Mr. Aragon

Amanda hadn't slept most of the night; she seemed to have tried all the sleeping positions. It's almost dawn; she could not even rest properly. She couldn't forget the conversation she had with Harry. She is also scared because it seems that destiny is working out a way to bring Harold and Harry closer. She had to find a way to prevent the child from continuing to approach Harry. She chose to get up from the bed. Her eyes had no plan to close and her mind had no plan to sleep.

Her cellphone rang.

"Amanda, did you go to see dad?" Gwen was on the other line.

Her voice was sad and she could feel the concern.

Only then did she remember her request to go to the hospital for her father. He was confined. She said he had a heart attack, according to Gwen.

"Oh my gosh, Gwen, I forgot it. What hospital is that again?" She asked.

She shook her head; she was so forgetful. Gwe's request is important because she was not able to fulfill what she said she would do immediately.

"It doesn't matter. I know you're busy there. I'm sorry," she said in a low voice.

Maybe Gwen was a bit sullen. They were together for a very long time. They shared a lot of things. She was like her sister in soul. Gwen's feelings were important to her, so she had to find a way to calm her heavy feelings right now.

"Gwen, I'm so sorry. A lot of things are happening in my life here. Harold got lost last night and you know where he went?" Her story.

She sighed more.

"What?" Gwen asked with interest.

Gwen was obviously startled by what she said. She loves her godchild so much that when it comes to him, she is even faster than the horse to react.

"Amanda, don't tell me Harold was kidnapped?" Her voice was full of fear.

"No, but the reason is a bit hard to swallow. He was with Harry Anderson," her last utterance was almost in a whisper but clear.

"Seriously, Amanda, you have to be careful. Your enemy now is destiny," she said in a worried voice.

Destiny is her opponent now. She hid Harold from his real father for a few years, but here she is now and the two are forced to meet by destiny. She wouldn't let Harry know the whole truth.

"I have to. I will do everything just to keep my secret hidden from Harry," she was determined.

Their conversation ended with Harold as the only topic.

She had to go to Gwen's family so that she could at least make up for all the things her friend had done to her.

After taking her shower and getting dressed, she went to Harold's room. He was still sound asleep. His mouth is still slightly open. She sat on the far side of the child's bed and watched him closely. He looks like his dad with his nose and his eyes. He looked just like him. Maybe Harry notices that too, every time he sees Harold. She could feel pity for the child. She saw how happy he was when she caught up with him in Harry's office. It was the first time she had seen in his eyes the pleasure she could not afford to give to the child. Her heart pounded again at the thought. If only she could give him the life he deserved, she would, but that was no longer possible, especially now that someone else already owned Harry's heart.

She was about to stand when Harold suddenly spoke.

"Uncle Harry ... Uncle Harry ..." he repeated.

She saw the child smiling slightly.

Even in his dream, Harry was there. She couldn't stop her tears from falling. She felt a mixture of anger and fear when she found out that Harry had taken her son from the school where he was attending.

She approached Harold and gently stroked his back.

She shouldn't have let Harry's path cross. Hopefully she was careful, or maybe better if they just didn’t go back to the country. She brought them into this situation now, so she must also find a way to make everything right.

She prepared food early. When the child wakes up, she will send him to his music class. Then she will proceed to the hospital address given by Gwen, and then she will go to work. She plans to pick up Harold after the session as well. She will spend time with her son because she doesn't want to repeat the meeting between Harry and her son.

If she had to build a high wall so Harry couldn't get close to them, then she would. Enough of the illness he caused her five years ago. She would erase him from Harold's life even though she knew it was contrary to what her heart wanted to happen.

"Good morning. I think you woke up early, Amanda," her mom commented, who was a little surprised to see that there was food on the table already.

She usually cooks in the morning, after Amanda wakes up at seven o'clock. She is being spoiled by her mommy again now that she is with her like in the days before she was kidnapped.

"I didn't sleep all night, so I'd better just get up and prepare breakfast," she replied in a cheerful voice.

She didn't want her mom to know that she was sad and that something was bothering her.

"Why? What are you thinking?" She inquired again while busy washing the pan she had been cooking in for a while.

"Nothing. Maybe it's just insomnia," she lied.

She looked around the kitchen. She avoids seeing her mommy's eyes.

"Is it about Harry? Don't disguise yourself anymore, sweetheart," she said.

A mother knows her daughter better than anyone else. So even if Amanda doesn't speak, her mom knows right away that she has a problem and it's Harry.

She hugged her mother tightly. Then she let the tears flow from her eyes again.

Her mommy caresses her back gently.

"I don't know what to do, mom. I found Harold very happy when he was with Harry last night. His eyes are glistening with unexplainable happiness," she said as she continued to sob.

"Mom, what'm I going to do? I don't want to hurt Harold when he finds out what I'm hiding from him, but I want him to be as happy as last night," she continued.

"You should tell him the truth, Amanda. It's the only way to make things right this time," her mommy replied.

It seems easy to say but is very hard to do. "What am I going to tell him? I'm scared, mom," she said.

"Then let him live on your lies. The decision is yours. Think carefully, darling," her serious language.

Her mother wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm always here, Amanda," she said again.

He went to the bathroom to wash her face. Soon she knew Harold would wake up.

Honestly, she was still confused as to what she should do. She's stuck in a situation where she does not know how to get out. She's a mother. She only wants better for her son, and the best decision is to let him stay with her. She would find a way to stop whatever Harry was thinking about Harold. Marco is the solution.

"Mom, about last night. I'm sorry for letting you worry about me," Harold said as they were on their way to his music lesson.

She stopped driving momentarily.

"Forgiven, but just don't do it again. Don't go anywhere without telling me, okay?" She said in a calm voice.

The child just nodded. Her heart didn't want to look at him. Her heart was breaking again.

"I understand, mom, but maybe I can visit Tito Harry again. I mean, we can." He was asking for a favor.

She suddenly swallowed the saliva, causing her to almost choke.

"I'm-sorry, Harold.... Your mom is busy, you know that, right." She said, struggling to speak.

Harold is silly. He won’t stop until he gets whatever he wants. She didn’t know what Harry was feeding her son, and he seemed addicted to seeing him.

"Then I can go alone. I promise him that I will be back to his office so we can play again," he said with obvious joy in his eyes.

Amanda sighed, then turned on the car's engine again. She didn't want to answer Harold's questions anymore. She didn't want to come to the point where she would hurt the child with the words that would come out of her mouth. She didn't want to disappoint the child, but she wasn't able to give him what he asked for.

"You should focus on your music class, Harold. After your session, I will pick you up and you will stay in my office until my job is done." She said that she had the authority to stop Harold.

After she got the child out of the car, she talked to his teacher in the music class. She said not to let what happened the day before happen again. She apologized to her.

She was on her way to the hospital. Gwen said.

After a few minutes, she reached the hospital. She quickly opened a room that the nurse said she had asked for.

"Good day. I'm Amanda. I'm Gwen's friend," she said when she saw a woman next to a man's bed in shock.

These are Gwen's parents.

"Gwen has been dead for a long time; how did you meet her?" The woman asked, confused.

She almost forgot the fact that the syndicate had deceived Gwen's entire family after she was kidnapped. They were sent a corpse of a headless woman and were told their daughter had been murdered.

"Gwen was my friend when we were in high school. She told me about you guys then and I saw on her cousin's Facebook post what happened, so I'm here to offer a little help." She explained. She prayed that they would never know the truth. She's not good at hiding secrets.

She saw the slight sadness on the face of the man lying on the bed. She knew how bitter they had been because of Gwen's loss. If only she could tell them the whole truth then, she would. But Gwen insisted on keeping it a secret.

"Gwen is a good child. Until now, I still can't accept that she just disappeared like that. I don't know who ruthlessly murdered my daughter." The old man was crying. He was struggling to speak because of the oxygen attached to him.

She approached him and held out his hand.

"Wherever your daughter is now, I know she's watching over you and she doesn't want to see you sad." She tried to cheer them up.

She remained for about an hour in that room. She gave cash to Gwen's mother and also paid the hospital bill to the hospital cashier.

Her chest was heavy when she came out of that hospital.

**************New Horizon***************

Harry hadn't been able to work properly all day. He couldn't understand why he felt weird every time he looked at Harold. He looks at their pictures on his cellphone. He likes to take selfies, so he is also willing to do that to please him. He noticed the resemblance between the two. He had the same eyes and nose as Harold. He could see Harold himself when he was a kid.

He sighed a few times and hid the cellphone inside his cabinet. He is no longer happy with what his eyes see and what his brain thinks. Harold's son is unlikely to be him. Maybe that's a sign that he needed to start a family and have a child. He was getting older. His mommy often reminded him about his age.

He picked up his cellphone again and looked at the pictures of the two of them. He got up from his seat and went to the large mirror. Staring at himself carefully, he even imitates the way the child poses. He looks like Harold no matter what angle he looks at.

"What are you doing, Harry?" A voice from his door.

He was shocked when Dina suddenly entered the office. His cellphone even fell from his grasp.

Dina quickly picked up the phone on the floor.

"Oh my gosh! Who's this boy? Is he your nephew?" She commented while staring intently at the picture.

"Why are you asking?" he answered her with a question.

"He looked like you, Harry. Look at his eyes, his nose, his smile. This boy was really you when you were young," she said, smiling.

He took the cellphone from her and returned to his table.

Even Dina noticed the resemblance between the two of them. That only means one thing. The child may be his.

He wanted to answer that question. He needed to be able to talk to Amanda.

He took the car keys and left without saying goodbye to Dina. He’s going to Amanda, and he won’t stop until she tells him the truth.

He drove fast, immediately parked the car at the very entrance of Amanda's restaurant.

"Where's the owner of this restaurant?" he opened up to the female crew.

He saw the woman stunned for a few seconds before she spoke.

"I--uh--'ll just call her. Have a seat, Sir." She left quickly.

The area of this restaurant is not huge, but he was impressed by the design. He didn't know that Amanda was good at interior design. There were many diners inside with almost no empty tables. He was lucky because there was still a chair for him.

"Good morning, Sir. How can I help you?" A woman's voice.

His heartbeat suddenly quickened as if there was a race going on.

"I want to order something special," he said.

She wasn’t looking at him because she was busy typing on her cellphone.

"Yes, Sir. We have a special potato pizza and a special milk tea. What do you want to order?"

She keeps typing on her cellphone while speaking. It irritates him.

"I want you. You're the special woman here, right?" He said it directly to her.

Then she just looked at him. He saw the roundness of her eyes. He also noticed the stares of the people present inside the restaurant. He deliberately raised his voice.

"I'm sorry. If you are here to destroy my beautiful morning, then you better leave." She said in a high tone of voice.

She turned around quickly, but would anyone be faster than Harry Anderson?

He immediately grabbed her by the hand and pulled her body slightly, causing her to sit on his lap.

"Amanda! You're okay?" A man almost shouted.

Marco was the one he heard stepping quickly towards them. He immediately helped Amanda get up from her accidental sitting on top of him.

"I'm fine, Marco. Thank you for saving me." She doesn’t look at him while speaking.

"What are you doing here?" Marco asked.

"I just want to order the special menu here. That's it," he replied sarcastically.

He noticed Marco's nose was smoky with anger. So he got up from his seat and left.

He will no longer force himself into a place where he is not accepted, but he won’t stop discovering Harold’s whole identity. He had a strong feeling that the child was his son.

Amanda took several swallows of water. Her heart kept pounding and she couldn't control it. She must have blushed at that unexpected scene with Harry.

It feels wrong to her. It is wrong for her heart to continue to desire him. They are no longer what they once were for each other. That is no longer possible.

He called Marco to pick up Harold; she couldn’t leave the restaurant. She has a lot to do. She's relieved because Marco is always willing to rescue her.

Her cellphone rang.

"Yes hello. Who's this?" She asked.

"Did you forget about your boss, baby girl?"

She threw away the cellphone. Marco was surprised.

"Amanda, what's wrong?" His voice had a worried tone to it.

She could not speak; her whole body stiffened. She can't seem to breathe. Fear returns to her.

"Amanda, talk to me," he said again.

Marco tapped her shoulder, but no voice came out of her mouth. She hid from this past for many years, but here it is and it is coming back now. She is gradually living normally.

"It was him. It was Mr. Aragon," she said, trembling.

Marco's eyes widened at what he heard.

Why does she have to go back to that horrible past?

Amanda didn’t know what to do at that hour. All she wanted to happen was for them to be safe, especially her son, Harold.