Chapter 28

FLASHBACK] 15 YEARS AGO

Christian and Gianna, two siblings, were happily playing tag. Their mother was smiling as she watched them. But her expression changed when she heard a gunshot in the distance.

"Oliver, go to Gianna at Yaya Neli's place," she said.

Although confused, the young boy followed his mother's instructions. He held his younger sibling's hand. In the distance, armed men were approaching their house. The sky was ominous, warning of bad weather.

"Yaya, Mommy said we should stay here," Oliver said.

Their yaya's face was filled with worry, but the children were too young to understand.

Heavy rain poured down around them.

"Oliver, where are you going?" Yaya Neli asked.

Gianna was busy playing with her small Barbie doll.

"I'm going to find Mommy," Oliver replied.

"No, stay here. I'll go," Yaya Neli said firmly, Oliver nodded his head.

They waited for several minutes, but their yaya didn't return. "Stay here, Gianna, I'll just go find Mommy and Yaya."

As Oliver walked, he saw his yaya and ran towards her. But someone stopped him, and all he saw was his yaya's body fall. His mother stopped him from walking further.

"Where's Gianna?" she asked urgently.

Oliver pointed to where Gianna was. Their mother quickly picked up Gianna and held Oliver's hand. They went out the back of the house and ran without knowing where they were going. Their mother's only thought was to save her two children.

"Mommy, I'm cold," Gianna said, unaware of what was happening.

They were all soaked from the heavy rain.

"Olivia!" Their mother's eyes widened in fear as she saw a man holding a gun pointed at her.

"Run, both of you! Don't leave your sister behind!"

"Momy!" Oliver cried out.

"I won't leave you," he said.

Tears welled up in his mother's eyes. She handed Oliver a handkerchief she had made for her two children.

"Leave now!" she said, pushing Oliver away. "Run fast!"

Oliver looked back at the man, who was smiling as he watched them struggle. Oliver picked up his younger sibling and they ran.

He stopped for a moment to look back at his mother, but his world came crashing down when he saw her lifeless body in the distance.

"Mom!" he cried out.

As the thunder and lightning struck, Oliver's mother fell to the ground, dead. Oliver didn't know where to go that night.

When they reached the highway, Oliver quickly put his sibling in a stopped truck, and then got in himself. The truck was filled with vegetables. The siblings hid under a tarp that covered the vegetables, trying to escape the heavy rain.

A few minutes later, the truck left. Just as it did, the man who killed their mother arrived.

"There are no kids in the area," one of his men said.

"Leave them alone. They have nowhere else to go. They'll just die from hunger anyway. They don't even know their father, and even if they did, my sister would be there," the man said.

Oliver woke up to the sunlight. The weather was hot, and they were no longer being chased. He could also hear car horns.

He stood up to look around. There were many cars and people walking around.

"Tin.," he said, waking up his sibling and helping her down from the truck.

"Bathet yawag mo thakin tin? Di naman tin nyame ko," Gianna said in a stutter. [Why are you calling me Tin? That's not my name.]

"From now on, your name is Tin-tin, and you'll call me Tan-tan. Do you understand?" Oliver asked.

The younger sibling nodded, even though she didn't understand what Oliver meant.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

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ANYA'S POINT OF VIEW

After Bryce left, I went up to my room. I sat on the edge of my bed and looked out the glass window. The curtains were blowing in the wind, and the heavy rain showed no signs of stopping.

I left my room and went to Christian's. I stood in front of his door, hesitant about whether to knock. I slowly knocked on the door.

"Christian, it's me..." But there was still no response.

I tried to push the door handle, and it opened. "He didn't lock his door today?" I slowly opened it.

The room was dark, except for a faint light coming from the other side, which seemed to be from a lamp shade. I used my phone as a flashlight, and I realized that the bed wasn't the first thing you'd see when entering his room. It was like a small living room, like his office.

I walked further in, towards the light. As I got closer, my heart beat faster due to anxiety. I stopped walking when I reached the foot of his bed. He was lying down, but it was clear that something was bothering him in his sleep.

I approached him, and I saw that his forehead and neck were sweating. It was cold and rainy outside, but he was sweating? I touched his neck, but he wasn't hot, nor was his forehead.

"M-mom..." What happened to his mom? Why was he always calling for her?

"Gianna... p-please... come back..." I froze when I heard the name of a woman. Was she his ex-girlfriend? I felt a strange pain in my chest.

I pushed the thought of the woman he mentioned out of my mind. I stood up to look for a towel in his wardrobe. When I found one, I went back to his side to wipe his sweat.

As I was wiping his sweat, I was startled when he suddenly grabbed my hand. His gray eyes stared at me. I was surprised when he pulled me close and hugged me.

"Please... don't leave me again..." he whispered to me.

His hug was tight, as if he didn't want to let me go again. Maybe he wasn't in his right mind. Was this the effect of the heavy rain on him?

I hugged him back and stroked his back before patting it. I smiled slightly as he slowly fell asleep while I patted him.

I didn't leave his side. I felt that if I did, he would wake up. I just gazed at his sleeping face. I slowly stroked it. I didn't realize that tears had fallen from my eyes.

"Why did I meet you in a situation like this?" When my mission is over, I'll have to leave him. I'll only hurt him when he finds out that my intention was to spy on him.

"But why do I feel pain thinking about leaving him alone?" Every time I see him in this situation, he always says not to leave him. Even though I know it's not meant for me, it still hurts me. It hurts me that I'm also one of those who will leave him.

If that day comes when you find out who I am, I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I hope you'll be okay.