“PRETENDING is when we act as if something is real, even when it’s not the case. It can be seen as a form of deception, akin to lying, where we fool not only others, but sometimes ourselves as well. This often occurs when we put on a facade of happiness, even though deep down, we may be feeling miserable.”

 ***

Eight years ago . . .

Jimhuesh had just returned home from school earlier than usual when he unexpectedly overheard his parents engaged in a heated argument. Their voices reverberated through the closed door, making it impossible to ignore. This was the first time Jimhuesh had encountered such a confrontation between them, and it felt more substantial than a typical lovers’ quarrel.

Intrigued and concerned, he leaned closer to the door. “We’ve discussed this before, Ronaldo! We must maintain the facade of a perfect, happy family. We don’t need this drama, and that’s final!”

Ronaldo’s voice, however, carried a different sentiment. “But this isn’t real! Aren’t you tired of pretending? We don’t even love each other!”

Jimhuesh felt an unfamiliar unease wash over him. Confusion clouded his thoughts, and he grappled with the disconcerting reality of his parents’ strained relationship.

“What harm is there in pretending if it brings happiness to my son? I’ll gladly be a liar for the rest of my life if it means Jim is content! You have no right to challenge me, given everything you owe me!”

Jimhuesh’s mind whirled with confusion and anxiety. What are they talking about? What is my mom saying? His heart ached, his breath grew shallow, his eyes clouded with distress, and his fists clenched tightly. That was the day when his affection for his parents began to morph into bitterness.

Instead of confronting them, he retreated silently to his room. The last words he caught were his father’s insistence, “But Jimhuesh deserves to know the truth!” countered by his mother’s firm response, “That’s a decision I will make, not you.”

As the day transitioned into a new one, Jimhuesh feigned ignorance, masking his indifference to his parents’ strained relationship. He chose to mimic their facade of love, biding his time to have the last laugh.

He patiently waited for his parents to come clean, but two years slipped by, his hope faded, wondering why he clung to it, especially after his mother, Jennifer, declared her commitment to perpetuating the lie for his happiness.

When Jimhuesh reached sixteen years old, Jennifer broached the topic of considering her friend’s daughter, Kassandra, not just as a friend but as a potential romantic interest. Maintaining the act of a loving son eager to make his mother happy, he reluctantly agreed. Yet, this time, he harbored a secret plan.

 ~

“I’m surprised you agreed to this, Sandy,” Jimhuesh remarked.

Kassandra took a slow sip of her strawberry milkshake before responding, “Well, I was curious why you agreed in the first place. I’m here to find out.”

“I have a favor to ask of you.”

Kassandra, with a playful glint in her eyes, crossed her legs and chuckled. “Oh, this is getting interesting. I wonder what favor would lead you to consider having dates with me, and I’m eager to know what I stand to gain from all of this.”

He smirked. “Fair enough. What do you want?”

“I want you to take me to Paris.”

“Sure, I’ll take you to Paris once the school year ends. Is that all you want?” He knew that fulfilling her dream of becoming a model was within his means.

She beamed with delight. “That’s all I want. I sent my modeling portfolio to several castings in Paris, and I received positive responses from all of them. Can you even imagine how overjoyed I was when I checked my email?”

She heaved a sigh of satisfaction and continued enthusiastically, “Finally, my dream is on the verge of becoming a reality!” However, her expression suddenly shifted to one of sadness. “But my mom has no idea about this, and she doesn’t need to know, especially since my dad has already given me the green light. So, please, promise me you won’t breathe a word to your mom because I’m certain she’ll tell mine, and that would spell disaster, game over.”

He smiled reassuringly. “You can trust me; I’m not one to blab. So, it’s a deal. My favor aligns perfectly with your goal. Be my girlfriend.”

She laughed. “Are you finally succumbing to my irresistible charm? Though you should know, you’re not exactly my type.”

He made a face. “Trust me, you’re not my type either. Let’s not get carried away. After a month of casual dating, I want us to put on a convincing act of being madly in love with each other.”

Kassandra’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you serious? That’s . . . well, it’s kind of gross! Why on earth would we even--”

“No questions. Are you on board or not? Your dream is on the line, and you wouldn’t want to pass up this opportunity. So, what’s your answer?”

With a sigh, she replied, “Okay . . . babe.”

They both cringed and then burst into laughter. Then, Kassandra remarked, “We definitely need to figure out how to be convincing, or else, no one’s going to buy that we’re head over heels for each other.”

 ~

After a month of casual dating, Jimhuesh felt it was time to break the news to their parents that they were finally in a committed relationship. Their faux romance continued for a year, and by the time they reached the age of 18, they were even engaged. With their parents inquiring about wedding plans, his carefully laid plan was set to unfold. It was time to reveal to his parents that he and Kassandra had never been in a genuine relationship.

“What are you saying, Jim? What do you mean by fake?” Jennifer asked calmly.

“I mean exactly that, Mom. Our relationship was as fake as our family.”

She placed her hands on his arms, her expression filled with confusion. “No, why would you think our family is fake?”

He scoffed. “Mom, can we please drop the act? It’s time to stop pretending. We’ve all been living a lie. You were never in love with Dad, just as he was never in love with you.”

Jennifer’s hands moved to cup his face, trembling as her eyes welled up with tears. “How . . . ?”

He gently pulled away, taking a step back. “Four years ago . . . I overheard you and Dad arguing. You were never in love with each other. Do you have any idea what it’s like to discover that the perfect family I thought we had was nothing but a facade? It felt like my entire existence was also a lie!”

“No, baby . . .” She tried to console her son, who was now in tears, but Jimhuesh pushed her hands away. She covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m so sorry, you shouldn’t have had to hear that. It must have been incredibly difficult for you. Why didn’t you tell me? You acted like everything was okay. I can’t imagine how . . . how you managed to keep it bottled up for so long. Four years? I’m so sorry, Jim.”

“Why couldn’t you have been honest with me, Mom? Dad wanted to tell me the truth, but you . . .”

“You mean everything to me, Jim. Your happiness is what matters most. I wanted to preserve that happiness you had. I’m deeply sorry for not being truthful, but if I could go back, I would make the same choice. I wouldn’t take away your joy. That’s the depth of my love for you. I’d continue with the lie if it means keeping you happy.”

He let out a frustrated huff, struggling to fathom how his mother could show no remorse. “Love me? I find that hard to believe. What if you and Dad were merely pretending to love me? You made me believe your love for each other was real when it wasn’t. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if you’re about to tell me that we were just playing a role as a family and that the affection you’ve shown me was also a sham.”

 He shook his head in disbelief. “What kind of family are we really? I can’t grasp why you married Dad and had me if you didn’t love each other. What does love even mean? Is it even real? Frankly, I doubt it.”

“Jim, love is real. Love means wishing only for that person’s happiness. I want your happiness because I love you. Ronaldo loves you too. Even though he’s not your biological father, his love for you is genuine. Please don’t doubt our love for you; it’s breaking my heart.”

Jimhuesh’s brows furrowed deeply. “What? Dad isn’t my real dad?”

There was a prolonged silence before Jennifer replied, her voice trembling, “Yes. . . . When you were younger, you used to ask me about your father . . . but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you that he had long passed away. I didn’t want you to be sad. I wanted you to have a complete family.” She looked down and breathed heavily. “That’s when I met Ronaldo . . . when I was in Dubai. . . . I thought it was a good idea to have someone play the role of my husband. So, I married him and introduced him to you as your father who had just returned from overseas.”

She also shared how Jimhuesh’s grandfather, Alberto, reacted strongly to this decision, just as he did when he found out about her pregnancy with Jimmuel, Jimhuesh’s biological father, whom Alberto had never met before. As a result, he had sent her to Dubai to hide her pregnancy. After giving birth to Jimhuesh, she married Jimmuel without Alberto’s knowledge. However, when he found out, he disowned her and did not allow her to return to the Philippines even after Jimmuel’s passing.

After two years, Alberto finally accepted Jennifer and Jimhuesh. This was because Jennifer was the only heir to GMC. To avoid any scandalous issues regarding her past whereabouts, they made it look like she had moved abroad to meet her fiancé and settle down. Alberto announced Jennifer’s return to the Philippines and her succession into his position while her husband stayed behind.

When Jennifer introduced Ronaldo as her husband a few years later, it wasn’t complicated since no one knew who her husband was except for Alberto. Initially, Alberto had disdain for Ronaldo but later approved his capability to have a position in the company. That was how the family formed.

Jimhuesh was deeply affected by these revelations that came to light. He felt a great deal of sadness at the realization that his biological father, Jimmuel, had been forgotten and replaced with a stranger. However, he understood that there was no point in blaming himself, his mother, or anyone else for the lies he had been told. The past was unchangeable, and dwelling on it would not do any good. Despite everything, he considered Ronaldo his father and was grateful to him for everything he had done.

 ~

Present day . . .

“That’s why I despise liars. They seem to think it’s acceptable,” Jimhuesh muttered.

Senthie responded with a warm smile. “Thank you for sharing something so personal, even though we’re not exactly close.”

He chuckled. “I’m not sure why I did it, but something about you made me trust you. As I mentioned earlier, you remind me of Rychie.”

She rolled her eyes and then giggled. “How did you two become best friends?”

Jimhuesh explained that they had known each other since childhood and that Rychie had been like a big brother to him. Senthie looked surprised when he mentioned that Rychie was four years older than him.

“You mean you’re only twenty-two?” she asked.

“You guessed it right.”

She laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “You’re so young! You’re even younger than me! I never expected the Vice President of GMC to be just twenty-two years old!”

He shrugged modestly. “Well, I suppose that’s a testament to my competence.”

A moment of silence passed before Senthie broke it with a question, her tone gentle, “Can I ask you something personal again?”

Jimhuesh hesitated briefly, then nodded, feeling a nervous pang in his chest. Sharing personal matters with someone other than Rychie wasn’t his usual practice, but there was something about her that compelled him to open up.

Senthie locked eyes with him, as if delving into his soul, and inquired, “Do you still carry the pain? Have you forgiven your parents?”

He couldn’t provide an immediate response; he was unsure of what to say. Thankfully, she seemed to sense his hesitation and steered the conversation in a different direction.

“My father is a liar too,” she confessed, her smile wide but tinged with a hint of sadness, evident in the dimness of her eyes. “He bro--”

She was interrupted by the ringtone of her phone. “Sorry, it’s my alarm,” she explained, retrieving her phone from her purse and silencing it as she checked the screen. “Oh! Look at the time! It’s already 10! I better get going.”

He furrowed his brows. “What’s the alarm for?”

“I have a curfew for myself,” she replied with a laugh. “Can I go now?”

“Fascinating.” He chuckled. “Fine, I understand. I’ll walk you to your studio, then.” As they began to walk, he added, “By the way, my mom will be visiting you tomorrow to discuss the design for her gown.”