Sierra's eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as they immediately closed when she saw Mr. Fritzgibbons' face approaching hers. It was as if she was expecting everything to happen, but before their lips met, her cell phone vibrated. Even if she wanted to be kissed by him again to remember the feeling she felt six years ago, Sierra couldn't let it happen. She believed that when their lips touched, he would remember who she was and discover what she was hiding.
What exactly was she hiding from her boss?
A son.
Six years old, intelligent and slightly foolish kid that instantly changed Sierra's world.
So even though she was curious, Sierra stopped giving in to her feelings. She might regret it all later. So as long as Sierra can bear it, she will do it just to be caught.
"I have to go. My son is already at home... waiting for me," she said to her boss, then stood up. His face retreated away from her then he took a deep breath, which Sierra didn't mind.
Mr. Fritzgibbons didn't move, and Sierra took his silence as approval that he was letting her go. She composed herself before walking to the door and deciding to leave. But before she could do that, a strong force pulled her back inside. When she looked up, her boss's face met her immediately, and his lips landed on hers.
She closed her eyes automatically, and her lips moved voluntarily in response to the young man's kiss. Sierra felt a series of mixed emotions upon answering her boss' kiss. That's the best description of how she feels right now. Something is digging into her stomach with a hot and delicious tickling sensation.
"It's you..." he said in between their hot kisses.
She panicked and tried to pull away from him, but she couldn't because his arm was still around her waist. How could Sierra forget that? She also threw her arms around Mr. Fritzgibbons' nape, wrapping into it lightly.
"I don't know what you're saying," she slowly removed both of her hands from his neck, but the young man did not let her do that.
"And you lied about wearing these sinful red lips of yours."
Mr. Fritzgibbons tenderly caressed her lower lip which she immediately bit. Sierra's boss's hand caressed her jaw to her cheek, which made her face inclined across his face again. He started to kiss her again, which she answered in the same manner as her boss devoured her lips.
"W-what is this?" Sierra was the one who stopped their kisses.
"I've been looking for you everywhere until I got tired of the excruciating feelings I shared with you that night," he replied instead of answering her question.
Is it looking for him?
But Sierra remembers returning to the bar where she met Mr. Fritzgibbons. She had already memorized the name of the guards there, but she didn't get any information about the young man. Until she gave up on the search because her pregnancy became dangerous, she also had to thrive for her life. Just like now, Sierra was still thriving.
"I need to go, sir. Don't worry; I won't tell any soul about this." That was all, and she left the young man inside his pavilion.
***
Sierra's companions were in the middle of listening to the priest's sermon, but her mind was still traveling to yesterday. Her friends ask her where she went, but she doesn't answer any of those questions. Even her mother asks what happened when she went out with her friends.
She said she didn't meet any potential match when it was clear to her friends how she followed an unknown guy yesterday. She did not say who was the man she followed yesterday or what happened between them and Mr. Fritzgibbons. She promised not to tell any soul about how they shared a hot kiss yesterday—a kiss that haunted her dreams and resulted in other wild fantasies about her boss.
"Sierra..." a soft call to her name awakened her deep reverie. She looked at her friend and saw Dahlia motioning for her to sit and kneel. She looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him, including the priest. Dahlia pulled the hem of her dress again to tell her to kneel. "What's wrong with you?" she laughed and said to her.
She couldn't answer because her mother had scolded both of them. It's a big lesson for Sierra not to go to church with other thoughts, especially after confessing a sin.
The mass ended, and they gathered around outside with Zeke. Her mother talked to the parish priest who led the religious assembly they all attended. Until now, she is still thinking about what happened earlier inside and the thoughts that caused it.
The memories of the hot kiss she'd shared with her boss. That didn't go away from her mind no matter what she did, and Sierra felt that everything was getting worse as time passed.
"What's bothering you?" Kirsten asked her.
"Nothing. I just lacked sleep," she replied, which was not accepted by her friends.
"You're lacking sleep because of... your boss!"
"Shut up!" She looked intensely at her friend, which attracted everyone's attention. Among those she aroused were her mother and the priest of their village.
"Why did you scream? I just said that the boss is there," Dahlia said, then pointed to where her boss was.
She tried to blink her eyes to ensure she wasn't mistaken, but she proved she wasn't. What is her boss doing in the church near her house? Will he also confess as she did earlier before attending the mass? What's happening now?
***
Sierra doesn't know how to act in their house because her boss is at her house now. It was a surprise; she didn't expect even her friends, who kept peeking at them from the kitchen. She tried to signal them to go away, but it did not affect them. Another surprise was that her mother was with them, watching over her and Mr. Fritzgibbons.
"I guess this was you back in grade school?" He guessed it from her picture frame, which she immediately took.
"High school. I look like a grade school kid, but I'm the oldest in the whole class. My classmates always called me big sister, which I think... you're not interested to hear about."
"No. Go ahead, Sierra. I want to hear it," Sierra groaned and pulled her boss away from the picture frame. "What's the problem?"
"Why are you here? Then why you can't refuse Mama's offer to eat here?"
"I went to visit Martin, but he's not home. I asked Dickie to drive me off here to talk to you,"
"What are we going to talk about?"
"Do I have to elaborate on what will be the topic?" She folded her arms in front of her boss, waiting for him to answer her question. She was not used to him treating her like this suddenly. She likes it even more because his trip is intense, and he always commands her. Everything changed after that hot kiss they shared, and it kept bothering her since last night. "Sierra, six years ago, you were there in the bar with me -"
"Mom, I'm hungry now. Can we eat now?" She immediately looked at her boss when Zeke entered suddenly while her other housemates inhaled loudly. "Mom please?"
"Just wait, son. Go to Ninang Dahlia first,"
"Go, attend to his needs. I'll stay here and wait for you." Sierra was surprised that he didn't notice his resemblance to her son. How did Sir Martin do that while Mr. Fritzgibbons couldn't? Sierra's whole thought was to examine it in detail.
What if?
"Aren't you going to eat with us, sir? My grandmother is the best cook in the world, and Mama makes some desserts too." One of Zeke's inherited from her is her talkativeness which Mr. Fritzgibbons also seems to have noticed.
"He is your son. I do not doubt that." her boss said. "Hey, young man, I want to eat with you, but can I invite my father?"
"Sure. We have a big table for everyone!" Her son ran after saying that, leaving her with Mr. Fritzgibbons.
"He's smart." It's a compliment to her son, which she accepted wholeheartedly. "Is he your son with Mr. Gonzales?" Her eyes widened. How did he find out about her past with Eric?
"H-how did you know about that?"
"Wild guess?"
"Not that. The last thing between Eric and me, I mean, Mr. Gonzales."
"I hired a PI to check your background and Mr. Gonzales."
She thought he completely trusted her, but she was wrong because she discovered he was hiding something from her. She was not the only one who had doubts about the case between them; she had more right to feel strong doubts, especially now.
Sierra is not convinced that he doesn't notice his resemblance to her son. But she doesn't want to force him to see what he should be seeing now. She didn't want to insist on a fact unknown to the young man.
"Mommy!" she heard more screams.
"He's head-heated kind of a young man,"
Can I slap you? Who else will Ezekiel inherit if not you? She wanted to say that, but she stopped herself and quickly attended to her son.
How long will they hide, even though it's obvious? Until when?