Wish had just arrived at R&R and was looking for Roxanne. He was excited to start his first day as their bartender, and to be working with her.
Five minutes. That's how long it took for Wish's world to come crashing down around him when he saw the woman he loved kissing another man. Because he had showed up with every intention of telling her how he felt for her that night.
"Don't give her mixed signals between friends and lovers. You need to tell her how you really feel before it's too late," his mother had told him during one of his recent visits.
Finally, he told himself to fight for what he really felt about the woman he loved, but it all went to crap that night. He thought of all the times he should've told her sooner. He could've brought her home and lingered in her doorway as she dug for her keys. He could've said goodnight and left, but not before kissing her passionately and promising to see her the next day. But he was too late.
Dejected, he went back inside the resto bar and caught a sight of Roxette. He took a minute to compose himself, cleared his throat and said, "Tita, I don't think I can start today. I...I got some things to take care of first." He tried to make his voice sound casual, but even he had to admit he failed.
"Okay." She gave him a weak smile.
He went to 212°F Tavern and spent the next three hours drowning himself in alcohol.
"I told you to steer clear of her, man. Not to date that chick or waste your time with her, but you didn't listen."
"I thought what we had was special, pare. Tang ina! I was wrong." Laughing bitterly, Wish quickly gulped down another glass of whiskey, feeling it burn as it made its way down his throat.
"Dude, her ex will always hover around like a helicopter looking to cock-block you. It's not worth dealing with these people. Let her go. A single mother like her has more issues than the Inquirer and Philippines Star combined." Anthony tried to leaven the pain.
Wish had lost her...Had she ever been his, to begin with?
Slamming the glass on the bar heavily, he slumped his head down, banging it hard on the table but not caring; he didn't even feel the pain. Everything was unfocused and dulled around him.
The alcohol helped numb the pain, but it could never take it away.
"Dude, you've had enough. Go home and get some rest," Anthony said, tapping his shoulder from behind the bar.
Wish had lost count of how many shots he'd taken in the last hour, but he knew that it must have been quite a few, since the world seemed to not want to stop spinning. He picked up the glass and threw it back, drinking the fiery liquid in one gulp. He shook his head and raised a shaky arm to Anthony, asking for one more before letting his arm fall to the bar and his head on top of it.
***
Wish woke up with a splitting headache. One would think with the amount of time he had spent hungover, being a bartender, he would have gotten used to it. But unfortunately, it never got any better. For probably the hundredth time, he wondered why he'd done this to himself, and then the memories returned: Roxanne was kissing her ex.
Something inside of him seemed to break. The throbbing pain he felt was nothing like getting a tongue piercing or a tattoo. It reverberated through his bones in a way he'd never experienced before.
He squeezed his eyes shut as the light flooding into the room only increased the pain in his head. While letting his head settle, he came to the realization that he was lying in his comfortable bed. Thanks to Anthony—Anthony was the only one strong enough to carry him to his condo.
His phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He took it out and it registered a text and a voicemail from Roxanne. He stared at the little virtual envelope for a while. Fuck it. Cursing the masochist in him, he unlocked the phone and read her message. There were about five that were sent last night.
Foxy: Ma said you supposed to start last night. You didn't come.
Foxy: Wish, are you busy?
Foxy: I have something to tell you. Can I call you?
Foxy: Where are you? Why are you not answering your phone? I need to talk to you.
Foxy: Why are you ignoring my messages?
Taking a deep breath, he listened to her voice message.
"He is here," the voice said softly. "Chris is back," she repeated through a gap.
It wasn't just a dagger to his chest. It felt like death.
***
He made the worst decision in his life when he went to Roxanne's house that afternoon.
A silver Ford Mustang painted with blue racing stripes was parked outside her gate.
Curiosity got the best of him, and he opened the unlocked gate.
Wish should have known his place by then. He wasn't the guy that was invited for dinner, movie nights or holidays. He wasn't the guy that Roxanne wished to immortalize in a family portrait.
He had been an idiot for thinking that he could ever be anything else. He should have known better to expect otherwise.
From outside the window, what he saw was a picture of a happy family.
Daniella was twirling around with a new dress on. Roxanne looked genuinely happy, clapping for her. Maximus wore new shoes and Chris was on his feet, helping him with the shoelaces.
Wish was about to turn back when Roxanne saw him.
"Wish!" she called.
Wish stopped.
"I'm here to see Tita Roxette. I just want to...to let her know I can't accept her job offer. Something came up. Family emergency. I have to leave." The words fell out of his mouth rapidly.
"I hope nothing serious."
"No, It's nothing serious. See you around." He glanced at the house one last time before putting on his helmet and getting back on his motorcycle.
With a twinge in his chest, Wish sped away.
***
They hadn't even talked about Roxanne and Chris getting back together after a couple of days, but Wish could tell that kiss had led the couple somewhere.
Wish had successfully ignored all of Roxanne's messages. All of her calls went to his voicemail.
On day three, the texting and calls stopped. He fought the urge to call her back every single day. She'd reach out to him again if she wanted. But he couldn't shake the feeling that to respond would be in vain. It wasn't as though he stood a chance with her anymore.
He went to Baguio to cool off. He needed space.
A deafening silence settled in the Gregorio household during dinner. It seemed like a thick fog hovered over them.
They weren't sure what had gone down in Manila, but something was definitely off to make Wish go from warm and lively to quiet and withdrawn. The fact that he was home during the weekdays was the first sign.
"I'm all done eating," little Paolo said. "Can I play with my tablet now?"
His mother's eyes shot to Wish's barely-touched food. She frowned before turning to her youngest son. "How about we wait for everyone to finish, Pao," she suggested. "Your brother is still eating."
"It's okay, My," Wish shook his head. "I'm not really feeling well. Excuse me." Wish wiped his mouth with the napkin and stood up from his seat.
As soon as they were huddled in the living area, Paco, his stepfather asked, "Everything okay, son?"
"Yeah, I'm fine Dy. I'm just..." he trailed off. The thought of Roxanne made his whole heart pound. "I'm just feeling under the weather. I need a breather."
The awkwardness that lingered in the area vanished when the children turned on their favorite film.
"Aren't you tired of watching Harry Potter?" Precious asked.
"Nooope, it's the best film ever," said Pam, the eldest, who was sniffling when the character Dobby died.
"It's so sad!" Paige, the middle child, said between faint sobs.
Their parents just shook their heads at them and chuckled.
"You, little boy, aren't you tired of watching Harry?" Precious asked Paolo.
He just shook his head, clearly not paying attention to the movie. He was too busy playing a game on the new tablet Wish had bought for him.
They were all seated together, talking about the film and how great it was. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, except Wish.
A knock caused them to jerk their heads up. "I'll go get it," Wish volunteered.
He opened the door and saw a man standing outside. His back to him.
"Excuse me?" Wish asked.
The man turned around, and Wish glared up at him. Wish couldn't recall where he'd seen him before, but the stranger seemed familiar.
He was tall, with a light-brown hair and gray eyes. The man didn't speak up, he only stared at Wish.
"How can I help you?"
"I was looking for you," he finally spoke.
Wish's eyes narrowed at that. "Me? Have we met?"
"Yes. I don't think you know me, but I've been watching you, Aloysius."
"I remember you! You're the guy who left me with that $200 tip at the bar. How could I forget? I've been working there for years and that was the first time someone gave that huge of a tip."
"Wish, who is it?" Precious came into view, and the blood seemed to drain from her face when she saw the man standing outside their door. "Alonzo."
"My, you know this guy?" Wish asked.
His mother just looked at him but didn't respond. Instead, she held the door open for Alonzo. "Come inside."
Wish was about to argue letting a stranger into their house, but the man didn't seem like a stranger after all. He had a horrible feeling that he knew who he was.
"We have a visitor. Turn off the TV and go to your rooms," Precious ordered the children as she led Alonzo to the living area. Her voice was calm but a little shaky.
Wish's siblings scrambled to their feet and went to their respective bedrooms.
"This is my husband, Paco," she introduced.
Paco stood from his chair. No smile and no obvious emotions at all.
"Pleasure to meet you." Alonzo held out a hand and Paco took it.
"Please, take a seat," Paco gestured.
"Thank you," said Alonzo, and uncomfortably sat.
"I should probably leave the three of you here," Paco said.
"What's going on here?" Wish asked. No one answered. "I'll just go to my room."
"No," Precious told him. "More than anyone else, you should be here."
Wish took a seat across from Alonzo. Precious and Paco were seated on the two-seater sofa beside him.
Wish made meaningful eye contact with everyone. The tension in the room was palpable.
"What?" Wish blurted, so that they almost jumped from their seats. "Are we going to have a staring contest here?"
"Wish..." Precious drew in a deep breath. "This is Alonzo. Your father."
"What?" His mother had said the words loud and clear, but he couldn't hear anything but his heart racing in his ears.
"Well," Alonzo began. "I...I don't know where to start."
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Wish asked, head bowed, cracking his knuckles.
"Yeah. Twenty-seven years," Alonzo replied.
"Fucking long, huh?"
"Wish!" Precious scolded.
Wish stood up. "You know what? Whatever happened, it cannot be undone. I don't wanna be angry anymore. It's just another pain on my list."
"Aloysius!" Precious called out as he turned his back on them. "Aren't you even going to give him a chance to explain?"
"My, he had twenty-seven fucking long years to explain and he blew his chances," Wish responded. He didn't face them. Instead, he trained his eyes on the plain white ceiling above him, blinking back tears.
"He is still your father," she pointed out.
He turned around. His eyes were brimming with tears. "My father is Paco Gregorio. This man," he pointed to Alonzo, "was never my father and he will never be."
"Precy, it's okay," Alonzo said. "I should probably come back when he's ready to talk to me."
There was no fight, no blame, but a lot of hurt.
Wish and his father were two people who'd had love to give and desperately would've liked to have had it reciprocated.
*****
Read advance chapters on Radish!https://radish.app.link/hd9yVccbZR
A/N: Hi Arcangels! I hope you enjoyed this chapters! Unrequited love can never be anything but painful. Rejection is not pretty. It hurts. At this point it's too late—he already stretched his heart for someone capable of bruising it. But how much is enough? Love is very uncertain. One day you are over the moon and the next, disillusioned.