** Short update. Unedited.

They are really brothers. That's why... She stopped herself.

"I came back to take care of mom and make sure she gets everything that she needs. What I didn't know is that I am sending my brother to his final resting place. My plan was to situate my mom and my youngest brother then go back to the US since my life and my job was there at that time. A week before I left to go back to the states, my Mom ended her life. I was mad, furious, devastated and... and frustrated... all at the same time. I feel like I am about to explode, I was blaming myself for not being with her, for having so many misgivings, shortcomings. I neglected her subconsciously because I was neglected by her. I should have been there for her, you know. I should have been there for Vinny and for Aleck, too. But I was so hurt that she chose the life that she had and dragged me along with it. I should have stayed with her but I didn't. I chose to run away from it... from her." He bowed down and sniffed.

"I should have been with her and maybe if I did, I could have had the chance to send her to a mental facility to get treated. If I did stay, my mom shouldn't have suffered so much. Maybe we could have treated her bipolar and her tendency to harm herself not just to get attention but ending her life may not have happened. If I had stayed, Vinny should still be alive. And if I had stayed... You didn't get caught in the middle of it." His shoulder shook as he cried it out. Maine was listening to him intently and crying quietly with him and for him.

"Aling Alita, Molly's mom had been my mother's best friend since she moved to the housing area near the tenement, she had been my mother's confidant and crying shoulder. My mom is a great woman. She's kind and helpful. You know what, we didn't even know how her mental illness started." Alden took another deep breath. Maine is still staring at him quietly, listening and crying.

So many things are playing in her head, she can't help but cry. She may be upset with him, mind you, she is not mad at him, it's more like she's cut between annoyed and frustrated but more on the irritated side and that's what makes her upset with him.

"You see, I made a promise to my mother that I will take care of the person that ended my brother's life because subconsciously, I am blaming myself for not taking care of her. I made her a promise that I will make sure the person who did it will live a miserable life, like her, but I was wrong. I know that now." He gritted his teeth. Maine felt the anger and pain in every word he uttered. She wants to say something but she's too afraid to open her mouth.

"I have all the intentions to do everything in my power to bring that person to her knees and beg for my mercy. I have all the pain and hurt in my pocket to keep me fueled and execute my plans. But things changed. I don't know how and I don't know when, but every time I see her I get angrier and angrier not because she caused me to be angry but because I get too worried for her. Because... I had fallen for her." He continued on. He cleared his throat, and this time he wiped his tears.

"I have all the time and chances to get even with her, but I didn't. I couldn't." Looking her straight in the eye. "I can easily make it look like an accident, but for what? Just like the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But the thing is, I am so taken by her that I can not hurt her physically. I can't hurt you, coz I hurt myself more." He chuckled between tears.

"I wasn't sure then if I was just angry or irate at her, but the harsh reality was I am so worried every time I see her wearing that fire suit. I get so concerned and distraught at the same time and I would get this queasy, nauseous feeling at the pit of my stomach every time she goes into a burning building or house, not because she's not good at what she does, because she is very good and I can't concentrate on what I need to do. What I feared most is that she may not come out alive, and that really makes me anxious and perturbed." He took another deep breath to clear his chest and paused for a while. He scooted a little towards her and reached for her hand, he gently held it and started playing with it.

"The teenager that fell off that ledge some four, almost five years ago, was my brother, Vinny. I was so angry with you. My mom died because of extreme sadness and that's because of you. I made a promise to her that I will hurt you the same way you hurt her, but I can't. I was led to believe that you did push Vinny off that ledge and I intend to do the same to you but my heart is constantly arguing with my mind." He cried more. This time he is holding both of her hands, tight. As if his life depended on it.

"Alden..." Maine wasn't able to utter another word except for his name as he shook his head.

"Let me finish, please." He said sobbing.

"I know I can't hurt you the way I thought you hurt Vinny, so I decided to take another route. I planned to meddle with your adoption. I know it will hurt you so much if you lose Periwinkle, because I know how much you love her. I saw it in your eyes that night you saved her." Maine sat up straight and tried to take her hand from him but he held her hands tighter to stop her from saying or doing something. "Let me finish, please." He begged again.

"I want it all out before you say a word or I will lose everything I want to tell you." He looked her straight in the eye in tears, begging her to make him say everything. She nodded.

Alden smiled bitterly as he saw a different emotion from her eyes, anger... pure, unadulterated, undiluted anger. He can't blame her.

"Vinny's best friend showed up just in time for me to execute my plan. I know it's evil. I know it's unforgivable and it's down right low handed. He shed a lot of light on the matter. How it started who started it and why you got involved." He stared at her eyes. He can see that the anger is slowly fading out. He smiled a bitter smile, inwardly.

"His three best friends knew how much he loves motorcycles, especially the kind that he saw that day, your motorcycle. Before that, he's been following this girl, a five times Motocross Grand Prix champion. He always talks about how this girl could fly though those obstacles as if she was skating on ice, flawlessly, fearlessly with suave and finesse but never loses her femininity." He smiled wholeheartedly.

Maine's heart skipped a beat seeing him smile with pure happiness. She panicked and pulled her hands away from him. Unfortunately, he did not let go of it, instead, he put them together and held it tighter. She felt the warmth from his hands, she relaxed.

"Vinny quit school because he needs to help my Mom. These are the things I didn't know were happening. The whole time I was abroad, sending money as much as I can to help out financially since Wilfred left my mom for another woman. I found out another thing about him that my anger went away in a heartbeat and gave space to what I am feeling now. Utoy and Egay told me it was all an accident. They heard and saw everything." He took another deep breath and released the air from his lung, slowly. This time, he felt much, much lighter.

"They both told me that the owner of the bike made sure that he was safe. She made a promise to him that as soon he gets off that ledge, she will let him drive it around anytime he wants too. Utoy said that she and Vinny became friends instantly in that very short time. He said..." He choked up a bit.

"He said, Vinny slipped and fell as he was trying to get off the ledge. He also said that she made sure that Vinny gets comfortable while waiting for the ambulance. Sonia said, Vinny called the lady Ate and apologized to her. We may not have realized it before, but none of us really said thank you to her. She paid for the hospital bills, the whole funeral service and even the spot in the cemetery where I buried both Vinny and my Mom." He paused for a bit and lovingly stared at Maine's eyes.

Maine pulled back a bit and sat straight. She had never seen that look from Alden since day one. She was kind of taken back and scared, good scared. If she's not mistaken, she sees love and admiration from his eyes? For what? He is actually telling her story from her past that she had locked away and doesn't have any intentions of opening it ever, it hurts.

Him, telling her all these made her heart constrict and feel guiltier than ever. Now she knows why he sees anger in him every time they come face to face each other at work. Now she knows why he has those creepy remarks about death every time they cross paths.

The moment that she has been avoiding for more than four years is now in front of her. What will she do? She feels a bit edgy. If earlier she wanted to protest, now she can't. She is at his mercy, she looked down.

"I'm sorry." She said. She can't look him straight in the eye, she's afraid to see the anger in his eyes. She feared that if she looked him in the eye, she would not see anything in it but hatred. She'd rather remember the look of love and admiration from those eyes a while ago.

"I didn't mean it to happen. I should have just let him take my bike. I should have just let go of the only thing in the world that kept me alive in the past." She is crying now, like a hard balled cry. She felt Alden came closer to her. She doesn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Is all she could say. The ghost of her past is now here to haunt her. "I know my sorry won't bring Alvin and your mom back, but I hope it can at least ease some pain." Maine's not sure if she's making sense. Who is she kidding? No one has the ability or the power to ease all pain away with just a single sorry. Who is she kidding?

Alden said so himself and somehow he over emphasized that he wants revenge. And her being alone with him right now, is one sign that he is so close on getting it.

She stopped crying for a bit and looked up at him. She remembered him saying sorry in the beginning and something about the woman he cared for. And she just confessed to killing his brother. What about Periwinkle? Why did he say he meddled in it? Where does she fit into this?

Alden smiled upon seeing the confusion on her demeanor. With tears on both of their eyes, he chuckled. She furrowed her brows. Maybe she's wondering why he's chuckling when she's so troubled and fearing for her life now, since he's holding her hands tight, she can't run. He said so himself, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

"Are you going to kill me like I killed your brother?" She asked. He furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't move nor say a word for a moment, then he smiled. Oh shit! Am I going to die? Might as well.

She is giving up now. She can't have a happy life no matter how hard she tried. She has money, but she can't even buy a single ounce of happiness with it. So, what's the use?

"B-before you do things to me, can I please call my lawyer?" He tilted his head, maybe wondering what she's talking about. "I'm tired of living anyway." She said as she looked around her room. Alden still holds her hands.

"Maine..." She put her hand out to silence him. He obliged.

"I have all this money in the world but I can't buy a bit of happiness. I can't even make my parents stay married to each, I wasn't able to save Alvin's life, and now, I can't give Periwinkle the life I never had. So, if you want to take your revenge on me, I won't complain, escape or fight you, just let me call my lawyer and have all my assets transferred to her so she can have a better life when she gets older." Maine burst crying. She can't hold it anymore. She's scared, she's hopeless and she's falling in love. How great that is?

A long silence enveloped them. She can hear a pin dropped, if there is one, because of this extreme silence covering them. The weird thing about the stillness of the room is that she feels comfortable and content. She's sad but she feels safe. She felt safe in the presence of a man seeking revenge for his loved ones death. Isn't that weird?

The man wanted revenge for the death of two loved ones is now in her room, alone with her. Any moment he could snap and just pounce on her and kill her and she's feeling safe with him? That is weird... scary, but comfortably weird.

"Maine, I am not going to harm you and you don't need to call your lawyer." She looked at him like he's crazy. He laughed, his dimple showed. Oh, dear. Her heart went on a rampage. Oh for the love of God, Maine! Now she knows, she is in big, big, huge trouble.

"Why?" She asked, wondering why on earth he's telling her this.

"You don't have to adopt Periwinkle."

__________

End of TPA 23: No Adoption

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 ~ 💖

05.01.20

The Periwinkle Affair
©All Rights Reserved
August 26, 2019