Page 32
She couldn’t put the feeling into words. It was like unseen hands had reached into her chest, taken out her heart, and squeezed it over and over again.
She finally got a call from Raph one day. He said, “We did it.”
She and Raph hid in room 3602 of the Star Hotel. She observed Tonia, who was inebriated, knock on the door of the room next to hers.
It was Sammy who opened the door.
She saw Tonia jump into Sammy’s arms. She also saw Sammy give her a kiss.
Raph witnessed everything too.
“Does it bother you?”
Raph’s face showed a mix of emotions, but he swiftly accepted what had happened. “I’m upset, but I’m also happy.”
Ayra was there as Raph and Tonia were getting ready to end their marriage. She felt bad about it, but Tonia didn’t appear to blame her for it.
Tonia was quite calm and in control. She was rude to everyone, even Ayra and Raph.
After the divorce was final, Sammy took Tonia away.
Ayra walked to the front of the courthouse. “It’s time for me to go. The show is over.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“I bet Tonia doesn’t want to see me again. I’m going to another country.”
“You’re sisters.” She will forgive you.
“I don’t really want her to forgive me. I’m worried that one day I’ll tell her the truth. If that happened, it would certainly hurt her more.
Raph’s Adam’s apple moved. “Don’t tell her.” If I’m dead to her, she can only be happy with Sammy.
“Okay.”
Raph told her, “I’ll give you half of my company’s shares,” before she departed. Thanks for your help, Ayra.
“Why aren’t you sending it all to Tonia?”
“She’ll start to doubt. Tonia is really brilliant. I can’t allow her take the chance of finding out the truth.
“Okay. I’ll keep them for you. When Tonia has a child, I’ll give the shares to her.
Raph smiled. “Ayra, do you hate me?” Because of me, you will never be as close to Tonia as you used to be.
“It doesn’t matter as long as she can be happy.”
Tonia got a letter from Raph.
The letter said, “Tonia, you might never read this letter, but I still want to write it.” Take this as a letter to myself.
“Tonia, Sammy informed me that if he had been the one to talk to you when you were at your lowest point that night 15 years ago, things would have gone differently for all three of us.
“I really thought about that for a long time. He was correct. Things would have gone differently. You would have loved him and had a good life with him.
“You wouldn’t have to deal with the problems that come with being poor. You wouldn’t even have to cook. Most significantly, you wouldn’t have to face the sorrow of being betrayed by the man you loved.
“I would still want to be the first one to get to you if I could go back in time.
“Tonia, I can’t give up on what we had. Those 15 years together felt like a dream to me.
“I felt like a man who was dying of thirst and found an oasis. I knew that the oasis would do even better in another man’s hands, but I was selfish and didn’t want to let go.
“Maybe I’m simply a horrible person. I was selfish and just thought about myself. It’s definitely God’s punishment for me to end up like this. Tonia, I stayed in the basement in Busta City for a bit. I convinced some folks to buy back everything we used to own.
“As for the stuff that couldn’t be found, I tried my best to find replacements that looked similar.
“But too much time had gone by. I couldn’t find your small gas cooker. I went to all the flea Markets in the city. I called in favors, offered a greater price online to buy it, and even hired 100 people to look for it.
“I still couldn’t find anything in the end. That day, I felt terribly despondent. I sat on the bed and stroked the portion of the bed where you used to lay.
“It seemed like I was seeing things that weren’t there. The sheets felt warm, like you had just slept on them.
“But I knew it was all in my head. It was something that would never happen.
“Tonia, I’m really thankful that you were in my life, even if I’ve been nothing but a failure. The best days of my life were the last 15 years.
“Sometimes I think you were an angel sent from heaven to help me because I was so sad, but that wasn’t fair to you.
“You wouldn’t have to go through so much sorrow if you had fell for Sammy instead.
“I had no more ideas, Tonia. I tried many times. I held hands with other women because I wanted you to leave and give up on me.
“But you’re a stupid fool. Why are you being so stubborn? How could you forgive someone who cheated on you so easily?
“Tonia, if I had 50 more years to live, I would want to spend them all with you.
“I promised I would put on a fireworks show for you in Colaria.” I promised you I’d buy you a fancy villa with a garden where you could put roses. And that pink Rolls-Royce, too. I can buy all of that for you right now, but I have to restrain myself from giving it to you.
“I’m scared you might fall even more in love with me. I’m scared you’ll never get over my death.”
“You’ve leaped off a building and cut your wrists before. I understand. You appear weak, yet you aren’t terrified of death. You also assured me that death was the only thing that could separate us from being together.
“I’m scared. I’m scared you’ll kill yourself once I die.
“Tonia, you’re such a great person. You are still very young. You deserve a better life than this.
“Please forgive me for being impulsive. This time, I made the choice to push you towards Sammy without your permission.
“But Sammy really cares about you. He loves you just as much as I do. I’m glad that he is taking care of you.
“You have to lead a happy life, Tonia. You have to, okay?
“I hope the path ahead of you is smooth and easy. I hope that everyone you meet is nice to you. I wish you a good future.
“Even if you forget me and aren’t the same woman I knew, you’ll always be the woman I love.”
She finally got a call from Raph one day. He said, “We did it.”
She and Raph hid in room 3602 of the Star Hotel. She observed Tonia, who was inebriated, knock on the door of the room next to hers.
It was Sammy who opened the door.
She saw Tonia jump into Sammy’s arms. She also saw Sammy give her a kiss.
Raph witnessed everything too.
“Does it bother you?”
Raph’s face showed a mix of emotions, but he swiftly accepted what had happened. “I’m upset, but I’m also happy.”
Ayra was there as Raph and Tonia were getting ready to end their marriage. She felt bad about it, but Tonia didn’t appear to blame her for it.
Tonia was quite calm and in control. She was rude to everyone, even Ayra and Raph.
After the divorce was final, Sammy took Tonia away.
Ayra walked to the front of the courthouse. “It’s time for me to go. The show is over.”
“Where are you going to go?”
“I bet Tonia doesn’t want to see me again. I’m going to another country.”
“You’re sisters.” She will forgive you.
“I don’t really want her to forgive me. I’m worried that one day I’ll tell her the truth. If that happened, it would certainly hurt her more.
Raph’s Adam’s apple moved. “Don’t tell her.” If I’m dead to her, she can only be happy with Sammy.
“Okay.”
Raph told her, “I’ll give you half of my company’s shares,” before she departed. Thanks for your help, Ayra.
“Why aren’t you sending it all to Tonia?”
“She’ll start to doubt. Tonia is really brilliant. I can’t allow her take the chance of finding out the truth.
“Okay. I’ll keep them for you. When Tonia has a child, I’ll give the shares to her.
Raph smiled. “Ayra, do you hate me?” Because of me, you will never be as close to Tonia as you used to be.
“It doesn’t matter as long as she can be happy.”
Tonia got a letter from Raph.
The letter said, “Tonia, you might never read this letter, but I still want to write it.” Take this as a letter to myself.
“Tonia, Sammy informed me that if he had been the one to talk to you when you were at your lowest point that night 15 years ago, things would have gone differently for all three of us.
“I really thought about that for a long time. He was correct. Things would have gone differently. You would have loved him and had a good life with him.
“You wouldn’t have to deal with the problems that come with being poor. You wouldn’t even have to cook. Most significantly, you wouldn’t have to face the sorrow of being betrayed by the man you loved.
“I would still want to be the first one to get to you if I could go back in time.
“Tonia, I can’t give up on what we had. Those 15 years together felt like a dream to me.
“I felt like a man who was dying of thirst and found an oasis. I knew that the oasis would do even better in another man’s hands, but I was selfish and didn’t want to let go.
“Maybe I’m simply a horrible person. I was selfish and just thought about myself. It’s definitely God’s punishment for me to end up like this. Tonia, I stayed in the basement in Busta City for a bit. I convinced some folks to buy back everything we used to own.
“As for the stuff that couldn’t be found, I tried my best to find replacements that looked similar.
“But too much time had gone by. I couldn’t find your small gas cooker. I went to all the flea Markets in the city. I called in favors, offered a greater price online to buy it, and even hired 100 people to look for it.
“I still couldn’t find anything in the end. That day, I felt terribly despondent. I sat on the bed and stroked the portion of the bed where you used to lay.
“It seemed like I was seeing things that weren’t there. The sheets felt warm, like you had just slept on them.
“But I knew it was all in my head. It was something that would never happen.
“Tonia, I’m really thankful that you were in my life, even if I’ve been nothing but a failure. The best days of my life were the last 15 years.
“Sometimes I think you were an angel sent from heaven to help me because I was so sad, but that wasn’t fair to you.
“You wouldn’t have to go through so much sorrow if you had fell for Sammy instead.
“I had no more ideas, Tonia. I tried many times. I held hands with other women because I wanted you to leave and give up on me.
“But you’re a stupid fool. Why are you being so stubborn? How could you forgive someone who cheated on you so easily?
“Tonia, if I had 50 more years to live, I would want to spend them all with you.
“I promised I would put on a fireworks show for you in Colaria.” I promised you I’d buy you a fancy villa with a garden where you could put roses. And that pink Rolls-Royce, too. I can buy all of that for you right now, but I have to restrain myself from giving it to you.
“I’m scared you might fall even more in love with me. I’m scared you’ll never get over my death.”
“You’ve leaped off a building and cut your wrists before. I understand. You appear weak, yet you aren’t terrified of death. You also assured me that death was the only thing that could separate us from being together.
“I’m scared. I’m scared you’ll kill yourself once I die.
“Tonia, you’re such a great person. You are still very young. You deserve a better life than this.
“Please forgive me for being impulsive. This time, I made the choice to push you towards Sammy without your permission.
“But Sammy really cares about you. He loves you just as much as I do. I’m glad that he is taking care of you.
“You have to lead a happy life, Tonia. You have to, okay?
“I hope the path ahead of you is smooth and easy. I hope that everyone you meet is nice to you. I wish you a good future.
“Even if you forget me and aren’t the same woman I knew, you’ll always be the woman I love.”