The Intertwined Fate (Serendipity Series #1) COMPLETED

35 - Eyes

May 2021

"Luke and I... decided to push through the wedding to its original date. Luke's now healed up and we have a go signal from his doctor," Simoune explained.

She came here unexpectedly which surprised me. I was expecting her to come a week after Luke's incident to inform me about the delay. But she gave me different news instead. I wanted their wedding to push through but the news still has a different impact on me.

It's definitely not a relief. But it's something close to disappointment. Even when I shouldn't feel this way, I feel sick knowing that their wedding will push through. But I have to put on a mask and smile at Simoune.

"Well, well, Mrs. Guevarra," I teased. She shook her head at me before sitting on the couch in my office. "Should I have your gown ready for fitting?"

"Yes, please."

Tumango ako sa kaniya at nagpaalam para ihanda ang gown niya. I've already checked this but I'm still nervous when it comes to fitting. It will be tremendous work if Simoune won't like something about her gown.

"Ready?" I asked her and she nodded. Then I opened the door to show her the wedding gown. I didn't have to look at her reaction because I already heard her gasp and the sound of her heels walking toward us.

"I'm... wow. I will be wearing this? I can't. This is too much!" I looked at her and she was tear-eyed with her hands covering her mouth.

I chuckled. "Apparently, you will. Because you ordered that and I don't want my design to be wasted."

"You are spectacular, Cian! I can't believe I get to wear that gown," she said with her eyes glimmering with happiness. Tumango siya sa mga empleyado ko kaya tumango din ako sa kanila para sabihin na pwede na nila iwan iyon.

Simoune went back to the couch so I followed her. "Samantha really made a good decision telling me that you are a designer and I should get my gown from you."

"Samantha... told you that?"

She nodded. "Yes, it was her who suggested your name being in that industry. I actually thought you are abroad because you... just disappeared. Even Bea cut off our communication. It was only Samantha who stayed."

"Well, uhh, yes," I answered and drank a glass of water to ease my nerves. "A lot happened and I went abroad for a while. But I came back when I started my business."

Simoune stared at me for a while. "It's a good idea you started your clothing business. I mean, you are doing great. And you are good at it."

"Thank you," I smiled. "That means a lot to me."

Then she looked back to her gown. I saw how different her gaze was now from her gaze earlier. She seems sad, staring at it. "Is there any problem?"

"Nothing," she replied. "It just sucks," she shrugged. "That gown is too beautiful to be worn by someone like me."

"Come on, Sim. You don't drag yourself like that. You'll look good in it. And I'm sure... Luke will be mesmerized by you."

"No."

"No?"

"No," Simoune confirmed. "Luke is accommodating. He is... a gentleman. He respects me all the time and in every aspect like my time, space, and my decision. He never crosses it like there is some sort of boundary around me that only he could see."

My brows furrowed. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"It is - at first," she smiled. "There's a big difference between being nice and having the same feeling. Luke is nice and sometimes, I even think he is being too nice. I could feel him walking around the eggshells when he is with me."

"Simoune."

"It's like being married to someone completely indifferent about you," she said. "I tried, you know. I was... told that he just broke up with his girlfriend and I'll have a hard time communicating with him and building our relationship. But I still gave it a try because isn't that where all relationship starts?"

Wrong. You don't heal someone to start a relationship with. You start a relationship with someone already healed up. But I couldn't make myself say that to her because I'm afraid she'll pull away when she's barely holding anything right now. She can't back out because this is Luke's only way to save his family, no matter how fucked up it may sound.

Then she inhaled a huge amount of oxygen before staring into my eyes. "But it's hard when the person you are with has their mind and heart for another person." She averted her eyes from me after.

"It's easy to tell he isn't over his ex. I could tell and if Luke could see himself in my eyes, he will know how hung up he really is on his ex. Though I don't want to bring that up, especially with everything that recently happened between us."

"Sim..."

She smiled at me and shook her head. "You don't have to sympathize with me, Cian. But it feels nice to tell someone these things. My parents would probably make it a big deal if they find out Luke is not completely over with his ex. And I don't want that to happen."

"Isn't ironic? I hate Luke for marrying for convenience yet I'm also using him for my own good," she said. "That's why... I wanted to push through the wedding because Luke could give me the freedom my family deprived me of."

It was then I slowly understood her situation. "Maybe it was a good thing we had a downfall in our business because I don't have to be in that situation."

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But you probably will have a good marriage if this is your situation. You're still the same Ciandra I know back in college. Smart, beautiful, and natural seductress. It's a lethal combination, really. I just wish you can also look at yourself like that again. I miss seeing your walk with your head held up high."

I didn't answer because she was right. Ever since we lost everything and I lost everyone, I just lost my confidence. I always feel like I have nothing to give because I'm barely striving. I feel like there will always be someone better than me. And I feel like... I won't be enough for them because I'm broke.

I learned it the hard way. Just when I thought I have everything, fate came as fast as lightning to take everything away from me. It stripped away my whole being, leaving me barely surviving.

"Cian," she called. "You are doing well now. You don't have to always look behind you and see what happened to you in the past. You were dumped in the mud but you stood up. Look where you are now. You don't have to think low of yourself. Remember who you are, Ciandra Celestine."