HE was about to leave the office when he got a call from his mother.
“Yes, Mom?”
“Are you heading home now?” his mother asked. There was a lace of seriousness in her voice that made him worry for some reason.
“Hm. I’m about to leave the office.”
“Good. Head home straight because you have important guests here waiting for you.”
“Who—”
His mother didn’t let him finish and ended the call.
Rohan just sighed as he pocketed his phone. Who could that be? He wasn’t expecting anyone to visit him at his house. His friends would ask him out, but they wouldn’t dare come to his house unannounced.
Filled with curiosity, Rohan went home. And to his astonishment, the guests his mother was referring to were none other than Yvonne and her daughter.
“Oh, he’s here.” His mom gestured in his direction.
He took a deep breath and sauntered toward them.
“Yvonne,” he greeted her calmly.
She rose from her seat and looked him in the eyes. He could tell something was going on inside her head; her eyes told him.
“W-we need to talk.” Yvonne glanced at her daughter, who was busy playing with the cat. “Gold, stay here and wait for me.”
“Don’t worry about her. Take your time talking, okay?” said his mother. His mom stood up and held out her hand to Yvonne’s daughter. “Do you want to come with me, dear?”
The kid raised her head, smiling.
“Where?”
“Where do you want to go?” his mom asked.
“Hmm…” Yvonne’s daughter cocked her head to the side. “Can we go out and eat gelato? That’s my favorite.”
“Gelato?” His mother turned to Yvonne.
“Oh, it’s, uhm, the Italian version of ice cream. She loves that very much,” she explained.
“Ah! I see. There’s no gelato here, but I know the best ice cream place in town.”
Yvonne’s daughter stood up and held his mother’s hand. The two went out of the house, leaving them two in utter silence.
“You said you want to talk.” Rohan pocketed his hands. “About what?” Though he already had an idea what that was about.
“We need to talk somewhere private.”
He looked in the direction of the door and saw her nieces come in.
“Come with me.”
Yvonne followed him when he headed to the stairs. They went upstairs to his bedroom.
“Rohan.” Her lips were pressed tightly.
“Won’t you come in? You said somewhere private. This is the only private place I know in this house,” he said as he held the door open for her.
She heaved a sigh and walked into his bedroom.
He pushed the door closed and locked the knob. When he turned to Yvonne, she was biting her nails as she paced back and forth. Rohan was also a bit anxious, though he managed to keep calm.
“Yvonne.”
She stopped pacing and looked at him. “E-eh?”
“Can you please tell me to relax and tell me what you want us to talk about?”
Rohan was dying to hold her in his arms and kiss her. He wanted to feel her against his skin. He’d been through hell since she left, and now she was standing before him yet so far. That feeling was tormenting, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He feared that if he touched her now, she’d run away.
“I-I… I want to keep this a secret from you, but it seems fate isn’t in my favor.” Yvonne walked toward her, but she kept a safe distance. “When you saw us at the coffee shop… you asked me if Gold’s your daughter.”
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded his head.
“Y-you are his father. I lied to you back then,” Yvonne told her hoarsely. She cupped her mouth and started sobbing.
Rohan felt the urge to pull her for a hug, but he held back. He was unsure if she’d like being held by the person who’d hurt her the most. So, he kept standing a few inches away from Yvonne, watching her cry as his heart ached for her.
“I was right. She’s mine.” He took a deep breath. “But why didn’t you tell me about her? Why just now?”
“Because… I’m afraid you’d take her away from me. That’s what you want, a child. You needed a family, so your mother—”
“Do you really think I’m that bad to take her away from you? We could’ve been a family… together—”
“But you don’t love me!” she snapped. “Your intention was clear when you asked me to—”
“That was rude of me. I was a jerk back then who only thinks about himself.” He looked down and shook his head. “And when I finally realized what I did wrong, it was too late for me. You were gone, Yvonne….”
“I thought I was brave enough… that I could move on from everything bad that happened between us,” Yvonne said between her sobs. “But just when I was so determined to start a new life, and then Gold came… Every time I look at her, she reminds me of you… of how much I love you. I’m so sorry, Rohan….” She plopped down on the floor.
He was quick enough to attend to her and pull her up.
“Yvonne… are you all right?” He shook his head. “This is wrong… you shouldn’t be the one feeling bad about this. I’m the one who wronged you. I should be the one apologizing for everything. Please, stop crying….”
He brought his hands to her cheeks and brushed away her tears.
“It’s okay with me if you can’t love me, Rohan. Just… accept my daughter in your life and—”
“No…”
Her eyes widened.
“No? What do you mean?” He sensed panic in her voice. “Rohan, I’m telling you the truth, Gold’s your daughter—”
“I know. I have no doubts that she’s my daughter, and even if you tell me she’s not, she can be.”
“Rohan…” Yvonne’s voice was almost like a whisper.
“Yvonne, from that moment you confessed your feeling for me for the very first time, I felt something tingling inside my chest. Butterflies flew madly inside my stomach, and I swear… I swear no one has ever made me feel that way… only you. But then, those feelings also scared me as well.” Her gaze softened. “For someone like me who thought I was used to solitude and could live with it forever, it was hard to comprehend what was happening. That was why I rejected you.”
Rohan framed her face with his hands and stared at her eyes longingly.
“You were the only woman who brought chaos into my life, yet I learned to love every bit of it. I never opened the door or gave the key to my heart to anyone but you, Yvonne. I’ve wronged you, so you should hate me for it to the core, but you still defended me with my mother and told her not to be harsh on me. No one will ever do something like that for me. It’s just you….”
“Because I love you so much, Rohan, that I chose to stand between love and hate and remained madly in love with you all these years,” she cried. “This love made me crazy. I thought I’d turn into a madwoman.”
“I beg for your forgiveness, Yvonne… Please allow me to make it up to you… to our daughter. I know this won’t be easy, especially for you. But please give me a chance….”
“Who am I not to give you a chance when I’ve been dreaming all my life for this love to happen?” Yvonne clutched her arms to his neck and kissed him deeply.
His hands immediately went to her sides and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss even more. Rohan cut the kiss short and pressed his forehead against hers.
“Are we done talking now?” he asked, grinning.
“I think so. This one requires less talking, don’t you think?”
Yvonne tried to reach for his lips again, but he moved away and carried her to the bed.
“Rohan!”
He laughed at his reaction.
“What?” He parted her legs and descended on her.
“Gold will look for me—”
“She’s with mom. I bet my mother knows that we need more time to talk.” Rohan kissed her jaw before trailing kisses down her neck.  He could only close his eyes as her scent filled his nostrils.
 
ROHAN immediately opened his eyes when his hand landed on the bed instead of Yvonne. He was lying alone in the bed, which meant she was gone.
He quickly donned his clothes and stormed out of the room.
“Where is she?” he asked his mother when he saw her in the living room.
“She left to get Gold’s belongings.” His mother’s eyes raked over him. She didn’t say anything, but she gave him a knowing look. “Didn’t she tell you?”
“I… I was sleeping when she left.”
His mom checked her wristwatch. “Though I wonder what’s taking her so long to come back.”
Rohan looked outside. Night had fallen, and she still hadn’t returned.
“I’ll call her.”
He rushed back to his bedroom and got his phone, only to realize he didn’t know how to contact her. Rohan was about to go back to the living room when he saw his daughter coming.
“Papa…”
He swore that made his heart melt.
“Yes, sweetheart?” He crouched and cupped her cheek.
Rohan’s smile died instantly when his daughter started to cry.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?” His forehead creased.
Was she afraid of him because she didn’t know what was happening? But she already called her papa. Yvonne must’ve explained the truth before coming.
“I’m scared Mama won’t come back,” Gold cried, her tiny arms wrapped around him.
“Of course not.” He hugged his daughter back. It felt really nice that he could hug her now. “She just—”
“Mama told me that I should love you and Granny the same way I love her because you’ll take care of me from now on.”
Rohan was too stunned to speak after hearing his daughter’s words. He pulled away and held her hands.
“Tell me everything that she told you.”