Roses, Regrets, and Reckonings

The following morning, as Rosalina tidied up after breakfast, the doorbell chimed through her home. 'That must be Anita,' she mused to herself as she left the kitchen and strolled towards the living room.

'But doesn't she have a key?' Rosalina pondered aloud. Despite her curiosity, she greeted the door with a beaming smile, only to be met with an unexpected surprise—a massive bouquet of roses thrust right into her face.

An instinctive "eep" escaped her lips as she staggered backward. The delivery man inquired, "Are you Ms. Rosalina?"

"Yes," Rosalina replied. As she surveyed her surroundings, she noticed more than just roses adorning her front porch. She glanced at the delivery man, her curiosity piqued. "What are these for? Who sent them?"

"He said you were his girlfriend," the delivery man explained before offering her a signing book and a pen. She scribbled her signature without hesitation. Soon after, the delivery man departed, leaving Rosalina to confront the bewildering sight. That's when Anita arrived.

Upon seeing Rosalina's expression and the floral abundance outside, Anita's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh my god, Rosalina, what on earth is happening here?" she exclaimed, her face a mask of sheer horror.

"I'm not entirely certain," Rosalina confessed, her voice tinged with bewilderment. "I opened the door, and there they were—bouquets of flowers on my doorstep."

"Let's bring them inside," Rosalina suggested, seizing the roses and making her way into the house. Anita trailed behind her, carrying the remaining flower bouquets.

Once they reached the living room, Rosalina deposited the bouquets onto the coffee table. As she did, a small note slipped out from one of the flowers, landing at her feet. Anita picked it up and started reading, "Rosalina, when I think of you, I think about roses. You mean so much to me—yours and everyone else's." Accompanying the note was a drawing of two roses entwined.

Rosalina sighed deeply, sinking into the couch. "He must be joking," she muttered, and Anita couldn't help but chuckle beside her.

"Let me guess, these are from Andre, right?" Anita asked, pointing at the bouquets.

Rosalina nodded, her expression marked by a grimace. Then, she turned her gaze to Anita. "He's truly lost his mind. He left you for another woman, and now he wants you back," Anita sighed, taking a seat beside Rosalina.

Rosalina leaned back, her tone thoughtful as she contemplated the situation. "It's possible she dumped him, or he's two-timing. Either way, I won't be dating him again, that's for sure," she asserted with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

Anita gazed at her with a hint of sadness in her eyes. "But you two were so in love, I even thought you would both get married," she said softly, her voice tinged with melancholy. "It always felt like you guys couldn't stay apart," she added, her voice carrying a touch of sorrow. "But it ended quickly."

' I can't believe it took me two life times to realize that Andre and I were never meant to be together, ' Rosalina thought. She couldn't help but let out a laugh, as if finding the notion amusing.

Then, she turned more serious. "Well, I can assure you, Andre isn't someone I want to get married to," she confessed, her gaze drifting briefly to the floor. "And we were never meant to be together."

Anita continued to scrutinize Rosalina intently. "You're a very complicated person, you know," she remarked.

Rosalina couldn't suppress a mischievous grin. "What are you talking about? I'm not complicated," she retorted, though her playful expression gradually faded.

"We will put these flowers to good use," she decided, shifting the topic. "We can use them as wedding decorations for our client's wedding next week. Have you found a venue?" Rosalina inquired.

Anita nodded. "I have, and it will be perfect for our client's wedding," she affirmed. Just then, a phone call interrupted their conversation, and Anita excused herself, heading outside.

***

Meanwhile, Jose descended the staircase, a smile adorning his face. As he went to pour himself a glass of water, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure occupying his favorite couch. Startled, he stumbled backward, struggling to catch his breath. "Jesus! Dante! What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice a mixture of surprise and unease.

Dante removed the headset from his ear and carefully set the game console aside. His face lit up with a bright smile as he locked eyes with Jose. "Don't you remember?" he inquired, anticipation dancing in his eyes.

Jose, still taken aback, raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "No, I don't. Now, get out of my condo," he retorted with a furrowed brow. His expression darkened as he continued to fixate a stern glare on Dante, clearly unsettled by his unexpected presence.

Unfazed by Jose's sternness, Dante's triumphant grin persisted. He fished his phone out of his pocket and, with a flourish, produced it for Jose to see.

"You called me here, dummy. Hold on, I even have proof!" he declared before proceeding to play a recorded call from their conversation the previous night.

' Don't tell me..! ' Jose thought.

As the recording played, the sound of Jose's pleading, drunken voice filled the room. "Dante, please, I need your help. I can't seem to open my front door," the voice on the recording whimpered before a distinct click signaled the end of the call, and Dante ceased the playback.

Jose's eyes widened in shock as he listened to the recorded conversation. He instinctively covered his mouth with his hand, overcome with a mixture of surprise and frustration. "How dare you do this to me," he hissed, his voice laced with indignation.

"Why did you record our conversation from last night? Why would you do that?" Jose questioned, his tone accusatory.

"Yeah, about that, I just wanted to show you proof, just in case you try to deny it," Dante replied with a self-satisfied smirk.

"You'd better delete that, or else," Jose warned, his irritation still palpable in his voice.

Dante chuckled, seemingly unfazed by the threat, and stashed his phone away. Leaning closer, he challenged Jose with a raised eyebrow, "Or else what?"

Jose's fingers curled around the game console on the table, lifting it with a determined grip. His voice rumbled with a growl as he issued his threat, "Or else I will ruin your game."

Dante's eyebrows knit into a frown, and he mumbled a retort under his breath, "You wouldn't dare."

Just as Jose was about to unpause the game in pursuit of his threat, Dante yielded with a begrudging exclamation, "Ugh, fine!" He unlocked his phone, only to have it snatched from his grasp by Jose.

Unfazed, Jose demanded, "I know you must have done more than just recording."

Dante frowned but relented, "So what if I did?"

Without uttering a word, Jose delved into the gallery app and selected the first video he encountered. Dante, sporting a childlike pout, offered an explanation, "Okay, I might have videoed you embarrassing yourself last night, but that's all, I swear."

Jose remained silent, his gaze fixed on the screen as he scrutinized what Dante had captured. When he finished watching the first video, he pressed play on the second and then the third, all the while growing more incredulous.

"Not just one! Three videos! You were planning on threatening me with these, right?" Jose asked, his accusatory tone hanging heavily in the air.

Dante, avoiding Jose's piercing gaze, responded somewhat evasively, "Threaten? That is a strong word."

Relenting, Jose deleted all the compromising videos, removing any trace of his less-than-ideal behavior. He then handed both Dante's phone and the game console back to him, the tension in the room beginning to dissipate.

"You're lucky I'm letting you off easily." Jose grumbled under his breath as he cast one last disapproving glance in Dante's direction before trudging back to his room.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside, fully expecting a moment of respite, but it was short-lived. His phone buzzed once more, causing him to freeze in place. He closed the door behind him, locking out the outside world, and reached for his phone.

His finger tapped on the message notification that had appeared on the screen. Carmen's message had landed in his Hei's Pictagram account, an invitation to her upcoming birthday celebration next week. He also got a personal invitation as her fiance, Jose but he hasn't declined nor accepted.

In previous timelines, he had declined her invitation, both as Hei and as Jose. But this time, a mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he contemplated his options.

'What should I do this time?' he pondered.