1 ELIEZER AND ISABELLE

"Eli!" A woman called out and when Eliezer turned around, the corner of his lips pulled into a smile. It's been over a year since he last saw her and he missed her so much. "You have not changed at all."

"Well, I'm not someone like you who becomes more beautiful with the passage of time," he said while taking over the luggage cart that she was pushing. "Mom, you didn't tell Dad that you are coming home today, right?"

"Oh. I got found." His mother chuckled as she linked her elbow with him. "Your Dad is busy saving patients every day and if I tell him about my flight, he will have to cancel his appointments and he will feel guilty if something happens to those patients."

"So, Dad feels like that but I don't?"

"You do?"

Eliezer didn't know what to say at all. His father will surely scold his mother later on for coming home without saying anything to him. And surely, his mother will retort about work and professional etiquette. He will always be caught in between their warfare.

"Actually, I have another mission for coming over."

"Mission? I think I have a clue of what that mission would be."

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! How would you know when I have not mentioned this to anyone before?"

Eliezer just smiled while pulling out his phone from his pocket. They were getting closer to where his car was and he took his time showing his mom the message that he got from Andrei, his nephew.

"Th-that...that little squirrel!" His mother exclaimed and stomped on her feet when she watched the video of her grandson while holding a whiteboard. She thought that she was safe if she only tells her grandson about her plan since he could not speak. She forgot the fact that he could write. And worse, the person he talked about it was none other than Eli himself. 'Gram is going to look for Uncle's girlfriend. She will leave in three days.'

And that was what brought her home from States.

"Mom, I'm fine."

"How long has it been? It's been 4 years, Eli. She already married someone. Why must you - "

"Mom. I'm not staying single because of her. I have moved on from her. I just couldn't find someone interesting."

"It's because all you do is work! How can you find someone to replace her if you keep working?"

"I'm not looking for a replacement. I'm looking for someone unique."

His mother sighed at his words but he didn't do anything to pacify her. He could understand that she was worried about him since he wasn't growing young. He's over thirty years old and should be settling down with someone. But he just couldn't bring himself to love someone else.

Since thirteen, he devoted his love, attention, and care to someone else. He loves her so much that he became a doctor because he wanted to take care of her. Then, she married someone else and has her own family now. He didn't know if he could love someone with the same intensity ever again.

"Whatever. I'll arrange some dates for you. Go out and see if any of them can stir a little interest in you."

"Mom."

"Don't argue with me about this. You have to go no matter what. Don't worry, I'll find you a decent match."

[I guess I'll have to squeeze in more appointments.] Eli thought with an impassive expression to hide what he has in mind.

Eliezer Rivera came from an average family. His father was a neurosurgeon and his mother was a housewife. Before, she works as a club manager, but after meeting the love of her life, she stopped working and became a full-time housewife. She took care of their three kids and do house chores. He was the middle child and the only boy among the three kids. Both his sisters got married already and the eldest gave birth to Andrei. His older sister was a pharmacist and the youngest was a lawyer.

Their small family was getting bigger and his mother wanted him to contribute a child which probably won't happen in this lifetime.

"I don't hate Jill for marrying someone else." his mother stated out of the blue "I just hope that she won't be the reason for the end of our lineage."

"The first part sounded great but you spoke nonsense at the end."

"What nonsense?! I am telling you the truth. You are the only male among my children and the bearer of our name. If you are not going to get married and have a child of your own, isn't that the end?"

"I can adopt, you know."

His mother was fuming in annoyance but knowing that she couldn't change his mind, she just sealed her mouth and closed her eyes. She wanted to get some sleep or else, she would keep on talking which will only fall on deaf ears.

***

"Belle, make sure you meet with Prince later."

"Ma, I have - " Belle swallowed the rest of the words when she saw her mother's sharp glare. "I will go. I just have to finish something at the hospital."

"Good! Be sure to play it nice with him."

Isabelle couldn't understand why her mother was forcing her to marry that man. She already told her that Prince likes someone else and has been seeing that woman for a long time now. Why must they bother them when they didn't love each other? She'd rather stay single than engage in a loveless marriage.

Yet, she couldn't say no to her godmother who raised her and her brother after their parents passed away.

"Go! Stop thinking about him having another woman. Who doesn't have one outside their home?"

Isabelle bit her lower lip to stop herself from retorting. She couldn't change anything even if she says what was on her mind. And she didn't want her brother to suffer if she ever disobeys her.

"Belle, are you going to work now?" Neon asked while holding his backpack. "Can I come with you? I promise I won't disturb you or hinder anyone. I just want to be there because I don't have class today."

"Okay."

Seeing how much his sister works just to earn money for their daily expenses, Neon could not say anything about the bruises he got. He didn't want to add to her worry.

Isabelle was working as a nurse at Senyu Medical Hospital. It was her mother's lifelong wish to become a nurse but because she got pregnant quite early, she stopped going to school and focused on her children. Her father was a college professor and since he got into a relationship with his student and even impregnated her, his license was taken away. He had to look for another job that could support his growing family.

One day, his father won a trip to Boracay for two. Since they have been so caught up with their life and raising their kids, he wanted to unwind once in a while with his wife. It was during this trip that the ship they took capsized and since then, they have never heard from them. Their bodies were never found up to date.

Their relatives didn't want to take them in and that was when her godmother come into the picture and raised them all by herself.