**Short update. Unedited. 

He knocked on the door, twice. Nobody answered. He waits for a while just in case she is barely getting to the door.

"Eherm!" A voice came from behind him.

"Molly! Where's Periwinkle?" He asked. She smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Relax, Kuya. Nobody will get her, and besides, she's with her Uncles." She said, shaking her head. "Paranoid much?" She teased more. He chuckled. She keyed in the code for him to open it.

"She's in her bedroom to the right. I texted you her code for future uses." She said, then she left, just as quickly as she arrived. He just shook his head and chuckled quietly.

He felt his knee weakening. It took him a while before he could actually make a first step to go inside her house. He took a deep breath before he locked the door. Then another deep breath when he made his way to the living room.

It"s the door on the right.

It"s the door on the right.

It"s the door on the right.

It"s the door on the right.

He continued chanting on. He can't contain himself, he's nervous. His heart is pounding so hard, it seems like it wants to jump out of his throat.

"Damn! You're a firefighter for crying out loud, Alden!" He scolded himself.

"Maine." No answer. He called again.

"Maine." Nothing. It was a complete silence and it is such an eerie silence.

He stopped at a sight of a white, rectangular something on the floor near the steps that caught his attention. He picked it up and checked it. A few words caught his curiosity before he could put it down. He can't help himself, he read it. He was stupefied at what he read.

"So these are the adoption specifics. No wonder Maine is always distraught and seems like her mind is always occupied by something." Alden got more infuriated at himself. "You're an asshole, dude!" He scolded himself. Maybe that's the reason why he sees Maine always staring at nothing. He closed his eyes, he is now seething with anger at himself, more than ever.

He remembered during those times, he was a jerk to her, he was an asshole and he was being difficult towards her. He was harassing her to the point of wanting her so bad, he kissed her. Well, the kiss was not part of his plan, it just happened. She's so tempting and he can't resist her.

He can't control himself whenever she's in front of him or around him and they are breathing the same air. The exchange of bickers between them is so good that he wants to take her home, he can't stop staring at her lips.

He was wondering how it tastes and feels like to kiss it, so he kissed her and he will kiss her some more. He shook his head to shake off the thoughts of how soft and sweet her lips are.

He forced himself to get his attention back to the letter only to see the date on it. All this time that he's giving her a hard time this is what she was going through?

"You are one flipping ass, jerk face!" He yelled at himself. Yes, he was and he may continue doing it if not because of his change of heart and the thing that he learned.

He took a deep breath before he climbed up on a 9 steps staircase that leads to the bedrooms. A plan formed in his head. He will make things right for her, for Periwinkle and for him. He will do anything and everything he can even if it takes him a lifetime to be forgiven by her.

He got to the top flight. He aimed for the door on the right, then he stopped.

"Damn! Which one?" He was standing in front, between two doors, one on the right of the stairs and one to the far right of it, which means one his right and one on his left. Which one? He thought.

"Oh just open each door, dumb ass!" He mumbled. How hard could it be to find out which one?

You see, Alden is the smartest student in his class. Do you think he won't get scholarships in the US if he's not? But at the moment, he is dumbest of all the dumb. At least, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne are just dumb and dumber. Well, I guess he's the third person in the group.

He opened the one door closest to the stairs, the one on his right. It was adorn in a Frozen theme with Elsa and Ana decals on the wall and Sofia the First. Her pillowcases and bed covers periwinkle flowers in. He figured it was Periwinkle's bedroom.

He stayed there for a bit and stared in awe at how pampered and spoiled Periwinkle is. He smiled at himself and shook his head. Was I wrong? He left and closed the door.

He then went to the other door. No time to waste. His mind said.

He opened it slowly and peaked in. It's somewhat dark inside. Only a little light form the sun, whatever light is left to it, coming from outside of the window illuminates the room. Well, it's more like the light shines right where the bed is.

He felt a tight squeeze in his heart when he saw Maine curled up in a ball, under the blanket. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Maine." He called out her name, but came as a whisper. As if on cue she looked up to face him and he was petrified where he was at.

He saw Maine's eyes are wide open, beautiful and captivating but sad. She's such a goddess. What gets him more is that, not only is it sad, her eyes felt like it was drowning in tears and extreme emptiness to the point of despair and desolation. His heart aches for her, to think he added on to her misery and worries.

You are more than an asshole and a douche bag. He's getting the hang of scolding himself this way. Is he going crazy? Yes and no, but it is all for Maine. He is going insane for her.

He rushed to her side, scooped her up and just hugged her tight but full of gentleness. He wanted to cry himself. He was an egotistical, arrogant son of a... He hated himself, to say the least.

"I'm so sorry, Maine." He whispered. His eyes are full of tears, too. "I am so, so sorry." He repeated.

Well, he should be sorry. Maine just stayed limp, then he heard her sobs. He wasn't sure since these are all new to him, but it seems that she's more in pain than he is. By the sounds of her sobs, it sounds like years of heartaches and frustrations are killing her.

"I'm so sorry, Maine." It is all he could say. As if it is the only word he learned through the years from kindergarten. "Please, forgive me." He added. Finally, a new set of words came out of him. He wiped the tears from her face with his fingers while holding her close to him.

"W-why are you a-asking for f-forgiveness?" She asked in between sobs. "W-why are you here?" She added followed by a hiccup. He pulled himself a little bit away from her and stared at her with so much gentleness. Maine blinked a few times wondering why he's in her bedroom.

"Why are you crying?" Maine gently asked. Alden almost choked upon hearing the worry and tenderness in her voice.

How could this woman be so loving and gentle after all that he had done to her, knowingly or unknowingly, and yet, remained so sweet.

"I am just happy to see you." He replied instead. Maine blinked again. He chuckled in between tears.

"Why are you here and why are you apologizing?" She asked after she finally gathered herself. "Why are you crying?" She asked with furrowed brows. He smiled this time at her questions and facial expression. For him, it is the cutest expression he had ever seen from her.

"First off, you need to stop being so cute coz I can not concentrate." Even with tears he chuckled, then cleared his throat. "I need to talk to you and apologize for everything I did, that's why I'm here." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to listen to everything I tell you. No rebuttals, no rebukes, no questions, no comments, no reactions, just listen to me first, please." He gave her pleading eyes.

"Okay." She replied slightly nodding.

"When I get done telling you everything, then you can say or do whatever you want to me. You can either forgive me or hurt, I don't care. I am at your mercy." He said. Maine knotted her forehead but did not say a word. She did not understand what he was saying, let alone why is he here in her room, but she wants to hear what he'll say.

She pulled herself to sit up straight then leaned her back on the headboard facing him. She pulled one of the pillows and put it on her lap and rested her arms and hand on top of it.

"You can take your shoes off and be comfortable." She told Alden. He tilted his head, he did not understand what she's implying. "It seems like it's going to be a long story, might as well make yourself comfortable." She explained. Alden doesn't know if she is joking or she's just being hospitable, but he did what she said anyway.

He gently kicked his shoes off then faced her, putting his whole left leg on the bed, hiding his foot under his right leg hanging on the side of the bed.

"Thank you." He said. She just nodded.

"Go on. I'm listening." She urged.

He doesn't know when and how to start but he has to come clean and tell her everything he knows then and the reality he found out now and more. He decided to start from the very beginning by introducing himself.

"My name is Engr. Alden Benitez Richards. I am the eldest son of Nancy Benitez and Colt Richards. My parents are separated and both are with their significant others, well, kind of. My Dad married his second wife, socialite Olivia Munzon-Richards and has a daughter, my half-sister, Alicia Zen Richards. My mother lived with then partner Wilfred Jimenez and had two sons, Alvin Benitez Jimenez and Aleck Benitez Jimenez." Alden paused a bit to see Maine's facial expression.

She heard that name before. She can not forget that name even in the next life. They're brothers? She thought.

Alden was about to pull her closer but she stopped him. He needs to finish his story or she will not give him a chance to do it some other time. He took a deep breath and went on.

"I left the Philippines when I was at the end of my senior year in high school to get away from my obligation to my mother and my brother and to prove to my father that I am not my mother. I came back to make amends with my mom before I graduated from college but was almost killed. Good thing there were still good Samaritan women that helped me and I was taken to the hospital as soon as possible. And I know, I remembered it, one of them was you." She tilted her head to the side. He smiled at her. Her heart skipped a beat. She knows she's turning red now because she is feeling the coming up.

He smiled at her. He was hoping she'd recognize him since he is really telling her that he knows who she is now and who she was back then for him.

"I was mugged at a part of the city that no one dared to be at any time of the day or night. I was picking up my mother from one of her drinking buddies when I got held up and beaten up." He took a deep breath and bowed a little to get more courage from himself to get going. He wants to kiss her, that's all he had in his mind.

"After a month of being in the hospital, recuperating from a broken ribs and a hairline fracture in my skull, I left the country right away. I stayed to finish whatever was left on my course. The downside was I had to live on my own till four years ago when I got a call from my Mom that my brother was killed." Maine's tears are flowing freely like a waterfall. She now realized why Alden is always insinuating death. It is not for him, it is for her.

When she heard about the death of his mother, it was not just a coincidence that the same exact names and situation could happen to two different people at the same time, it was one the same. She is now sure.

They are really brothers. That's why...

__________
End of TPA 22: They're Brothers

Thank you for reading the chapter. Please leave your thoughts, comments or just say Hi. Don't forget to tap the 🌟 to vote, and let's share the story to your friends for some good vibes. CTTO Media used.

💖 ~ Ms J ~ 💖
05.21.20

The Periwinkle Affair
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August 26, 2019