Chapter 24

Elyana's POV After crying inside the VIP room for a few minutes, I packed my things and left. My parents suddenly called while I was busy doing so, and they were furious right after Aunt Eugene told them about what had happened. My hands were shaking, along with my knees, while I listened to my mother. All their words coming into my ears were unbearable to hear. I thought they would defend me from them, but it seemed Mom believed what she heard from them. Because of that, the anger I felt was beyond bearable, and just in the middle, while Mom scolded me, I exploded. "Why doesn't anyone believe me? I have no plans to harm her or her baby, and I wasn't even thinking about putting my finger on her skin!" I exclaimed, trying to defend myself from all their accusations. "Do you think, Mom, I could do those? Am I a criminal?" I added while Mom was silent. Sure enough, she got stunned when I yelled at her. I expected more scolding after I enraged her, but instead of getting mad, she spoke more softly. "But that's what they told us. What's going on with you, Elyana? I thought you were okay, just like the last time we talked. Your father and I were confident that was true, but why—" I heard how Mom's voice broke. She paused. I could tell she was hurting just like me, but to think they seemed to believe them was more hurtful than how the twins pushed me. We were both in silence. I could speak, and all I did was cry. I thought I was done but felt so alone, and the pain was killing me. After a moment, I heard Dad speaking. He seemed distant, and I couldn't listen to what he was saying. The next thing I heard were noises, and after a few seconds, Dad was the one on the other line speaking. "I believe in you, Princess. I know you will do such a thing. Tell me—what happened?" he uttered. I explained my side as best I could by telling him everything, and thank God, my dad listened until I finished the whole story, even though I was crying. I didn't keep anything hidden. I thought I had no allies anymore. Felix made me look like the wrong person. They made me miss them so much. In such a situation, I wanted to hug them. I secretly wished they were by my side, but they were miles away at the time, and when Dad asked me if I wanted them to fly to the Philippines to be with me, I chose to say no because I never wanted them to see me like that. "I'm sorry if that happened, sweetheart. They misunderstood your intentions, which is why they reacted like that. For sure, Felix wasn't just expecting to see you there. I will talk to them—" "No need for that," I interrupted. I wiped my tears and cleared my throat. "Let me do it. I'll try to clear my name with Aunt Eugene once I return to Manila. Please don't worry about me. I'll be alright," I assured them. I didn't hear Mom talking anymore, but I was sure she was around listening. "Are you sure, princess?" Dad inquired softly. His soft voice impacted me, and I bit my lower lip to keep from crying again. I even put the call on mute for a while because I didn't want them to hear me crying like a child again. It was a relief when they agreed, and I told them I still needed time to pack my things, and they allowed me to end the call right after. After packing and settling bills, I left Boracay with a heavy heart. That place made me feel like I didn't belong because of what Felix did. Frankly, and for him to know, he didn't have to hurt me that much to realize that we didn't have a chance and Pretzel was the one he wanted. I was only trying to help, but they misunderstood my approach. *** Third-Person POV Elyana's parents knew their daughter was trying to deceive them. They both felt uneasy after speaking with her for a few minutes and because it was night in Turkey and almost time to sleep, their preoccupied minds didn't let them sleep. They were speechless when they received a call from Eugene. They never imagined their daughter would end up doing such acts, but when they talked to her, they noticed something was off, which led them to believe she needed professional help. Elyana's father, Cihan, called a friend who was a Spanish psychiatric doctor living in Turkey. He apologized for the unexpected call and explained the situation to the doctor. Their conversation was on a loudspeaker. Elyana's mother, Marietta Elisa, was listening while sitting on the edge of the bed. She was nervous and concerned about her daughter, who was away from them. They were afraid she would do something and eventually hurt herself. "She may be going through something after her divorce, and with the reason behind it—which she also witnessed with her own two eyes—she should seek help. I have a patient before who's been through the same, and I hope Elyana won't end up like her," the doctor said, who did not directly say what happened to his patient, but the couple knew what happened to that person was not good. Both of them gasped. Cihan hugged his wife when he noticed she was already shaking, with tears falling from her eyes. "What shall we do, mi amigo? Elyana is in the Philippines and doesn't want us to come there. Can you refer her to a doctor?" Cihan asked worriedly. "I do have a friend in the Philippines, but for her current state of mind and behavior, which I think is still controllable, she should have a friend she'll keep company with and someone she can trust and talk to. If she starts acting worse, give me a call again right away so we know what to do," the doctor answered. "All right, mi amigo, we'll do it. Thank you for your time; I'll pay you when we meet." The doctor burst out laughing at Cihan's words. "A bottle of our favorite drink is enough." "Call!" Cihan quickly agreed. After that conversation with the doctor, Elyana's parents were utterly silent. Both were thinking about what to do and how they would help their daughter in that situation. "We better call Eugene," Marietta told her husband. Eugene was the nearest person to reach out to their daughter because Elyana mentioned she would go to their place to talk to her in person. "Much better if you'll be the one who talks to her—a mother-to-mother talk," Cihan suggested. 'You're right," she mumbled, reaching for the phone on the bedside table. Eugene was waiting for that phone call. She wanted to hear what Elyana would tell her parents about her reasons. Even she was in shock when she heard the news, and she couldn't believe Elyana would act in such a manner. Cihan stayed by his wife's side. Both mothers were in tears and hurt at the same time. Eugene felt sorry for Elyana after learning the reason for her broken marriage. Her family was unaware of the full extent of her marriage's demise because they did not bring it up with Elyana. They knew that opening that topic would only hurt her feelings, and even though they tried to avoid it, they ended up hurting her, and the worst had already happened. The conversation between the two lasted for more than an hour. Eugene promised that she would talk to her children to fix the problem, and that same night, while they were about to have dinner, she broached the subject with his eldest daughter and her husband. Another thing that made them sad was learning that Elyana chose to return to the Philippines due to them. She thought their family would still welcome her with the same warmth, just like before, but several times she set foot in the Martincu's house, and the person they kept talking about mainly was Pretzel. Lea cried. She tried calling Elyana's number after feeling hurt for her, but her mobile phone could not be reached. "Call your siblings," Eugene said after dialing Elyana's phone number several times. Knowing Elyana's feelings, they were both terrified that she would do something to herself. She did what she said, and while they were at the table in front of the food, they didn't even move. Eugene lectured her sons, who were both in silence while she scolded them both. Felix was the one who was troubled by guilt. He was sorry for jumping to conclusions. He was terrified she'd hurt Pretzel the moment he saw her in front of the house, and remembering what she confessed when he accompanied her to drink, he immediately thought he'd tell Pretzel about it. "I think it's time for me to go back to Manila," Felicity uttered sadly to her twin older brother. "Can you wait a few days?" Felix asked him. Pretzel overheard their conversation. She just came to tell them that dinner was ready, and she couldn't help but speak up right after she heard what Felicity had told his brother. "If you're worried about me, Felix, I can handle it; I can take care of myself," she said, and the twins turned to face her. Pretzel frowned when she noticed the twins' sad expressions. "What's up with those faces?" Felicity was on the verge of crying. His heart was breaking for his best friend. He wanted to blame his brother, and if he could, he would pull his hair out until he was completely bald. Felicity explained the reason, and Pretzel, like him, felt terrible for Elyana. She had no idea she was carrying so much weight in her heart, even the first time she laid eyes on her.