Contract And Marriage

Sarina

The next few days were chaotic. The police arrested Jason, causing an uproar on the island of Catanduanes. My parents called me, asking what was happening, but I told them I’d explain later. Thankfully, they listened to me, so I didn’t have to explain everything immediately, knowing it would only hurt them.

Little by little, memories started flashing in my mind, and I felt more pain whenever I thought about Jason and me. How happy we were and how much we loved each other. I suddenly wondered why I let us separate when I knew how deeply he loved me. I couldn’t help but ask myself why I now love Maximus so much.

The news was all about Jason’s arrest. At the time, he was in the hospital, the same place I often visited him. He was out of control, furiously shouting my name like he had lost his mind.

I felt a deep sadness over what was happening. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel hurt for the man I once loved. But I knew he needed to face the consequences of what he had done for my own peace and my husband’s.

“This will all be over soon, my wife,” Maximus said, sitting with me on the couch. We were in the entertainment room, watching the news.

“His parents are well-known, and everyone expected him to take his father’s place for the last term as governor.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, worried. I gave him a weak smile, knowing I wasn’t. He gently pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head.

I closed my eyes, feeling the comfort of his touch. If everything that happened hurt me, I knew it hurt him just as much. But I could see he was trying to be strong. Maybe it was for me and for our child that he felt he shouldn’t show any weakness.

I hugged him tightly to let him feel my love, to show him how thankful I am for having him as my husband, and to let him know I appreciate everything he’s done for me.

Not everyone is lucky to have a husband like Maximus. I know many dreams of having a partner like him, but not everyone is as fortunate as I am to love and be loved by him.

Days passed, and Maximus still didn’t leave my side. He stopped going to the company to stay with me, especially since Grandma Sol asked Chase to stay with her while we dealt with Jason’s case.

I didn’t mind because I couldn’t take care of him properly anyway, with all my daydreaming and the fact that I was pregnant. As much as I wanted to stay strong, there were still times I zoned out, unable to believe everything that had happened.

At the moment, I was in our room resting while Maximus was in his mini office. He had some work to do, so I left him alone. But he told me to call him if I needed anything.

I was planning to nap, but the door to our room opened before I could, and Maximus’ smiling face peeked in. I sat up in bed, frowning as I asked,

“Did something happen?”

“You have a visitor.” My frown deepened; I wasn’t expecting anyone. “Come, they’re downstairs.”

I got up and followed him down. When we reached the living room, I was overwhelmed with happiness-I saw my parents. But their faces were written with worry and sadness.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“How are you, child?” my mom asked, her voice shaky, while my dad just looked at me.

“I’m fine, how about you?” They didn’t need to know that I was struggling too. I didn’t want them to worry about me.

“I never thought Jason could do that to you, dear. Your father and I trusted him completely, but I don’t know what happened to that boy.”

“Let’s not talk about him for now, Mom, Dad. The case is moving forward, and our attorney thinks we have a strong fight, especially now that I’m starting to remember what happened.”

My mom and dad hugged me as they cried, and I couldn’t stop my tears. Knowing they were here for me, I felt a bit lighter.

By noon, we ate together and were happy, even though our child wasn’t with us. My mom was always by my side because of my pregnancy. “Mom, come on, now you and Maximus are both overreacting,” I said when she insisted on feeding me more fruit.

“I want to do this,” she replied.

“That’s what I’ve been telling her, too, Mom,” my husband said.

“Sweetie, you need this. We can’t be sure the baby won’t be affected by the medicine you took.” I sighed deeply and just went along with them. Even Lisa, who was watching us, was smiling. She was always one of those reminding me about my health.

We were chatting when Rocel came over and said, “Sir Maximus, people are asking for Ma’am Sarina.” We exchanged glances before my husband stood up.

“I’ll go check.” I let him handle it since he knew what to do. But several minutes passed, and he hadn’t returned, so I grew curious. I stood up and excused myself to my parents, saying I’d just check on him. I didn’t wait for their response and followed my husband.

“We just want to talk to Sarina, Mr. Lardizabal,” an older woman said, accompanied by an older man. They seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I saw them.

Maximus was about to respond when the woman suddenly looked at me, causing Maximus to glance at me as well. “My wife,” he said.

“Sarina? Is she Sarina?” the older woman asked, surprised.

“Is that really you, Sarina?” the man asked. “It’s us, Jason’s parents.”

***

I stood frozen in place before Maximus approached me and put his arm around my shoulders. “As I already said, it’s not the right time for my wife to talk to you, Mr. and Mrs. Satudez.”

“Rina!” the woman exclaimed, so I turned around and saw my parents.

“You’re really Sarina?” The couple still seemed in disbelief, but I nodded. “We just want to talk to you, dear. Your parents are here, and they know we’re not bad people.” The woman looked kind, so I nodded even though Maximus didn’t like it.

I smiled at my husband because I could see the irritation on his face. He just wanted to protect me; that’s why he was like that, but since my parents were here and he was with me, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to hear what they wanted to say, even though I knew it was about Jason.

We entered the house and sat down in the living room. Maximus, as always, sat beside me. The Satudez couple sat on the couch across from us while my parents were seated to our right.

At first, it was silent. No one spoke as the Satudez couple exchanged glances, probably deciding who would speak first.

“It must have been painful for you, Sarina,” Mrs. Satudez began. “On behalf of my son, I want to say sorry. I know that loving you too much isn’t a good excuse for what he did, but Jason has never loved anyone like he loves you. He was even willing to ignore us, his parents,” the older woman said tearfully.

“I want to ask you not to continue the case against him and to consider what you two had.” Mr. Satudez spoke, which angered Maximus.

“Are you out of your mind?” my husband shouted, but I quickly stopped him. He looked at me and then sighed.

“That’s why we came here, Sarina. But after seeing you, I realized how big a mistake Jason made. With that, I want you to know that you can do whatever you think is right regarding the case you filed against him.”

We didn’t speak-especially me. We all knew they came here to convince me to drop the case, but I appreciated that they had changed their minds.

“But please, find it in your heart to forgive him,” Mrs. Satudez said, now crying while her husband gently rubbed her back. Then, she started telling stories about their son.

“He was hot-headed even as a child. He was always angry with anyone who worked in our house. The smallest thing would set him off. We had him checked by a child psychologist, and he was a special child. It wasn’t obvious because he looked normal,” Mrs. Satudez began.

“But everything changed when he met you. When you became friends, we could feel how much better he got, and that’s why we were so fond of you. Especially when the two of you became a couple,” Mr. Satudez continued.

We quietly listened, but I could see the shock on my parents’ faces. They probably didn’t know anything about Jason’s childhood.

“I can say he was the happiest person in the world when he told us he would propose to you. He said he wanted to be your inspiration when you studied to become a doctor. I even teased him, asking if he was okay with you being far away,” Mrs. Satudez added with a bitter smile.

“But he said he would go with you, so we shouldn’t expect any grandchildren soon because he wanted you to achieve your dreams first.” The woman broke down in tears, and I couldn’t stop myself from falling. “I never thought something like this would happen to you two, Sarina. Believe me, my son loved you very much. He talked about building a good life and family with you.”

Maximus hugged me and comforted me as I cried. Even after the Satudez couple said their goodbyes, we remained silent. None of us could speak. I knew I couldn’t bring back the past and change how I felt now. Memory or no memory, I knew in my heart that I loved my husband. Maybe Jason saw that, and that’s why he did what he did.

Feelings can’t be controlled, and we can’t tell our hearts to forget everything. So I couldn’t blame Jason if that was the only way he thought he could get me back. But no matter how you look at it, it is still wrong, and you can’t fix something by doing something wrong.