*Who's My Eternal*
*Haynes House — Dinner, That Evening*
The dining room was warm. Food on the table. Family.
It was Cherry's favorite time of day.
Until Mrs. Jennie set her glass down.
"We have news," she said. Smiling, but nervous. "Nicklaus is getting married."
Fork clattered.
Cherry's.
She looked up. Shocked.
Nicklaus looked worse.
"What?" He turned to his father. "Married? To who?"
Mr. Nicholas cleared his throat. "Mr. Kael's daughter. My old friend. I just found out he's been in Manila all this time. We talked. It's a good match. Good families."
Cherry went cold.
_Mr. Kael's daughter._
_Cindy._
She knew. Of course she knew. Cindy bragged about her father's "connections" back in the bay.
But she said nothing.
Just gripped her fork.
"I'm not getting married," Nicklaus said flat. "Not now. Not to her."
Mrs. Jennie sighed. Long. Heavy.
"If only…" she said, eyes glassy. "If only your brother was here. He'd be one year older than Cherry. He would've handled this by now."
The room went quiet.
Cherry blinked. "Brother?"
"You have another son?"
Mr. Nicholas' face fell. He nodded.
"We did," he said. Voice rough. "We _do_. Somewhere."
Mrs. Jennie wiped her eyes. "I took him to the market. He was just a baby. I set him down with a lady. An older woman selling fruit. Just for a second. To grab my bags."
Her voice broke.
"Then there was screaming. A man— he escaped from police. Had a bomb strapped to him. Right in the market."
Cherry covered her mouth.
"Everyone ran," Mr. Nicholas continued. Quiet. "Stampede. Chaos. By the time Jennie got back to the stall…"
"She was gone," Mrs. Jennie whispered. "The lady. And my baby. I didn't even know her name. She didn't know mine. I searched. Police searched. Nothing."
Tears fell freely now.
"For 24 years," she said. "I've prayed he's safe. That whoever took him… loved him."
Cherry felt sick.
For them. For that baby. For a mother who never stopped looking.
"I'm so sorry," Cherry whispered.
Nicklaus reached for his mother's hand. But his eyes were on Cherry.
Saw how pale she was.
"You okay?" he mouthed.
She nodded. Lied.
Because her mind was spinning.
_Cindy is Mr. Kael's daughter.
Nicklaus is supposed to marry Cindy.
*Manila Bay — Same Night*
Elian stood at the cliff.
Where she fell.
Steve's man called.
"Sir. We found something. The Haynes family in Batangas… they took in a girl. Five years ago. Found her by a river."
Elian's blood went cold.
"Name?"
"Cherry. No last name. They call her Cherry Haynes now."
The phone slipped from his hand.
He dropped to his knees.
On the same dirt.
"Pink," he choked.
_Alive._
*Haynes House — Minutes Later*
Elian didn't think.
He ran.
Keys in his hand, engine still hot.
Batangas. Haynes House.
The address Steve's man gave him burned in his head.
He pulled up hard. Gravel flying.
And saw him.
Steve Harkwell.
Sitting on the porch. Glass in hand. Older. Same eyes.
For a second, Elian forgot how to breathe.
Then he remembered.
_My real name is Steve Haynes._
_My family's in Batangas. My son. My grandson._
Of course.
Of course he was here.
This was the house. The family Steve always talked about in Canada. The ones he left behind to build an empire.
Steve looked up.
And his face split into a grin.
"Elian? Boy, what are you doing here?" He stood, arms open. "You come to surprise your old man?"
Elian stepped out of the car. Legs numb.
He let Steve pull him into a hug. Quick. Hard.
But his eyes were on the house.
"Steve," he said. Voice hoarse. "I'm looking for someone."
Steve pulled back. Eyebrow up. "Oh?"
"A girl. Name's Cherry."
Steve's whole face changed.
Soft. Proud.
"Cherry?" He laughed. Deep, warm. "That's my son's girl. Adopted her five years ago. Found her by the river, half-dead. Best thing that ever happened to this family."
He clapped Elian's shoulder. "She's a good girl, Elian. Real good. Wait— don't tell me she's caught your eye?"
Elian's throat closed.
He looked at Steve. At this man who raised him. Who made him _Arthur_.
And he chuckled. Broken.
"Perhaps," he said.
Steve roared with laughter. "Well damn! Come on, then! Let's go meet her. She's inside with Nicklaus and his parents. We were just—"
He didn't finish.
He pushed the door open.
"Nicklaus! Jennie! We got company!"
*Inside — Dining Room*
The air shifted.
Cherry was still sitting. Pale from the talk about the missing baby. About Cindy.
Nicklaus was arguing. "I'm not marrying her, Dad—"
Then the door opened.
Cherry looked up.
And died.
Again.
Because there he was.
Taller. Broader. Suits that cost millions.
Face cold. Eyes sharp.
But it was him.
The boy from the bay.
The servant boy.
The one she buried in her heart five years ago.
"Elian," she whispered.
He froze.
In the doorway.
Steve's hand on his back.
Nicklaus and his parents turning, confused.
But Elian didn't see them.
He saw her.
Alive.
Hair longer. Blazer. Woman, not girl.
But her eyes.
God, her eyes.
Same.
"Pink," he breathed.
The name slipped out. Before he could stop it.
Cherry stood up so fast her chair fell.
Nicklaus stood too. "Cherry? You know him?"
Mrs. Jennie looked between them. "pa who—"
Steve was smiling. "Elian, this is Cherry. Cherry, this is—"
"she knos me," Elian said. Voice dead. Eyes locked on her.
He took a step in.
Then another.
"Five years, Cherry."
Cherry backed up. Hit the wall.
Tears already falling.
"Elian, I—"
"Five years I thought you were dead," he said. Louder now. Shaking. "Five years I lived in hell because you made Lola Anna lie to me."
Nicklaus moved between them. "Hey. What's going on?"
Elian didn't look at him.
Couldn't.
Only her.
"You're alive," he said. Like he didn't believe it. Like saying it would make her vanish.
Cherry covered her mouth. Sobbing.
Because he was here.
Because he was _angry_.
And she was nobody.
Still nobody.
Mr. Nicholas stood. "Son, do you know her?"
Steve was quiet now. Reading the room. Reading _them_.
Elian ignored everyone.
Walked right up to her.
Stopped inches away.
"Why?" he whispered.
Just that.
_Why?_
Five years in one word.
Cherry looked up at him.
At the boy she loved.
At the man she let go.