Spilling the Beans

Breakfast was prepared and ready to be served by the time Jason and Selina went downstairs. Julia slept well the previous night and woke up earlier than everyone else. Since she had spare time, she washed up and prepared breakfast.

From the conversation she had with Selina yesterday; she found out what they normally eat in the morning. Thus, breakfast was based on everyone's preferences. When the couple walked downstairs, Nick was having his morning coffee while reading the news. Meanwhile, Celinda was hunting down products on a clearance sale online.

As for Julia, she was busy arranging breakfast and slicing some fruits for everyone to enjoy. Selina walked to the kitchen to assist her while Jason started setting up the table for their meal. It was a simple meal with an avocado toast, scrambled eggs and sausage on everyone's plate. There was also a fruit platter and juice on the side.

Once breakfast was finished, Jason took the files he brought down and changed into his business dress shoes. Before he left the villa, Selina had stopped him and rushed to his side. She tiptoed and reached out to fix the knot on his tie.

She noticed it earlier that his tie was slanted slightly. Though it wasn't much of a problem, it bothered her. Her eyes kept wandering to his tie during their meal, distracting her greatly. She wanted to say something about it, but thought that she could tell him when he gets ready for work after the meal.

Usually, he would walk upstairs after eating before heading out. However, this was not the case today. Seeing how he slipped his feet into his shoes and was prepared to leave, she decided to make a move.

When she placed her entire weight on her toes, Jason wrapped his arm naturally around her waist. Everyone looked up from what they were doing at the dining area and observed the couple's interactions. Of course, they looked up expecting her to give him a goodbye kiss, not to see her fix his tie.

Two minutes later, his tie was knotted and straightened neatly. Nodding to her creation, she patted his chest, smiled and waved her hand at him. "Alright. Your tie is fine now. Get to work safely and don't look at your phone while driving."

His hands reluctantly left her waist. It was a simple task she did on her own, but it made him want to kiss her on the spot. He knew it better than anyone how shy she would react if he did that. Hence, he suppressed his desires and noted to himself about making up this kiss to her in private.

The minute he retracted his arm and stuffed his hand to his pocket, she raised her fingers one after another, listing items he needs to bring to work. "Tissues, keys, wallet, phone, documents and suit jacket."

"Got them all. I'm leaving now!" He said with a smile on his face as he exited the house.

"Get to work safely!" Celinda, Julia and Nick said from the dining area as they watched him depart.

Jason wasn't worried about his parents bullying his girlfriend. Instead, he was more concerned of what they would tell her while he is at his office. There were many things he hasn't told her about him, including why he lived at the orphanage when he was younger. With Celinda in the house, there was no doubt they'll spill out his secrets like jars of jolly beans.

As he had already predicted, the moment he left the driveway, his parents dragged Selina to the couch. Celinda was the first to run upstairs and came back down with childhood photo albums.

"Tada! These are all my brother's childhood memories, also known to him as, his dark past." Celinda took the neon pink covered album, cleared her throat and started flipping through pages of the album. Stopping her fingers at a certain page, she turned the album around to face Selina's direction.

"This picture is when my mom brought me to the mall, but wanted to leave him at the house. To convince my mom into bringing him along, he took her lipstick and my rubber bands to create this adorable look. As you can see, his lips were amazingly filled without the need of using lip liner. Also, he tied two pig tails on his hair."

Handing the album to Selina, Julia began giggling as she recalled these precious moments. "Ahh, back then, when they were just this small..." She lifted her hand and measured an approximate height of Jason and Celinda when they were kids.

Selina flipped through more pages where Jason was caught making weird poses and funny expressions to the camera. She pointed to one where he did a split with his arms spread and icecream smudged all over his mouth. "Did he eat ice cream in this one?"

"Pffft! I gave him a chocolate fudge bar and he was so happy that he did this out of nowhere. Look at how dirty and careless he ate the ice cream. It's all over his mouth hahaha. He still likes eating that same brand ice cream, but now its a different flavor." Julia laughed as they continued going through the picture albums.

Another picture was brought to Selina's attention. It was a picture of a grocery store with Jason holding a bag of meat in one hand and eggplants in the other. "Oh, this reminds me. Celinda, you never told me why you hated eating beef and eggplants."

Celinda crossed her arms, smirked wickedly and raised her brow. "Talking about that. I really haven't told you the story before. Heh. It's all my brother's fault." She sat on the table in front of Selina and pointed at the particular photo with the eggplants in it.

"My mother used to bring us to the markets. One time, my brother decided to deceive me by bringing me to the ninety-nine-cents store. He told me that he would sell me to the boss, and they'll take me in to slice beef with eggplants for customers to eat. Of course, I didn't trust him at first."

"And then, he told me he will show me proof. I stayed at the store, and two minutes later, he came back with some beef and eggplants in his hands. He showed it to the owner of the store and pointed at me. I didn't hear what he was telling the owner, but they were definitely talking about me."

"Soon after the owner took the groceries from him, the owner walked towards me. He told me to slice the meat and eggplants well. I remember gasping and seeing my brother walk out of the entrance." Celinda's eyebrow raised a few times as she told the story with her eyes closed. She could still smell the bloody meat and feel the heavy eggplant in her hands.

"And then...." Selina covered her lips as if she already knew what would happen next.

"And then I ran out of the store to find my brother laughing at me. He took the groceries my mom purchased and handed it to the store owner. He told the owner I hated chopping ingredients and had him encourage me." Celinda let out a helpless laughter.

"So...since then, you've hated eating beef and eggplants." Selina wrapped up the conclusion for her.

Celinda nodded while Julia and Nick laughed. Nick wiped the tear stains from the corner of his eyes. "But dear, I was in the aisle behind you watching this all happen. If you came to me, I would've explained it."

Turning her head towards her father, Celinda cracked her knuckles. "Hah! But you didn't and even watched my expressions. You were the first to laugh about it and then mom! Right, you were an accomplice too! You took the groceries from the owner and brought it to mom."

Julia chuckled, "But why would you even think it's true? Sweetheart, you're too naive. That's why your brother loved teasing you. He's always overprotective about you for a reason."

"That's true. Oh wells, he made it up to me afterwards. Hehe~~ We're considered even." The dimples on her cheek deepened as she tilted her lips upwards.

"What did he do?" Selina blinked curiously.

"Oh, you'll see in the next page." Celinda turned over to the next page and pointed at the picture on the lower left corner.

"This is an orphanage..." Selina looked at the picture with Jason and other kids around him. He was the tallest one, standing in the center. Kids were making faces towards the camera. Looking at the photo carefully, Selina saw the little girl next to him, holding his hand.

"Since we were young, my parents always gave us projects like visiting orphanages and attending charity events. Even though we were wealthy, we were raised to understand and appreciate what we have. Having more doesn't necessarily mean we are better people than those who have less. This was something that school cannot teach us through words."

"My father would arrange occasions where my brother and I would take turns staying with children for a few days. I was supposed to stay at this orphanage, but I got scared by the graveyard around that area. So, to make it up to me, we swapped destinations. This was a picture he kept out of all the other places he's been to."

Celinda continued explaining what happened during the time he stayed at the orphanage. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention we used to study overseas, so we only come back during vacation breaks. When we came to pick him up after the one-week extension my father permitted, he refused to leave. We practically dragged him to the airport."

"I don't know where he went, but before leaving, he said to give him ten minutes to say goodbye to a friend. He came back with a smile and flushed cheeks. Anyway, when we came back months later, his friend wasn't there anymore. Apparently, his friend's family member came to pick her up. He kept this picture since then."

Brushing her fingertip on the picture with the little girl in it, Selina felt empty. She remembered Jason telling her about them meeting at an orphanage, but she doesn't remember anything. If possible, she wished she could remember him as well.

Julia studied her expression silently. She interrupted Celinda's story and hinted for her to not say anymore about this matter. Giving Selina's fist a small squeeze, Julia asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." She replied with a small curve on her lips. A part of her felt bad for Jason because he spent years looking for her. When he found her, she was rushed to the emergency room. Not only that, he took care of her, believing she would wake up from her coma. What exactly did he feel when she woke up with no recollection of him? How hard was it for him to smile and patiently stay by her side?

"If it's not too much trouble, can you come along with me to the supermarket later? I want to learn more about Jason's likes and dislikes. Like the snacks he likes to eat." Selina asked.

"Of course it's no trouble. It's been a while since I've gone to the supermarket around this area. We can all take a walk around the area too." Julia was glad to see someone caring for her son. At least she knows he won't be skipping meals while they aren't here.

Though Selina and Jason tried to hold back on showing their affection for each other in front of them, their eyes can't lie. No matter how much they suppressed themselves from hugging and kissing, Julia could see love in their eyes when they looked at each other secretly.

When Selina did the dishes, Jason would follow along to help out in the kitchen. If he didn't see her within his sight range, he would ask about her. Even though he looked and sounded calm, Julia could tell how much he loved her.

At the same time, Selina may not ask or say much, but she would prepare everything for Jason without him noticing. For instance, she warmed up a cup of milk and placed it in front of him last night. The content in the mug was gone by the time she walked back to retrieve it. They had exchanged a smile at each other before she brought the mug to the sink.