How Can I Ever Forget?

"It's so beautiful out here… I love it!" Andrea said while looking at the skies of Santorini. Her beautiful face could feel the ocean breeze from their balcony.

"You are far more beautiful than any sight in the world." Gabriel walked towards her and pulled her close to him, held her by the neck and gave her a deep kiss which seemed to have lasted forever.

After pulling away, Gabriel suggested, "Let's have a home here. When we have kids, we can come here for a yearly vacation. This will forever be the most memorable place for us and our love for each other."

Andrea giggled at his words and looked up to him with one brow raised before saying, "I didn't think you could be such a sweet talker."

"It's because of you."

A sweet memory of the past... Yes, it was merely a memory that disturbed her rest. A dream of the time when she and Gabriel were together.

Andrea woke up teary-eyed and staring blankly at the ceiling. Her heart seemed like it was crushed to a million pieces. 'It has been 3 years… Andy, it has been 3 years. Why do you still think of him? Does he even deserve your thoughts?'

She closed her eyes again, and the memories came rushing back. Touching her lips, she could feel his kisses. Hugging her pillows was like being able to hug him once again. She stayed still in the same pitiful position for another fifteen minutes or so.

'It hurts so much… How can I ever forget?' She whispered to herself.

Buzz… Buzz… The vibrating phone finally brought her back to her senses. She slowly got up and took the phone that has been ringing from her bedside.

"Hello."

"Andrea, I got you a job. Well, a job interview. Don't screw it up."

Andrea frowned and looked at her watch. It was still 6 AM. What kind of work could possibly require her own sister to give her a call at this very hour?

"Well, at least this time, it is work… right?" Andrea blurted out.

"Of course, it is work! I will send you the details in a few minutes. Please have a look and come home for a few days, will you?"

"Okay. Book me a flight for the next week. Bye. I'm going back to bed." Andrea tried to end the conversation.

"Andy, I love you to death. You know that, right? Me and Ting, we are here for you. The kids, they miss you… You have all the love you need right here. From us…"

Andy smiled, hearing her sister trying to comfort her. 'She knows me very well'.

She went back to bed after bidding goodbye, hoping to make up for her bad dreams, but all she could think about was the last conversation she had with Gabriel.

Andrea forced herself to recall the last remembrance of the pain, the words that broke her heart completely. She told herself, "Andy, this is the reason to forget him."

[FLASHBACK]

"Gabe, please don't do this… please… please don't throw away everything that we had shared!" With tears flowing without control, Andrea pleaded while holding on to Gabriel's waist. 

Gabriel turned to look at Andrea with disgusts.

"Did you really think that I loved you? Sure! At some point, I cared for you because you were like my sister. Don't you get it, Andy? Everything was forced on me! On us! Mother pushed me to be with you so to keep you!"

"What are you talking about, Gabe?" Andy asked with confusion. "What about the times we spent in the US? The familial home we built in Greece…. Was that not what we had planned together because we loved each other?"

Andrea was never used to defending herself in this manner, but what can she do? The man that she had loved for more than six years had said to have fallen in love with another woman.

Gabriel helplessly looked at Andrea and reiterated, "I am sorry for hurting you… I realized, after meeting Taya, I was never in love with you… I can't ignore the way I am feeling for her. Do you understand?"

Andrea could not believe what she had heard. They spent plenty of romantic vacations together, holding hands, walking barefoot on the beach, kissing in the sunset… five years of officially being a couple, nine years of being childhood friends, falling in love with him on her sixteenth birthday, she had never imagined this day would come. She had always been confident about their relationship. Where could she have gone wrong?

Andrea glared at him in disbelief! Eight months ago, they had just gotten engaged. Now, all is ruined because their mother's best friend came home from Russia with their daughter, Taya.

"You proposed to me not too long ago! Gabe! Nobody forced you to do that!" Andrea screamed at him as tears continue to follow down her face. "I cannot allow it! Do you hear me?"

Seeing how Andrea continued to be accepting of the reality, Gabriel could only use harsh words to make it clear to her "Andy, if you fight me on this, I will make sure you will be set aside and completely forgotten! Everything you have worked for will go down to drain. Remember that I am my mother, and father's son. My family will always favor me before you... Let this go, Andy… Let me go."