Broken Promises (COMPLETED)

Chapter 20 - Tamang Panahon

Photo Credit : @ mainedcm's  Instagram account

Hi dear readers, we're getting nearer to the dreaded moment, and the tension is building. I've been dropping clues on the reason for their falling out, you can make your guesses and see if you were right in the next few chapters.

I just want to assure you, the love Richard and Dei share is strong enough to endure anything. They are human and make mistakes, but their love is steadfast and will triumph over odds. It will be my challenge to make this credible despite the difficulties they will face, but I know you all will serve as my inspiration to make this believable.

Enjoy this nostalgic trip to tamang panahon last year. I had a blast then, still having a blast now, thanks to Aldub/MaiChard.  Hit me with your thoughts as always. Love you all <3

That Tuesday, Dei formally turned down the position Pat was offering her, and chose to still be part of the Aldub project on a Freelance basis. She did agree to come up with a strategic plan for the engagement, but refused to implement it herself, wanting to stick to her current pace of controlling her workload to be flexible for other things she wanted to do.

Although Richard promised to change his wprk habits, his workload did not permit him to do so. A few people resigned from their office because they couldn't get along with Daniel. Even Charlie, one of their Principal architects whom Dei met in the dinner they hosted, left the firm due to a disagreement with Daniel. Richard had yet to know what transpired between them, because both Charlie and Daniel refused to tell him.

This time though, Dei didn't mind too much that Richard went home late sometimes. She was busy fangirling over Aldub, her Aldub Twitter account now amassed more than 5,000 followers, as a result of her posts fed by the publicity materials given to her, and still got followers adding up everyday. She was meeting a lot of people online, enjoying stimulating conversations in private group chats. She was less lonely now because of Aldub and the work they gave her.

Meanwhile, Richard's job was getting more complicated because of Daniel's attitude. Some clients got turned off with his high and mighty air, some stayed only because they liked Richard. Little by little, Richard was beginning to see the nuances of why Dei didn't like Daniel. It all came to a head one weekend when he and Dei passed by the office to pick up some papers he left by mistake.

As Richard turned the key on the lock of their office, he thought someone broke into the office because the lights were off but he heard voices coming from the conference room. He took Dei to their Ladies Room, motioning her to lock the door and stay inside while he checked what was going on.

Upon approaching the conference room, he heard grunts and moans of a man and woman. The door to the room was ajar, and what he saw repulsed and shocked him. He saw Trina naked on top of their conference table, with an equally naked Daniel standing, pounding into her. Both instantly felt someone was watching them and turned to face him. Daniel had the gall to smile cockily at him while Trina panicked and pushed Daniel off, scrambling to pick up her clothes.

Richard walked away and went to his office, picked up the papers he left and was about to leave when Daniel stopped him. Clad only in his boxers, he was laughing.

"Sorry about that, bro. You caught me red-handed. The girl has been hot for me for the longest time."

"You're not even remorseful I caught you? Dan, Trina is Charlie's girl. How long has this been going on? Is this why Charlie left?"

"Charlie is a pushover Richard. No wonder Trina got tired of him, she got bored. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"We're not just business associates here, Dan. We're friends. We're supposed to respect each other."