Road Trip Day 24:
Location: Davao City

Alice Flonne's POV:

"Umm...hello...Mr. Diamla, may I come in?"

"Yes, you may."

Slowly, the door is opened to show who will be Mr. Diamla's visitor for today: it's his daughter Azmina.

"Huh?! Sweetie...i-is that you?!" Muhammad quickly stands up and approaches his daughter. "I-i've been looking for you for a long time!"

"Yes, dad. I'm such a big jerk for running away from you." Azmina quickly hugs her father in return. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, dad."

There was no response from him...as he hugs Azmina back. I thought that her problem was already solved from the start...so we're about to put the lasagne into the corporate table and exit the room to leave them for some private time...

"Come on, guys. Let's go." I smiled to my friends. "Let them have this moment."

"Hey, wait!"

Azmina then hold my hand, preventing me to go. I look at her and I saw her smiling...

"Hehehe! Don't go, Alice! I want you...all of you to be introduced to my dad."

"Oh! Hehehe! Okay!"

Azmina guided all of us into our respective seats...then introduces us one by one to her father...

"And these people are the one's who helped me to go back to you." Azmima concluded. "And as a gift, they have made something special for you."

Then, Lexi and I turned over our lasagne to Muhammad...

"Oh! Thank you! May Allah bless you all." Muhammad gratefully accepted our dish. "Come, let's share the blessings you have just make."

Everybody take their spoons and grab a bite of our bacon and cheese lasagne. Hmm? You're asking me what does it taste like? Okay...let's see...of course, it's cheesy! But...if you munch it further...ehehehe...you can taste that the tanginess from the bacon, as if you're dipping a real bacon strips into a big bowl of mozzarella cheese. Hehehe!

"So...umm...dad, what happened to the restaurant that is losing sales?" Azmina then asks her father.

"I decided to close it down, sweetie."

"Oh...I see..." Azmina lowered her head in disappointment.

"Look, sweetie. I'm sorry, I really don't have any choice." Muhammad explains his side. "I actually look upon your suggestion to make partnerships with other investors...but I found out that even we seek help from them...it will not regain all the profits that we lost in that restaurant...so I don't have any choice but to shut it down."

"Okay...I understand. It seems that doesn't work at all." Azmina then smiles a bit. "But...dad, can I ask of you. Why do you always reject my suggestions for your business? I'm your heir and one day I will following your footsteps...just tell me why and...umm...I will get over this."

Muhammad takes a deep sigh...before he revealed his true reason for this...

"Azmina...my child. I just wanted to protect you. The world which you are about to step in is a volatile one. Our decisions, though we know they are right, will be just swept away. There are people who didn't care about our compassion for them because they are jealous that we're at the top of the hierarchy. That's when greed overran them and plots something sinister against us. Azmina...I'm sorry that I always rejected you but...it's for your own good...for your own safety...I want to protect you, sweetie."

Tears fell from Azmina's eyes...she finally realized why Muhammad is doing this...for he loves his daughter so much.

"I'm so sorry, dad...sniff...I didn't know...sniff...all of this...sniff..." Azmina hugged her father very tightly. "I became angry at you...sniff...I ran away from you...sniff...but...I didn't see...sniff...that you're doing this...because you love me..sniff..."

"Don't worry, sweetie. It's alright." Muhammad comforted her weeping child. "What matters now is your safe and sound."

In the end, Azmina decided to stay close to her father for awhile...since there are threats to their businesses, as well as their family.

"...sigh...it's very hard to separate from you, guys. I mean I had lots of fun out there." Azmina talks to us as we about to depart from the hotel tower. "But just in case, I need some dose of your...ehehehe...culinary creativity, would you mind to give you my phone number? Just keep it as a secret, okay?"

"Sure, Azmina!" I'm the one who accepted the offer. "I can't wait to talk to you again!"

Azmina and I then exchanged our phone numbers to each other, this signifies...along with Catherine, James, Rhizza, Peter...and my older brother Kyle...she will be always be connected to me...and my food truck buddies! Hehehe!

"Milady, thank you for taking care of my daughter." Muhammad thanked me. "It seems that she's ever energetic since she befriended all of you."

"Hehehe! Of course, sir! I mean I didn't know that she cooks so well and has the ability to become a manager!" I testify about his daughter's skills. "She even gave us an idea that make our sales skyrocketed!"

"Hehehe! That's what my daughter can do! I'm really sure that she will become what she wants someda-uuugh!!!!"

"BOOOOM!!!!!"

Our lively conversation was violently abrupted when an explosion broke out...sending me...and all of us to the ground...as I began to lose consciousness...I heard volleys of deafening gunfire around us...then I say to myself...

"What's...going...on...."

A couple of hours later,

As I become aware of my surroundings again, I hear the opposite of what had just happened earlier. Instead of gunfire...I heard...chirping birds, leaves and twigs rustling, waters flowing, and some bugs crawling upon my skin...wait, bugs?!?!

"EEEEEK!!!!!" I quickly got up and swipe all of the bugs that I felt around my body. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GROSS!!! EEEEK!!!!"

"He-hey! Calm down! They're not poisonous!"

That voice stopped me from my panics...that voice...is that...my other older brother...Jake?!?!

"Ja-Jake...is that...really you?"

But he didn't reply to my question. Instead, he turned his back and tried to run, repeating the same scene as my brother Kyle. But...I quickly got up, get ahead of him...and slapped his face very hard.

"SLAAAAP!!!!"

"DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME, JAKE!!!" My anger overran me that I shouted at him hard. "YOU'RE NOT THE JAKE I USED TO KNOW! YOU'RE STRONG! YOU NEVER RUN AWAY!"

"Bu...bu-but...I'm a rebel now..."

Then I hug him very tightly...and utter...almost the same words that I tell to Kyle.

"I don't care. If you're protecting what is right for you, that's fine with me...and that wouldn't stop me from calling you my brother."

"Thank you...thank you, Alice...my precious little sister."

We looked at one another and smiled...I found my other brother...Jake Alexander Molina...as I try to know where I am now...wait! Where do I am now?

"Umm...Kuya Jake...can you tell me where am I now? Where are my friends? What happened?!"

"Alice, your friends are safe now and taking a rest." Jake pats my shoulder to assure me. "But we should talking about your questions back at my camp."

"Huh? Your...camp?!"