*Who's My Eternal*
*5 Years Later*
*Manila — Ninoy Aquino International Airport*
Private jet. Black. No logos.
The door opened and the air changed.
People stared. Whispered.
Because when _Arthur Harkwell_ walked, the ground listened.
25 years old.
Suits that cost more than houses. Eyes that missed nothing.
Trillions. Billions. More.
Houses in six countries. Cars they didn't make anymore.
Men twice his age called him _sir_ and meant it.
He was powerful. Cold. Untouchable.
Except for one thing.
He still had _Elian_ underneath.
Especially today.
Steve Harkwell stepped out behind him. 78 now, but still sharp. "You sure about this, son?"
Elian didn't look at him. Eyes on the crowd. On Manila. On home.
"I'm sure."
Steve nodded. "Then let's go see the Haynes. It's been years."
They scattered at the airport. Steve's car went right, toward Batangas. Toward old friends.
Elian's car went left.
Toward the bay.
*Manila Bay*
Lola Anna was waiting.
Older. Smaller. Hair fully white now.
But her eyes were the same.
Elian saw her and everything _Arthur_ cracked.
"_Lola_," he breathed.
He dropped his bag. Didn't care who saw.
Ran.
And hugged her.
Tight. Like he was 15 again. Like he was still _servant boy_ and she was still the only person who called him _apo_ and meant _home_.
"I missed you," he whispered into her hair. "God, I missed you so much."
Lola Anna held him. Hands shaking.
"You're here," she cried. "You're really here, _anak_."
He pulled back. Looked at her. At the lines on her face. At the grief she hid for five years.
"Lola," he said, smiling. Real. Not the boardroom smile. _His_ smile. "Where's Cherry?"
Lola Anna's heart stopped.
Panic. Cold and fast.
She opened her mouth.
_She's dead, apo. She died five years ago._
_She fell off the cliff. We buried her mother. We never found her._
_I lied to you. For five years. Because she asked me to._
But she couldn't.
Not with him looking at her like that. Like Cherry was just around the corner. Like the last five years hadn't happened.
So she lied.
One more time.
"She's… she's waiting for you," Lola Anna said. Voice barely there. "At the house, _apo_. She's waiting."
Elian's whole face lit up.
"Really?"
He grabbed his bag. Grabbed her hand.
"Let's go. I can't wait to see her."
And they walked.
Through the bay.
Past the boats. Past the old women selling fish who stopped and stared.
_Is that Elian?_
_No. That can't be._
_That's Arthur Harkwell. On TV._
He was home.
The place he was a fisherman.
The place he carried buckets.
The place he was _servant boy_.
The place Cherry gave him a diamond and said _This is yours_.
He didn't notice Lola Anna was crying.
Didn't notice her steps were slow.
Didn't notice the way Noa saw them from the pier and turned away.
Because he was thinking one thing:
_Cherry._
_I'm home, Pink._
*Batangas — Same Time*
*Haynes Enterprises*
Cherry Haynes, 24.
Hair up. Blazer. Clipboard.
She was in a meeting. Running it.
Mrs. Jennie's company.
Nicklaus walked in. 26 now. Taller. CEO beside his father.
He set a coffee on her desk. "You okay?"
She smiled. Real. "Yeah. Why?"
Cherry's hand paused on the paper.
Nothing
For a second, her heart did something stupid.
Then she pushed it down.
"That's nice," she said. "Tell Mr. Nicholas I said hi."
Nicklaus studied her.
Five years. He knew that look.
He didn't push.
"Come on," he said instead. "Lunch. Mom's waiting."
Cherry stood.
She had a family. A job. A life.
She was happy.
Mostly.
She didn't know Elian was in Manila.
Didn't know he was walking to an empty house.
Didn't know he still said her name in his sleep.
*Manila Bay — Pink House*
Elian stopped at the gate.
It was… quiet.
Too quiet.
"Lola?"
Lola Anna couldn't breathe.
He pushed the door open.
"Cherry?" he called. Voice soft. Hopeful. "Pink? I'm home."
Silence.
Only the sea.
Only the wind.
Only the truth he wasn't ready for.
Lola Anna grabbed his arm.
"_Apo_—"
Elian turned.
And saw it in her face.
Five years.
All at once.
Lola Anna gestured to the old wooden chair. The one Papa used to sit in.
"_Apo_, sit down. Please."
Elian did. Slow. Like he already knew.
Like his body knew before his head did.
Lola Anna stood in front of him. Hands twisting her skirt. Five years of lies sitting heavy on her shoulders.
And she told him.
About his father. How he passed. How Cherry didn't call because she didn't want him to come back.
About the burial. How quiet the house was after.
About _that night_. How men broke in. How Mrs. Eva— _ — got shot.
How Cherry ran. Bare feet. Screaming.
How she reached the cliff.
How she fell.
"And we never found her, _apo_," Lola Anna sobbed. "We searched. Days. Weeks. Noa and the boys… nothing. Just her nightgown on a branch."
Elian didn't move.
Didn't blink.
His face went white. Then red.
"You…" His voice was nothing. "You knew? For _five years_?"
Lola Anna fell to her knees in front of him. Grabbed his hands.
"Forgive me, _anak_. Please. I didn't want to lie. But I made cherry a promise." Tears ran down her face. "She said _'Don't tell him, Lola. Let him be great. Don't let him come back.'_ I promised her, Elian. What was I supposed to do?"
Elian ripped his hands away.
Stood up so fast the chair fell.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TELL ME!" he roared.
The sound shook the small house.
"Five years, Lola! Five years she was gone and you let me—" He choked. "You let me think she was mad at me! You let me think she hated me!"
"_Apo_—"
"Was she even there?" He was pacing now. Hands in his hair. "When I called? That time? The maid picked up— Cherry called and heard her and—"
Lola Anna shook her head. Crying too hard to speak. "No," she whispered. "No, _anak_. She wasn't there. She was already… gone."
Elian stopped.
Stared at the floor.
At the spot where Mrs. Eva died.
At the spot where Cherry last stood.
And then he screamed.
Raw. Broken.
"IT'S MY FAULT!"
He hit the wall. Once. Hard.
"I shouldn't have left! I should've stayed servant boy! I should've been here!"
His legs gave out.
He hit the floor. On his knees.
And cried.
Not _Arthur Harkwell_. Not the billionaire.
Just Elian.
A 25-year-old boy who lost everything and didn't even know.
"Cherry," he sobbed. "Pink, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Lola Anna crawled to him.
Wrapped her arms around him. Rocked him like she did when he was little and his parents died.
"I know, _anak_," she cried with him. "I know. I'm sorry too."
Outside, the bay was quiet.
Inside, Elian broke.
For the girl who gave him everything.
And died thinking he forgot her.
*Batangas — Same Time*
Cherry sneezed.
Nicklaus looked up from his papers. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she said. Rubbed her nose. "Weird."
She looked out the window. Toward Manila.
And for a second, her chest hurt.
For no reason.