"Felix Peralta…." uttered Amber while tears streamed down her face.
"Mom!! Mom! Are you OK? Please say something! Tell me what's wrong, and why are you crying? Did I say or do something wrong? Please, Mom, say something," asked Amya, shaking her mother's shoulders worriedly.
Amber finally woke up from her bad reverie and quickly wiped the tears off her face. "It's nothing… it's nothing, my girl. Don't worry. I just felt a little dizzy, that's all. It must be because of stress! Yes! It's been very stressful at work these days! So it must have made me dizzy, and I dropped the plate. The headache I'm feeling right now probably caused the tears. Yes, I'll go take some medication and get some rest," she replied, trying to sound convincing.
"Alright, Mom. But please promise me that you won't overwork yourself. I know that you are a great lawyer who loves to help abused and disadvantaged women, but you should also keep your health in check so that you won't end up getting sick because of stress, okay!" said Amya, her concern evident.
"Don't worry, my dear. I promise that I will keep my health in check and not overwork myself, okay? So don't worry," said Amber, trying to reassure her daughter.
"Alright, Mom. Let me go get the medication to ease your headache. I will be right back," said Amya, standing up to get the medicine.
After giving her mother the medication, Amya went to the kitchen to clean the dishes. She was almost done when Amber entered the room.
"Oh, Mother! You're still awake! I thought you wanted to get some rest because of your headache?" asked Amya.
"Don't worry, my dear. I am going to get some rest. I just need a glass of water, then I'll be off to bed," replied Amber.
"Alright, Mom," said Amya, continuing to wash the remaining dishes.
After drinking the water, Amber said goodnight to Amya and turned to leave, but suddenly stopped at the door, thinking of something. She turned back to talk to Amya. "Uhh… Amya," she called.
"Yes, Mom! What is it? Do you need anything?" asked Amya.
"Oh…it's just that I remembered something from our conversation earlier. You mentioned something about having met David's maternal uncle. What was his name again?" replied Amber.
"Oh! You mean Mr. Felix Peralta," said Amya.
"Yes! Him! Did he say anything else to you other than about his deceased daughter or how he knows me?" asked Amber, her tone suddenly more serious.
"No! He just told me about his deceased daughter and how he knew about you from the famous cases you won and nothing else. Do you perhaps know him as well?" replied Amya.
Amber took a sharp deep breath to control her emotions, then said, "Yes! Yes, I do know him. He used to be my colleague at Kingston Law Firm. He was also the one who helped me get the job at the law firm!"
"Oh really! Well, that's great, Mom! So…" said Amya enthusiastically, but her words were cut short by her mother's angry voice.
"No! No! It's not great at all! Not at all! Yes, I know that the man helped me get the job at my dream law firm back then, and I am a little grateful for that. But don't be fooled by him. He is cunning and dangerous, and I strongly advise you to stay away from him! As far away as possible! Do you hear me, Amya? Trust me, my girl, when I tell you that you should not get involved with him! So I am asking you to promise me that you will stay away from him! Promise me, Amya!" thundered Amber, subconsciously shaking Amya's shoulders.
Amya could not understand why her mother was reacting like this, but she knew very well that her mother only acted this way if the matter was really serious. Deep down, she wanted to find out more about what happened between Felix and her mother, but she quickly shook off the feeling and decided to follow her mother's advice so that she wouldn't get upset. She gently held her mother's hands and said, "Okay, Mother. I promise that I will stay away from him. Mainly because you know him better than I do. So don't worry, I will not get involved with him no matter what. I promise."
"Thank you, Amya," Amber said, the tension in her voice easing slightly. The mother and daughter duo hugged. After that, they bid each other goodnight and went to bed.
Amber could not find any peace to sleep. Her mind kept whirling with questions about how, why, and what she was going to do to prevent Amya from finding out the truth about what transpired between her and Felix. The matter was now complicated, since Felix was related to David, so the chances of them interacting were high. She could try again to convince Amya to break off her relationship with David, but could she really do that? Amya was in love with David and was even willing to go against her if she ever tried to break off their relationship.
Amber frustratingly threw the blanket away, stood up, and started pacing around the room. Since she couldn't convince Amya to separate from David, maybe she could try convincing David instead. Since David was related to that scumbag, it gave her more reason to believe he was just a player who only wanted to destroy her daughter's life.
This weekend was going to be Amya's birthday, and David was going to throw a birthday party for her. As Amya's mother, she would also attend the event. She would use this opportunity to express her displeasure with this relationship to David and try to convince him to separate from her daughter. Yes, she could do that, and if he refused, she was willing to go to any lengths to make sure the two of them separated. She would do anything to ensure Felix did not have any contact with Amya and prevent her from experiencing the bad reverie she had encountered in the past. With these thoughts, Amber finally went back to sleep.
The day of Amya's birthday party arrived. Everybody was in a jovial mood, and David made sure that the party was spectacular. The party was a VIP lounge party taking place at one of David's exclusive hotels in the city.
"Happy birthday, my dear," said Amber, hugging Amya tightly.
"Thank you, Mom," replied Amya with a warm smile. After the mother and daughter duo disengaged from the hug, David approached them to wish his girlfriend a happy birthday.
"Happy birthday, my darling," said David, giving Amya a quick peck on her lips.
"Thank you, my love. And thank you so much for making this party special and spectacular," said Amya, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
"Anything for you, my princess. Today is your day, and I want to make sure that you enjoy it to the fullest. Because you are special to me, that's why I made this day special for you," said David, his voice filled with affection.
"Oh, how sweet. Thank you, my love," said Amya. "You have made me the happiest girlfriend in the world by making this day special. Thank you." The duo shared their happiness with a short passionate kiss until Amber cleared her throat to make her presence known.
"Oh! Sorry, Mother!" exclaimed Amya, realizing that her mother was still standing beside them. "Please let me introduce you. Mom, this is David. And David, this is my mom, Miss Amber Cora," introduced Amya.
"It's truly a great pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Cora. I am very happy that you accepted my invitation, and I am mostly grateful to you for accepting my relationship with your daughter," said David, and he gave her a slight bow.
"I never said that I accepted your little fling with my daughter, David. I only said that I would think about it. So don't think that you and I are now on good terms because I still don't trust you," said Amber, her tone cold and stern.
"Mother! Please don't do this now! I already told you about David, and I promise you that you don't need to worry about anything. And also, what David and I have is not a fling; it's called love, Mom. So please try to understand that and accept our relationship," said Amya, her voice pleading.
"That's what you say. But I have to see and believe it myself. And trust me, Mr. Perrington, when I say that if you hurt my daughter in any way, I am going to make your life a living hell! Don't ever forget that!" said Amber in a threatening tone.
"Mother, please! Don't you think that you have gone too far with this? Why can't you understand that..." said Amya, but she was interrupted by David.
"Don't worry, my love. It's alright," said David, turning to Amber. "I understand you, Miss Cora. I understand that you feel insecure and scared that I may be taking advantage of your daughter. But believe me, ma'am, I am not. Yes, I know that Amya and I are from different social classes, but that does not make her any less special than other women from my social class that try to capture my attention and also my heart. And also, if you are worried that my family might not accept her, then you shouldn't be, because my family is not the type that determines the worthiness of a person based on their social class and background. So I do hope that I can convince you to let me love your daughter until we reach the end of our time together, which I hope and pray is the 'until death do us part' scenario that will have taken place. I really wish to create a family with your daughter, and I hope she feels the same way. I won't force you to accept this, and I can't promise you that I will never hurt your daughter in the future, because I don't know what the future holds for us. But I do promise that I will give it my all to make your daughter happy and love her to the fullest of my capacity. And I hope that I will not hurt her in the future, but make her smile and be happy," said David, looking at Amya with eyes filled with love.
Amber felt her heart fluttering over the words that David said about what he felt for her daughter. He was right. Nobody knows what the future holds. Take her, for example; she was madly in love with Felix, and she also felt that Felix was in love with her as well, but the future made a twist resulting in her heart being broken. But the words 'What if the future was different? And if Felix and she got married and Amya was the blessing and fruit of their love, and perhaps even other children. What would life be like then if it happened? Also, she knows she can never prevent Amya's heart from getting broken because she is not going to be able to control her forever. What is better, to learn from experience about the hardships faced in life and learn to amend and live through them to strive for a better life, or remain sheltered and living in naivety that when the wrecking ball of life comes crashing down, it will destroy you completely. No! She did not want that for her daughter. So, even if she likes it or not, her little angel has finally found her wings and has already flown out of her reach. So, no matter how she wishes to bring her back to her safe haven, she cannot but only hope someone else will create a safe haven for her too. Where she can find happiness and love, and right now David seems to be that person. So there is nothing she can do but support her not-so-little princess anymore.
"Mom! Mom, are you alright?" asked Amya, seeing her mom looking at her and David but not saying a word.
Amber got jolted out of her thoughts by Amya's words and replied, "I am OK, my dear. I just got lost in my thoughts for a second there. I am grateful for your honesty, David, and I hope that you will also live up to your promises. Even if the future turns out to be different from what you wish for, I do hope it is for the best. And I can honestly say that I am happy that Amya found a man like you. Your honesty and humility really surprised me. So I will accept your relationship and hope that I will not regret my decision later."
"Oh, Mom, thank you!! Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy you have made me. I love you, Mom," said Amya in an excited tone, quickly hugging her mother.
"It's OK, my dear. I love you too. And I am sorry if I was being such a pain in the neck before. And I also stand corrected about my judgment towards David. He truly is a good man, and I hope he will make you happy," said Amber, disengaging from the hug.
"I will, Miss Cora. And thank you so much for accepting this relationship. I truly appreciate it," said David.
"Well, enough melodrama. Let's celebrate. It's my birthday, after all, and this news just made it the happiest birthday ever. So let's party," said Amya in an excited tone.
More birthday wishes poured out from everyone at the party, and gifts were so piled up like a mountain that Amya wondered if she could really accept them all.
The party was blazing with a jovial atmosphere until an unexpected guest entered the scene and caused a certain someone's happiness to drop. "Happy birthday, Amya!" said Felix as he approached Amya and David with a present in his hands.
"Uncle Felix, you came! I was worried that you couldn't make it anymore," said David, enveloping Felix in a greeting hug.
'Oh no, how could I have forgotten about him?' thought Amber, her face paling as she saw Felix approaching them.