THE ILLEGITIMATE DAUGHTER

CHAPTER 2: How will you continue living?

Adina’s answer was, “Aivi’s life would just be more complicated if she knew her father. So it is best that I just bury his identity with me. That night, I was drunk and he was also drunk. He might not even remember what happened. It was just me having no inhibitions at that time and acting on my unrequited love for him. I didn’t even expect that I would get pregnant. He also has his own family. I would rather have my daughter suffer the verbal insults of being an illegitimate daughter than suffer indifference from her father’s family. I also do not want to ruin his life knowing that he has an illegitimate daughter. He is a good man. I was the one at fault, loving a married man secretly and one-sided.”

Nick stated, “Nonetheless, we will check on her from time to time. You are like the sister that I never had, Adina. So we will make sure that your daughter will be safe and sound.”

The Delgados had also arrived. They felt so sad seeing the weak condition of Adina. They also assured Adina that they would check on Aivi from time to time just as she requested after she passed away. The Delgados were also able to convince Aivi to go home first with Shayne to Kaia Residences so she could get a few things that she needed in staying with her mother at the hospital all through the night.

Aivi and Shayne already both had their non-professional driver’s license. Shayne encouraged Aivi to drive since she knew the way. Then they already drove in separate cars as they returned.

As they entered the hospital, Aivi saw her doctor-godfather rushing to her mother’s hospital room. So she and Shayne walked briskly as well. Then as they got near the door, everyone was already crying.

She cried out loud, “Nooooooooooooooooo…”

Everybody just so much empathy for her.

June 6, 2017. Tuesday. Adina had already been laid to rest beside the graves of her parents Domingo & Imelda Gomez in a private memorial garden. It was only then that Aivi realized that her mother had so many friends but none of those who attended the wake was related to her by blood. After the interment, Atty. Samuel Delgado had already read the last will and testament.

In Adina’s last will and testament, it was stated that all of her fortune which included the studio unit, the car, the jewelry and several bank accounts would all be inherited by her daughter. She also designated her godmother Fatima Legarda-Vernal as the primary legal guardian and financial conservator of her daughter until she finished her degree program, and her best friend, Dr. Manuel Ho as Aivi’s secondary legal guardian as well as medical emergency contact person. Those two persons had agreed on those designations.

Aivi had a rare blood type, AB RH negative. Adina had realized it when Aivi was first hospitalize upon contacting dengue fever since she needed platelet transfusion. Aivi also had a penicillin allergy which they discovered when she had to have an abnormal tooth extraction before having dental braces. Aivi’s dentist-godfather had such preliminary skin-test on penicillin allergy before recommending antibiotics to his dental patients.

After the reading of the last will and testament, the Vernal Matriarch suggested for Aivi to live with her first until she reach eighteen. Her doctor-godfather and the Delgados had approved of it since Aivi was still not of legal age and they didn’t want her to live alone yet. At least once the academic year started by September, she would already have Shayne as a housemate. Kaia Residences is just 1 km or 10-minute walking distance to the main entrance gate of SBU Campus.

Thus, Aivi spent her remaining school vacation break at the Vernal Estate, where the Vernal Patriarch & Matriarch, permanently reside. They had already asked her to address them as Lolo and Lola. But she also got to visit their suburb residence just outside the city proper where their mayor-son and his family live. So Aivi was able to personally meet the mayor and his wife’s two sons and only daughter. At some point, she also met the father and the mother of the mayor’s wife, Carmelo and Teresa Tolentino, who were a congressional representative, and Department of Tourism secretary, respectively. The Tolentinos were not from upper class families but they were rich enough to be in politics.

Aivi accompanied Lola Fatima in most of her activities whether for leisure or work-related. For the leisure activities, she got to attend art gallery exhibit, piano recital, dance recital, and many others. She also accompanied her guardian’s social dates with her circle of friends like flower arrangement session, ballroom dancing session, book club meeting and many more.

But what Aivi enjoyed the most was accompanying her legal guardian in her charitable activities where they visited hospice for the elderly, a pediatric cancer ward in BMC, and children's orphanages. She also loved accompanying her guardian in her speaking engagements in her capacity as a human rights lawyer and advocate, as well as a corporate lawyer and intellectual property lawyer. The matriarch was already on her 70s but still very energetic and healthy.

Aivi was also encouraged by her guardian to take dance and music classes with Daphne, the youngest offspring of the mayor, who was also two years older than her. Her classes were personally paid for by her guardian. She declined at first but her guardian insisted, making an excuse that they were delayed gifts that she should have received yearly when she was younger. Aivi settled down taking piano lessons since she liked listening whenever her mother’s godmother played piano. She also took modern dance and social dance classes rather than the ballet classes that Daphne took. Daphne was mean to her.

Daphne even harshly told her once, “Why don’t you just go home? Dad even gifted you with so many things even if it is your birthday. You are stealing Lola from me,” even if Daphne was not that close to the matriarch.

Daphne didn’t even like attending the social activities as well as the charitable activities of her grandmother, since she preferred hanging out with her friends more.

She responded calmly but with confidence, “I am not stealing anyone from you. If you want those things given to me by your family, then have them! I didn’t even ask for them. Once I turn 18, then I can go home to my own residence. Hence, you won’t see me anymore.”

But Daphne became made since Ivy had the courage to talk back to her, “And you even have the audacity to talk back to me! We are not on the same level. You are just a poor pathetic orphan, an illegitimate daughter leeching off from my family!”

Daphne’s father heard their exchange and immediately reprimanded his daughter as she had become insulting already, “Apologize to Aivi, Daphne. She is not poor. Her mother left her a fortune, enough for her to live a comfortable life. She also has her own house and car, while you are just financially dependent on this family. I am disappointed with your attitude. Why can you not just be friends with her?”

Daphne even answered impudently, “I won’t apologize. She does not deserve to stay here. You and Lola are pampering her way too much. I am your daughter, Dad. She is not!”

Daddy Nick pointed out, “We are not pampering her. What is so wrong about treating her well? Her mother had been so good to this family. Adina even took care of you and your brothers when you were just babies while your mother had to recuperate from childbirth.”

Then Aivi just collapsed so suddenly. She was so high with fever. So the mayor immediately carried his mother’s ward to the car and took her to the hospital along with her mother.

The mother and son talked at Aivi was already in a hospital room having an IV drip. Aside from the high fever, Aivi was also slightly anemic and B-vitamins deficient.

Nick told his mother, “Daph is mean to her, Mama. She could not even wait to go home to her own residence any more just to avoid my daughter. Adina will not be happy up there. Her daughter is being bullied by my own daughter, and she is now even sick.”

His mother assured her, “She has just been sad upon losing her mother. I believe that she misses Adina so much. Doc Manny and I will talk to her. I still think that we should not let her live alone even if she has already turned eighteen in July. We should wait until her best friend arrives for the start of the academic year in September. That is what Doc Manuel, the Delgados, and I agreed on. Plus, the additional safety features I had arranged for her residence are not yet completed.”

Nick then asked, “Will she truly be able to continue living without her mother, Mama? Adina even insisted that we all allow her to live independently as she reached the age of emancipation.”

Meanwhile, Daphne had already returned to their city residence. Her mother already knew that she had been reprimanded by her father.

Her mother’s initial rant as she arrived was, “It was reported to me that you were reprimanded by your father. What did you do this time?”

Daphne said, “Well, I just said Lola’s ward to go home already, since she is stealing Lola from me. Then she had the audacity to talk back at me. Dad heard our exchange of words, reprimanded me in front of that leech, and then she just suddenly collapsed. Dad even personally carried her. So they could rush her to BMC. Lolo, Lola and Dad are all so considerate of her while they are strict with me.

Celeste told her daughter, “Well, she is quite pitiful even if her mother left her quite a large amount of money and some other property. She had just lost her mother. She didn’t even know who her father is all her life. She also had no other relatives. All she got is her godparents as well as the Vernals. But she would eventually live independently in her studio condo unit in Kaia Residences as she turned 18. By then, your grandmother would just be her financial conservator. She would just have to check on her every once in a while.”

Daphne then asked, “Why are they always speaking highly of her mother? Dad even mentioned that her mother had taken care of me when I was still a baby.”

Celeste confirmed that, “That is true. Adina took care of me and all of you when you were all just new-born, since your Dad and all our parents are busy with their respective careers. She will work at night-shift then oversee the household employees accompanying me at daytime. She would just take naps at daytime once the baby took nap too. She was the daughter of your Lola’s bosom friend who was fostered by your Lola’s parents. She was also a confidant and a very close friend of your Dad. Your Dad always considered Adina a real younger sister.”

Daphne expressed, “I hate her.”

Celeste shared, “I don’t like her either. But you must try not to show that when you are in front of your Dad and grandparents. Back then, when Adina had not moved to another state, I had to vie for your Dad’s time and attention. So instead of being disappointed, I just befriended her, accepted her presence in your Dad’s life, and just took advantage of her kindness. Now, her daughter is somehow Adina’s replacement in their hearts. She won’t be staying at the estate for long, so just endure her for a while rather than being on the bad side of your Dad and grandparents.”

Back at the hospital, when Lola and Doc Manuel talked to Aivi…

Her godfather was the first one to ask, “Mamu said that you don’t seem to have the appetite in eating. Now you are slightly anemic and B vitamins deficient. Do you honestly think that your mother will be happy with this? How can we allow you to live on your own if you are neglecting your health? You used to be a hearty eater. You probably miss so much, but you should keep on living, Aivi. Adina wants you to spread your wings and reach for your dreams. So how will you continue living if you are not healthy?”

She calmly answered, “I am just not used to the food that they have at Vernal Estate, Ninong. I am also used to cooking and eating with Mama. Yes, I miss her.”

Her foster grandmother then asked, “Then feel free to cook in the kitchen. I can ask our chef to allow you to assist her. You can cook and eat any food that you want. We can even buy any snack that you want. But first, you should have treatment for your anemia and B-vitamins deficiency. Then, as you turn 18 and the security features that I have arranged for your residence are all done, then I will already allow you to live there. But you have to promise us that you won’t be careless about your health. And you can still accompany me in my activities whenever you want. I just want to expose you to all the things that you can possibly do. But if you want to do other activities, then just tell me so we can have them arranged.”

She agreed, “I will, Lola. So don’t be mad anymore, Ninong. I will be mindful of my health already.”

By the time Aivi was discharged from the hospital after a few days, the results of the DNA Test that Lola Fatima had requested had also come out. She already knew Aivi’s biological father. Her suspicions were confirmed. So she informed her husband about it.

Her words were, “My suspicions are confirmed,” showing the medical document to her husband, “She is our granddaughter. That is why she had some of my features.”

Her husband’s reaction was, “So what do you want to do now? Adina didn’t want her, as well as Nick, to know. She even had that secret buried with her but here you are so keen at unraveling the truth. Adina wanted her daughter to live independently as she reached 18 with just your financial conservatorship until Aivi finished her psychology degree. Adina knew the backlash of this secret on Nick as well as on Aivi once it was unraveled.”

She debated, “So will we just let her live without knowing that she actually has blood relatives and that her father is very much alive?!”

Lolo Dominico had his rebuttal, “So, you just want to ruin the peace in our family. Is that so? How do you think Celeste and our grand offspring will react once they found out this secret? Daphne is kind of jealous of her already with your growing closeness to her and with Nick’s display of concern towards her. You will just complicate our lives if the truth comes out. Even Adina knew it very well. Thus, she chose to just keep it to herself.”

The matriarch asked, “Don’t you even feel any affinity towards her? She is our own flesh and blood, Dominico!”

Lolo Dominico, “True! I perfectly get your point. But you are seeing the bigger picture. Our son had a very promising career as a public servant. He has been awarded the most outstanding mayor in the country several times since he first held office. He has transformed this city as one of the most progressive, peaceful, and orderly cities in the country. Then, by the election in 2019, he would already be running as one of the congressional representatives of this city. Do you want to ruin that, Fatima?!”

Lola Fatima replied, “So what do we do? We cannot just abandon her knowing the truth?”

Lolo Dominico then said, “We will not abandon her. But we could support her in any way possible without her even knowing the truth. Pay for her education.”

Lolo Fatima replied, “She knew of the college fund Adina had set up for her. She will also ask us why we are paying for her education.”

Lolo Dominico said, “Then use that fund but set up another account and deposit the same amount or even more to it. She must still have money by the time she finished her degree. Use all those money that Adina planned for her to have. But secretly replenished all those funds. Open the account as she turned 18 along with those updating of her and/or bank accounts with Adina. That way, she would not know about it. Buy her clothes. Buy her food. But don’t overdo it. So she would not suspect anything. Adina had raised here daughter well. Aivi didn’t even want to take those classes you insisted for her to take since you want to pay for them. But to appease you, she just agreed with those piano and dance classes. We will look after her but she must not know the secret.”

July 29, 2017. Saturday. It was Aivi’s 18th birthday. She already celebrated it on her own residence. But as she went there early in the morning with her foster grandmother, she immediately noticed all the updates and renovation that had been made.

She reacted, “You have the kitchen renovated, Mamu! It’s much bigger now with lots of storage. There are even floor-to-ceiling built in shoe rack and pantry cabinet opposite it,” and then ask, “So where are our personal ref and two-burner butane stove?”

The Vernal Matriarch responded, “The personal ref is placed in the bedroom while the induction cooker is stored under the cabinet of the kitchen sink, I believe. The updates are my family’s debutant’s present to you since you didn’t want us to throw you a party. We also want you to be even more comfortable and safe here with Shayne since you are both two young ladies. You also have learned more about cooking and baking with our chef. You won’t be able to apply much of those upgraded recipes of yours without an oven. So I decided on this kitchen renovation. You already have here an electric range with four induction hobs and two electric oven. Less fire hazard for you and Shayne. We also decided on a bigger refrigerator as well as the pantry for more food storage since Elaine would supply you and Shayne with fresh produce from their farm. Anyway, there is also a ductless vent hood and microwave oven above the cooking range.”

Then she saw the other updates, “The door is new with smart lock system, front camera and monitor here inside. There are also doors for the bedroom and walk-in closet. There is even an air conditioning unit. Will those all big appliances not consume so much electricity?”

Mamu Fatima said, “They are all energy efficient, dear. But if you want to save on electricity then you can just sell the personal refrigerator. Or just use the air conditioning unit when it is too hot. You got ceiling fans, anyway. As for the doors, additional doors, they are for privacy purposes in case you have male guests around. I also had arranged for screen panels and metal grills for all your windows. There is also a fireproof safety vault at the walk-in closet for all those jewelry and other important documents that your mother left for you. The hot & cold shower fixture was also changed into a wall-mounted 5-in-1 shower panel with waterfall shower, rainfall shower, hand shower, body jets massage and bathtub spout.”

She expressed, “They are way too much, Mamu. How can I even repay you for all the things you’ve have been for you?”

Mamu Fatima replied, “You just need to do well in with your studies. And if you have time, you can still accompany me on my activities. I could always use a very smart and cheerful companion.”

She affirmed, “Sure, Lola.”

After that, Aivi insisted to shopping so she could cook dishes for her birthday to serve her guests, which included her godparents, god sisters and god brothers.

Aivi, accompanied by Lola Fatima, drove at W & M Superstore where she and her mother used to shop.

The matriarch did not do any grocery shopping, but she wanted to have more bonding time with her newly-found granddaughter. So she went with her. But she didn’t expect that they would go to the W & M Superstore, which is a membership shopping establishment combining all the products of a supermarket and a department store. That establishment, along with its other branches all over the country, is owned by her former high school boyfriend, Thomas Muñoz. And to her surprise, Thomas was there, with whom seemed to be his grandson.

Lola Fatima just acted naturally and just followed Aivi, but then Thomas recognized her and approached them, “Is that really you, Fatima? Is this your granddaughter? She got striking similarities with you, especially your honey brown eyes and straight brows. Her skin complexion and wavy locks as well as its color are similar to when you were her age.”