When Edna came back, she decided against going to her room, knowing that sleep would continue to elude her. She walked over to the couch to sit down. Being deeply lost in her own thoughts, she sat down heavily without looking. She instantly realized she had sat directly on someone. Startled, she scrambled to stand up quickly, but her foot slipped. In a desperate bid to catch her balance, her hand shot out and she accidentally pressed her palm hard against his open wound. She felt Fulbeth tense as he tried to stand up to help her, causing both of them to lose their footing and crash heavily to the floor together. In the darkness, she heard Fulbeth let out a sharp groan of pain. She quickly pushed herself up, and just as she found her feet, the overhead lights in the room abruptly flickered and turned on.
Fulbeth extended his hand toward Edna to help her up from the floor. The woman hesitated for a brief second before taking his hand and pulling herself up. "I... I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice trembling. He heard the woman sigh softly before she replied, "No... it wasn't your fault."
Fulbeth sank back onto the couch, but Edna remained standing, frozen in place. She stood there awkwardly, completely unsure of whether she should sit down beside him or simply retreat to her room. Fulbeth seemed equally lost, staring ahead and not knowing what to say or ask her.
An uncomfortable silence filled the room until Edna saw his wound and broke it. "Wound... your wound, it's bleeding again," she said, her eyes widening in concern. Fulbeth looked down at his shoulder and realized his blood had already seeped through, leaving a large, red stain across his bandage. "It's okay," he insisted quietly, trying to dismiss her worry. Edna frown her brow. "It's not serious?" Edna stepped closer, her eyes flashing with sudden anger and worry. "You think it's not serious? Do you want to disable your hand before you finally admit you need help?"
Edna scolded him, her voice sharp but laced with an underlying panic.
Her harsh words did not sting. Instead, they made Fulbeth feel as though his heart were dissolving into a warm ocean of honey. The fact that she was scolding him meant she cared. She genuinely cared.
"I'm going to go get the first-aid kit," she announced abruptly, turning on her heel before he could answer.
After a few tense minutes, she returned with the supplies. She sank down onto the seat beside him, immediately setting to work on his wound. Fulbeth completely tuned out the sting of the antiseptic. He could only stare at her face, mesmerized by the intense focus and tenderness with which she dressed his injury.
God, he thought to himself, what was wrong with me in the past? Why didn't I fall in love with her back then?
A wave of regret washed over him. Because of his own blindness, they had squandered years that they could have spent together. Looking at her now, silhouetted in the soft light, Edna seemed far too beautiful and good to be real. He had no idea exactly when Cupid's arrow had finally struck him, but he was certain of one thing: he had fallen deeply, irreversibly in love with her.
Unable to resist the pull any longer, his hand gently slipped under her chin, tilting her head upward. When their eyes locked, Fulbeth saw the raw worry and frustration swirling in her gaze. The sheer, overwhelming happiness swelling in his chest became too much to contain. Leaning in, he captured her lips, kissing her with a desperate mixture of passion and affection. He pulled her even closer, encircling his uninjured hand securely around the back of her neck to anchor her to him.
He kissed her more deeply and affectionately. Edna began to respond, finally letting go of her self-restraint. With the two of them now kissing without hesitation, the quiet room filled with the soft, audible sound of their passion. He secretly wished this moment could last a lifetime. Eventually, however, he had to pull back to let them both catch their breath. Slowly parting from the embrace, he gazed intently into her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Edna... I am so deeply sorry," he whispered, his voice trembling. "I know I have hurt you, but please forgive me. I... I can't bear the thought of you distancing yourself again. I can't bear to see you get close to other men. It tears my heart apart. Please, Edna, I love you so much."
Edna remained completely silent in the wake of his sudden confession. Overwhelmed, she stood up from the couch, intending to escape to the safety of her room. Before she could take a step, Fulbeth caught her by the wrist, gently but firmly stopping her in her tracks. He stood up from the couch as well, placing himself directly in front of her to block her path.
"Please, Edna, don't leave," Fulbeth begged, his eyes pleading. "Say something. You can say anything at all, but please don't walk away without saying a word."
All Edna did was pull against his grip, desperately trying to free her wrist from his fingers. "Please, Edna..." he tried again.
"What do you want me to say?" she cut him off, tears finally flashing in her eyes. "You cannot seriously expect me to just forget everything and be with you as if nothing happened. Do you truly think I haven't tried forgetting? Do you think I haven't tried to just move on? I did, Fulbeth... I tried with everything I had. But I failed." "I'm sorry..."
"It doesn't matter," she replied, her voice tight with forced calm. "To avoid hurting each other any further, let's just be friends and nothing more."
After saying those final words, she turned abruptly and walked straight to her room, shutting the door firmly behind her. Left alone, Fulbeth collapsed onto the edge of the bed heavily. He ruffled his fingers through his hair, pulling at the strands hard as if the physical pain could distract him from his thoughts. He was completely devastated. The crushing weight of regret settled over him; he knew deep down that this heartbreak was entirely his fault.
On Saturday, the entire group met up at the Cruz' grand mansion. While Stephanie was busy preparing refreshments in the kitchen with Eunice, the three men gathered privately in Michael's home office to talk. Downstairs, Obed, Arya, and Joshua were sitting on the couch with Edna in the spacious living room. The kids were completely absorbed, busy playing a game together on Edna's laptop.
Claudia—who hadn't come downstairs at all since they first arrived—finally walked into the room and quietly sat down beside them.
"Hey, everyone..." she greeted softly.
"Hey, Rian," Edna responded with a warm smile.
Little Arya looked up from the screen, blinking curiously. "Aunty Edna, who is she?" the child asked cutely.
Claudia couldn't help but smile warmly at the child's pure cuteness.
"She is another aunty of yours," Edna answered, chuckling.
Arya's eyes widened with delight. "We have so many aunties! You, Aunty Eunice, Aunty Precious, Aunty Deana, Aunty Jackie, and now Aunty Rian," Arya mentioned aloud, carefully counting them out on her tiny fingers. "We have six aunties altogether!" Arya exclaimed proudly.
Claudia turned her attention to the little girl. "Since you already know my name, why don't you tell me yours? I only know Joshua so far," Claudia said gently.
Arya smiled brightly. "My name is Arya and my twin brother is Obed," Arya said cheekily.
"Hmm... nice names..." Claudia replied, smiling warmly.
Just as Claudia finished her compliment, a sudden, sharp crash echoed from the back of the house. The unmistakable sound of something shattering in the dining room instantly cut through the quiet air, catching everyone's attention and leaving the room dead silent.
Moments earlier, Stephanie had been walking toward the dining room carrying a large glass bowl filled with fresh salad, intending to set the table for lunch. As she neatly arranged the plates, the cheerful sound of her daughter's voice drifting in from the hallway caught her ear. She was talking to someone new. There was something undeniably familiar about the stranger's tone—a hauntingly acquainted melody that made Stephanie freeze. Unable to resist the sudden, eager urge to see who it was, she stretched her neck to get a glimpse around the doorframe.
The moment her eyes landed on the profile of the visiting woman, the color drained completely from Stephanie's face. Startled to her absolute core, her fingers lost their grip. The heavy glass bowl slipped from her hands, crashing violently onto the hardwood floor and shattering into a hundred glittering pieces, scattering lettuce and shards of glass everywhere.
Hearing the commotion, the kids were the first to run into the dining room. "Oh, Mommy! Did you hurt yourself?" Arya cried out, her eyes wide with worry as she looked at her mother.
Stephanie stood frozen among the debris, trembling as she tried to recover from the sheer shock of the moment. "I... I'm fine, baby... just lost my grip..." her voice trailed off. The words choked in her throat as her gaze drifted past the children.
Walking through the doorway alongside Edna and Joshua was the mysterious woman. Stephanie tightly closed her eyes, squeezing them shut in a desperate prayer that she was just hallucinating or seeing things. But when she opened them again, reality refused to change. The woman was still standing right there, staring back at her. A cold wave of fear and raw panic quickly cascaded down Stephanie's body, paralyzing her from head to toe. She gripped the edge of the table, her mind racing in absolute denial. No... she thought, her breath catching in her throat.