Strange Feeling II

Paris and Egypt...

What kind of parent names their children after places?

H-haha… He couldn't help but let out a shaky sigh.

He used to tease Rome about it all the time—how strange it was that his parents had named him 'Rome.' But Rome would just chuckle and shrug it off, saying, "Well, my dad's name is Denmark. So I'm not the only one with a strange name."

Now, it finally made sense.

Maybe that was Sylvia's way too—her way of leaving a trace of the man she once loved in the names of the children he would never know. Paris. Egypt. Both names of distant places.

Even if she had no plans of ever telling the kids who their father was, she had still left them with—something that connected them to him.

"Damn it…"

Alpheus muttered, slamming his palm against the steering wheel in frustration. "I didn't even get the chance to start, and I've already lost."

He had been drawn to Sylvia from the very beginning—ever since he first saw her at that small restaurant where she worked. There was something about her…

The way she smiled genuinely at even the most difficult customers, the tired but unwavering dedication in her eyes.

She wasn't just beautiful—she was grounded. Real. And that, more than anything else, had slowly pulled him in.

He hadn't even planned on eating at the restaurant where Sylvia worked—not at first. It was just one of those random lunch outings with some colleagues from the office. They had insisted on trying out a small, tucked-away place they claimed served amazing food. 

Out of politeness more than genuine interest, he agreed to tag along.

But it didn't take long for him to realize that food wasn't the real reason his coworkers frequented the place.

They kept going on and on about a beautiful waitress who worked there. 

At first, he tuned them out. He never shared the same kind of enthusiasm his colleagues had when it came to ogling women. That wasn't his thing.

And yet, the moment she walked out to serve their table—that girl they had all been talking about—everything suddenly made sense.

There was something about her that caught him completely off guard. She was beautiful, yes, but not in a flashy or exaggerated way. 

She was simple, modest even—but her presence was undeniable. She had this quiet charm, the kind that didn't scream for attention, yet still managed to pull all of his focus without even trying.

Then she smiled at him.

It was a brief moment, a fleeting curve of her lips as she handed him the menu—but it did something to him. It stirred something unfamiliar in his chest, a warmth that caught him off guard.

He didn't understand it at first, but he found himself craving that smile again.

That's why he kept coming back. Again and again, to that small restaurant. Not for the food but for her.

Even if he had already grown tired of the same dishes being served at the restaurant, he didn't really care anymore. What mattered most to him was seeing her smile—those small, fleeting smiles that somehow had the power to brighten his entire day.

Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him. 

He started asking around, trying to learn more about her. That's when he found out that Sylvia also worked as a waitress at a bar—one he had actually been to before.

Surprised, he returned to that bar, hoping to see her again. But she wasn't there. So he went back. Again and again. 

He kept coming back until he finally figured it out—she didn't work every night. She had a schedule.

So when his friend Dave started planning his birthday and wanted to convince the whole group to go drinking, he didn't hesitate to suggest that particular bar—the one he had basically become a regular at, all because of Sylvia.

But what he didn't expect… was to find out that the woman he had secretly been watching from afar, the woman who had unknowingly pulled him in, was the same woman Rome had been looking for all this time.

And worse—Sylvia had confessed something that left him completely shaken, that Rome had hurt her deeply. That their separation wasn't just a matter of drifting apart—it was because of pain. Because of betrayal.

Now, he couldn't help but feel curious—what really happened between the two of them? What had Rome done? Why did Sylvia choose to disappear?

Lost in thought, he hadn't even realized that he'd already arrived at the bar. Thankfully, despite his heavy mind, he had driven there safely.

-----

As Alpheus stepped into the bar, he noticed that the dance floor had already been cleaned up. The damage from the earlier commotion had been taken care of—everything looked neat again, as if nothing had ever happened.

He didn't dwell on it, though, and made his way straight upstairs to the VIP room they had rented.

The moment he walked in, he was greeted by the sight of his friends. Few of them were completely passed out, including Lexter, who was curled up and snoring softly in one corner.

Empty bottles of beer and liquor littered the floor and the table.

"Ohhh! Look who finally decided to show up—our loverboy, Alpheus!" Alfonso slurred loudly. "What took you so long, huh? Don't tell me you were stalling outside just to avoid getting drunk tonight?"

"Hehe… hic—or maybe… hic he was busy… hic sweet-talking Sylvia?" Calyx chimed in, barely able to keep his eyes open as his words tumbled out in between hiccups.

"Nope." Alpheus replied curtly, brushing them off as he dropped down onto the couch beside them. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the table and took a long swig.

"Haha! So? Did you kiss her?" Dave teased, grinning from ear to ear. Unlike the others, he seemed only slightly tipsy—just sober enough to throw in a jab or two.

Alpheus let out a short laugh. "Idiot. I just brought Sylvia home. That's all."

"Oh really?" Dave leaned in, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Then why'd it take you so long, huh?"

"I told you—I walked her home… and we had coffee. That's it!" 

The room erupted in teasing laughter and whistles, but Alpheus just rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer.

"Pfft, coffee your face. No one's buying that! Hahaha!" Dave laughed.

Alpheus simply rolled his eyes again and ignored him, letting his gaze wander around the VIP room—until he noticed something.

Rome was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Rome?" he asked Dave, who only grinned in response.

"Hahaha… He left a while ago," Dave said with a laugh. "Probably not long after you brought Sylvia home. Honestly, I thought he followed the two of you. He looked pretty pissed when he left, haha!"

Alpheus frowned at that. He hadn't noticed anyone trailing him and Sylvia on the way home—he was pretty sure of it.

Still, he shrugged it off. Maybe Rome had just gotten annoyed and decided to head home early in a bad mood. Not really his problem.