Chapter One
1005 Words
Chapter One
Aegeus
"Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!"
A smile formed on my lips as I heard the small voice of my prince. That smile disappeared as he started bouncing on the bed.
"Aegeus, what does mommy always say?" I asked as I got up.
He pouted and hugged me. "No jumping on your bed..."
"And?"
"My bed," he said and kissed me. "Sorry, Mommy, I was just excited because today is my first day! I want you to prepare my breakfast. I don't want to eat Yaya Meling's pancakes! Yours taste better."
I smiled and messed up his hair. "Alright then, I need to fix my bed before I make your pancakes. Go downstairs and ask Yaya to give you a bath," I said, quickly planting a kiss on his nose.
I glanced at my clock, calculating the time I had left before heading to my office. A sigh escaped my lips when I realized I had less than two hours.
Balancing work and taking care of my son was challenging. But I was still content with my life. The best decision I ever made was giving birth to my son, Aegeus Limuel Miller.
I arrived at my office twenty minutes late. It had been three years since I started working at Prime Publishing Company on the outskirts of Manila as an editor. Last year, I was promoted to head editor.
Time had flown by, and it had been six years since I left my life in New York. Despite the difficulties of the past years, I never regretted that decision to leave.
"OMG! Sammie, why are you so late? Sir Marcus was looking for you upstairs, there was an announcement earlier," Mika greeted me.
I quickened my pace toward Sir Marcus' office, not even bothering to set my things down in my own office.
"Good morning, Sir Marcus," I said with an apologetic smile.
"You're late."
"I'm sorry, it's Aegeus' first day of school today."
He nodded and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. I took a seat and looked at him.
"Aegeus has grown so much. I bet he woke you up by jumping on your bed."
I laughed. "You guessed right, Sir."
He smirked. "Enough with the formalities, Sam. How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Marcus?"
"You're still my boss."
"But you're also my friend."
Marcus had been a close friend of my brother, so I had become friends with him before I left for New York. When I returned to the Philippines and wanted to work again, he offered me a job at The Prime.
"So, what's the meeting about?"
"Prime has been acquired by an international company, Samantha."
"What?! How did that happen? What about the Velasco's?" I asked, referring to the owners of Prime.
"They sold it; their son wanted to focus on their real estate business."
I rubbed my forehead, feeling anxious about the changes now that Prime had new owners. "I wonder what will happen to us."
"Next week, there's an event to welcome the new owners. That's when we'll find out their plans, since we're under new management now."
I bit my lip. "I hope they won't let us go."
He smiled, but I could see the concern in his eyes. "That won't happen. I won't allow it."
***
"HOW's school, Aegeus?" I asked my son, finding him in his room, staring at the wall covered with our photos.
My heart squeezed as he turned to face me, his eyes filled with tears.
"What happened, baby?" I asked in worry, stepping closer to him and gently wiping his face.
"M-Mommy!" he cried out and hugged me tightly.
"What's wrong, baby?"
"My classmate made fun of me because I told him I don't have a Daddy."
"Aegeus..."
"Why don't I have a Daddy like the others, Mommy?"
I hugged him tightly, tears streaming down my own face. "You do have a Daddy. I'm your father too, right?"
"No, you're not! You're my mother, Mommy, tell me! Where's my Daddy?!"
He pushed me away slightly, his small hands cupping my face. "Mommy..." his crying subsided as he noticed my tears. "D-Don't cry..."
"You're crying, so Mommy is crying too..."
He wiped his eyes and looked at me. His eyes were red, and I could see his effort to hold back tears. "I'll stop crying, Mommy. I don't want to see you cry."
I wiped my tears and kissed his forehead. "You're so sweet, Aegeus... Do you really want to know about your father?"
He nodded. "But it's okay if you don't want to tell me, Mommy. Just don't cry, please."
I managed a smile. "Aegeus, you're still too young to understand everything. But I'll tell you one thing: he's not here in the Philippines."
"Then where is he?" Aegeus asked, curiosity in his eyes.
"He's in New York."
He frowned. "Why are we here in the Philippines and not with him?"
"He's working there." I lifted him up and sat him on my lap. I hugged him from behind, running my fingers through his hair.
"Doesn't he love us, Mommy? Why is he there?"
I'm sorry, Aegeus.
"He loves you, Aegeus."
"When will I see him? I want to see him, Mommy," his voice held a tinge of sadness.
"You'll see him when you grow up. We'll visit him."
Oh God, forgive me for lying.
"Why not now?"
"Because..."
I couldn't finish my sentence, not knowing what other lies I could tell to avoid my son's questions.
I took a deep breath and fell silent. "Mommy?"
"Aegeus, Mommy is hungry. Can we talk about this some other time?"
He looked at me and gently touched my cheek. "Last question, Mommy."
"What is it, baby?"
"What's his name?"
I swallowed hard before I spoke a name I hadn't uttered in a long time.
"Pisces... Pisces Hammington, baby," I uttered slowly, feeling my heart beat slowly going fast.
I closed my eyes, memories of that man flooding back.
My ex-husband.
- Writer
