Chapter Twenty Four
Mom and I continued preparing for our dinner. "Mom, why didn't you had any other child?" I can't help but ask.
She smiled and looked at me, like she was reminiscing about something. "I was not the supposed to be wife by Leo" she said.
"I even do not know his position in life... I was a simple girl who had been the "always good girl" who wanted to do something wild." She smiled, like she was thinking of a good memory.
"The first time I went into a college party I got knocked up by him."
I looked at Mom, scrutinizing what she feels. I am sure she wasn't sad about it. No guilt was bugging in her. She was...truly happy.
"I somehow remembered those things that happened when you told me your arrangement with Vince." She admitted.
"And just like what Leo's mom did, I was doing the same... Helping you make your relationship work."
I smiled. Mom knows how to play schemes. "But the effort is minimal. I can see you too do things on your own." She giggled.
I wanted to know what happened next but I have no courage to do so. Does Vince know this too?
"Leo was responsible with our crazy act. When he knew he knocked me up he offered marriage. That's when I knew what he is. Who he is."
She continued stirring on the cake mix as she tell me their love story. "I was afraid at first. I do not know how to tell my parents about it but he stood by me."
"We worked on it, our relationship, and before we knew, we were already deeply in love with each other even before I gave birth with Vince."
She sighed hard. "But at the month of giving birth to Vince The Palace had been attacked. We were in a hurry in hiding, but I accidentally fell off the stairs..." She said, wiping the dirt off her hand and pulling her skirt up to mid-thigh.
I saw a huge keloid at the back of her thigh, "This was the mark left that nigh. The mark that pursued Leo to stop the monarchy, to save our lives." She said, slowly pulling her skirt at the right place.
"He did not want that to happen again, to him...or to the next generation."
"He said I was unconscious back then, that he had to choose who shall live. Shall he choose me over his son? If he chose me I will hate him forever but if he chose Vince he will hate him forever..."
I sighed, thinking that Vince had not lived made me sad. "So he prayed. He prayed hard that moment. He prayed that if God will let us live--Vince and I-- he will be willing to sacrifice his next son or daughter and he promised to go down from the thrown."
"And since then when we tried and tried again to have another child we never succeeded, but I was not sad about it." She said. "As long as I have Vince I am happy."
She looked at me and smiled. "And as long as he have you, he will be happy."
I smiled weakly and rolled over the dough. "He will be truly happy with Duchess Katherine, Mom." It was too late to take back what I said.
She walked towards me and moved the tray away. "I will be lying if I say I did not want Katherine for him too. The lady is lovely, I've seen her grow together with Vince, but that is not important..." She said, holding into my face, caressing it a little.
"She has a husband of her own now. I know she wanted Vince for nothing but a brother."
But Vince does not feel the same. He wanted more.
I wanted to answer mom but no words will come out.
"I can see it in his eyes darling, he loves you... He's hard headed like Leo, he will not admit that, not yet, but someday he will. His father was like that too." She smiled and hugged me tight.
"I will be your fairy godmother darling. I know what you've been through. I know what you experienced in the past... I will make sure you will have your happily ever after too."
---
After our baking and cooking session, mom brought me to the library, saying that she has something to show me that I will be happy about.
Curious, I followed her, sitting on the red couch and waiting for her to get something.
"There." She said, getting a huge book with an embossed initials of TVS in front--Timothy Vincent Spencer.
She had a beautiful smile pasted on her face as she put down the photo album. "Oh I know Vince will get mad at me darling but I really wanted to show you this!" She excitedly beamed.
She sat beside me as she flip the page of the album. "This is his dark secret. He will surely get mad like hulk if people knew about this. Gone will the playboy Vince be. I threatened him before darling, I told him that if he does not stop playing with girls I will put this out on public."
I frowned, not getting what mom is saying, but the next page made me understand.
Oh my God.
I smiled from ear to ear.
Oh. My. God.
I can't help but flip on the next pages.
This is hilarious!
"Did you like it?" Mom asked. I giggled like a little kid and nodded.
The photos were of Vince...wearing dresses and girly onesies. He looks so cute!
"We did not knew the gender before so Leo and I bought clothes for both a girl and a boy. I was disappointed to know I will not have another baby anymore, that I will not be able to dress up a really Barbie doll so when he was young I was secretly dressing him up and taking photos."
I smiled and giggled. I saw a photo of Vince with a bunny headband. He has those chubby cheeks that I wanted to bite and those chubby arms and little hands.
"I was dressing him up until he was three." She whispered.
"I just had to stop because Leo caught me one night and he said it will be a shame for Vince." She pouted. "If Vince just wanted to be a girl then I will happily support him!" She squealed.
I laughed as I imagine Vince. No, being a girl does not suit him. His bulky arms and broad chest and his chiseled abs... Oh! What am I thinking!
I flipped on the next page and saw Vince when he visited America the first time! Wearing the same Prince suit I had framed!
But what caught my attention was,
I being on the photo.
Vince was on his float, busy waiving a hand on the people, while I was at the side where he was not looking, blushing and smiling.
I didn't knew such photo exist.
Our little chit chat was interrupted by a phone call for mom. She grabbed her phone from her pocket...
"Your highness, Prince Timothy met a car accident."