Merry Christmas Everyone!🎅❤
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NATASHA

I'm currently busy with my paper work when my cellphone rings. I decided to stop for a while and took my cellphone. I looked at the caller, and seeing that it's Ms. Javier. I'll decide to answer it.

"What is it?" I answered using my monotone voice. She paused for a while to talk and shook the word that spit out from her mouth, causing me to gasp and become emotional.

"Miss. She's awake."

I held my breath, and all I could hear was my own heartbeat. Oh my gosh, did I hear it right? She's awake? My baby is already awake. Should I go to her? Should I embrace her? But what if she's mad at me? What if she doesn't want to see me? What if-what if... A lot of what if's stuck in my mind right now; I don't know what I'm going to do.

"Miss? Are you still there?" I got startled when Ms. Javier talked on the other line.

"Yeah, is she okay now? What is she doing right now?" I can't help but to get nervous. Damn it.

"She's okay, Miss and she's talking to Alex, and she's looking for you. Are you coming here?" I'm hesitant to answer for a while. I took a deep breath and talked.

"Do I need to? I mean, what if she is mad at me?" This is my first time stuttering. The other line was silent for a while.

"Miss, don't overthink, okay? Gabrielle is not like that; in fact, she said she missed you, so if I were you, you would come here." I took a deep breath before deciding to go for peace of mind.

Ugh, tsk fine, total, I miss her too.

"Okay, I'll be there in 20 minutes." She said okay, so I hung up.

I immediately put my things away, and I checked the time on my wristwatch; I saw that it was 5 pm, so I decided to hurry. It's almost evening, and there aren't many people at the university. It took me 10 minutes, and I'm now heading out to the parking lot. I put my things in the car as soon as I arrived and immediately drove the car to the hospital.

It was only about ten minutes drive when I arrived. I immediately went straight to the room number where she was confined now for 3 weeks, which is on the 3rd floor. When I arrived, I immediately knocked on the door. The door opened, and it was Ms. Javier.

"Ikaw pala miss, come in." I nodded at her in response and immediately went inside. Ms. Mendez and Alexandria, who were now talking seriously. Ms. Javier cleared her throat, causing both of them to get their attention and turn their heads to us.

"Gab, Miss is here. Labas muna kami ni Alex." She turned to me and smiled at me sweetly, which made my heart beat faster. Alexandria acknowledged my presence and nodded at me before she and Ms. Javier going out. Now that it's just the two of us, I immediately approach her.

"How are you? Are you okay?" I asked her worriedly and checked her body. She laughed before taking my hand and kiss it.

"I'm fine now that you're here." She naughtily responded to me with a wink. I pinched her arm weakly, which made her wince.

"Shut up, will you? Tsk, are you done eating?" I asked worriedly and looked at the food prepared on her table here at the hospital.

"Yes, tapos na; mom brought my favourite chicken adobo earlier. Did you eat before you came here?" I didn't answer, which made her sigh.

She knows very well that when I am silent, I am lying.

"Tsk, didn't I tell you na wga na wag kang magpapalipas ng gutom? Baby, you're so stubborn." Instead of being annoyed by her sermon, I just laughed because I find her adorable while throwing tantrums.

I giggles and kissed her cheeks, causing her to stop talking.

"Okay, I'll eat now, okay? Stop talking, na." I noticed that she blushed at what I said before looking away and turning her attention to the TV and didn't say a word again, which made me smile. I immediately took food and sat on the side of the chair that was placed on the side of her bed. Silence enveloped us, and the only noise was the sound of the TV and the machine monitor.

"Anyway, baby, when will your husband visit here again?" I glared at her at her question. She laughed at what I did with the peace sign. "Ex-husband pala, hehe." I rolled my eyes at her and drank some water before I decided to answer.

"I really don't know; as far as I know, they are out of town with his boyfriend right now," I just said.

Yeah, right, for those who don't know, I used to have an arranged marriage that my parents decided with David. He has also been my friend--gay friend to be exact since college, and both of our parents are business partners and close friends; that's why they thought of arranging marriage for us. We don't love each other anyway and he love someone else so as me, and since we both don't agree on this wedding, we decided to go with the flow and go along with our parents' idea. We consulted with a good lawyer to file an annulment after 5 months. One of our shows was when he once went to the university. Now, I suddenly remember how he used to protest to me about my plan. I know because back then, our parents used to secretly follow our movements.

Flashbacks;

"Geez-are you sure about this? That's disgusting. I just imagined that I have goosebumps-brrrrr." His artful statement made my eyes roll.

He is so maarte pero pag sa boyfriend niya ang landi. This jerk!

"Shut up, will you?! This is the only way I can see to get them to stop following us. Tsk, don't you know that it's irritating?" Ugh, because all the way to the university or kahit saan man kami magpunta, they secretly follow us.

They thought we don't know, tsk.

"Fine! I'll buy flowers later, and I'll go to the university right away." I smiled at what he said, even though there was disgust on his face.

I just shook my head sa kaartehan niya.

"Good. Well, I'll be going first, and I might be late for my first class." I immediately kissed him on his cheeks and waved goodbye.

"Bye! Don't be too excited to see your baby." I just rolled my eyes at what he said.

What an idiot!

Flashback Ends;

There it goes, and after almost 6 months of waiting for our annulment, we officially annuled and chose to be free from their so-called arrange marriage thingy. The next day our parents also found out what we did, and of course they were mad and furious; who wouldn't right? Especially, they expected that our marriage would continue, which it does not.

In their hella dreams.

Why would I marry someone I don't love, right? Call me selfish or not, but I only want to marry someone that I love, or, let's say, I only want to tie the knot to my Gabrielle, my baby, my everything. I want to marry someday. We went to the altar and spoke our vows to each other.

I smile at that thought. I can't wait for that day to happen.

"Baby?Are you okay?" I woke up from my thoughts when my baby snapped her fingers in front of me. I clear my throat in embarrassment.

I didn't even realise that I was in my deep thoughts.

"Yes, I'm okay, you were saying?" I ask. She suddenly pouted and smiled at me before intertwined our hands.

"I said, until now I can't believe that you love me too." I felt my cheeks heat up from what she said.

I playfully rolled my eyes at her and said, "Of course, I told you the reason, didn't I?" I hold her hands tightly when she weakly smiles at me.

"I thought it was really just one-sided love; it turns out you feel the same way to me. Tsk, you talk differently too, baby. What you said when I confessed hurt me hard." She frowned at what she said while I laughed and kissed her lips.

Oh well, I remember that day, and I suddenly feel guilty about it, especially because I told her that I don't love her and how she suddenly collapsed when she was about to walk away.

Until now, it's still fresh in my mind at parang it's traumatized me hanggang ngayon.

Flashbacks;

"I like you, ma'am."

I froze on my spot and could hardly move from what I heard. Did I hear it right? She likes me? My baby likes me too? Should I be happy that we were both feeling the same way, right? But why did I suddenly feel the pinch in my heart?

Suddenly, the flashback of my parents told me that I'm engaged to someone, and if someone tries to ruin us, they will do anything but ruin the life of that person like a living hell. Their threat bothered me that time until now. I can't bear the thought that the person I love will be destroyed because of me; I will do anything to protect her. If I have to hurt her emotionally, I will do it in order to protect her and save her life.

I clench my jaw when I remember that and look at her again without any emotion on my face.

"Stop making silly jokes, Ms. Mendez; it's not even funny." I know what she said is serious; I'm trying to avoid the topic, okay? Tsk, even my heart beat so fast at what she said.

I noticed that her lips moved at what I said.

"But miss-" I didn't have enough time to listen and immediately cut off what she wanted to say.

"Can you please stop talking nonsense and go home? You're wasting my time here. My husband is waiting for me." Liar! My mind said. David is not really waiting for me; the truth is that he is not in the country right now and he has an out-of-town business trip. I saw the pain in her eyes after I said that. I suddenly feel guilty about it. I clench my jaw and look away.

I'm sorry, baby, I have to do this; please forgive me. It's for your own good too.

Silence enveloped us, and after a while she spoke,, making me look at her.

"You know what, miss? If reincarnation still exists, I would still love and choose you in my next life." I was shocked by what she said and blinked.

Why is she talking like that? Reincarnation? Is that even true? Would she believe that? I straightened my posture and spoke again.

"Are you done? Can I go home now?" Oh no, baby, I don't want to go home because I want to be with you more. Even though she couldn't speak again, I added to it to end it. I badly want to end this conversation because this topic is hurting us.

"And one more thing. Don't come near me again, and let's be civil to each other. My husband would probably be jealous if he saw me talking to a stupid, disgusting student like you." Oh gosh, I think that's a wrong move when I saw her bite her lip like she was about to cry.

I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry, love...

"I see. If that's what you want, then from now on, you will never see my face again, Professor Reynolds." I think I lost my mind, and I heard the shuttering pieces of my heart after hearing what she said.

No! Don't do that, baby, please.

I thought she wasn't going to say anything more, but the last words she said to me made me break down and tear up a lot.

"I love you even if it hurts to love you, Ms. Natasha, and from now on, I finally let you go, and please, be happy with him." After she said that, I saw her walking away, and I sobbed really hard.

Baby, I'm sorry. I hope one day you'll forgive me if you know the real reason why I did this.

I stayed for a few more minutes, and when I looked okay, I decided to go home. I was going back to my car, and I didn't even take three steps when I heard a voice screaming.

"Ma'am! Ma'am! Sandali po!" I turned around in the direction where that voice was coming from. I saw a guard here at the university rushing towards me.

What's wrong with him?

"What is it, manong?" I asked when he arrived in front of me panting.

"E-eh, kasi, ma'am, Yung babaeng kausap niyo kanina. Bigla nalang po siyang nahimatay pagkakita ko." My eyes widen in shock at what he said, and I suddenly got cold when I heard it.

"W-what?! Where is she right now? And why did you leave her?!! Come with me right now wherever she is!!!" I raised my voice, which surprised him. I feel guilty about it, but I deal with him later. My priority right now is my baby.

Oh gosh, what's really happening to her?! It's the second time, and I don't even have any idea what's going on with her.

"Sumunod po kayo sa akin." I immediately followed him, and that's when we saw my baby's unconscious body and very pale face. I immediately went to her and tried to wake her up.

"Baby? Baby, please wake up.. Love?" Oh gosh, I was so nervous, and she was so pale, like she had no blood.

I tried several times to wake her up but it didn't work, so I asked the manong guard to help me put her in my car so I could take her to the hospital. I thanked him, and after that, I brought her immediately to the hospital. I called her friend, Ms. Javier, to inform her that her friend is in the hospital. She was shocked and nervous and immediately came with my baby's parents; of course I explained everything to them about what happened. They are thankful to me that I was the one who saw their daughter. Since then, I've been going back and forth to the hospital after teaching all day. I didn't think about anything else at that time but her condition; even my friends knew about it, and they always comfort me.

I was thankful that they were there by my side, so somehow I felt relieved.

Later that day and days she was awake when I watched over her myself. I explained everything that happened and why she lost consciousness, and I confessed everything to her as well. She was confused at first, but she was also happy that we felt the same way. But after that, she had another heart attack and suddenly passed out again. The doctor said that is normal for those with heart defects.

Since then, I have never left her side, and I am always the one watching over her. I want her to see me first when she wakes up.

End of flashbacks;

"Well, you can't blame me, baby. I have to do that in order to protect you from my parents." You guys can't blame me. I just did that thing for her. You know that I'll do anything for my loved ones, especially her.

"And thank you for that baby. I love you." I smiled sweetly at her and kissed her lips passionately, to which she responded. She smiles between our kisses, and I caress her cheeks while our foreheads touch.

"I love you so much, love. Please be strong, hmm? Don't ever give up and don't leave me okay? I love you so much, baby. I can't live without you, my love." After I said that, I felt my tears fall, and she wiped them away. She even kissed my forehead and hugged me tight since we were next to each other in bed.

I got really emotional all of a sudden when she was being talked about and her condition.

"I'll try to be strong, baby; don't worry, okay? I won't leave, and I am always here. Stop crying," she sweetly said. I hug her tight as if I'm afraid of losing her and squeeze her hand.

"Sleep, I won't leave. I promise." Because of what she said, that became a signal for sleepiness to visit me. In the few days I've been here, I've almost always lacked sleep. Before I went to dreamland, I even heard the words she said that made me smile.

"I love you, my love; dream on me, baby."

After I heard that, everything went black, and I slept peacefully with a smile on my face.