To The Moon And Back

Chapter 132

It seems like she's havinf the urge to hit me with her bag she held herself back.
"Why are you insisting that I am still your wife? You signed the divorce papers back then, Exiquel." She said.
I smirked. "Oh, that? I didn't want to let go of you so I retrieved it when you left. Then I burned it together with the copies you prepared."
Her jaw dropped upon hearing that. "How dare you put my money and efforts to waste?"
I laughed. "Don't worry, wife. I'll give them back to you, twice. Even a million times if you ask. Anything for you," I replied then wiggled my eyebrows.
"What if I do something unforgivable? Are you still willing to do that?"
I chuckled. "I'll always be on your side, little girl," I shuffled her hair.
"Exiquel," She called my name.
"Hmm? What is it, wife?" I asked.
She took a step forward. "Do you still remember something I do?" She asked then took another step. "To the moon and back?"
My eyes widened upon hearing that. My eyes shone with an unreadable emotion that keeps on dancing as I looks at her with my mouth open wide.
"Athijha," I mumbled.
"Do you still remember it, Exiquel?"
"Of course," I answered. "Athijha, can you say those words again?"
"I want to take it back," She said which caught me off guard. "That's one of the reason why I agreed to come here. I wanted to take it back, Exiquel."
"Why?" I asked under my breath.
"I want to but I can't," She looked at me directly in the eyes. "You see, I will be leaving once again. One of these days, I would bid my goodbye to you in a decent way."
"You're me again? Why?"
"I want a breathe of a fresh air, Quel. I want something new. Something away from the past that I loathe the most. I am telling you this because I am done being selfish. You can see me off if you want to," She smiled. "But please, do not go after me. Do not go finding me. Or do not go near me. We have a separate life so let's live our lives separately."
"I will be waiting. I will be waiting for you to come back."
"I can't assure you that, Exiquel," She chuckled. "We're still young. We still have a long way ahead of us. Find yourself a good woman. A woman you will see spending the rest of your life with. Quel, I am finally finishing the businesses I have in the past. This is what you want, right? For me to be free? I want that for myself as well."
"We're still bound to separate, huh?" We chuckled in unison.
"Yeah, I guess. Though, we are departing not because of sorrow or for anyone anymore. This is for the best between things. Maybe one day, our paths will cross again. If that ever happens, I hope everything around us is finally settled."
"Athijha, if our paths ever crosses once again, I'll make sure to follow the path you are taking. After all, you are still my home."
"Quel," She called. She smiled as my eyes shone in happiness. I guess that happiness is for her, not for myself, not for the both of us. "I love you," She said without any hesitation.
My heart started to melt as if some barrier just broke into pieces. It feels freeing and wonderful. Damn, how I long to her those words from her.
I took a step back as tears started forming in my eyes. "You mean that. Tell me that you mean that, Athijha," I uttered with a shaky voice.
Her lips started to tremble but still manage to keep her smile. She let out a small laughter.
"Of course, I do. I am done lying, Exiquel. I am done lying to myself. I am done lying to the people around me."
Fucking hell! This is the greatest gift I had received this year.
Dear Lord, thank you so much for the answered prayer.
"So please, hear me talk now. I don't know where I found this courage to say that," Tears started streaming down her cheeks. "I am mad at you not because you failed to protect us. I have been lying to you and to myself about since we lost our baby. I am mad at you because I felt like you pushed me out of your life."
"I didn't, Athijha. I was just lost. I just wanted to protect you," I cried.
We're still the same. I am still the most vulnerable man when I am with her. I'm the vulnerable one but I kept on putting a tough look in order to protect her.
And she's the tough one I would never wish to break again.
"I know, I know, Exiquel. But I wanted to protect you as well. I saw how you suffered and I can't do anything to take even just half of the pain you were feeling. I never wanted to be protected because I am beside you. All I wanted was to fight with you. I am mad at you because I can't do anything for you at all. You know you can tell me about your sufferings. If you were suffering, I am always available for you. I wanted to suffer with you."
"But I don't want you to suffer anymore, Jha. Do you know how useless I felt when I learned how you suffered because of your dad? I asked myself a lot of times, how could I not notice everything when the clues has always been sitting next to my eyes."
She bowed her head.
I get it. I get it now.
Because of our desire to protect each other. Because of our intense desire to keep one another away from pain and sufferings, we ended up inflicting invisible wounds and bruises to each other.
She chuckled. "I guess we're both stupid." She pointed out.
I nodded. "We didn't even notice things we were supposed to see. We were just standing side by side. Are we blind or something?"
"Probably. We were blinded by our love and desire," She tilted her head. "I'm so sorry, Exiquel."
"I'm sorry, love."
"Quel, the moon is beautiful, isn't it?" She asked.
I chuckled in joy. "I can die happy, Athijha."
I cupped her face then placed my forehead against hers. She closed her eyes as we both listen to the loud rhythm our hearts are playing.
"Still to the moon and back. Nothing changed," She whispered.
"Your brain might have forgotten about that but it seems like I am deeply engraved in your heart for it to remember to beat for me," I joked.
She didn't answer. Of it is possible, please don't ever let this night end. Please, let this moment last until every piece of us gets to be a dust brought by the wind to the most beautiful celestial body at night, till we reach the moon and come back with our hearts filled with certainties.
"Te ves muy guapa, mi amor," I said which made her blush in an instant.
She initiated a kiss. A passionate one.
The night ended wonderfully as we rest on each other's arms.
Dear Lord, thank you for sending me back to the only person I have ever considered to be my home.
I recieved an invitation from the organization an hour or two after she left.
They're throwing a mascarade ball to introduce two important pieces of the organization who'll stand by the King in the future.
{Good morning, gorgeous. Be my date?} I asked, thinking that I can bring an outsider.
I guess I can because even the Alonsos received an invitation.
She sighed and said. "I have a lot on my plate right now."
I wasn't surprised at all when she said that.
[Piles of paperwork are dumped on my table right now, Quel. I can't be your date.]
I chuckled. "Still doesn't know how to greet," I said which made her sighed in annoyance. "Anyway, I know you don't have a work today. I asked River if you could go out even just for today and he said you're free today."
[Fine,] She replied. I smiled widely as I imagine her wearing a ballgown. I wonder when she's going to wear a wedding gown? [I would be wearing-]
"Let me guess, green, right? It is probably green since you really loved that color."
[Yes, green.]
I knew it.
As soon as I bought a bouquet of red tulips and gardenias, I headed straight to her cond. A little tok excited to see her.