Broken Promises (COMPLETED)

Chapter 24 - Freedom for a Day

Photo Credit : aldenrichards02 Instagram Account

Break muna tayo from anger over Daniel mga beshies. It's Dei's birthday and Richard pulled all stops to make this day special for her!

Although the problem remains unsolved, life goes on for them both, and they hold on, as much as they can. I hope we all can learn from this chapter, to think of others before we think of ourselves, to give happiness even while we are dying inside.

Bittersweet chapter dear readers, I hope you enjoy it and feel the gamut of emotions that ran through this chapter, just like I did when I was writing it. See you at the comments section :)

March 3, 2016

Richard was never a morning person. Waking him up early in the morning was always such a chore for Dei, especially if they were "busy" the night before. This morning though, Dei woke at four in the morning with Richard's side of the bed empty. She rushed out of the room to check if he was there but there was no one in the kitchen or den, and upon checking in the garage, his car was gone.

She tried to call him but his phone was off. Where could he be and why was his phone off? Why would he choose to disappear today, of all days? Today was her 24th birthday.

She tried to recall how he was these past few days. She knew his financial problem weighed him down, especially how it impacted their business. He and Sam were forced to give up their office, to cut down on overhead costs. It also meant they had to let go of their Junior Architects and draftsmen, ten young men full of dreams and ambition lost their jobs as a result of Tony's deception.

Richard was quiet most of the time, although he tried hard to hide his pain when Dei was around. But Dei knew he was hurting. She wanted him to open up to her, to just talk to her to ease his burden. But he refused, saying it was not a good thing to talk about.

He now worked at home, converting the Den into a full office. He hired his draftsmen on a per project basis, unable to assure them of a stable and continuous source of income. He was able to pay off almost half of the five million stolen with his professional fees and the savings he painstakingly worked hard for.

Taking all these into consideration scared Dei. What if he already left her? What if all the things going wrong in his life were too much, such that he felt the need to leave? What if he left and never came back?

She went back to their bedroom and checked his closet. His traveling bag was not there, along with some clothes. She sat on the bed, her heart beating fast. She was having trouble breathing. Her tears fell, as she felt her world was crashing.

This was how Richard saw her, crying her heart out, holding on to his shirt. He rushed to wrap his arms around her, crushing the bouquet of flowers he was holding.

"Dei....baby why are you crying?" He cupped her chin to raise her face to his. She wound her arms around his neck tightly. She was sobbing like a child.

"Babe, kala ko.....iniwan mo na ko."

"Iniwan? Bakit kita iiwanan? Dei....sweetie, stop. Nahihirapan ako makita kang ganyan eh."

"K-kasi.....ang tahimik mo l-lately....di mo ko kinakausap."

He peppered her face with kisses and hugged her tightly. She did not deserve this. She does not deserve to be in anguish just because he was.

"Babe, I'm sorry I left the house without telling you. I wanted to surprise you, kaya kina mom ko tinago yung gift mo. I left because I went there to get my gift." He pulled her up and took her out of the room, to see a giant teddy bear with sad eyes sitting on the couch. It looked so sad that she approached it to give it a hug.