Next day at napsan, palawan.
Early in the morning, Mrs beltran quickly prepared breakfast for her kids. She placed the food on the dinning table and called out, "Rachel, Johanna, breakfast is ready. The both of you should come out now. We still have to go to the farm today"
Johanna and Rachel came out of their rooms and walked to the dining room. They sat down and picked up their plates. Rachel took bread pudding and Johanna took baked beans and a sausage and they devoured their food within seconds.
Mrs beltran watched the two kids eat their food and smiled. All she wanted was to see them happy. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Mrs beltran quickly got up and walked towards the door. When she opened the door, she was stunned. It was Mr Torres!
She remembered what the Torres did to her daughter and her expression changed.
"Good morning, Mrs beltran" Mr Torres greeted with a smile.
Mrs beltran looked at him from up to down and said, "Why did you come here? Are you here to yell at us again? Or you are here to give my daughter another warning?"
She doesn't care if they are Torres. She won't allow them to bully her and her family just because they are powerful and rich. Other people might continue to bow at their feets, but she wouldn't.
"No. I am not here for all of that. I am here to apologize to you and your family"
Mrs beltran eyed him. She did not believe any of his words. The last time, Mina came to their house to apologize and pretended as if she was truly sorry for what she did to Rachel and now, Mr Torres.
"And you expect us to believe you. The Torres won't come to you to apologize without having something else in mind. Are all of you not tired of hurting us? What else do you want from us?" Mrs beltran yelled angrily.
Rachel and Johanna heard her shouting and rushed outside to see what was happening.
"Mr Torres" Rachel was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here, sir?" she asked.
Mr Torres smiled and said, "Chad told me to come here. He wants me to apologize to you and your family. On behalf of my family, I apologize for what my wife did to you"
"..." They were speechless. Chad actually sent his father to apologize to them early in the morning.
***
Mina pushed in a cart into Chad's room and closed the door gently. Chad turned his head to look at the person that just came in.
"What are you doing here?" As expected, his voice was cold.
Mina pushed the cart towards Chad and smiled, "I brought you breakfast. I actually cooked it myself" she used a fork to pick up the spaghetti and moved it closer to Chad's mouth. "Taste it, it is delicious"
Chad turned his face to the other side and said in a disgusted tone. "Take it away. I hate the smell"
Mina's heart sank. She took her time to cook the spaghetti just for Chad and he is saying her food smells bad. She watched so many cooking tutorial just to cook the food for him.
She moved the bowl of spaghetti to her nose and smelled it. The spaghetti does not smell bad. The sweet aroma coming from the spaghetti will make someone want to devour it immediately. Mina looked at him and thought, maybe it's because he is not feeling well, that's why the spaghetti smell bad to him.
She dropped the bowl of spaghetti and picked up a bowl of chicken soup. She brought it closer to her nose. This one smell good, she thought.
She brought it closer to Chad's mouth and said, "This one smells better. If you don't like the spaghetti, you will definitely like this chicken soup"
Chad felt disgusted immediately. Can't this woman leave him?
"Take it away! All your food smells bad. Are you trying to poison me?" Chad yelled.
"..."
"No, no, it's..."
"Take it away. You want to use me as your lab rat, right?"
Actually, this was Mina's first time cooking and she made sure her food was delicious. She tasted it herself before bringing it to him and Chad is telling her that she is trying to poison him.
Sadness clouded her features. Her heart ached. She turned and left the with the cart. She took the food to Mrs Torres and asked, "Aunt, is this food smelling?"
Mrs Torres brought the food closer to her nose and exclaimed. "Wow! You cooked this food? That person must be a professional chef"
"Aunt, I cooked it"
Mrs Torres gave her a puzzled look. "Then why did you ask if the food was smelling?"
"Because that's what Chad said" she answered and tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them back. She turned to the maids in the living room and yelled angrily, "Trash all of them including the plates"
The maids were stunned, but they didn't dare to argue. They packed everything from the living room and did as Mina instructed. Mina ran to her room and locked the door. She lean her back against the door and cried.
"Why is my life like this? What do I have to do to get Chad" Mina cried.
The words Chad said came back to her mind: "Take it away. I hate the smell" thinking of those words made her cry even the more.
***
"What do you have to say?" Mrs beltran turned to Mr Torres and asked.
"I want to apologize to you and Rachel. You might think my wife is strict, but she isn't. She loves our son and she is just protecting his future. I know my son loves Rachel and I support their relationship. From the very first day I saw Rachel, I knew she was a good person. I even loved her the more when I heard how she changed Chad completely. All thanks to you Rachel, my son has changed totally"
Rachel is strong and determined and she will never give up on the person she loves. She might have that look. The look of a calm person, but she will never allow anybody bully her.
Mr Torres turned his head to look at Rachel and said, "I want you to come tonight to see Chad. He badly wants to see you and he is still lying on the bed because he has not seen you since he slipped into a coma"
Rachel looked at her mother's face.
Mr Torres continued. "Chad told me so many things about you. That's why I know you are a good person. You are also different from other girls"
Those girls includes Mina. Rachel is different from Mina in everything. Though, Rachel might be poor. She might not have everything like Mina. She might not be as beautiful as Mina, but she is different from her.
Mr Torres glanced at his wristwatch and stood up. "I will be on my way now. Rachel, don't forget to come this night. I will be so disappointed if you don't come and also Chad will be sad, so I will be expecting you" then he patted Rachel's back gently and left.
After Mr Torres left, Johanna stood up from the chair and walked up to Rachel. She held Rachel's hand and said, "Don't tell me you won't go. That man came here to apologize"
"I don't know if I am allow to go"
Rachel and Johanna turned their head to look at Mrs beltran.
"Hey, why are the both of you looking at me that way?"
"Can I go please" Rachel pleaded.
"Yes aunt, please, don't say no. We promise to do everything for you"
They walked up to her and held her hand, swinging it back and front.
"Please" the both of them pleaded with puppy dog eyes. Mrs beltran turned her head left and right to look at their faces. She rolled her eyes at them and said, "Okay, okay. You can go, but I won't take it easy if they bully you there"
Johanna and Rachel rested their heads on Mrs beltran shoulder and said at the same time, "Thank you"
Mrs beltran patted their heads gently.