Prologue 2

“Argh! Your company is so stupid. They are just keeping you away from me,” she said while pouting.

He smiled and the look he was giving her was so tender. “I know but I will come back, I promise.”

She heaved a sigh and looked straight into the man in front of her. “I love you,” she could not help but say to him though she had said it several times before.

His brown chocolate eyes seemed to glow when he heard what she said but of course, he did not move and he did not say it back. This was always the case. When she would tell him she loved him, he would just smile at her as an answer, sometimes he would hug her. She did not know the meaning behind his actions. She did not know if he was just doing it for fun?

“Isn’t this a good timing? With these five months apart, you can take this opportunity to analyze your feelings for me. While we are apart, maybe you can start thinking more about whether you are really in love with me or—"

“I love you! I know I love you! ” she interrupted what else he would say.

"Okay, okay. Sorry,” he said and raised both his hands as if he was giving up. “I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just that, I want to be sure. I want to know if I will still have someone to return to here in the Philippines.”

She could no longer restrain herself and without hesitation, she hugged him tightly. She seems to be expressing her feelings by hugging him. “I’m just here, okay? I will always be here. I’ll be waiting for you. Is it because of my age that you keep on second-guessing my feelings for you? Is it because I’m still eighteen years old, my love cannot be real anymore? I can prove to you that my love for you is real! I will wait for you. So come back, okay?” she said, her voice was getting raspy because of the tears she was trying to suppress.

She felt him hugging her back. The way he hugged her was so tight as if he was afraid to let her go. She also felt him kissed the top of her head. “I will keep your words into my heart, Rhianne. I’ll be the happiest man alive if I saw you standing here at the airport five months from now. I’ll be happy to hear these words from your mouth after five months.”

“And I’ll be the happiest girl in this world if you will tell me you love me, too. Right now.”

“Don’t be in a hurry, okay? Wait for five months. Wait for me, okay?”

"I love you…" she said, tightening her grip on the man, especially when she heard the call on his flight.

"Take care."

And she did not even realize that this will be the last time that she’s going to see him.