Broken Promises (COMPLETED)

Chapter 15 - Unforeseen

Photo Credit : Screen Grab from Hans Alcanzare's Youtube Post

Posting an earlier update today to pave the way for more AMACon3 writing. Heto na, since everybody seems to be psyching up for the angst, I am serving it now. Please don't hate me! I hope this chapter will not discourage people from reading, but really, life isn't all fluff, right?  Dei and Richard are both strong characters, they are not perfect but their love is strong.

I am hoping to inspire people reading this that surpassing difficult challenges make life and relationships worth having, that the beauty of life gets more vivid and appreciable when you work hard for it. So read on my dears, it's a painful chapter, I admit, but there's beauty also in pain, I hope you get to see this when reading.

Thanks for the comments I've been getting so far! I love that I have mature readers who understand where this story will go and who are so appreciative. Hope you leave your comments below as usual. Love you all :)

May 2013

It was a normal Sunday for them, they spent the weekend with Teddy and Marian in the Mendoza ancestral home in Bulacan. It was Richard's first time there, and he was amused and embarrassed at the same time how the caretaker's wife and household help asked to have their pictures taken with him. They said he looked a lot like Yago, a character in the soap Carmela, played by a rising matinee idol, Alvin Foster. The ancestral home was used for a shoot of the Carmela series several times, making instant fans out of the household help and the caretaker's wife.

Dei was laughing at his awkwardness. She actually saw that resemblance, and she was secretly a fan of Alvin Foster since his first soap on TV. He was a perfect romantic lead, the characters he played were all memorable. She never told Richard about her being a fan because Richard was not fond of watching local TV shows. But now that someone else pointed it out, she liked teasing Richard.

"Shall I call you Alvin from now on? Or do you prefer Yago?"

"Ugh. Stop it Dei. I cringe that I'm likened to Alvin Foster, whoever he is. Even in the office, I get the same observation. Sino ba yun?"

"Wait, I'll show you."

"You have his picture on your phone?"

"No, grabe ka. I'm looking him up on Google."

They both got LTE data plans on their phones because they were both heavy users of internet. Dei always carried a tablet around because it was lighter than a laptop and easier for her to write even when there was no table around.

"Arghhh, internet is so slow. Babe, can we pass by---"

Dei never got to finish her sentence. An SUV slammed into the right side of their car, pushing their vehicle to the next lane on the left. Richard had the presence of mind to step on the breaks and veer the steering wheel to the right, to avoid skidding all the way to the leftmost lane, which was the fast lane.

The vehicle was at a full stop, the owner of the SUV was knocking in panic at his window. For a moment Richard froze not knowing what to do. Dei was unconscious, her head was bleeding. He stepped out of the car to look for the highway patrol or emergency assistance van.

The owner of the SUV was a man who reeked of alcohol. Richard felt his blood boil and grabbed the lapel of the man's jacket.

"Putangina ka, buntis ang asawa ko!"

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry. Please, I'll pay for everything. Pare, sorry...sorry talaga."

Sirens were heard, a good Samaritan must have called the highway patrol. The emergency rescue van stopped right beside their car, with a team immediately cranking open the dented door of the car. Richard watched helplessly as his wife was being given first aid.