That Evening
By evening, Elian finished work and drove to meet Cherry.
When he saw her waiting, his face immediately brightened.
"Cherry."
She looked at him and smiled politely.
"Hi, Elian."
He walked over to her.
"It's good to see you."
Cherry nodded.
"You wanted to talk, right?"
Elian paused.
"Yeah."
They sat together somewhere quiet, away from the noise of the city.
Elian looked at her for a moment.
"I've been thinking about last night."
Cherry remained silent.
She didn't interrupt him.
She simply listened.
"I know you said you were fine, but I felt like something was different."
Cherry lowered her gaze.
Elian continued.
"You seemed distant when you left."
She finally looked at him.
"I'm listening."
Elian took a breath.
"I just want to know if I did something wrong."
Cherry said nothing.
She gave him the space to say whatever was on his mind.
Elian reached for her hand.
"I don't want there to be anything between us that we can't talk about."
Cherry looked down at their hands.
Then slowly pulled hers away.
Elian's smile faded.
"Cherry?"
She remained quiet, waiting for him to finish everything he wanted to say before she gave him her answer.
Cherry let out a long, quiet sigh.
For a moment, she kept her eyes on the ground before finally looking at Elian.
"Can I ask you something?"
Elian nodded.
"Of course."
Cherry hesitated.
"Do you ever feel like... you owe me?"
Elian frowned.
"Owe you?"
She nodded slowly.
"Because of the diamond I gave you."
Elian's expression changed.
"Cherry, that's not—"
"Let me finish."
Her voice was gentle, not angry.
Elian fell silent.
Cherry continued.
"Sometimes I wonder if you think you have to stay with me because of everything I did for you."
She gave a small, sad smile.
"Because I helped you leave Manila. Because I gave you that diamond when you had nothing."
Elian shook his head.
"That's not why I'm with you."
"I know that's what you would say."
She looked away.
"But sometimes I still wonder."
Elian watched her carefully.
Cherry took another breath.
"I used to imagine our future a lot."
Her voice softened.
"I thought one day we'd have a beautiful life together. Maybe we'd have our own home. We'd wake up beside each other every morning. We'd grow old together."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"I know it sounds silly."
"It doesn't."
She continued.
"I just really believed in what we had."
Her eyes became slightly glassy.
"I thought what we shared was real love."
Elian's chest tightened.
Cherry looked at him again.
"Not something temporary. Not something that would disappear when life became difficult."
She paused.
"I thought we were different."
Elian swallowed.
"You are important to me, Cherry."
She smiled faintly.
"I know."
But there was sadness behind her smile.
"That's why I always believed that no matter what happened, we'd find our way back to each other."
She lowered her gaze again.
"I never imagined that one day I'd have to question whether the love between us was ever as real as I thought it was."
Elian stared at her.
She still hadn't said the words.
She hadn't accused him.
She hadn't mentioned Cindy.
She was simply talking about the future she had once dreamed of.
And somehow, that hurt him more than anger ever could.
Cherry was quiet for a while.
Elian could see the sadness in her eyes, but she still wasn't angry.
That somehow made him more nervous.
"I used to think love was simple," she said softly. "If two people loved each other, they would choose each other every day."
Elian lowered his gaze.
Cherry continued.
"I thought even when things became difficult, we'd talk about it. We'd fight for each other. We'd never make the other person feel like they weren't enough."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I wanted that with you."
Elian looked at her.
"You still can."
Cherry smiled faintly.
"Can I?"
He didn't answer.
She looked down at her hands.
"I spent so many years waiting for you. When I thought I had lost you, I still hoped you'd come back."
She took a slow breath.
"And when you finally did, I thought..." She paused. "I thought maybe everything happened for a reason."
Elian's chest tightened.
"I thought we'd finally get the future we were supposed to have."
She looked into his eyes.
"I was so happy, Elian."
He reached toward her hand, but she gently moved it away.
"I don't want you to misunderstand me. I'm not saying this because I regret loving you."
Her eyes began to fill with tears.
"I don't regret it."
She wiped one tear away before it could fall.
"But sometimes loving someone doesn't mean you should keep holding on to them."
Elian's heart sank.
"Cherry..."
She shook her head gently.
"Let me finish."
He nodded.
Cherry looked away.
"There was a time when I thought losing you would be the worst thing that could ever happen to me."
She gave a small, broken smile.
"Now I'm starting to realize that maybe losing myself while trying to keep you would be worse."
Elian stared at her, unable to speak.
Cherry took another breath.
She still hadn't said what she knew.
Not yet.
She wanted him to understand what she had believed in before she told him what he had destroyed.
Cherry didn't say anything else.
She simply sat there quietly, her hands resting in her lap.
Elian waited.
"Cherry..."
She didn't respond.
He studied her face, trying to understand what she was thinking.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She wasn't angry.
She just looked tired.
Elian slowly reached for her hand again.
This time, she didn't pull away.
But she didn't hold his hand either.
The silence between them stretched on.
Elian finally spoke softly.
"Is there something you're not telling me?"
Cherry looked at him.
For a moment, it seemed like she might say something.
But she only shook her head.
"No."
Elian frowned.
"Are you sure?"
Cherry nodded.
"I'm sure."
Then she looked away.
Elian could tell there was something behind her silence.
Something she wasn't ready to say.
But he didn't force her.
He simply sat beside her, wondering how the woman who had always been so open with him could suddenly feel so far away.
Cherry slowly stood up.
"I should go home."
Elian looked up at her.
"Already?"
She nodded.
"I need some rest."
She picked up her bag and turned toward the parking area.
Elian remained seated for a moment, stunned.
"Cherry, wait."
She stopped but didn't turn around immediately.
Elian stood and walked after her.
"You just got here."
"I know."
"We barely talked."
Cherry finally looked back at him.
"We talked enough for tonight."
Her voice was gentle, but there was a distance in it that Elian couldn't ignore.
She continued walking toward her car.
Elian followed.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Cherry gave him a small smile.
"I'm tired, Elian. That's all."
She reached her car and opened the door.
Elian stood beside her, still confused.
"Can I at least drive you home?"
Cherry shook her head.
"No. I'll drive myself."
She got into the car.
Before closing the door, she looked at him.
"Goodnight, Elian."
"Goodnight."
The door closed.
Elian stood there as Cherry's car slowly pulled away.
He watched until the taillights disappeared.
For some reason, the short goodbye left him with a feeling he couldn't shake.
It felt like Cherry was slowly slipping away from him.
And he had no idea why.
Elian returned home later that evening.
Mrs. Anna was sitting in the living room when he walked in.
She looked up.
"You've returned, apo."
Elian nodded and sat down.
"I met Cherry tonight."
Mrs. Anna immediately looked concerned.
"How did it go? Is she okay?"
Elian sighed.
"That's what I don't know."
Mrs. Anna frowned.
"What happened?"
Elian told her about their conversation, including the questions Cherry had asked him about the diamond and whether he felt like he owed her.
He also told her how Cherry spoke about the future she had once imagined with him and how she seemed strangely distant.
"And then she just said she was tired and went home," Elian finished.
Mrs. Anna listened carefully.
"Did she say anything else?"
"No."
"Did she look upset?"
"Not exactly."
Elian rubbed his forehead.
"That's what confuses me. She wasn't angry. She wasn't crying. She just seemed... different."
Mrs. Anna thought for a moment.
"Maybe she's simply tired from work."
Elian looked at her.
"You think that's all?"
"Perhaps."
Mrs. Anna gave him a reassuring smile.
"Sometimes people become quiet when they're exhausted. Don't overthink it."
Elian nodded slowly.
"Maybe you're right."
Mrs. Anna watched him carefully.
But deep inside, she wasn't convinced.
There was something in Cherry's behavior that felt different.
And Mrs. Anna couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened that night.