Gosh, I'm exhausted. Frank complained in his head. He was now back in his home in the States—and completely alone. He was getting tired of going out at night, too.
He let out a deep sigh. He knew the time difference between the Philippines and the States. It was already midnight where he was when he received a message from his mom.
So, he called her on Messenger. She answered immediately.
"Oh, why aren't you asleep yet?" She greeted him with that simple question.
"I can't sleep. And besides, I don't have work tomorrow," he said.
She just nodded.
"Mom, did Nathan accept the gift I sent them?" he asked.
"Yeah, he did," she replied.
He nodded as well. "I'll check if he's actually using it," he said. "That's the only thing I could think of giving them." He let out another sigh.
"Did you see their pictures on Facebook?" his mom asked.
He frowned. "Not yet. I've been too busy with work. Maybe after I sleep," he replied.
"Go to sleep already," she said to him.
"Yeah. Thank you, Mom," he said.
"No problem. Get some rest."
"Yeah. Goodnight, Mom."
"Goodnight. Take care of yourself over there," she reminded him.
He simply nodded, and the Messenger call ended. He let out another sigh.
But curiosity got the better of him. He opened his social media and started scrolling through his newsfeed.
One post immediately caught his eye.
So, she didn't block me on Facebook, huh? He thought to himself. He looked at the tagged posts, going through each picture one by one.
He saw the prenup photos of the couple. He already knew that Nadia was beautiful even before, but she seemed to have bloomed even more now that she was with Nathan.
He could only smirk. Sometimes he couldn't help but ask himself:
You, Frank, when will you have something like this? His persistent mind teased.
He just laughed at the thought, feeling ridiculous for laughing alone at his own jokes.
He could clearly see that she was happy, that she was now building a family. His eyes scanned through the other pictures—of the wedding entourage. He immediately looked for Mariely.
Is she not in any of these? he wondered. Why are you even looking for her now, Frank? his nosy mind asked.
I just got curious about how she's doing, he answered himself.
No matter how much he searched, he still couldn't find her. Until he saw a photo of Veron hugging one of the bridesmaids.
He frowned. The photo showed just how close the two were. So, he checked Veron's profile and saw a post with the same girl.
Is this Mariely? He wondered, confused. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. Something inside him recognized her instantly.
This can't be. Her soulful eyes, the way she smiled and laughed with Veron… He reviewed the other photos and confirmed it—it was the same woman in all of them.
She looks completely different now. He swallowed hard.
She's elegant in that dress, and that smile… she looks stunning. He murmured to himself, remembering the way she cried in their past relationship.
He also saw a post of Veron with a guy—he could tell it was Veron's boyfriend.
Suddenly, his heart began searching for Mariely.
Stop this. He told himself, shaking his head. Still, he kept looking at her photos.
I'm just tired. I really need to sleep. He placed his phone on the table and lay down. But his mind kept drifting back to Mariely.
Damn this! he muttered again, shaking his head.
XXX
"Hey, besh," Veron called out to Mariely.
"Yes, Veron?" she answered.
"They're not here today, right?" Veron asked as she busied herself packing their things.
Mariely nodded. "They said they went on their honeymoon." Mariely grinned.
"Oh wow, they're going to give you a niece or nephew, besh!" Veron laughed.
Mariely joined in with a giggle. "But wasn't their five-day honeymoon not even in the original plan? And wow, it's so expensive there too," she added.
Mariely nodded. "Brother said it was a gift," she said.
Her brows shot up. "From whom?" she asked.
Mariely averted her gaze and hesitated. "From Zean," she replied briefly.
Veron's eyes widened at the name. Mariely just shook her head. "That guy's really generous, huh? Giving them something like that," Veron commented.
"My brother didn't want to accept it at first, but he said he felt bad for Ma'am Becca. And besides, he saw sincerity in Zean's gesture, so they accepted it." Mariely explained.
"I'm not even surprised. That guy really has money. He just doesn't have shame," Veron muttered.
"Come on, I'm hungry. What's important is that they enjoy their trip—and I'm sure they'll come back with a baby," Veron teased with a laugh.
"Yeah, let's go. Lunch?" she asked Mariely.
"Yep." Mariely stood up as well.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated—she received a message from her boyfriend. She frowned and quickly checked it. He had sent screenshots.
She read them immediately, her frown deepening. Frank and her boyfriend were chatting… casually.
Her brows furrowed even more when she saw her name come up.
Her boyfriend asked if she had been with Mariely.
Is he jealous? He has no right to be jealous over Mariely—he left her, the jerk. Veron thought to herself.
Mariely just looked at her silently, chewing the food in her mouth.
"Nothing, Faith," Veron sighed.
"Go on, eat," Mariely urged her.
Veron just smiled and replied to her boyfriend, telling him to just ignore Frank. After that, she finally ate in peace.