Two years had passed.
Cherry had finally found a way to earn a living without having to rely on her husband's income. Aside from working at Aling Marietta's restaurant and selling school supplies and gift items, she also tried her hand at tailoring—mending torn clothes like ripped jeans and other garments. She had some background in sewing and supplemented her knowledge by watching tutorial videos on a mobile app.
Somehow, she managed to cover the needs of Carina and Cyprus—food, water, electricity, and other bills. Alfred would occasionally hand them money, but it was never more than two thousand pesos since most of his earnings went to his own family. As a result, Cherry was now the one shouldering almost all of their children's needs.
As for Jared, he had just returned from the United States, a smile once again gracing his face. He came back with his girlfriend, who had spent a month's vacation with him. Not long after, fate led him and Cherry to cross paths again.
Cherry first dropped her children off with Aling Marietta. She planned to buy new groceries from a nearby store.
"Stay here for now with Aling Marietta, okay?" she told them. "Mama's just going out to buy our food."
Cyprus and Carina both nodded.
"I won't be long."
"Okay, Mama," Carina replied with a cheerful smile. The little girl had just turned five.
"I'll be heading off now, Aling Marietta. Please take care of them for a while," Cherry added.
"Don't worry. Your children are safe with us." Aling Marietta smiled, and Cherry returned the gesture before heading out.
She walked slowly, pushing a shopping cart toward the counter. Without realizing it, she and Jared have crossed their paths.
It happened again—twice—in the same place but at different times. Later, they even crossed paths in a completely different location.
One afternoon, Cherry had just finished showering when she heard a commotion in the living room. She clearly heard Carina sobbing and rushed out in alarm.
There she found Alfred scolding their eldest daughter. The child immediately ran into Cherry's arms, trembling.
"What's going on here?" she asked, soothing the little girl. "Are you okay?"
"Your daughter wouldn't stop bothering me," Alfred snapped. "I told her I was busy and should not interrupt me."
"You could've just talked to her calmly. There was no need to yell," Cherry reasoned out.
"She's spoiled because you don't discipline her properly," Alfred retorted.
Cherry said nothing more. She just carried the children into the bedroom to comfort them.
She sighed deeply. Once again, she had to witness how unfairly Alfred treated Carina—so different from how he treated Cyprus. To Cherry, it didn't matter that Carina was adopted; she loved her just the same and treated both children equally.
In the following days, fate stepped in again. Cherry saw Jared was crossing a crowded pedestrian lane. They brushed past each other, as if they were strangers. A few moments later, Cherry glanced back.
"Thank goodness. I thought he was going to bother me again," she muttered to herself.
But her thoughts lingered after seeing him. He looked different—older than he did two years ago.
His appearance had changed. His clothes no longer had the neat, put-together look he once carried.
"Why do I even care about his life? Ugh." She shook her head and turned away, walking in the opposite direction.
The next day, Alfred greeted her with another barrage of complaints.
"This is all we have for breakfast? Ridiculous!" he snapped. "I'm going to work and this is what I'm eating? Hotdogs? What nutrition am I supposed to get from this?"
"I didn't have time to cook a proper meal. I didn't get enough sleep." Cherry explained.
"Didn't get enough sleep, uh? What exactly did you do you can't sleep right?"
She sighed deeply. "I ironed your work clothes last night. I was exhausted from cleaning the house and taking care of the kids all day."
"So now you're complaining?" Alfred shot back. "You didn't even take care of the house properly or the kids, and yet you think you've earned the right to complain? Unbelievable."
"I'm not complaining, Fred. I'm just telling it honestly. You're the one who's always complaining, aren't you?" Cherry answered.
In truth, she was tired of constantly trying to understand her husband. If it weren't for her children, she would've left him a long time ago. She realized how exhausting it was to love someone who never see or appreciate her efforts.
"You've really learned how to answer like that, huh? Think you're all that now?"
Cherry turned away, refusing to argue further.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? We're not done talking!" Alfred shouted after her.
But she ignored him. Instead, she focused on finishing all the chores before Daryl came home. She needed to make the most of her hours at the restaurant while the kids were on school break.
After about an hour and a half, Cherry headed to her job. The moment she stepped into the kitchen, she was greeted by a mess on the floor.
"Oh no, what happened here?" she asked with a concerned.
"Dina felt dizzy, and some of the plates ended up shattered," Aling Marietta explained. She then handed Cherry a slip of paper. "Could you deliver this order to the address written here?"
"No problem, Aling Marietta," Cherry replied with enthusiasm.
"But do you know how to use a motorcycle?"
She nodded without hesitation. "Yes, ma'am. Don't worry, I can manage."
The older woman smiled. "Alright then, just wait a while. The food will be ready shortly."
"Okay, Aling Marietta. I'm waiting and stay at the counter. Yhanie hasn't arrived yet."
"Sure, dear. I'll leave the place to you for now. I need to go to the market with Trina to buy ingredients for today's other dishes."
"All right. Take care, Aling Marietta."
Thirty minutes later, the food was finally ready. Cherry checked the address on the paper before starting the engine.
The delivery location was fifteen minutes away. When she arrived, she parked the motorcycle near the gate and pressed the doorbell twice.
The gate opened—and to her surprise, she recognized the customer.
Still, she pretended not to know him.
"Good morning. Here's your order," she greeted politely.
Jared gave a forced smile. "Thanks. Until next time."
She frowned slightly at his parting words. Still, she said nothing and mounted the motorcycle again.
She glanced back at the house, momentarily stunned.
Jared had clearly come a long way.
In the days that followed, Jared ordered from the restaurant again—but this time, Cherry refused to be the one to deliver it.
"Can you be the one to deliver this to him instead? Please, Dina?" She no longer wanted to see Jared ever again.
"Why, sis?" Dina asked, puzzled.
"Just do it. I'll take care of what you were supposed to do." The confusion was clear on Dina's face, taken aback by Cherry's behavior.
"What is it, though? What's going on?"
Cherry let out a deep sigh, frustrated by Dina's relentless questioning. Why can't she just say yes instead of asking so many questions? she thought irritably.
"The guy at that address… he's my ex-boyfriend." She finally confessed, unable to keep it to herself.
"So what if he's your ex?"
"Please, Dina. I'm really asking you to do this for me." Cherry's voice was pleading now. "Come on. If it were you, would you want to see the guy who left you hanging? No, right? So please… you do it."
She ended up explaining more than she intended—thanks to Dina's never-ending curiosity.
"Okay, got it, sis. I'll deliver it to him."
Cherry thought she was finally off the hook, free from any more chances of running into Jared. But then, fate had other plans. She was assigned again to deliver something to him.
"Isn't there anyone else who can do this?" she complained. "I'm begging you, please not me. I'll gladly take over someone else's shift inside the restaurant."
"What's with you this time?" another coworker asked, poking into the conversation.
"Dina said the guy who received the order at that address last time was handsome," Elena chimed in.
"Really? And here you are turning him down?" Aling Marietta teased. "Maybe it's time to replace that husband of yours."
"It's not that easy, hehe. So please, just let someone else handle it," Cherry said with a nervous smile.
"No. You can do it, Cherry," said Aling Marietta with her final decision. "You're one of the assigned delivery staff now. It'll ease your load in the restaurant, especially since I know you're also doing almost everything at home—taking care of the house, the kids… It's no small thing."
Tsk. I'd rather be exhausted working inside than be the one delivering food to Jared, she thought to herself again.
"Go on now, Cherry. Just take it, okay?"
With no other choice and not wanting to test Aling Marietta's patience, Cherry finally gave in.
She took a deep breath, started her motorcycle, and drove off toward Jared's place. Once there, she parked slowly, hesitating before pressing the doorbell.
A few seconds later, the gate swung open and there he was.
"Here you go again, huh," Jared said the moment he saw her.
"Here's your order." Cherry handed him the food right away.
"Okay, thanks." She gave him a polite smile and immediately turned to leave. She didn't want to linger any longer, and Jared seemed to feel the same. They acted like strangers—awkward and distant.
"Wait," he called out. She turned her head slightly.
"I was actually thinking of ordering from other restaurant," Jared admitted. "I thought you weren't doing deliveries anymore."
His words irked Cherry, but she didn't let it show.
"My girlfriend might say something, you know…" he added.
"That's fine. I wasn't supposed to deliver this to you anyway." Cherry fought to keep her composure. "There will be someone else who bring your orders next time. Anyway, I should go now. I have more customers waiting."
She quickly hopped back on her motorcycle and drove away.
When Alfred got home from work, he immediately noticed his wife's appearance and confronted her.
"Why do you look like that again?"
"Alfred, I just came from work. Do you expect me to look like a walking corpse in front of customers?" Cherry answered calmly.
"Oh wow, you're talking to me like that again because you have a job now." He jabbed his finger against her temple. "Don't forget, I'm still the man of this house. I make the rules—not you."
"I was just explaining the truth," Cherry replied.
He stared at her from head to toe. "Maybe you're flirting with someone else now that's why you're all dolled up." He added in a bitterness on his voice.
"What are you even thinking?" she demanded. "I've never did the things what you're accusing me of—not even once. Even with all the pain and hardship I'm going through…" She emphasized the words pain and hardship, hoping he'd finally understand.
After a while, Cherry walked away and went into a vacant room where she decided to sleep for the night. She turned on the light and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Tears started to fall, but she quickly wiped them away with her fingers.
Days later, she began to feel dizzy. She'd been staying up late every night. How could she sleep, when Alfred constantly picked fights with her, throwing harsh words about her mistakes and shortcomings? The house was a mess. The laundry was piling up. The kids needed her. She was doing everything—and yet, she was still the one he blamed for everything. If not for the children, she would have ran away from Alfred.
After cleaning the bathroom, she was startled by a loud sound of the front door. Moments later, her parents and siblings came pouring in, surprising her.
"Papa? Mama?"
"Long time no see, Cherry," said her older brother, Henry.
"Big house," Jonald commented, wandering around the living room and into the kitchen. Cherry heard the fridge open.
"Jonald! Get back here. This isn't our house!" Jessa yelled at their brother.
"Well, we might eat well. We're starving now after that long ride," Henry added.
"Is this really who you've become, Cherry?" her mother scolded as she took a seat on the sofa with the rest of the siblings. "Did marriage make you forgetful about good manners we have taught to you? You didn't even offer us food or a water."
"Ma, Pa, Kuya Henry, and Jonald…" Jessa murmured, her voice tinged with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Ate Cherry. I didn't know they followed me," Daryl apologized, looking genuinely remorseful.
"It's fine, little brother." Cherry forced a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.
Her family rummaged through the refrigerator for something to eat, while others busied themselves poking around their belongings from the living room to the kitchen. The sight of it all only intensified Cherry's stress. The house that once had a semblance of order now looked like chaos had taken over, and even the well-stocked fridge she had once taken pride in was nearly empty.
"Kuya Henry, why did you consume all the food stucks that Cherry bought?" Jessa asked in frustration.
Even Daryl was at a loss, unsure of what to say or do.
"Don't we have any right to be here, Jessa?" the eldest brother said with sarcasm.
"So what now? You're not now willing to share your food and house with us anymore, Ate Cherry?" Jonald added mockingly.
"I'm not selfish. All I ask is just little respect for the owner of this house. Look at this—everything I bought are gone. What am I supposed to tell about these to my husband?" Cherry couldn't hold back her irritation anymore.
"Are you saying what your husband thinking matters more than we do?" her father argued.
"That's not what Cherry meant, Pa," Jessa tried to clarify, attempting to calm things down.
But the argument escalated right before Cherry's eyes, their voices overlapping in blame and defense, until—
"Shut up!" she yelled, the fury in her voice silencing the room. Daryl stood frozen, appeared in shock of her outburst.
"I wish you never came here if all you're going to do is bring me problems!" she screamed louder again. "I was completely exhausted and struggling, while all of you couldn't care about how I feel! What kind of family are you?!"
Suddenly, her mother slapped her across the face. ""You ungrateful child! I carried you in my womb, brought you into this world, raised you with everything I had—and this is how you dare speak to me?" her mother yelled, seething with anger.
""Just say whatever you want—I'm too tired to understand anymore," Cherry snapped, her voice breaking. "From the very beginning, you've never really cared about anyone but yourselves."
She turned to Daryl, her expression softening briefly. "Watch my kids in the room for a while please?"
"Where are you going, Ate?" he asked in concerned and confusion.
"Anywhere... just far from here," she replied, glancing coldly at the rest of her family. "I just want to be alone."
Without waiting for a response, she go out hurriedly of the house and ran away. Eventually, she reached a quiet park and sank onto a bench with a table beside it. There, she began to sob in silence.
Meanwhile, Jared was driving his car when his eyes caught a familiar figure—Cherry, sitting alone, crying.
"You can resist her, Jared," as he whispering to himself.
He didn't get out of the car. He stayed behind the wheel, convincing himself that he had to stay on this path, to keep moving forward. After all, he was already engaged to Kelly. He needed to forget about the past and restart a beginning.
As he continued driving, his phone rang—it was Kelly. He answered quickly.
"Sorry, Kelly. I was driving, that's why I couldn't pick up right away," he said, covering up his earlier hesitation.
He thought that would be the last time he will see Cherry. But something unknown—some invisible thread—kept pulling them back into each other's orbit. And yet, their lives were now different for being together.
Later, he saw Cherry again, sitting by the roadside, crying once more. He tried to look away, to let them have passed and pretend he didn't notice but this time, something in him that refused to ignore it. He approached her, unable to fight the worry inside of his heart.
It made her stunning.
Instead of greeting him with a smile, she spoke rudely with irritation"What are you doing here?"