June felt her breath seize as the little one rushed towards her with a smile as he hugged her leg tightly.
“Auntie! I’m so sorry! I wanted to come see you but my father stopped me! He locked me up and forbade me from seeing you!” Luis managed to say in one breath while the entire house watched with shocked expressions.
Auntie? Who was this woman and how did they relate?
“My baby!” June soon recovered from her initial shock around him and reciprocated the hug, holding him tightly. “My sweet boy! I missed you so much! Have you been well?” She asked with a smile, gazing into his eyes.
He shook his head and her heart fell.
“I’m hungry, come eat with me.” He said in a childish tone, refusing to leave her side.
June smiled, then looked around, only then did she realise they were the centre of attention. “What?” She didn’t know when the words fell out of her lips.
Rafael soon recovered from the drastic change in the little one’s actions, and a frown marred his face as he took in the damage caused by his son.
The atmosphere went down a few degrees at his wrath. “Luis. What did I tell you about thrashing the house?” He asked in a stern tone.
Luis couldn’t be bothered by his angry father. All he knew was that he had his auntie and every other thing was in second place, including his father.
“You broke your promise.” He said non-challantly, dragging June towards the dining area where food was laid out for dinner.
“Sit.” Luis said, gesturing to a seat he pushed out like a gentleman. “I’ll feed you.”
June felt a hotness in her cheeks with everyone’s gaze on her.
“Clean up the mess,” Rafael said, dismissing the people, having noticed her discomfort.
Soon enough, the dining room was cleared out, safe for June and the father and son duo. Rafael watched his son pull out a plate and fill it with food in such a careful way that nothing spilt on the desk.
It was a sight to behold.
By the time he was done, he handed over a spoon to her and moved on to gesture her to eat. Forgetting his father was seated at the same table and without food.
June didn’t know how to react. Especially with Rafael throwing glares at his son who moved his seat closer to June, watching her with a smitten look on his face, waiting for her to eat.
A loud rumble broke out of her stomach and she blushed in shame. She’s been so busy looking for a job that she forgot to eat.
A frown marred the little one’s face at the sound and she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Now even Rafael’s gaze was fixated on her. The intensity of their attention caused her to shift uncomfortably on her seat.
“I hadn’t eaten yet…” She managed to speak, shame consuming her.
June didn’t realise what was going on around her until she felt a spoon nudge at the entrance of her mouth. Luis was offering her food. He’d taken on the job to feed her himself since she was taking a lot of time to do it herself.
“Auntie! Open!” He said, making the ahh sound.
Rafael watched them with fascination and disbelief. It seemed like he had entered an alternate universe with the way his son was acting. There and then, he decided he was going to do everything to keep June Rivera.
If not for anything, but for his son.
Rafael got up from his seat, and that caught June’s attention who mistook it as him getting angry at the display in front of him. She made to speak, but Luis spoon-fed her, effectively shutting her up.
“I will be in my office.” He said to June, then turned to his child. “Do not think you are off the hook. Get her to my office at the close of dinner.”
Rafael didn’t bother to wait for his son to acknowledge his words before he started his journey to the office. Luis didn’t spare his father a look, too busy feeding his newfound love.
Soon enough, June was filled and refused to have any more food, much to Luis’s disappointment. He was having a great time feeding his auntie.
“Did you get dinner?” She asked the little boy, eyes widening as she remembered hearing him say he was hungry. “Oh forgive me, baby!” She said and Luis’s face turned confused.
“I ate all alone and didn’t care to feed you when you were hungry!” She picked up a plate and hastily served a dish, “Come on, open up!”
Luis wanted to tell his auntie that he could eat by himself. That he never liked eating with people, talkless of being fed. But he swallowed his words and like a sweet little boy, opened his mouth wide, waiting for her to feed him.
June felt a lot worse seeing his eagerness as she mistook it to mean he was so hungry and all this while she had let him feed her without care. She quickly made up for it, feeding him until the plate was emptied into his stomach.
“More?” She asked, already putting some more food on the plate.
This had been one of her fantasies of when she finally had her child. She wanted to feed her little baby so much that he had a good night’s sleep afterwards.
Although Luis felt filled to the brim, he nodded. June’s smile broadened and that was enough to have him eat everything and anything she offered him.
By the time they were done, he could barely get on his feet. Seeing his struggle to walk pulled on her heartstrings and immediately, June took him in her arms.
Little Luis was stunned for a moment. He couldn’t remember the last time he let anyone carry him. Not even his beloved grandma. But for some reason, instead of struggling to be let down, he wrapped his arm around her neck and directed her towards his room.
His father was going to wait all night long because he wasn’t letting his auntie leave his sight!
The house was a big one, so she relied on Luis to direct her to his room where he had insisted that she sleep on his bed beside him. It took a few minutes before Luis was knocked off enough that she could untangle herself from him.
Deciding to step out for a bit, she headed to the door, only to have it open from the outside, nearly hitting her in the nose. June sported a deadpan look as she met the cold eyes of Rafael, who stared at her for a moment before gesturing her to follow him.
Rafael led June to his office and gestured for her to sit on the couch while he arranged his thoughts. Just when he was ready to speak, the news came on the television and what he heard both shocked and stunned him.
The newscaster reported the story.
“On the story of June Rivera, the wife of Ethan Lontoc, CEO of the LT Constructions. The Lontoc family have reacted to the news of their former daughter-in-law’s unruly behaviours.”
The screen changed and June watched her former husband, Ethan Lontoc come on screen, looking distraught.
“I have tried my best to keep the news of my ex-wife’s unscrupulous activities before and during our marriage because I loved her. However, just recently, we found out that not only was she cheating on me, but could not bear a child after an abortion she had from one of her numerous men.”
“It pains me to announce our divorce in this manner, especially since she ran off from our home and we are yet to find her. I want to formally announce that my ex-wife, June Rivera, has been divorced and this case has been settled quietly.”
“Also, because I love my in-laws so much, and I know what pains they are made to go through because of my ex-wife, I have decided to remarry into their family. This time, with April Rivera, who has been nothing short of supportive to both my marriage to her sister and the family business.”
“I hope the general public can understand and support us in our decision moving forward.” Ethan finished with a smile, holding April’s hands tightly in the video.