IVAN'S BACK I

After two weeks of staying in United States as part of rehabilitation process to make sure that his eyes are fine, Ivan finally decided to come home.

It's time for him to face the truth and find out what exactly happened all these years. It's time for him to be real and explain everything to Kaye.

"Should we go directly to your house or to the company?" Alex asked while pushing there suitcases towards the exit of the airport.

"Can we go to my previous apartment?" Ivan asked in return. It was obvious that he wanted to see Kaye first above all else.

"Oh right. I forgot to mention this to you. Kaye left the apartment." Alex was scratching his nose awkwardly for the mistake he made. For other people, that might be some nonsense, but to Ivan it was really important.

Ivan stopped and turned back to face Alex directly. He didn't say anything or asked for explanation. He just stood in the middle of the passing crowd silently.

"I found out from your Auntie that she left and she didn't leave any means of contact aside from her phone number." Alex went on to explain but to his surprise, Ivan just laughed at his flustered face.

"Alright. I'll still find her soon. At least, I already have some leads regarding her." Ivan gave Alex a pat on his shoulder. "Thank you for looking into it."

Alex just smiled foolishly at him. He gave himself a thumbs up before pushing the luggage again and strolled towards the waiting van for them.

In the meantime, Kaye was so busy dealing with company affairs the past few days so she intended to go for a Thai massage.

"Mom, would you like to go with me? I'm going out for a massage. My shoulders are so stiff and I feel like I'm turning into a robot." Kaye whined at her mother while lying on the sofa, her head was rested on her mother's lap.

Mrs. Margaret Jimenez gave a light laugh to her daughter's complain. She combed Kaye's hair using her bare hand at the same time, giving it a gentle massage.

"I'm busy with the foundation. I won't be able to go with you. How about you bring Lexi with you. When you left to work in a BPO industry, you guys barely had time together." Her mother's statement was indeed true. She and Lexi had met a few times when she worked in different city. Now that she's back, it would be great to catch up with some progress in life.

"Sounds good. I'll call her." Kaye stood up and went back to her room to call her friend. She picked up her phone from her bedside table and dialed her number.

While waiting for Lexi to pick up, Kaye scanned her room and her eyes landed on the painting. It was a great piece of art and the only token she's got with Ivan.

Her eyes started to tear up but she held them, braving herself not to cry over him. She missed him so much every single day. And he's the reason why she buried herself with work to occupy all the space in her brain, but her heart still felt empty.

Kaye waited for Lexi to pick up her phone and it took her almost a minute before a happy voice permeated her silent room.

"Oh my gosh Kaye! I'm so happy that you called. Just right in time for me to share a good news to you." Lexi exclaimed on the other side of the room.

"What good news do you have that you almost blew up my roof from your excitement?" Kaye laughed at her friend's exaggerated voice but she felt good after hearing her happy voice. However, Lexi's next statement drained all her remaining energy.

"Ivan is back! Auntie Grace just informed us that Ivan is back! I can finally introduce you to him. And you know what..." Lexi was still murmuring something on the line but Kaye can no longer hear her voice. She was lost in thought.

'Jesus! He's back! He's probably going to introduce his girlfriend to his family. This is really painful. I dreaded this news the most.' Kaye was having an inner monologue disregarding the fact that she was still on a call with Lexi.

"Hey Kaye! Kaye? Are you still with me?" Lexi's worried voice woke her up from her trance.

"Ah yeah. I'm sorry. I dropped something and I was trying to get it." Kaye made a lie with a straight face. She's lying once again.

"Oh. Ah, why did you call me again?" Lexi asked her upon realizing that Kaye hadn't stated the reason of her call yet.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that maybe we should hang out or unwind later but I realize that I have to check the agenda for next weeks meeting." It was an obvious lie once again.

"Let me know once you're free. I'll always be one call away." Lexi promised to Kaye. She bit her lips from the guilt she felt. She really wanted to spend time with Lexi, but with her relationship to Ivan, they would certainly meet in the future and she didn't want that to happen.

"Thanks Lex. I'll call you back once I got some free time." Kaye responded to her friend. They exchanged few more words before Lexi ended the call since she wanted to visit the Harley's.

"I don't know what else to do." Kaye whispered before she flopped herself on her bed, uncaring of her messy appearance. "Lord, please don't let me see him again. I already had a difficult time trying to forget him." Kaye said as she burrowed her face on her pillow. She never thought that Ivan would affect her so much, specially that they just met and spent time together for just a few months.

'How unlucky for me to fall in love with you!' Kaye cursed mentally about her situation.