I glanced at the ring on my hand. I am currently lying here on Ismael’s bed in his bedroom. We had spent too much time talking; that’s why they advised me to sleep here first. I can’t help but feel secure when I get to remember this promise ring he gave me. He also promised to marry me.
“Did he propose to you?” I remember Ismael’s father, Mr. Mikael Mondalla.
I shook my head. “He said, this is a promise ring. He promised to marry me, s-sir.” My voice broke from trying to stop crying.
“So he promised to marry you? Ismael will marry you?” asked Ismael’s mother, Mrs. Elisse Vieste, who continued to cry. “That was the ring he inherited from his grandfather. It is a treasured ring passed down through generations,” she explained.
“It symbolizes a love to last a lifetime,” added Mr. Mikael while smiling. “I am glad to see it on you. I thought it was lost.”
“So, what does it mean? Would the wedding happen anytime soon?” Mrs. Elisse asked while leaping on the chair in excitement. “Is this a sign that he agrees to your offer to be the next president of the Mondalla clan?”
“I don’t know yet, Elisse. We couldn’t get hold of him until now. We need a solid agreement from our son.” Mr. Mikael turned around to face me. “Do you know where Ismael is?”
I am still shocked by their conversation regarding the existence of their family’s clan, and now they are asking me where Ismael is. I don’t even know how to react right now. They don’t seem to know that their son left me.
“I have no idea, sir.”
I sighed again as I looked up at the ceiling. How I wish Ismael was here to explain everything while pleasing me like he did the last time.
*****
They didn’t let us leave without breakfast. Mrs. Elisse Vieste was like a real mother, taking care of both Isa and me, especially with her former husband, Mr. Mikael Mondalla. Looking at them never caused a doubt about how much care and love they shared. Their body language and how they look at each other scream unconditional love. I can’t help but wonder why they have to remarry someone else. Was it really because of their family tradition?
No, it is not for me to know.
“Eat more, sweetie,” said Mrs. Elisse to me. “You are way slimmer than before.”
I just nodded in response and ate. I never received this kind of treatment from my mother. How ironic that others can be this thoughtful towards me when my biological mother couldn’t.
Isa and I finished eating, so we said goodbye to them.
“Hold on! Our helper packed some fruits and salads for you, dear. I’ll get them for you! Wait for me,” Ismael’s mother added, so I looked at Isa. She simply smiled at me and didn’t say a word.
“Here, take this.” I was surprised when Mr. Mikael gave me an envelope. “That’s not a lot. Buy yourself some food.”
I was stunned. “S-sure?” But I couldn’t appeal anymore when Mrs. Elisse went to me and handed me a lot of bags.
“N-not anymore-”
I was cut off when Isa interjected. “Just take it. They’ll be heartbroken if you reject their kindness.”
I took a deep breath and forced a smile while reaching for the bags of food, including the envelope that Ismael’s parents gave me. They even beat my parents. How can they be so generous to a stranger like me?
“Thank you so much, Sir… ma’am,” I mouthed in gratitude.
“The next time you come here, you should call me ‘mom’, sweetie,” she said to me with a smile. I turned to Mr. Mikael. Just the same, he nodded with a soft smile, saying that he’s really happy to see me too.
“Thank you. We’re leaving now.”
“Be careful.” “Take care.”
We finally said goodbye to them, and just like Isa promised me, she took me to my house.
I was about to get out when her phone rang. Hoping it was Ismael, I checked his phone. Xairome?
She answered that call in front of me. I was about to go down when I saw the door was still locked.
“What is it now?” she blurted out.
My mouth dropped when I heard her greetings to that Xairome.
“Where are you?”
I swallowed because of the depth of the man’s voice he was talking to.
“Why do you care?”
The news is true. She sounded like me.
“I’ve been trying to call you yesterday, but you were unreachable. Where did you go?” the man seemed annoyed with their conversation. Why am I here again?
“What does it have to do with you?”
“We need to talk about what happened.”
“Come on, it was just a one-night stand. Why are you being so clingy?”
I gasped. A one-night stand? But she’s too young, isn’t she?
“I cummed inside you. What if you get pregnant?”
“Oh, shut up! It was a safe day! So don’t worry about it and get off!”
She immediately ended the call. While I was gaping because I couldn’t believe what I heard.
“Sorry, you heard that,” she excused lifelessly before he pressed some button on the car, which is why the lock on the door I was about to exit was now free.
“H-how old are you again?” I exclaimed while continuing to blink.
“Eighteen.”
Wow, she’s definitely like me. That was my age when I gave myself to a stranger. I don’t remember anymore who I was with that night. I was drunk at the bar and then bumped into someone’s back. The next thing I knew, I was in a room completely naked, left sore down there.
“Thank you, Isa,” I told her before coming down of his car. “Be careful on the trip.”
She nods. I waved as I watched her car disappear from my sight.
I can’t believe it. Of course, Ismael wouldn’t know about this. Will he be shocked too, just like me?
I entered my house and Mael greeted me. I kissed him and prepared his food. There I saw that there was just a little food left that Ismael had bought for him.
“Meow, meow.” It jumped out at me. How I wish that the one who will welcome me is the one I long for. How I wish that the one I will cook for is the one I want to eat with.
I put the bags on the table that Mrs. Elisse gave me. I was surprised to see a lot of fruits and salads packed separately in a vacuum container. Even the container was very high class. And that’s not the only thing in the bag; there are side dishes. I couldn’t help but get emotional while putting them inside the fridge. She prepared so much for me.
When I put everything in, I noticed an envelope that Mr. Mikael also handed me earlier, and my eyes almost watered when I saw that it was a check. Isn’t it too big for him? One hundred thousand?
I don’t know if I will cry or be happy for Ismael’s parents. They are proof that not all rich people have bad manners. Their family is very humble compared to the family I grew up in. They are so humble at the same time.
I went straight to my bed after cleaning up. I didn’t eat anymore because I was still full of the food I had eaten at the Mondalla Residences.
My shoulders slumped, and my smile faded away for a moment. In a split second, again, I feel empty because I am now alone.
I gave out a deep sigh as I looked at the ceiling, which I always see whenever Ismael and I are together.
Even this bed that usually brings me warmth at night is now colder than the ice. Even if I put on a blanket, it won’t match the warmth that an Ismael can give me. I really missed him.
Again, I glanced at the ring that Ismael gave me.
“I will hold on to your promises. Please come back to me, because I’m waiting for you.”
*****
Graduation day is almost here, and I still can’t get the hang of it. Everything that surrounds me makes me remember Ismael, but I try to focus on the things in front of me, just like what he wanted me to do. I only have to pass our final exams, and then I will finally leave this place marching.
We also did not manage to have a new calculus professor since the class exemption from exams is still effective. Well, I’m not sure of what setups are in the other sections, but I heard, still, no one is replacing Ismael.
“Let’s go?”