Cross Over

Chapter 14

Anxious. Nervous. Excited. Pressured. Worried. These are just some of the emotions that Sophie is feeling right now, as she watched the stylist do some more things to her hair. A lot of things and scenarios have been going on in her mind ever since she woke up this morning.

She looked at the window of the room from where she is being styled and she saw another media car arriving. It seems like everybody wants to witness the grandest birthday celebration of the year. The night that she is going to be officially introduced as Sophie dela Paz, the daughter of two of the most dominant people in the country's business world. And this just adds up to her anxiety, since she is not comfortable being the center of attention. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she silently told herself, You can do this Soph.

She's still trying to focus when she heard a soft knock on the door, followed by a very familiar voice. Just the right voice that she wants to hear right now.

"Sophie, anak" her adoptive mother said from the other side of the door.

"Mama, pasok ka"

Her mother smiled immediately when sge saw her.

"You look beautiful anak. You look exactly like Terry when you were the same age."

She smiled at her mother. The mother that raised her and loved her as if she was her own child. Her mother smiled too, and she can see the tears that are forming in her eyes as she started to talk again.

"Anak, I know the previous months have been so difficult for you. And it is very painful for me to see a very strong girl like you reach your breakdown point."

Sophie just nodded since she can't find anything to say. She just looked at her mother as she continued to speak.

"I was so worried that you'll forever blame yourself for everything that happened, although we all know that it is not your fault. You punished yourself for something that is really out of control. Then, you closed all of your doors so there's nothing we can do but watch as you slowly destroy yourself and all the relationships that was left for you to save. It caused you to lose a lot of people, people that loved you and cared about you."

Her mother paused but she continued to look directly into her eyes as her tears began to fall. Her mother once again smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's alright Soph. It's alright to cry. It's alright to be weak at times, you are just human. Sometimes, the harder you try to be the strong one, the more crushed you become when the situation comes to it. And that's what exactly happened to you. You punished yourself because you can't accept that you've been weak.

"But that is not important right now. What's important is that you are already trying to start again. And I am already warning you that this is going to be a long and hard process for you, but you should know that we are always here for you, we always have been, okay?"

Sophie, for the nth time that day just nodded, as she is just lost for words and overwhelmed with different kinds of emotions. When she didn't answer, her mother took this as a cue to continue.

"This is what Randy has always wanted, for you to be happy, for you to continue with your life, because he can't continue his with you. That is why he did all the things that he did."

Sophie once again felt a huge pain in her chest upon hearing his name, but right now, it felt different. It felt .... manageable. For some reason, it is not as painful as it used to be. Maybe because she knows that deep inside, her mother is right. This is what he has always wanted. He wanted her to be nothing but happy. She then smiled at her adoptive mother before responding.

"I know mama. But thanks for reminding me. Thanks also for everything."

"Kaya ngayon, be confident and show them who you really are. The real Sophie."

She nodded and they smiled at each other. After that, her adoptive mother left her with the stylist as they continued fixing hair and make up. She still has a lot of worries, but somehow, those words of encouragement from the woman she has always perceived as her mother, has lessen it. She took a deep breath before telling herself, "this is indeed gonna be a long day".

author's note:

Just a short chapter for now, the birthday celebration is coming up on the next chapter.

Please enjoy! And I would love to hear comments from you guys.