At the other side of the city.
Mina has been drinking the entire day. She didn't even have breakfast that morning which worried her friends so much. She sat on the bar stool thinking of what Chad said to her that morning. She smiled as she took the last bottle of alcohol, but Darna immediately collected it from her.
Placing it on the table, she said, "Mina, I don't know what Is wrong with you. You have to take it easy, okay?"
Mina's lips curled upwards and she collected the bottle back from Darna, poured herself a glass. "What do you guys know?" she said as she stared into the glass and shook it before taking a sip. "I have tried and tried everything. I have done everything to get him, but why? Am I not beautiful enough, Huh?" she took another sip and continued, "All my life I have waited for that bitch to leave and fortunately for me, she left. I am just so stupid to leave the Philippines when I was young. I should have stayed with Chad" she began to hit her head with her hand.
Analyn and Darna looked at each other. Their friend is becoming crazy. Analyn grabbed Mina's wrist and looked at her. "Stop it. You are going crazy. Are you going to give up just because Chad doesn't want you? Give him some time. He needs some time to get over what has happened to him, okay? Put yourself in his shoes, how would you feel if your boyfriend leave the country without telling you anything? You will be sad, angry and hatred will feel your heart, right? Think about it" Analyn realised her hand and patted her back slowly.
Mina thought of what Analyn just said. If she was Chad, she would have killed herself instead of waiting. Chad has suffered enough and he is still suffering because of what they have done. Maybe God is punishing her for all the sins she has committed. Maybe that's why Chad hasn't fallen in love with her yet because she has been trying to snatch him from someone else.
She shook her head to get all those thought off her head. She gulped down the last cup of alcohol before staggering to her room. Analyn and Darna could only shook their heads as they watched their friend disappear from their sight.
***
In a black BMW, Chad was staring out if the window watching the city with sad eyes and he rested his chin on his hand. The city was moving; Cars, people, buses and trains. Car raced between red traffic lights, stubbornly flickering in grey.
While they were driving down the road, a figure caught Chad's eyes.
"Stop the car" the commanded. The car came to a halt immediately. Chad turned his head to look at the girl he just saw, but the street was bare. There was not girl there. He turned his head to look at the driver. "Did you see any lady there?"
The driver shook his head. "No, young master. Why did you ask?"
Chad turned his head to look again, but the street was filled with moving cars and people. "I thought I saw..." he paused and took a deep breath. "Never mind. Drive on"
The driver nodded and turned on the ignition.
Chad was confused. Rachel is in the U.S, but why is he seeing her here. Maybe it's his imagination. He has been thinking of Rachel lately. Maybe that's why he is seeing her. He lean back into the leather seat and closed his eyes.
"I am not going home now. I am going to Kalui restaurant" he said.
"Ah, okay, young master" the driver turned the steering wheel to the left, made a U- turn and drove towards the restaurant.
Chad doesn't want to go home. First, he doesn't want to see Mina's face at all. She is always giving him problems and his mother too. He just want to be free from all of them. Instead of helping him find Rachel, they are giving him more problems.
At Kalui restaurant.
Chad's friends were surprised when they saw him waiting for them in the room. He was alone browsing through his phone, smiling.
Emman was the first person to speak up. "Hey, Chad, why did you call us here?"
Chad glanced up at them and quickly deep his phone back into his pocket. He gestured for them to sit. "To have fun" he said.
His friends looked at him confused. "To have fun?" they repeated.
Ever since Rachel left, Chad has not been calling them. They even tried to invite him to party to help him forget about his problems, but he refused.
"Yes, why?" Chad asked.
Billy gave him a puzzled look and shook his head. "Nothing, but you are acting different. Did you find Rachel?"
Chad looked at them and shook his head. "Nope, but I noticed that everyone around me has been affected by my behavior this past few weeks, so I decided to change. I want to forget about my problems, okay?"
His friends nodded in agreement to what he said and picked up their glass cup. Chad poured himself wine and poured for his friends too. They raised their glasses up and clinked it together. "Cheers" they said and sipped their drinks
"Chad, tell me, any news about Rachel?" Billy asked
Chad placed his glass on the table and said, "No, but I won't give up yet"
James nodded, "That's the sprirt bro. Don't give up yet. Who knows what Rachel left the country without telling you. Maybe it's to protect you"
Emman nodded. "Yeah"
Chad smiled and said, "Thanks guys for always been there for me"
The fun went on as they talked about life and drank also. The fun didn't end there. They brought in some bar girls to keep them company except from Chad and Emman. Emman sat there silently watching his friends. He has promised to change and stop going out with other girls.
Next morning at the Torres mansion.
Chad missed cooking in the kitchen with Rachel. He remembered the dishes they made together as he walked I to the kitchen. The cook was surprised when she saw him putting on an apron.
"Good morning, young master. Em... Do you need anything?"
Chad looked around the kitchen and smiled. "Nothing. I just want to cook breakfast. Don't worry about what my mom will say. Go"
The cook nodded, undo her apron and left the kitchen. This was the same place they heard their first kiss. He smiled when he remembered how Rachel was blushing after kissing her. He lit the gas stove, place a pot on it and poured water in it. He cooked the same food he cooked when Rachel was with him.
In the dinning room.
Chad sat down on the chair, picked up a plate and spooned sushi on his plate. That was also Rachel's favourite, so he liked it. He tasted the food and smiled. It tasted just like the food they cooked together.
Mrs Torres saw her son smiling and couldn't help, but ask, "Son, I see you mood has changed recently. You are happy. Tell me, did something happen?"
Chad glanced at his mom. "No" he picked up meat from the bowl and placed it on his mother's plate. "Mom, eat that. I made that myself"
Mrs Torres smiled and caressed his cheeks. "Thank you"
After few minutes of eating, Chad glanced at his wristwatch. "It's time to leave" he wiped his lips with the napkin and stood up. "Good bye, mom" he gave his mother a kiss on her cheek, grabbed his jacket and left. The maid at the door offered to collect his jacket from him, but he smiled and told her not to worry.
Their young master seems to be in a good mood today which makes most of them also happy. Those days when Chad was sad, they had a hard time trying to make him smile. The house was also as silent as a grave yard.
When Chad left the dinning room, Mrs Torres looked at Mina and held her hand. "Did you see that? Chad has changed. Didn't I tell you that he will surely forget about Rachel. Don't worry, you will see that he will start talking to you soon, okay?"