Chapter Text
Maloi is happy.
Yes. You’ve read that right. Maloi Ricalde oozed happiness when she woke up and got ready for their training. Her mind was filled with nothing but positivity—a stark or rather almost unbelievable change in Maloi’s usual self-deprecating thought-filled mind.
Maloi Ricalde was the type of person never to be the first in anything. May it be taking a shower, eating food, or even skill-wise. She was always the third to wake up, the fourth to finish eating, and the third to get the choreography down. Maloi Ricalde excelled in many things but never bothered to push herself beyond that. Making her always the nearest to the top, but never to the bottom.
But today, as Colet Vergara drank her morning coffee she saw the girl walking into the kitchen. Maloi is in her workout clothes, and Colet raises a brow as she sees the girl's outfit.
Nag exercise ba si accla? At ang aga niya pa ngayon?
Colet wonders at Maloi’s sudden change in behavior. She knew Maloi hated doing any other exercise other than the ones required of them. And that Maloi was never the first to wake up. But today, Maloi was not only the first to wake up but also looked like she just finished jogging around the subdivision. But Colet thinks it isn’t her business to pry, so she offers her a cup of coffee but Maloi declines.
“Oks lng, Col. Mag s-shower na ako.”
Colet doesn’t miss how Maloi walks as if she had springs on the balls of her feet as she skips her way through the hall and into the shower. She stares into the door of the bathroom for a few moments before retreating to her shared room and twisting the doorknob.
Weird.
— — —
The girls woke up that day to the aroma of food. Real, home-cooked food.
Don’t get them wrong– the girls aren’t starved to death. It’s just that none of them have the energy to cook food, especially in the morning. It has been proven and tested that none of them were that good of cooks and were better suited to be firefighters with the amount of food they had overcooked and fires they started while cooking. To avoid any of those accidents again, they’ve settled with microwaving food and cooking easy-to-cook foods.
Pancit canton, ramen, sausage– you name it.
But today, the whole house was smelling like food that was cooked with love.
The girls coincidentally, opened their doors within the same time span. Mikha, who was known as a sleep lover, was even the first one on her way to the kitchen downstairs. All of them were still dazed– except Colet who woke up earlier– which is why they moved silently down the stairs. A familiar tune spilled out of the kitchen. An upbeat song that Mikha recognized as Mariah Carey’s Fantasy rang out and the girls stopped just a few meters from coming into full view of the kitchen. Maloi’s voice was then heard singing along.
“Si Ate Maloi nagluto?”
Jhoanna says as the seven of them are in a compressed position on the stairs.
“Nag exercise pa yan kanina.”
Colet adds, making her receive looks from the other girls.
“Hah? Eh hindi nga yan mahilig mag exercise kapag walang training. Weird niya ngayon ha.”
Stacey says. But Gwen’s stomach grumbles and the girls decide to move into the kitchen.
Well. This is surprising.
As they entered, they were greeted by the sight of Maloi in a tank top and shorts, dancing along to the song as it blasted on the speakers, and singing along to Mariah Carey as she flipped pancakes on one pan, cooking bacon on the other.
Sheena pulls out her phone to record the whole ordeal and Maloi even poses and sends flying hearts to the camera.
“Upo na kayo girls, malapit nalang to maluto.”
She says as she continues with her cooking. Coffees were already placed in their respective areas and soon enough breakfast was being served.
“Ang sarap, Ate Maloi!”
Sheena exclaims, and hums of approval follow. The girls were surprised at how delicious the food was that they didn’t bother to talk afterward.
Maloi’s weird behavior doesn’t stop there. The girls notice how overly energetic Maloi is throughout the day. And it’s not like they were complaining.
They were happy seeing Maloi returning to her role as the moodmaker of the group. It has been more than a month since the overall vibe of the group was this light and worry-free, Jhoanna notes. And as much as they try to conceal it by rejecting Maloi’s advances, they are grateful that Maloi is being herself again.
Even Mikha was laughing at Maloi’s antics, which was a rare sight for all of them for the past month. And although what had transpired between the two of them remained fresh in her memory, she felt a sense of comfort in her heart to see Maloi being happy again.
“Malapit na tayo. Tama na yan.”
Aiah says as she sees the building drawing close. Maloi settles down on her seat. A smile still graces her lips as she fixes her stuff. She pauses for a moment and takes a deep breath.
Ang ganda ng pakiramdam ko ngayon.
After her talk with Cassandra, the heavy burden on her heart and mind had eased itself out of Maloi. She found herself struggling to sleep last night– she thought about Mikha and their situation– but woke up in a lighter mood. She felt so light that she even managed to go jogging and cook properly for the other members. Until now, she feels the same. Explaining the sudden increase of being hyper in Maloi’s behavior.
“Mikhs, paki open ng door please.”
Stacey’s voice made Maloi break out of her thoughts.
Right. Mikha.
Maloi watched as Mikha opened the door for the other girls. Maloi was the last to get out before Mikha closed the door behind her. They shared each other’s gazes for a brief moment before Mikha started walking past her. Maloi follows behind as Mikha joins in on Gwen and Sheena’s chatter. She trails just behind the group while admiring how beautiful Mikha’s laugh is or how “pogi” she looks in her all-black outfit. They arrive in front of the studio not long after, and Maloi notices that Mikha has stopped walking. She faced Maloi’s direction and Maloi continued walking toward her until enough distance was between them.
There was silence between the two, but Maloi understood that Mikha wanted to talk. Mikha’s eyes were wandering around and alternating between looking at her and some random object and it didn’t help that she was fidgeting with her shirt. She knows Mikha wanted to say something, but was having second thoughts.
Mikha on the other hand wanted to apologize to Maloi for making her stay up late after going to Jao’s condo even though they had a performance the next day. She didn’t expect that Maloi would be waiting for her–knowing how she had trouble sleeping if she went past her normal sleeping schedule– but Maloi waited and even opened the gate for her. Mikha also wanted to talk to Maloi. After her talk with Jao, she realized some things and concluded that Maloi deserved the right to explain herself. She’s accepted the possibility too that her feelings may never be reciprocated, but she didn't want their friendship to end with it too.
But Mikha Lim was always a coward.
And a fool,
Jao said one time.
Instead of talking with Maloi, she decides to face the door of the studio and walk inside, leaving Maloi behind.
Maloi ignores the sinking feeling tugging at her heartstrings as she watches Mikha enter the studio.
Kapit lang, self.
Maloi sighs and shakes her head as she tries to get rid of her overthinking and walks inside. Her mind is devoid of anything that may distract her from her training. And as a certain redhead takes her place beside her with an expression that Maloi knows only she could cause, she ignores the loud thumping of her heart and the indescribable temptation to just surrender herself to Mikha’s embrace.
— — —
The girls were doing great in practice. They were already on the dance break by the time they needed to have their lunch. Just a little polishing and they’d be good to go to record for their new music video.
“Okay girls! Lunch break then polish lang natin yung ibang parts later okay?”
Their coach says as he turns down the volume of the speaker.
“Yes po coach!”
The girls reply. It didn’t take long before Gwen was already scrolling through Foodpanda and the girls were huddling around her. A series of arguments were made as they decided between a Korean resto and Jollibee. After a good 15 minutes, they finally settled on ordering from the Korean resto as they wanted to eat some kimchi rice.
The girls had now broken out into small groups as they waited for their order. Sheena and Jhoanna decided to film a TikTok while Stacey, Colet, Aiah, and Gwen watched them. Maloi sat right beside the door. Observing the rest of the girls before briefly closing her eyes.
“Ate Maloi.”
Maloi had to make sure she wasn’t dreaming as she heard her name being called by Mikha. She opened her eyes and lo and behold, Mikha was standing in front of her. There’s a short moment of silence between the two.
“Can I sit beside you?”
Maloi nods and Mikha settles herself beside Maloi. Mikha finds herself staring at the other girls before facing Maloi, who is waiting in silence for her to speak.
“I wanted to apologize pala. I made you stay up late the other night.”
Maloi lightly chuckles at how cute Mikha looked and how she was apologizing for such a trivial thing.
“It’s okay lang Mikhs, you don’t have to apologize.”
Maloi pauses as she matches Mikha’s gaze.
“Actually, I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry na I pushed you too far din. And for everything. Although alam ko na napapagod ka na sa pag sorry ko.”
The two laugh, accepting the reality of their situation.
“Ate Maloi.”
Mikha calls out.
“Hmm?”
Mikha takes a deep breath before gathering whatever willpower she has left in her.
“Mahal mo ba talaga ako?”
Maloi smiles and gently reaches for Mikha’s hand and intertwines it with her own. A fuzzy feeling coats Maloi’s heart as she feels how warm Mikha’s hand feels.
“Of course, Mikhs.”
Her thumb rubs Mikha’s hand gently.
“I just… need time Mikhs. I need to mend some things na I’ve left broken for a while now.”
Mikha listens.
“You remember Cas diba?”
Mikha nods.
“The girl na may tats?”
Maloi nods. Mikha wonders what she had to do with anything.
“She’s my ex.”
The revelation made Mikha look at Maloi in shock.
“Things never ended well for us. Her father was a conservative person and was against us. The day we broke up sinabihan ko siya ng mga bagay na I didn’t mean dahil nga sa tatay niya. I then left for training na dito and I’ve never had the chance to apologize until yesterday.”
Mikha internalizes what Maloi has said. She was starting to understand Maloi. How Maloi needed to heal some wounds that were left untreated. How Maloi after all this time was still figuring herself out. Fighting an internal battle that she’d never known when it would end. How when they came back from outside, the two girls had their makeup smudged.
“That’s why lumabas kayo yesterday and pag balik niyo ganun na yung itsura niyo.”
Mikha says, connecting the dots.
“Yeah.”
Maloi says as the two fall back into silence. Maloi thinks that if Mikha noticed their situation yesterday, the other members probably noticed it too.
“Are you guys okay na?”
Maloi nods.
“Yeah. Napatawad na niya ako.”
Mikha nods. She faces Maloi. She thinks Maloi looks beautiful.
Focus, Mikha.
She had to remind herself.
“Ikaw? Are you okay?”
Mikha asks. Maloi thinks for a moment before a sad smile reaches her lips.
“I will be Mikhs. Para sayo.”
Mikha smiles too, reaching in for a hug as the two feel the familiar comfort in each other’s embrace.
“Just give me time Mikhs. I promise, aayusin ko sarili ko.”
Maloi says in a low tone, tears threatening to escape. And for Mikha, that was all she needed for now. Because she understood.
Maloi Ricalde loved her back. But she needed to fix herself.
And Maloi knew Mikha understood.
“Take all the time you need, Ate Maloi. I’ll be here kapag ready ka na.”
And when they pulled apart and saw their faces about to cry, the two of them couldn’t hold back the laugh they had for each other. The two were so caught up in the moment that they didn’t notice the other girls watching them with a smile.
“Okay na sila.”
Aiah says. And the rest of the girls couldn’t even be happier for the two.
— — —
Maloi hadn’t been home for a long time.
So she’s surprised when she sits in the living room and sees that a lot of things are shuffled around. She sits on the couch of their living room as her other siblings are busy helping their mom in the kitchen. Her father on the other hand set out to buy some coke in a nearby tindahan.
She decides to make herself comfortable on the couch. Now she lay herself down and arranged the pillows in a way that she’d be comfortable. She stares at the pictures hung on the walls. A smile reaches her lips when she sees herself posing beside the Jollibee mascot on her 1st birthday.
Ang saya ko noon.
Her eyes shift to the picture frame beside it. A photo from her grade school graduation. She laughs at Cassandra’s face right beside her as they pose with their honors certificate. The girl was clearly crying when the picture was taken and with her makeup being a mess, she could replace someone as a killer bride.
Then her eyes drift to their family picture. Her sister and brother were standing behind their parents sitting down in the portrait. She sighs.
Ano ba maya maging reaction nila mom at dad?
Maloi was planning to tell her parents about Mikha. Or rather come out of the closet as people would say. She knew her father would understand, her mother was her concern. She’s always said that she wanted to see Maloi have kids on her own someday. And while it used to be something Maloi would laugh at as a teenager, it now laid a huge burden on her. She also remembers how often her parents agreed with Cassandra’s father, and she’s pretty sure they shared the same views as well.
“Let’s eat na, anak.”
She hears her mother say.
“Sige po nay.”
She responds, running into her mother’s embrace before the two make their way to the dining table.
Dinner was good. Maloi managed to catch up with whatever her siblings were up to and was up to date with the latest chikas in their barangay. The Ricaldes spent the evening with laughter and conversation.
“Kami na ni ate ang maghuhugas.”
Her brother states as the two siblings clean up the table and move them to the sink, leaving Maloi and her parents on the table.
“Kamusta naman pala yung mga members mo?”
Her father asks. She smiles.
“Okay naman po, umuwi din sa kanila. Pero babalik din after four days.”
“Eh ikaw yung mahuhuli?”
Maloi nods at her mother’s statement.
“Opo. Bakit, ayaw niyo ba na tatagal ako dito?”
Maloi says with faux sadness that her parents could only laugh.
“Hindi naman sa ganyan anak, syempre miss ka namin nang nanay mo. Pero bakit ba sila babalik ng mas maaga?”
Maloi shrugs her shoulders.
“Ang alam ko lang si Ate Jho may pupuntahan na birthday, yung iba hindi ko pa natanong.”
Her father nods.
“Ikaw anak, hindi ka ba nahihirapan sa mga training at performances niyo?”
Her mother’s gentle voice clouds her ears.
“Hmm…Mahirap naman minsan. Especially since hindi pa kami ganun ka sikat. Pero dadating din yung araw namin nay, kaya nga we’re working hard talaga everytime mag train at perform kami.”
Her mother nods at her words. She finds her hands being caressed by her mother.
“Kapit lang kayo anak ha? Alam kong malayo ang mararating niyo. Patience lang anak.”
“Opo nay.”
Her mother lets go of her hand and she returns to clasping it.
“Pero kapag sobra na, sabi ka agad ha?”
Maloi laughs.
“Yes po.”
The three settle in comfortable silence as Maloi contemplates telling them now. She knows that there is a possibility of them not being okay with it, but Maloi is ready for it. It’s just that she could feel something holding her back. She feels like her lips are being sewn shut as the moments pass by, her trepidation and overthinking starting to cloud her mind.
“Anak,”
Her father’s voice snaps her out. She catches his gaze. She watches as he looks in her mother’s direction. A silent argument goes on between the two of them as eventually, her father returns her gaze to Maloi.
“Me and your mom were thinking na syempre beyond legal age kana,”
There’s a pause as Maloi listens in silence.
“Na baka may crush or boyfriend ka na? Hindi mo lang sinasabi samin.”
He says with a small laugh. Maloi chuckles, her fingers playing with the tablecloth.
“Magagalit po ba kayo?”
She asks and her mother nudges her father. A smile on her lips, almost saying “I told you so” to her father.
“So meron na?”
Her mother asks with a teasing smile. Her father only laughs lowly at her mother’s enthusiasm. She sees her parents' excitement and Maloi can’t help but feel like a fucking douche, as she’d think.
Maloi Ricalde loved her parents. She loved making them smile.
She’d always been their source of happiness, and seeing how much her parents struggled to support her dream, she’d never felt even luckier. She could never forget the countless phone calls to her parents as she cried about how she hated the taste of eggs and bananas as it became their diet, how hard the training was, how she felt like the world was ending when she received a low evaluation. But her parents never failed to support her, assure her, and encourage her even if they struggled to make ends meet.
Maloi Ricalde doesn’t want to disappoint her parents.
Call her a people pleaser– but Maloi had always been like that. Which is why her heart feels heavy. Her mind feels jaded, and her tongue feels like it’s been super-glued into its place. A melancholic feeling gnaws its way through Maloi’s veins as she sees her parents' faces in anticipation.
I’m sorry. Ma, pa.
Maloi thinks it’s her fault for being such a disappointment.
“Meron na po.”
She says. Ignoring how painful it felt to get the words out of her mouth.
“Pogi ba anak? May kaya ba? Matangkad– Anak?”
Her mother stops asking questions when she sees Maloi with her head down, seemingly sobbing. Immediately, her mother moves beside her and rubs gently against her back. Her father follows and sits on the other side of Maloi.
“I’m sorry.”
Maloi manages to get out in between her sobs.
“Ba’t ka nag s-sorry anak?”
Her mother says gently as she tucks loose strands of Maloi’s hair. It takes a minute before Maloi gains the courage to face both her parents.
“Ma,”
She meets her mother’s gaze and holds her mother’s hand to her right.
“Pa,”
She gazes at her father and holds his hand close to her. She thinks of different ways she could say this, but she decides that it doesn’t matter anyway. She’ll be breaking their hearts one way or another.
“Babae po yung gusto ko.”
So she just rips the band-aid off.
— — —
It has been a few days after the BINI members’ vacation time and most of the girls managed to be dropped off by their parents in the BINI house. Mikha– apparently the second to the last to arrive– pays the fair for the taxi before exiting the car. She notices the gate has already been unlocked and figures that the other members are already inside by how loud their chatter is.
To her surprise, Mikha walks inside their shared home and sees Cassandra sitting in the middle of the members.
“Uy MIkhs! Welcome home!”
She hears her members greeting her as she closes the main door. She greets them and places her bag on a chair before walking towards the other members.
“Hi Cas, napadayo ka?”
She asks and Cassandra nods shyly.
“Yes po, may ibigay po ako sana kay Mary Loi. Wala pala siya.”
Mikha nods and sees the small box sitting comfortably in front of Cassandra. She sits beside Aiah, who immediately leans her head on her shoulder.
“Pagod?”
MIkha asks. Aiah nods.
“Tinulungan ko pa sina Mom sa resto.”
Mikha nods and lets the girl rest. She turns her attention to the chatter in front of her. With Cassandra being in the middle, she becomes bombarded with questions.
“Ba’t Mary Loi tawag mo kay Maloi, Cas?”
Colet asks. Cassandra thinks for a short while.
“Nasanayan ko lang, eversince nung bata kami yun na tawag ko sakanya.”
“Childhood friends kayo?”
Sheena asks in surprise. Cassandra nods. Now, this was new information for the other girls as they thought they had met recently. Aiah even removes her head from Mikha’s shoulder and sits up eager to listen to Cassandra. Mikha however, doesn’t fail to notice how Colet seemed to think about something.
“So since childhood friends kayo,”
Stacey starts.
“What was she like?”
Cassandra’s eyes hovered over the members, seemingly thinking of an escape. But upon realizing she had no way out of this, she laughs before responding.
“Well…Mary Loi had always loved singing. She joined the choir while I joined the cheerleading team. So I guess parang hindi ako surprised when I discovered na ginamit niya talaga yung talent niya.”
Cassandra chuckles as she recalls their moments as children.
“Our house were near to each other so nagkakilala kami dahil diyan. Naging playmate ko siya eversince bata pa kami. At kahit na ang kulit talaga ni Mary Loi noon, she was my safe space talaga. Parang someone you could lean on to when something happens.”
Cassandra looks at the other members.
“You may call this exaggeration pero that’s how I felt kay Mary Loi. She was just– this ball of sunshine. Kapag kasama ko siya, I felt like myself. Parang I was free.”
The other members smile at Cassandra’s description. Meanwhile, Mikha saw Colet’s gaze and knew that she figured it out.
Si Colet pa naman yung kasama niya sa podcast. Of course na gets na niya non.
“So good girl si Maloi before?”
Aiah says and Cassandra bursts out laughing before stopping herself.
“Good girl?”
Cassandra asks once again before shaking her head with a laugh.
“Of course not.”
The girls laugh at Cassandra’s response.
“Ba’t tumawa ka talaga? Parang na insulto kapa sa sinabi ko.”
Aiah says as she joins Cassandra in laughter.
Anong kaguluhan ba ang mga pinasok ni Ate Maloi?
Mikha thought.
“I mean mabuting tao naman talaga si Mary Loi, pero you know kapag bata ka at parang ang tapang niyo pa? Hay nako kung ano-ano nalang talaga yung mga pinapasukan namin.”
“Pero at least together diba? Damay-damay nalang.”
Aiah states and moves forward to high-five Cas who agrees and shares the same enthusiasm as her. Cassandra continues to converse with the girls as she shares her experiences with Maloi. The girls find themselves engaging in conversation with Cassandra as they share different things about themselves. An hour later, Cassandra was now well acquainted with the BINI girls including Mikha.
She checks her wristwatch and realizes how much time has passed. Her eyes drift to the small box, sitting on top of the table, and is reminded of what she came here for.
Sayang, wala si Mary Loi.
But Cassandra thinks it’d be better this way. She knew that if she had seen Mary Loi, she might’ve had a hard time following through with her decision. A sad smile settled on her lips as she took a deep breath.
“I know na we just met and all pero,”
Cassandra pauses as she finds the right words.
“Can I trust that you guys will take care of Mary Loi?”
The girls were not sure how to respond as Cassandra seemingly shifted from being all smiles to a toned-down mood.
“Ba’t naging senti ka all of the sudden?”
Stacey says. Cassandra focuses her gaze on the ballpoint pen drawings engraved on the cover of the box.
“Wala lang. It’s just that Mary Loi is someone na would do anything for anyone she knows is worth protecting.”
A chuckle escapes Cassandra’s lips.
“I’ve experienced that first-hand. And nakita ko that Mary Loi tends to lose herself in the process. Parang she forgets that kapag ginawa niya to, masasaktan din siya.”
Mikha listens.
“She’s too selfless minsan, and I won’t be here much din to remind her.”
Her statement hangs in the air before Gwen asks.
“Bakit? Aalis ka ba?”
Cassandra nods.
“Yeah, na tanggap ako sa school that I applied for abroad. Aalis na ako bukas.”
“Biglaan lang bai.”
Colet says and Cassandra chuckles.
“Seize the opportunity nga diba?”
She says.
“Pwede bang—”
Cassandra pulls out her pack of cigarettes.
“Mag yosi sa labas?”
The girls nod, albeit surprised that the girl smoked. She walks outside of the house and settles on sitting on the pavement before opening her pack. She curses when she realizes she forgot her lighter.
“Here.”
A lighter flicks on in front of her, she looks up to see that it is Mikha. She places a cigarette on her lips before lighting it with Mikha’s lighter.
“You smoke?”
Cassandra asks while Mikha takes a seat beside her. Mikha shakes her head.
“Nah. My father does. Naiwan yung lighter niya sakin, mag yosi siya kasi ako yung nag s-sindi ng sigarilyo niya.”
Cassandra nods as she exhales the smoke.
“Kakauwi mo lang galing Cebu diba?”
Mikha nods.
“Figures.”
Cassandra says as she takes another hit of the cigarette. The two settle in silence as they watch the setting sun in the sky. The sound of Cassandra’s cigarette stick burning is the only audible thing between the two of them before Cassandra speaks.
“She’s a troubled soul.”
Mikha turns her head to the side to gaze at the girl.
“She’ll try to be strong for you, na parang nothing is bothering her. Pero, she's still hurt Mikha. Healing.”
Cassandra now meets Mikha’s gaze.
“Mary Loi loves you Mikha. And I know that the feeling is mutual. But I hope na na i-intindihan mo that she needs time and a person that will be willing to understand and support her.”
She says, her eyes never straying away from Mikha’s.
“Are you that person Mikha? A person na kaya siyang I-handle? A person na aalagaan ang puso niya?”
There’s something about the way Cassandra says it that makes Mikha feel small. There’s a mix of acceptance and retribution in Cassandra’s eyes that makes Mikha struggle to form coherent thoughts. Mikha figures Cassandra’s protectiveness stems from her care and love for Maloi. And it makes Mikha grateful. Grateful that Maloi had someone like Cassandra who cared for her deeply.
There’s a moment of silence before Mikha's response.
“I’ve admired Ate Maloi ever since we were trainees, and now na I have an opportunity to really show my love for her I wouldn’t risk losing it. I will take care of her, Cas. I swear on my life.”
Cassandra’s gaze lingers on her, a neutral expression on her face before looking away.
“You better.”
Cassandra stubs out her cigarette. Mikha smiles.
“You really care for her no?”
Cassandra meets her gaze.
“I mean exes don’t typically have a strong bond after ending their relationship. And sa mga salita mo palang, I can tell na you really care for Ate Maloi. It’s just a rare thing. For someone to love someone that much. It’s beautiful honestly.”
Mikha says honestly. Cassandra smiles sadly as she gazes at the sunset, Mikha following suit.
“I just want Mary Loi to be happy, Mikha.”
Cassandra says, her voice weak.
“I may not have given her the love that she deserves,”
Her eyes shift to Mikha. Mikha reciprocates.
“But at least I can make sure that she’ll be getting it diba?”
Mikha nods and the two settle in comfortable silence. The sound of the crickets in the evening starts to seep in as the sun finishes setting. There’s peace. Silence that the two girls find enveloping them in a comforting embrace, as the two navigate between acceptance and newfound destinations. Cassandra feels at peace, knowing that Maloi had someone like Mikha. And Mikha feels a sense of acceptance. Acceptance that someone like Cassandra was accepting her as a person worthy of Maloi.
“Love her for me?”
Cassandra says— almost like a whisper—her tone, is soft and gentle. Mikha's gaze reaches Cassandra’s as they both share an understanding. A silent agreement that Cassandra trusted Mikha. And Cassandra admits that even though she still loved Maloi, her time has passed. She will never be able to love Maloi as purely and wholeheartedly as Mikha. It’s painful— heart-wrenching even. But it’s the truth. And the truth will always hurt.
But it will also set you free.
There’s a brief moment of silence before Mikha nods and responds.
“I will.”
A promise, that Mikha will make sure of.
— — —