"Veron," she called to her friend.
"Yes, besh?" Veron responded.
She rummaged through her bag, searching for her wallet. She was still standing because Edward had borrowed money from the person in front of her.
"Besh." She quickly handed over the five thousand pesos.
Veron's eyebrows furrowed as confusion crossed her face. "What's this for?" she asked.
"For Edward," she replied, finally taking a seat.
"What? Wait—you are paying for him?" Veron's eyebrow shot up, giving her a sharp look.
She chuckled. "No, it was just sent to me," she said. "He's too busy right now," she added casually.
"Really now? If you're lying to me, and that's actually your money, you'll be in big trouble with me," Veron warned.
She only smiled at her friend. "It's from him," she said simply.
"Okay." Veron nodded and put the money away.
Mariely sighed quietly. In truth, it was her own money that she used to pay Edward's debt to her friend. Edward had promised to pay her back little by little once he got his salary—he'd had some sort of emergency, after all.
Their relationship was fine and generally pleasant; the only problem was, Edward was a big spender. He was constantly borrowing money from her friend Veron and sometimes from Andrew. She felt embarrassed at the thought of him not being able to pay his debts, so she often covered for him herself.
Sometimes she even paid for their meals when he came up short on cash. Whenever she thought about it, she could only sigh. She couldn't tell Veron the truth, so she made excuses instead.
That afternoon, Edward came to pick her up.
He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.
"How's your day?" he asked.
"As usual, but it was still nice," she replied, smiling back at him.
"That's good to hear."
Before she knew it, the car was already moving.
She wondered if she should bring up the money she had lent him.
"Edward," she called.
"Yeah?" He looked at her.
"I've already paid off what you owed Veron. When will you be able to pay me back for the other one?" she asked. "It's okay if you can't right now, but I… I also need it, since that was from my savings."
He didn't respond at first. "Ah, okay. I'll let you know once I have money," he said, his tone shifting slightly.
She became worried he might be upset, so she just nodded.
"By the way, I'm going to my sibling's place tonight; I'll be staying there until evening," she said.
"Okay."
"I hope you're not mad at me," she added.
He gave her a meaningful look. "No, it's okay," he said with a smile.
Relieved, she smiled back as they neared the house.
"This is my stop," she said as she got out.
He nodded. She watched him drive away before she went inside, letting out another sigh.
She knocked on the door, which was quickly opened by Nadia, who hugged her tightly.
"Come in," Nadia said cheerfully.
Mariely nodded.
****
"Oh, you're not with Edward today?" Nathan remarked when he noticed she wasn't with her boyfriend.
"Ah, he's tired from work. You know how it is—he's also a teacher, just like me," she said with a small laugh.
Nathan nodded, carrying his one-year-old child in his arms.
"Hello, baby," she greeted happily. "Can I carry him?" she asked.
Laughing, Nathan handed the child over. She joyfully took him into her arms.
"There, see? The baby doesn't cry when Tita Ely's holding him. How sweet," she heard Nathan say.
She just shook her head with a smile, then headed to the kitchen to help Nadia prepare dinner.
Nadia smiled knowingly. "You had Ely watch the baby again, didn't you?" she teased.
"She's only here sometimes, so I take the chance," Nathan laughed.
"You're unbelievable," Nadia chuckled.
"She's not with Edward today. Normally, they're always together when Ely comes over," Nadia noted.
"He said he's busy and tired today, so he just dropped her off," Nathan replied as he set the utensils.
"Is that so? Has Edward paid you back yet? He borrowed quite a lot, and it's almost been three months," Nadia pointed out.
Nathan sighed. "He paid me back—but Ely was the one who actually paid," he admitted.
"What?" Nadia frowned.
"Yeah, but Ely told me it came from Edward."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with borrowing money, as long as it's paid back—especially since we need to budget for the kids," Nadia said.
"He did return it," Nathan assured.
Nadia sighed again. "I don't think Edward is deceiving Ely—he does seem to love your sister. But the thing is, he spends so much on things we don't even know about," she remarked.
"Ely's probably advising him about it," Nathan replied.
"I just hope he listens to her. If that really was Ely's money… I don't even know," Nadia muttered.
"Don't stress about it. Let's eat. I'll go call Faith," Nathan said, trying to lighten the mood.
He saw his sister in the living room, entertaining his son. Mariely really was attentive whenever she was here.
He smiled to himself, knowing she often took care of the baby when she visited.
"El, come on, let's eat," he called.
"Okay, brother. Is it really fine for me to leave Xavier here?" she asked.
"Don't worry, your sister-in-law will feed him his baby food," he replied.
She nodded and followed him. Nathan had also prepared a separate baby table so Nadia could place Xavier's food there. Mariely set the baby down, and Nadia began spoon-feeding him.
Nathan was glad whenever his sister visited. As they chatted, he noticed a bruise on her leg. She still hadn't changed out of her work uniform—her skirt made the swelling visible.
"El, what happened?" he asked, staring at her leg.
Nadia also noticed and looked concerned.
"What happened there, Ely?" she asked.
"This?" Mariely chuckled at their reaction. "Last night—I bumped into the table."
"Put some medicine on it; I thought something serious happened," Nathan said.
Mariely just gave them a small laugh and nodded. She'd be staying the night, so Nathan prepared a guest room for her.
They will be walking together tomorrow morning—he missed those days when he always dropped her off.
For now, his focus was on working hard, since he and Nadia had agreed that she would return to work once their eldest child was a little older. Nadia wanted to be hands-on in raising their kids.
Nathan was fine being the main breadwinner for now. Saving and budgeting was important to him—he had a family to provide for.
He was also happy whenever their parents visited. He always made sure to check on his sister, and she seemed happy with her life.
So, he didn't worry too much—at least, not yet.