choosing our suits' he said. Poor him.
"Would you like to try it on?" Alice asked Cherri and the two headed towards the nearest dressing room.
"How about you Tinay?" She asked me.
"I'll try one on after you, you're getting married first though" I grinned, she blushed and entered the dressing room with Alice for assistance.
I look down on my phone and type a reply for Drei, I just hope that Liam is also there to help him get off from my cousin's questions about our wedding after Honey's.
'Don't worry, Cherri is also fitting a lot of gowns here, you better get here when I start fitting too' I said.
Cherri wanted to surprise Honey on her gown so I could say that she did it on purpose- I meant by inviting the other guys over to delay Honey on the men's boutique.
I sat on the couch in front of the fitting room where Cherri is currently in and took a magazine from the table and browsed through the most expensive gowns.
I'm quite amaze by the dessigner's imaginations, from the cloth, design and perfect stones and beads on each gowns are one of a kind, I crossed my legs and have my back leaned on the couch.
Kinda reminds me of someone who's into things like these but nah.
"Hey Cherri?" I asked her.
"Yeah?" I heard her asked from inside.
"How much is your total budget on this wedding?" I asked her.
"Oh us? Just a hundred million or so, unlike your sister who spent 1.2 billion on a single night" I could almost visualize her rolling her eyes, I chuckled.
I mean who wouldn't? It was held on a private island- which they brought personally, we have the guests fly over there after the church and since it was a newly brought island, everything was on chargable solar lights and latterns with an extravegant stage setting and chairs for the guests.
I had jet lag that time from the travel distance, imagine wearing a gown and heels and you're driving a chopper? Gosh, I was thankful that Drei was able to clam me down.
"A flight to Europe can last for a while" I sighed and stretched my arms as the fitting room opened.
"Okay please be honest with me" she said and I nod my head, she said it right.
"That shape doesn't suit you well, you should try on the first one you held" I suggested and she nod.
"Good thing I have you here with me" she sighed happily and Alice walked back to fetch the said dress.
"Oh please, it's nothing" I giggled.
An hour past and we still haven't got the best dress for her, Alice also called some help from the other staff and I stood up from my seat to check on the remaining gowns.
"Honey doesn't like Cherri showing her back, not that one too, ugh, I'm starving now" I grumbled and turn to my right.
It was the perfect lavender shade gown I could think off, off shoudler- the sleeves are down from the armpits, not too loose and not too fit, the lower part blooms so wide, just as I imagine that Cherri would love.
"Can you get that one please?" I whispered to Alice.
"That's a gown that won 1st place from our world fashion show ma'am, good choice" she smiled and she got her team to get it off the maniquin.
"Argh, I'm starving" I chuckled at Cherri's reaction when I walk back to her.
"I'll have the guys bring us lunch" I said.
"Great. You should start looking for your gown now too" she suggested and I nod.
"Sheila, please assist the young miss" Alice told her collegue.
"Any ideal gowns on your mind ma'am?" Sheila asked me.
"Something fancy? I mean, I want to have mine personalized because my wedding is still far away" I said.
"A princess like style or fairy like?" She asked.
"Let's go with something that has a cloak, like the one on the 31st page of that magazine" I said and she walked over to get the magazine and see for herself.
"That gown cost over 5 million" she muttered to herself.
The price really doesn't matter to me because it's really the plan I have in mind- I'm not spoiled, but even Drei told me to pick the best gown that suits me for this once in a life time wedding.
"Can you show it to me?" I asked her and she left right away to get the dress.
While waiting, I sent a message to Drei about getting lunch and he instantly replied back saying:
'Yup, we're on it. We're also done with the suits, the other's also left so me and Honey will be there in a moment'
I look back to Cherri's fitting room and as soon as it opened, my sight got blurry, ghadness Honey is so lucky to have Cherri.
"So, what?" She giggled, I squealed and hugged her.
"Perfect! Oh gosh, welcome to the family mrs. Castillo" I teased her, she chuckled.
"Silly, we're still not married- well about five months left, I can say the same for you mrs. Watson" she grinned.
"Not yet, we still haven't decided for a perfect date next year" I chuckled.
"I'm taking this" she motioned to the gown before changing back on her regular clothes.
I waited for her to finish and paid for it and we both waited for my dress to be fetched. Her gown will be fetch on the wedding day so it won't get dirtied or something.
While waiting by the counter, a few laughter's from upstairs caught my attention.
Not because they were noisy or anything but they were familiar, I forced myself not to look and hide the side of my face where they can't recognize me as they got closer here.
"... of course I'll be there, congratulations to you guys" she giggled, argh.
"Your dress took so long Tine" Cherri groaned, I smiled awkwardly and waved my hands.
"Y-yeah, should we just go instead?" I asked her hoping that she will agree.
"Nah, the guys will be here soon anyways" she said and sat on the couch in front of the counter.
Ugh! This is not the day I planned
"We'll be expecting you Sam" the other voice said.
"Come on, I'm not running away tsk, I'll attend alright? Now please leave because I have a lot of things to do" Sam groaned at the two and they laughed.
"Alright we're off- hold on, Tine?" Oh shoot, can I run?
I calm myself, it's a bad idea to be out the house now days huh, I've been discovered, oh dear.
I slowly turn around to look at them, and I wasn't wrong about heir voices, Samantha, Xiena and Pierce, how are these mafia couple here?
They all look so proffesional now, Sam has evolved gorgeously, Xiena and Pierce are a lot more closer than before, so I guess they finally figured it out?
"Oh, it's you guys" I said bluntly, Xiena let go of Pierce's hand and took a step closer- but not to close, probably afraid that I might push her away.
"Long time no see huh?" I grinned and crossed my arms over my chest.
"You know them Tinay?" Cherri asked, I turn to her with a smile before faking it once I look at the three once again.
"Of course, they are my former 'classmates', Cherri these are Pierce, Xiena and Samantha, guys, this is my cousin's fiancé, Cherri" I introduce them to each other and they just gave each other an awkward smile.
"You changed, you look-"
"I did change, thanks, you guys look better too" I gave them my fakest smile which I assume that Cherri noticed so she stayed silent and kept on obsserving our setting.
"A-ah, how are you? How about we hang out sometimes? He'll be really-" I once again cut Xiena off.
"Thanks for the invitation but I'll have to decline that, I'm already engaged and work has been dragging my feet" I said nonchantly, by just mentioning a thing about him brings back a fresh and raw slit on my throat that I want to shout and yell at them.
It's okay when it comes to James and Louanne but things are different because I considered them as my best friends and they betrayed me.
"Miss Morgan, we can't get the gown down" Sheila came with a worried face, so she's the owner of this boutique.
"Nevermind that, thanks for the effort Sheila but I change my mind" I smiled at her, she bowed and left the scene.
The three looked at me like they saw a dead being brought to life, thinkung that they were the reason why I became like this, well thanks to them, I'm who I am today. Sam was about to say something but someone interrupted it.
"Did you girls waited long?" I turn to the entrance with a warm smile.
"Nope, just in time" I chuckled, Drei kissed my forehead while Honey sat next to Cherri.
"So are you gonna try your gown on?" He asked, I shook my head.
"It's too cheap here, we can't reach our actual budget" I chuckled, totally ignoring the three people on the side.
Honey and Cherri scoffed on my comment, what? Did I say something wrong?
"What? How much is your budget for a single wedding?" Honey smirked.
"Oh nothing much, just 50 million" I chuckled.
"But in dollars" Drei added, Cherri's eyes widened.
"That's 2.5 billion in pesos! Are you guys insane? That's twice expensive compare to Cristine's wedding!" Honey exclaimed.
"What? We're only getting married once so we want to make it memorable" I said and Drei supported my statement.
"So we'll jusy fly to Paris to get your gown done then" Drei told me, I smirked and snapped my fingers.
"Whatever, suit yourselves" Honey sighed before standing up.
"Nonsense, we're just that rich" I grinned cockily at the two couples in front of us.
"Come on, let's go" Drei lifted up the lunch he brought for us and we headed towards the exit.
"By the way, as much as possible, can you guys avoid meeting me again? I really don't want this to happened again" I shot them a mocking glare before walking off.
"Who are they anyways?" Drei asked me.
"Nothing important" I shrugged and he just replied with a nod.
"Let's go home shall we?" He asked instead and I nod my head.
We both separated from Honey and Cherri and drove home, silence filled the car, I'm already not in my mood and Drei understood my silence.
I sat on the living room silently while scrolling through my iPad when I felt a presence behind the couch, I look behind me.
"Let's talk?" He asked, I smiled faintly and nod my head at him.
I watch as he walk around to sit beside me where I crawled over to sit on his lap and hugged him sideway, he wrap his arms around me carefully, waiting for me to speak up.
I started telling him about my 'friends' and how they all hide the truth from me that I end up crying once again, no matter how I thought of myself that my battle scars made me strong, I can't help but just breakdown sometimes.
"And that's it" I sighed and let him see how broken I was once again.
Unlike him, he always smile his pain away, after how his past lover treated him, he never cried, he often says that she doesn't desserve his tears and though he's still hurt.
How strong can he possibly be? No matter how I open up to him, he never tell a word about his past relationship with me aside from the said person and how they broke up.
"Hey, they're still your friends, didn't you say it yourself? You bonded with them and made a lot of memories together" he said.
"It's not like that, I just can't stand it- I'm trying to excuse them but it's my mouth who's not cooperating" I pouted, he smiled gently and stroked my hair.
"I know, that's because you didn't have any closure with them" he pointed out, my eyebrow ceased.
"Not that I'm blaming you though, I have no rights to interfere" he pat my head and gave me a smile.
"Drei..." I groaned and burried my face on his chest, he chuckled.
"Come on, cheer up already, I wanna kiss you, really" he said.
"Kiss me? You never had the guts to" I arrogantly said he chuckled.
It's true, he never kissed me aside from my nose, cheeks, jaw and forehead. He rolled his eyes and I sat up straight, facing him, I removed his eyeglasses and set it on the table behind me.
"Can you see me?" I asked softly.
"Perfectly, my love" he held my waist, I smiled and stare at his eyes.
"Uhuh" I grinned and traced my fingers against the side of his face.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked, I felt my cheeks heat up and I slowly nod my head.
He held my chin and connected our lips together, I feel a familiar sensation building up on the pits of my stomach as my breath hitch for a moment until I found myself comfortable against his touch.
It was different from the once I had with ny past lover, this one is more warm, too ineffable to explain, I can almost hear something melliflous lingering around the room, his aura comforting me.
After a short while I pulled back to catch my breath, slightly looking down to erase the heat from spreading over my face, not my first kiss but still hits different.
"You finally got your shot huh" I grinned.
"Took me years to ask" he rolled his eyes and reach over his glasses on the table, securing my back so I won't fall.
"You're weak" I teased before hoping off.
"But thanks for cheering me up" I gave him my famous grin before walking upstairs to take an afternoon nap.
Time to finally open my door to the future and fold away the past, I don't want to get involve with them again.
I could have arrested them but I didn't, because they are my friends, they were once part of me, that's why as much as possible I don't want to see them again.
If I were to chose between past and now, I would choose this present than re-creating a new bind with everyone behind.
If a glass breaks you can put them back together but it won't be the same as before, there's a few gaps and cracks keeping distance between us and that won't be erased.
But I'm given a chance to see him again, I would, to say goodbye to him properly and understanding everything he had planned since the beginning.
To tell him that I've move on and he was right about letting me go, that he don't need to worry about me anymore.
But does he care at all? Not that I care about him too, I just wish that he's doing alright and happy.
"Love?" I bkinked twice and turn to Drei.
"I'm sorry what was that?" I asked him.
"I said if you want to take a dip on the beach or pool" he growled, I chuckled.
"I was about to have my nap but since you asked, then let's go to the pool" I said and got up on the bed.
A sigh left my lips as the cold water ran over my body. Cold water plus the not so hot sun above- perfect temperature, but I still applied some sun block on my skin.
"Afternoon runs" I laughed at Drei's reaction.
"Well you can go down the beach if you want to" I hummed in delight.
"No thanks, I can't leave you alone here" he grumbled.
"Oh don't start a fight with me alright" I crossed my arms together, his face lit up.
"I'll get the waterguns" he said and left the water, I frowned.
Again, I slapped my forehead and dove down the water, kicking my legs to get to the other side of the pool to wait for Drei.