Chapter 18

39: Avah's Mother and Alexa's Ace

When Avah sat in the chair opposite Noah, she only remembered the contribution. He rubbed himself as his eyes widened.

"What? What is wrong?" Noah asked Avah.

"My bag! I forgot the cr! Later, I'll just come back!" Avah quickly ran back to the car and when she got there her bag was gone. The mother's necklace, some of her IDs, her wallet and the cellphone given to her by her husband were still there.

"Miss, did you see a bag here? It's small, black brother. Shoulder bag?" He asked the first woman he saw in the bathroom.

"I'm sorry, no."

"All right, thank you." Then Avah approached another woman and asked the same thing. The answer was the same. They saw nothing or noticed nothing.

"I don't think so, Cindy." Manager Vicky said to the pet. Cindy is her screen name as an actress. "It's been a long time, maybe it's just a replica. Or stolen and stuffs. You need to be aware that you're rich, what if it's a trap? They knew you were here and left it purposely to make money for you?"

"I can't be wrong, Vicky. Only you and my family know about my son. How can that be possible that other people will know about my necklace?" Jacintha snapped at her manager as she grab the bag and search for an identification card. She saw one, a government issued ID and her heartbeat got even stronger when she read the woman's name on the ID. Avah R. Sebastian.

Jacintha started tearing up. Avah. That is the name he gave to his son when he left it to his sister Segunda. It's good that he saw in I.D. the civil status of the child's married, otherwise he would wonder why Sebastian has this surname even though he remembers it starts with the letter "R". He scratched the contents of the wallet again and confirmed the hunch when he saw a picture of Avah with her nun friend Segunda, they were in front of the piano and looked like they were singing at mass. Jacitha stands up.

"Where are you going, Cindy?"

"She is my daughter, Vicky. I will finally meet her after 26 years!" Then Jacitha turned around and she rushed to the bathroom. If she lost her wallet, the first thing she will do is look for it in the place where she lost it and she hopes that the instinct of the owner of the bag is the same.

Avah was almost tired of finding her bag. Each cubicle is one by one. Until a lady entered the bathroom. Avah looked at the woman's hand, she saw the woman holding her mother's bag and necklace.

"M-ma'am, whose bag is that?" Avah asked the stunned but tearful woman.

"A-are you ... a-are you Avah?" Jacintha's voice are chopped. He had a strong feeling that he was the child he had been looking for for a long time.

"Yeah. I'm the owner of that bag." They just stared at each other. Avah didn't know why the woman was crying so she asked. "Are you all right?"

"By ... by any chance, do you know Segunda? A nun? This one in this photo?" Jacintha's hand was shaking.

"Yes, she raised me. Do you know Mother Segunda?"

"Yes ... I know her. I left you to her ..." Jacitha cried. "I'm your mother, Avah. I'm the owner of this necklace. I'm Jacintha. This necklace was from your father ... the only one in the world."

Avah couldn't speak to everyone she heard. Is she the mother? Avah could not think straight because she was so excited, nervous and dizzy. Before he could speak he was already in his mother's arms. Avah's tears were already dripping. All the women in the bathroom were wondering what the two of them were doing.

If she is her mother that she has been missing for a long time, this is probably one of the happiest days of Avah's life. Jacintha's body was very hot. The warmth of a mother's embrace that Avah had long hoped for.

"Cindy!" Call his manager. He saw the two hugging in the bathroom. "Is she really your daughter?" Asked another old woman.

"She is. She really is my daughter, Vicky." Jacintha cried.

"But you need to be very careful, Cindy. Why don't you try a parental test? The public will celebrate you when they find out about your child. You try to hide it for so long. What's your plan?"

"We don't need a DNA test, Vicky. She is my daughter and I will tell the whole world about her."

Thirty minutes passed and they were still in the bathroom and their tears did not stop. Noah waited at their seat. She wonders why Avah lasts so long. Jacintha and Vicky joined in Avah and Noah's table.

"Did you find it?" Noah's birth to Avah. When he saw the two female companions, Noah asked, "who are they?"

"I'm her mother. Are you Avah's husband?"

"No, he's my husband's brother." Avah's quick reply to the mother.

Then they discussed the events of their lives.

* * *

After Davien's operation, he only remembered his wife and how they should go. He threw his protective clothes and he ran to his office. There are fifteen miss calls from Avah around one to two.

Guilty. He just ditched his wife and his son over career. Over work. Even though Davien knew that his wife would understand him, he still couldn't help but be angry with himself. If he leaves, there will definitely not be enough doctors there to treat casualties.

Davien was holding a cellphone as he walked down the hospital hallway. He was trying to call Avah but it's unattended. He bought a Gatorade from the vending machine inside the hospital. He just noticed that it was already eight o'clock. He also stood for several hours and was in front of the injured patients.

"Bro. I heard you had a lot of patients this afternoon?" Gael asked when he visited Davien in his office.

"Yeah. I fucking ditched my wife because of them."

"You love her do you?" Gael asked.

When Alexa heard that, she did not proceed to enter Davien's office. He was already in the hospital. Davien is still in operation and he is already waiting for it. He brought food for it. She wants to use Davien's rescue of her three weeks ago as an excuse, so that she has a reason to see her ex -boyfriend.

"Yes, I love her, Gael."

"So your plan on annulling your marriage with her is off?" Alexa's hearing grew louder when she heard that Davien was planning to annul Avah.

"Yeah. I'll just plan the annulment when we're still starting. I mean, when I thought I only want the child. But things have changed, Gael."

"Good for you, Vien. Avah doesn't deserve to be hurt either. Bro, she is perfect." Gael's promise. "So, have you burned the annulment papers that you filed?"

"No, I haven't. I always forget about it. Maybe tomorrow."

Alexa pressed her ear even harder to the door to listen to their conversation. One of the best conversation that she ever heard for the past months.

"Are you sure its in a place that Avah can't see?"

"Yeah. It's here. In my drawer."

Avah saw that Davien took the brown envelope. He lifted it in the air and put it back in the drawer. A sweet smile escaped her lips. Now he knows his ace. A plan formed in her mind. All he had to do was get ahead of Davien on those documents.

It's either she can have the document and ruin their marriage, or she will be a loser forever. Of course she doesn't like the idea of ​​the latter so she needs to get the annulment papers quickly.

Alexa throws the food in the trash can. No need to woo Davien. Because when he and Avah separate, Davien will go back to her. She's confident about it.

40: The Annulment Paper

Davien is riding his Maybach Exelero going back home and he noticed that there is another expensive car in front of their gate. It"s a W Motors Lykan Hypersport that"s almost as expensive as its Maybach. Because it blocked the gate, he could not enter his own vehicle.

He got out of the car and closed it properly. The gate was locked so he snatched the key from his pocket. Earlier on the road he was thinking about how to tell Avah that he didn't show up and he was truly sorry about it. Now he is wondering who owns the fancy car. It wasn't Noah's. Or is it? By just that thought, his anger is rising again. But he also thought that maybe it was his mother, maybe he bought it? Or maybe Melanie? he don't know. He will only found out if he gets in.

When the door of the house opened, he immediately called his wife's name.

"Avah? Who's car was that?" From the kitchen Avah heard Davien's voice. She was mixing juice for one and its manager so Avah hurried to do so.

When Jacintha heard that manly voice, she stands up from the couch in the living room. That must be my daughter's husband. Jacintha thought when Davien reached the living.

Davien rolled his eyes and was very surprised to see the veteran actress in the living room of their house. Their eyes met. Davien halted because he never expected the superstar to be there.

"Ms. Jacintha Castillo? Hi! I'm Dr. Davien Sebastian." Davien approached it and held out his hand. He also shook hands with Vicky.

"You must be Avah's husband?" Jacintha asked with a smile.

"Yes, you know my wife, Ms. Castillo? You must be the owner of the car outside."

"I'm the son. But you can call me mom, mama, mother. Any of that three in your choosing." Cindy's smile never left her face.

"Pardon me?" Davien says because he doesn't understand why he addresses such terms.

"I'm Avah's biological mother, son." Jacintha remarked as she emphasizes the word son to convey that she wholeheartedly accepts the son's wife.

From the kitchen Avah came carrying three orange juices.

"Davien, you're home already." When Avah put the juice on the table, she stroked her husband's back.

"Y-yeah ..." that was the only thing that came out of Davien's mouth because he couldn't recover from the shock.

"I already know my mother," Avah said in her soft voice.

"Yeah, I heard ..." He mumbled. When Davien regained consciousness, he quickly confronted his wife. He said, "about earlier? I'm so sorry. There's so much work at the hospital. I wasn't able to even hold my phone for a second."

Jacintha smiled at the sincerity of her daughter's husband. That's why Jacintha couldn't help but say, "you're just like your brother Noah. Kind and caring." That caught Davien's attention.

"Noah?" he asked. Then he throws a glance at Avah. "Why Noah?"

Avah was reluctant to answer. He said, "s-Noah accompanied me to the parenting session ... We met there so he was kind enough to accompany me. He was also with me when I met my mother ..."

Davien's jaw clenched. So instead of me, he was there for Avah on important occasions? Davien's inner self barked. But he will not enforce jealousy now. Not in front of his mother-in-law.

So instead of getting angry like what his usual reaction is whenever Noah is mentioned, the only thing that comes out of his mouth is, "oh, okay." His face remained neutral as he try to hide his irritation but Avah knew better. She knew the husband and he knew how she felt at the time.

That night, they talked about a lot of things. Here are just a few of the stories about Avah's father who is now gone. How the couple met and the most serious issue was about Avah and the mother"s work. Jacintha will announce to the world that she has a daughter that she gave birth to when she was just a girl. That she hid for the sake of her career. Davien doesn't like that because the media will definitely target his wife and he also doesn't want show business to influence their married life. But he have no say about it. What can she do, dear, she married the son of a superstar.

When Jacintha and her manager left around eleven o'clock, the two were getting ready for bed. They had dinner with their mother and Davien got into his car.

"Are you mad at me?" Avah asked Davien.

They are in their room. Davien loosened his necktie but he was wearing too much knot here and ma. Avah approached him and he took what Davien was doing. He slowly removed the knot of its tie. "I'm sorry, don't be angry. Noah's help is for our son."

Davien wrapped his masculine arms around Avah. She was very tired but she could just feel the heat of her husband's body as if her tiredness was disappearing.

"I should be the one. It should be me, Avah. I should be the one with you and the baby. I should be the one next to you when you see mama, but I discarded you and our kid. Will you forgive me?" his tone was tender.

"I love you, Davien." That"s all Avah said but for Davien it was the equivalent of a lot of important appointments.

On the following day, Alexa went to the hospital again. During his time there, the guard and other nurses knew him. He was in the cr and was releasing excess water from his body when he heard the woman's voice. It has a name and looks like a money problem. He said his mother was ill in the province.

When she exited the cubicle after flushing the toilet, she saw a nurse's voice coming. She waited for the conversation to end and once it did, she catch the nurse's attention.

"Miss, do you need money? I will give you money." Alexa took the five thousand bill and handed it to the nurse. "Is it missing? Here, another two thousand. Just let me borrow your uniform. I'll surprise my boyfriend. And also help for your mother."

Because the P7,000 could not be earned quickly, the nurse accepted it in exchange for her uniform. They exchanged clothes. That made Alexa free from roaming around the hospital. It was as if he had been given the privilege to enter any room. But there is only one room that she is aiming for.

Office of Dr. Davien Sebastian, Emergency Medicine Specialist. Alexa read Davien's beautiful name taped to her office door. She glanced around and when she secured that no one was watching her, she entered the room and quickly took the necessary documents.

The document was sealed, it was closed so she checked it first.

______________________________________

Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
National Capital Judicial Region
Manila City, Philippines

Davien B. Sebastian
(Petitioner)

- versus -

Avah D. Rodeo-Sebastian
(Respondent)

Civil Case No. 4879
For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

______________________________________

When Alexa read all that a big smile flashed on her lips.

"Game is over, Mrs. Sebastian. I'm the winner." Anito. Alexa replaced the document with an envelope that looked like it and then came out. She put the face mask on and left the office.

When she opened the door, her eyes widened when she saw Davien just entering. She diverted her eyes to the floor. It can't recognize him!

"What are you doing in my office without my consent?" Davien asked disgustedly.

Though struggling Alexa changed her voice. He said, "I-the patient was asked to get a medical report yesterday." He held the envelope tightly because he was nervous. "I-I'll be the first, doc." And then Alexa rushed to the hall.

Davien watched the nurse and thought she was acting weird. When he entered the office he took the annulment paper he thought. Without even checking the contents of the envelope, he burned it.

41: Heartbreak

The following days, Avah was full of news. Map radio, television, or tabloid is Avah and mother Jacintha the content and hot talk. Jacitha had a press conference and she revealed to the whole world the child she met only a few days ago. Everyone was surprised by the news of the veteran actress.

There were those who questioned their motherhood but Jacintha released the DNA Test Result of her and her mother who said that Avah was her biological child. The piece of paper silence the whole media and people's doubt.

Many also became interested in Avah's life. Some of the journalists even concluded that the beautiful woman might have followed in her mother's footsteps. Many are waiting for the news that Avah will enter showbiz but she doesn't have that in mind. All he wanted was to live peacefully with his family.

Even Divina and Daniela were shocked. Divina and Jacintha quickly got along. They are very happy that their child is staying. In Divina"s point of view, the child is lucky because of Avah"s kindness, artless and understanding. While on Jacintha's mind, the daughter is lucky because Davien is alert and thoughtful. Both are perfect couple and soon perfect family with the arrival of the baby boy who is still in Avah's womb.

When Davien heard his baby was a he, he was so happy. She really wants the eldest son to be a boy. His first baby will be the protector of their next children. Davien had that in mind.

They are unaware of the coming storm in their lives. Alexa was just silent. She is looking for a perfect timing. He can't just act, especially now that the news is widespread that Avah's mother is a superstar. She has to move swiftly, smooth and without a trace.

Friday night, the four had a drink at Davien's favorite place. Romanza became his favorite place because that was the club where he first met Avah. He w anted to celebrate the identity of his baby with friends gael, Tim and Hirro.

"I also want to thank you all. If it wasn't for the nonsense of the three of you that night, I wouldn't have known my wife." Davien said with a wide smile on his lips.

"We are very happy for you, bro. And a little bit proud that we were part of your successful marriage." Gael said.

"You, Hirro? When are you going to invite Melanie to the wedding?" Tim's fraud.

"Just wait. I haven't been answered yet." The three laughed because Hirro had been flirting with Melanie for a long time but they still didn't become official. Hirro has a history of being a womanizer. Melanie doesn't want to risk her heart because Hirro might just be like Greg.

"But honestly speaking, Vien. Now that the public has recognized Avah as Ms. Jacintha's daughter, surely more men will be attracted to her. Are you prepared about that?" Hirro asked to divert the topic.

"I trust my wife, Hirro. She loves me and I love her. What's there to be worried about?" Davien answers confidently.

Alexa wasn't following Davien this time so when she saw it at the same club, she felt that heaven and destiny were on her side. She was there to get wasted. He was with his bestfriend Charlotte. Charlotte is kind but she tolerates her friend's madness. He also supported his pursuit of davien. How come they are really friends so even if what Alexa is doing is wrong, she can't leave.

Later, there were women approaching Davien's table. They asked them if they wanna dance and they all agreed except for Davien. He was left at the table. That was Alexa's chance to approach her beloved.

"Vien ..." she called his name and she sat in front of him.

"The fuck are you doing here, Alexa? Are you following me? When are you going to stop your mania?"

"Please. Let's just talk. Just tonight and I will leave you alone. Just for tonight. Please, Vien."

"No. We have nothing to talk about. We're over and I'll never get tired of reminding you that we're gone. It's over. Split. Break. What do you not understand don? Where have you studied?" Davien's spicy stone of the word the ex -bride.

Alexa stood up and approached Davien. She have tears in her eyes. "I will never bother you ... ever again. I regret letting you go Davien. Please. I will leave you and your wife alone after this." Then Alexa applied her lip to Davien.

Shocked to what she did, Davien could not move immediately because he was caught off-guard. When he could analyze what was happening he quickly pushed Alexa. He flew in his feet and bursts, "the fuck is with you, woman!" that loud shout from Davien earned glances from the people. "Leave me the fuck alone or I will kill you." It was a scary threat and then he stormed out.

When the three friends saw that they immediately returned to the table.

"Can Alexa? Stop Davien. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're embarrassed." Tim said as he throw glare to Alexa. They looked at the woman like a knife.

Charlotte quickly approached the friend and sympathized with him.

"I'm okay Charlotte. Did you get it?" Alexa asked the friend.

"Yes, what are you up to? Just forget about Vien. Now you got him so mad."

"Over my dead body." He looked at his friend and took out his cellphone. "This is perfect." She smiled devilishly as she stare at the pictures of her kissing Davien.

Everything is perfect. The annulment paper, the pictures and the timing. Tomorrow morning he will act.

"Just wait and see Charlotte. I'll get my reward soon."

Avah just smiles every time she remembers her husband's sweetness last night. Even if he came home drunk, Avah didn't bother him. Davien almost promised him the whole world last night, his voice was so gentle, his hug was so warm.

Avah was about to do laundry when she saw her husband's dress last night. It had a red label, when she smelled it she realized it was lipstick. Avah just thought it might have come from her husband's patient.

Later, someone rang the doorbell at their house. Avah released that.

"Yes?" he asked politely.

"Delivery for Mr. Sebastian. From the Regional Trial Court." The man reached for the envelope at once.

"All right, I'll give it to you." Avah signed the paper the man was carrying and then went inside again.

"What? Is it okay?" Alexa asked the ordered man.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, here. Thank you?" He gave it a thousand pesos and then went away.

When Avah entered the house, she first stared at the paper. He picked up the cellphone and called the wife. davien's voice is so sweet. He said he had just finished the operation and he and their son were his inspiration.

"Someone sent your papers."

"Maybe that's the report I'm waiting for. But I was expecting that to arrive here, not at home." They even exchanged a few tender words until their conversation was over.

Regional Trial Court? Why would it send Davien? Isn't that a court? Those were Avah's questions to herself. To satisfy her curiosity, she opened the envelope.

Avah burst into tears when she saw this annulment paper. A petition to annul their marriage. He read the papers in full. It contained all the information about their spouse. When they got married, their wedding certificate was attached to the annulment paper. And what was Davien"s reason for filing annulment papers.

COMES NOW petitioner, by the undersigned counsel and unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully alleges:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. In retrospect petitioner and respondent were just marrying each other for the sake of their unborn baby. Petitioner, Mr. Davien B. Sebastian demand for full custody of the child after the annulment because respondent, Mrs. Avah D. Rodeo-Sebastian wasn't financially stable to support the child.

6. Petitioner, Mr. Davien B. Sebastian only married respondent, Mrs. Avah D. Rodeo-Sebastian for the legality of the unborn child's identity. In addition to this, petitioner wanted to protect the child from suffering as an illegitimate child, Also known as born out of lawful matrimony or wedlock.

Avah could no longer read the papers. Because he will only break his heart even more if he continues to read it.

Avah cried loudly. Is it all just a lie? When I am born will we also separate? That a whole and happy family is just an imagination? He will also take our son ... if that was his plan from the beginning, why did he make me feel that he loved me? Why does all this have to take so long?

Her tears continued to flow. There seems to be no end. His shoulder was also shaking loudly.

Avah would agree if Davien had already told her about their legal separation. But why did he take so long? Why does he have to be hurt so much?

To be continued...