Chapter 26

I turned around, leaving him downstairs, but he followed me to persuade me to come. He kept talking, but I ignored him until we got to my room. I went to the restroom to check if I already had my period that day, and I was correct; there was a stain in my underwear. I went out after doing what I was supposed to do. I was shocked to see him still outside because I thought he had finally left when he suddenly shut his mouth. 'Let's go?" he asked, but I didn't answer. I dived onto the bed and faced the other side so that I wouldn't see his face. Seeing him was the same as looking into Felix's face, aside from the fact that Felicity was wearing makeup and lipstick. He never stopped talking. My stomach ache intensified, and my attention was drawn to it. When I could still hear him after I covered my ears and face with a pillow, I wondered if I needed an earplug. I took off my pillow and sat on the bed, facing him. "Don't you have anything to do today? Aren't you going to the office? No meeting with the client?" I asked, rolling my eyes, to get him to leave. I hoped he'd remember something to do or see that day so I could finally be at ease. "Hello! It's Sunday, girl, so obviously—it's my free day! Unless there's something urgent!" He raised his eyebrow higher than I did. I had forgotten it was Sunday, but perhaps someone had scheduled a Sunday meeting due to their hectic schedule. "Then go somewhere! A bar, a strip club!" I exclaimed, having thought of another strategy. "Stripclub is a good idea," he said, almost making me smile, but he had something else to say. 'But I'm not in the mood for that today." I nearly cursed. Felicity was already getting on my nerves. I didn't know what else to do to get rid of him. "Frankly, I missed bonding with you, you know—the old times when we used to have movie marathons here in the same room when we were kids," he reminisced, gesturing his hand as if performing some sort of magic on me. I was moved by the tenderness in his tone of voice. His words carried me away, and I suddenly remembered the days he was referring to. He was right; we used to do those. Even though our house was quite far away from theirs, he would always request that their driver drop him off here so that we could play. Being an only child was also sad and lonely. I had no partner—no ally. I was grateful to have them as childhood friends—Lea, him, and that snobbish Felix—but let's exclude Felix because I was still annoyed by him, and even when we were kids, he had his world. "Do you remember?" Felicity asked abruptly. I didn't realize he was already sitting beside me on the bed. "I'm not old enough to forget all of those," I replied, frowning, but the gay simply smiled at me. *** Felicity's POV I smiled when I finally made her calm. She was very rude and difficult to invite. I wanted her to come with me for a while—to go shopping to make her feel better. The truth was, Mom, didn't truly ask me to pick up Elyana and take her home. That was my excuse because I didn't have any reason to drive by their mansion. Those guards outside were so hard to convince, just like their boss. They even accused me of being a thief and a scammer, and they even told me no solicitors were allowed there. I didn't even look like asking for alms. I'm too pretty to be a beggar. It was apparent that Elyana wasn't okay. She was pale and looked exhausted. I was observing her, and she seemed in pain. After hearing the truth from my mother, I felt terrible for what I did. I should have asked her side first. I was an irresponsible best friend. She chose the Philippines because of us, and we only hurt her feelings. Felix, I knew ever since that Elyna liked my twin brother because I was the only person back then so close to her, and we both had a secret that we promised to keep forever. When I needed help, she was there. Even though she wasn't with me physically, during those times when I became independent after my father kicked me out, she helped me start by lending me money and giving me the emotional support I needed. I wouldn't be a successful matchmaker right now without her. My poor best friend! My mother asked me to check on Elyana when I arrived in Manila from Boracay, as Aunt Marietta requested because Elyana did not want them to come here. I understood why she didn't want her parents to see how miserable she was then, and that's because of us. Not that we were the entire reason, but we added more. What we did to her was even worse than what her insane ex-husband Lucas did to her. At that time, I wasn't sure what to do to sympathize with her. Going shopping could be accessible, even if we spent the whole day going from one store to another, but she didn't want to go out no matter how much I tried. I wished I could stay by her side like I used to. I suddenly thought of that movie marathon we had before because their mansion became my hideout. As far as I know, she had a complete collection of CDs about princesses and that famous doll. Those were our favorite movies to watch when we played dress-up. I was the one who curled and braided her hair, and even though the paint color had changed, every corner of her room witnessed how I grew into who I am today. "I miss this room of yours," I said as I sat on the bed and looked around. For a brief moment, the two of us were silent, and my annoyance faded due to the girl's gloominess that day. "I didn't miss this room, but I missed my sister," Elyana whispered. My soft heart ached. I immediately looked at her. The corners of my eyes warmed up. My tears were shallow even when I was young, so I knew then that I was not a real man. "I miss my sister too," I cried. She looked at me with teary eyes too, and without more words, we hugged each other. "Even with the way you hug, it's obvious you're gay." While we were hugging, she told me this. I couldn't blame her because I sat with poise. The buttocks were slightly raised and the back was straight while hugging her. I was taller and had an enormous body—-you know, a princess trapped in a somewhat hunky body. "You must be used to this," I answered with a sniff before something started dripping down my nose and when she heard it, she immediately moved away. "Gross!" she exclaimed, but she also had something in her nose, and we accidentally sniffed together. We both laughed in unison, but after laughing, her face suddenly became emotionless when she said, "Go home!" "I thought you'd let me stay? I don't want to; I'll stay," I answered and walked towards her walk-in closet to rummage through her things.