This Could End

Chapter Forty-Six

Halos malukot ang mukha ko. I wanted him to hurry up and spill everything, but I knew how difficult it was to let everything out—especially the words that you buried deep inside you 'cause you thought it would never see the light.

"She told me about your mom," he said. My eyes widened in complete shock. I was about to say something, but he resumed talking, "She told me how your father used her to manipulate you."

He knew everything this whole time? Kaya wala siyang naging kahit anong reaksyon nung sinabi ko sa kanya lahat. He already knew then.

"I was mad at you, but I was still willing to do anything for you." He smirked, but it looked like it was out of disdain more than anything. "I asked Orion's aunt to approach your mom at a party."

Orion's aunt? I audibly gasped. "Dr. Saldivar?"

"I knew it wasn't my place... but I just needed to help you out of your father's claws." He looked at me like he needed me to understand what he did.

He helped my mother get the help that she needed. He did more and better than I did as a daughter. He did that. For me.

"Dharma told me about your blackmailer, too." He was still staring at me, gauging my reaction. "That's why I pursued Asia. I wanted to find out if it was her."

I looked away. I certainly didn't want to hear about how he got close to Asia. "It's not her."

"It's not," he agreed. "It's Rowan."

Napatingin ulit ako sa kanya dahil sa gulat. "Rowan?"

"He's courting her," he answered the question that I didn't ask, Rowan's reason on why he blackmailed me. "He's obsessed with her. I had my assumptions based on how he reacted whenever I'd meet Asia and he was around, but I found out from the guard that you encountered the night you came to my place. The guard said he met Rowan that night, too."

He viciously smiled. His eyes darkened, hinting the wicked thoughts running in his head. "Now I'll take everything from him."

Despite the shock of finding out that Rowan was my blackmailer, it was the least that I cared about. I still couldn't get over the fact that Hades arranged the therapist for my mother. Even though we weren't together anymore, he still did that... for me.

I wanted to know why he did all of that. I hurt him. I left him. So, why?The answer was glaring at the back of my head but I was scared to consider it, scared that I'd just hope for nothing. I wanted to hear it from him. I needed to.

"Why?" I finally gained the courage to ask him. "You didn't have to do all of that... So, why?"

"You already know why," he stated. He licked his lips. His eyes softened with each passing second. "Kasi kahit kailan... hindi kita matitiis."

My lips trembled. The tears in my eyes were threatening to fall down.

"Kasi hindi ko alam kung paano ang hindi ka mahalin." His eyes glistened with pain, mirroring mine. "You're right. I want a fresh start." He inhaled sharply. "Baby, I want a fresh start with you."

Tuluyan nang bumagsak ang mga luha ko. My heart was swelling in my chest, I couldn't tell if it was out of happiness because it was still painful, but it was the kind of pain that I wanted to experience over and over again.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Last night, I've already decided to let him go because I thought it was the right thing to do for him. And now... he just indirectly admitted that he still loves and me and he's going to take me back.