Chapter 23 - The Arrival 3
MIA WAS lying on the bed while softly caressing her tummy when she heard the door of the bathroom open.
As always, he looks dashingly handsome with a wet hair and a few droplets of water slowly cascade his body. She felt her cheeks heated up when she realized that he is wearing her clothes. It fits him perfectly and she wanted to laugh on how tight the shirt was on him. She carefully sat on the bed and adjusted her position.
Their eyes met for a few seconds and she immediately turned her face to a different direction before he could notice his effect on her. She sighed as she scolded herself again. Just how many times did she tell to herself to try and neglect her feelings for Mateo as much as she can?
"So... Sir Mateo, have a sit." She offered him and tapped the space beside her-on her right-in the bed.
Mateo, who was still rubbing his head with a towel, obliged.
She noticed that her former boss is fidgeting a bit. 'Is he nervous?' How could he be nervous when she is the one with an uncontrollable heart here?
"So...Sir Mateo, what do you wanna talk about?"
Mateo took a deep breath, and another one. It seems to her that he doesn't know where to start the conversation.
"First, can you stop calling me Sir Mateo and just call me by my name instead?"
She gave him a sad smile and shook her head. "No sir Mateo, this is where I'm comfortable at."
Beause she's afraid that if she called him by his name again, it will be all temporary once again. And it pained her when he told her to stop their first name basis. So it's better for her this way.
She heard Mateo sigh, "Alright..." Then an awkward atmosphere enveloped the two of them.
Mia was waiting for Mateo to finally speak out his mind when she suddenly felt her baby kick from inside her stomach. She halted in caressing her tummy and smiled at the thought that her baby can feel the presence of his daddy.
"What is it Mia? Is something wrong?" Mateo asked in a worried tone.
"He kicked."
She turned to Mateo and she saw the amazement in his eyes as he stares at her tummy.
Mia bits her lower lip. "Uhm... do you...want...to..." She said sounding a little unsure on whether to continue asking or not. She is not sure if he would like the idea of touching the child that he thought that wasn't his. Mia braced herself for the rejection...but his answer surprised her...
"C-can I?..."
She smiled and gave him a nod. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Mateo nervously nodded and she saw his adam's apple move. His fingers were shaking a bit as it slowly landed atop her bulging stomach. 'It feels weird...' She thought. Having him touch their baby for the first time makes her heart flutter. She wished that this moment could last forever.
Disappointment was plastered on Mateo's face when his hand was already on her stomach for a few minutes but her baby did not move. She wanted to laugh at his scrunched-up eye brows and pouted lips.
He removed his hand.
"He doesn't like me."
She chuckled. "He's just probably shy around his dad---oops..." Oh no...her mouth slipped. "Uhmmm... I-I mean, s-shy around other people."
Her heart went crazy when her tongue accidentally slipped the d-word. "I-I'm so sorry Sir Mateo, I didn't mean to say that."
But Mateo's expression wasn't mad or anything negative. He was actually giving off a small smile on his lips which was a mystery for her. Slowly, his hand started to move a bit on her stomach tracing weird shapes with his thumb and Mia felt tingles from that very spot down to her toes.
"Mia, why did you lie?" He suddenly opens up. But his attention was on her stomach.
"Lie? What do you mean?"
"During my parent's anniversary party, you said that you're going to stay as my secretary, always... But why did you resign Mia?" He said sounding really upset. A pained expression was evident on his face. "I know that everything I did and said to you was more than enough for you to have the reason to stay away, but I didn't expect you to---..."
That made her confused. "When did I resign?"
She can't remember resigning from her position as his secretary. Oh sure she was planning to, making her actually lie during that night, but she planned on leaving the position once she has trained a new secretary fitting enough to replace her.
"What?" He sounded really shocked. "But you resigned four months ago... When I came back in the office, your resignation letter was already there sitting above my table."
This time, it was Mia's forehead that was frowning. "I didn't write any resignation letter. Uhm...actually, I was planning on resigning, but not until I train a new one to replace me."
"Then...you're still gonna leave me?" His tone became sour. "But you promised that you'll always stay as my secretary." He said, his voice slowly rising up. She can sense that he is starting to get mad.
"What do you want me to do? Stay as your secretary forever and torture myself in the pain of loving you one-sidedly everyday?" She was now the one slowly raising her voice.
That must've caught him off guard because his mad expression slowly softened.
"Sir Mateo, I told you already that I've been loving you for years now. I have loved you since we were in college." She confessed. "So unloving you is impossible for me. And leaving you is also painful for me, but it is the only way I could think of to lessen the pain of the thought that one day, you will find the woman you're destined to be with, and marry her. I don't want to be there when that day comes Sir Mateo."
"Mia..."
She looked into his eyes, trying to see through his soul. "You have Sydney... and I have this little one over here." She said referring to the small life inside of her. "And I thank you so much for giving him to me, even though you don't still believe that he is yours. And maybe, a day will come that someone will accept finally love and accept us, unconditionally... and that I'll be able to face you like a normal acquaintance. The day where I no longer love---hmmmph!!!...---"
Mia's eyes widen is astonishment and shock when Mateo suddenly smashes his lips on her making her halt her words. His left hand wends in the back of her neck while other hand is still touching her stomach. His eyes are closed as if he's in pain or something. And it shocked her even more when he snaked his tongue into her mouth making her moan in between their kiss.
Both of them where catching their breaths when Mateo finally released her lips and Mateo held her face in both of his hands slowly joining their foreheads together.
"Please don't ever say that... please...just...don't..." He breathes. "Damn, I missed kissing you." He whispered in a voice that she did not hear.
Mia was confused of the kiss. Why did he do that? At that moment, she wished that she had the power to read Mateo's thoughts.
"Say what? Sir Mateo why did you do that?" Her mind was chaotic. Here she is, trying to explain to him that she is moving on and here he is, doing things that are misleading her into assuming things again. Just what on earth does her bipolar boss want?
"Please don't say that you want to fall out of love with me."
Out of nowhere, all the silent anger that's been boiling inside of her, burst out and tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Will you please stop doing misleading things?" She retorted half calmly, half frustrated. You love Sydney and I want to get out of these feelings I have for you. I told you... it hurts...so bad." She sobbed.
"Regarding what I told you about Sydney during that night, I lied okay... I only liked her as a friend, I never actually loved her romantically. I only told you that I love her because I wanted you to give up on pursuing the baby's paternity... and unfortunately, you did."
She was still silently crying but Mateo softly caressed her cheeks with his thumb, drying some of her tears. 'Damn these hormones' she thought. "I never thought that you would actually give up. And I almost lost my mind when you resigned. I looked for you for months, Mia."
That surprised her. He did what?
"You searched for me? Because you want me back as a secretary..."
"That and something more..."
"What do you mean by something more?"
"I can't say it to you right now... I don't know...I just don't have the guts to say it. But know this Mia... the day you wrote that resignation letter is the moment that I realized that losing is the thought that I never want to happen."
"There you go saying misleading things again... I told you to stop it already." 'It's creating false hopes inside my head again.' She is starting to assume something again and she doesn't want that.
"I'm not misleading you... everything I'm telling you is the truth."
But as much as she wants to believe everything he is saying... she is just really afraid of pain which comes after the thought that this is all temporary and that he is going to change hearts again.
She's slowly accepting the fact that she and Mateo are not meant to be.
HE CRADLED Mia's face in his hands like it's the most fragile thing he has ever held in his life.
So this is how she felt when he rejected the truth so many times. It's painful not to be believed in and he is running out of things to say to convince her. It's like her mind has been set on to deny everything he says.
"Mia, tell me what should I do for you to believe me?" He said as he shuts his eyes tightly.
"It hurts, Sir Mateo..."
"I'm really sorry..." He said shutting his eyes even tighter in frustration. If he could just turn back time and erase all the bad things he did to her. But her couldn't. All he could think of doing now is ask for her forgiveness and proceed to the next step of making sure that she doesn't fall out of love from him. "I have no idea how to lessen the pain that you're feeling right now."
He heard her grunt. "N-no Sir Mateo, I meant...my stomach hurts."
When he heard that, his eyes immediately opened and he sees Mia struggling in pain while clutching her stomach. He felt something wet beneath him. He looked down and saw the bed sheets being soaked with something wet coming from Mia.
"You're water broke..." He whispered in shock and trepidation suddenly fills his entire being.
"Sir Mateo, it hurts."
Mateo felt something heavy inside his heart upon seeing Mia's pained expression. His brain is screaming chaos as all of his thoughts became jumbled. Just like cooking, he never knew the first thing about childbirth.
"Damn it!" He raked his hand on his hair.
"No cursing! My baby might hear!" Mia half-shouted when her contractions lessened for a bit.
"I'm sorry Sweetie...And it's OUR baby, okay... I just don't really know what to do... Do you know what should I do?"
He saw Mia blinked a few times, but then she grunted in pain again and clutched her stomach as another contraction hits. His panic immersed once again and paced back and forth beside Mia's bed as if it would somehow help his beloved secretary in labor.
Mia took a deep breath and grabbed Mateo's hand. "Sir Mateo... first you have to calm down...Uhg" She grunted in pain again which doubled Mateo's already fast heart rate.