#DS7Unbalanced #InoCent #SMCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: LAST

TIARA'S POV

"Aren't we too early?"

I can feel the cool air touching my face. Mabuti na lang na sa kabila ng antok at kahit nakapikit pa ako ng ginising niya ako ay nagawa ko pang maisip na kumuha ng hoodie. I also traded my nightgown for thick sweatpants.

"You have a long day ahead of you, so we need to tick this off your very long list."

Nagsalubong ang kilay ko. "I just need hair and make-up. I don't think that will take all day."

A couple of hours, yes. I'm used to wearing one when I perform. How heavy it is depends on the variation I'm playing, but I never take all day just to prepare. Kung pag-practice pa pwede.

"You let those women handle your wedding. Most importantly, Mireia's taking the lead. You'll be pampered more than any member of the royal family would be."

"I don't know if I should be scared or excited."

"Definitely excited." Humugot siya ng malalim na hininga at nakangiting humarap siya sa akin. "We're here!"

I surveyed the serene surroundings, noticing a faint glimmer on the horizon indicating that dawn was approaching. The dim glow from nearby lights illuminates the large tree in front of us and the two gravestones under it.

Liana Irene Dawson

Nikolas Clarence Dawson

Luna took the folded blanket she put on top of the huge picnic basket she was carrying. Iniladlad niya iyon at kumilos ako para tulungan siya. Fortunately, the gust of wind was gentle, and it didn't bother the thin blanket that much. Ipinatong ni Luna sa gitna ang basket bago siya sumalampak ng upo.

She taps the space beside her. "Come sit with me."

I did as she asked, and I lowered myself to the ground. She swiped away dried leaves from the tombs before she took a few flameless candles from the basket. Pagkatapos niyon ay mga pagkain at inumin naman ang kinuha niya mula roon. There's even an insulated tumbler that, at first, I thought had coffee, but she poured it into two bowls, and I realized that it was soup.

I eyed the contents of the basket that is now displayed in front of me. There's so much of it that I don't even know where to start.

As if sensing my hesitation, Luna pointed at the food. "Toasts with tomatoes and avocado. We also have bacon and egg cups. Then we have pumpkin soup, a bowl of slices of fruit, and whole-wheat apple pancakes."

"You... cooked all these, then you woke up early to drive to the castle?"

The women stayed the night yesterday. Magkakasama kasi ang mga lalaki sa farmhouse nina Ember at Trace. Si Luna lang ang kinailangan umuwi dahil may meeting pa raw siya. She promised that she'd come back the following day, but I didn't expect that she would come early in the morning.

Plano na kasi nila talaga na samahan ako buong maghapon. I need to stay on the second floor so that I won't ruin their "surprise". The bridal walk will start at the staircase down to the front of the castle, so all the important preparations will need to happen this morning while I'm busy preparing. Na mukhang plano nilang siguraduhin na magkakatotoo na abala talaga ako buong maghapon.

"I did wake up early, but not to prepare all these. I just picked them up." Nang naguguluhang nakatingin lang ako sa kaniya ay nakangiting pinaikot niya ang mga mata niya. "Who else is madly in love with you? I love you and the other women, but unless you're in the hospital, you're being chased, shot at, kidnapped, and threatened in any other way, you can't wake me up this early to slave around the kitchen. Besides, I don't like cooking."

I felt warm for two completely different reasons. One is that Domino prepared all these for me, and the second is hearing that Luna loves me.

"He knows that I will bring you here before breakfast, so he wanted to make sure that you have something to eat. Bibili na lang sana ako ng McDo pero pinag-drive niya pa ako papunta sa farm." Umabot siya ng bacon and egg cups at kumagat siya ro'n bago siya ngumisi. "Kaya napilit ko siyang ipagluto din ako ng gusto ko."

I let a smile form on my lips. Shaking my head, I reach for the toast. "I doubt you needed to force him. You're his little sister."

"You'll understand it someday. You're closer now with Damian and Emeric, but I'm pretty sure there's still a bit of awkwardness. Wait for them to be completely comfortable, and you'll see that they can be pain in the asses."

They already are.

"Anyway, I'm not a breakfast person. Unless mag-aaya si Lia dahil nagluto siya."

"Eh si Magnus? Hindi ka pinagluluto?"

"Pinagluluto naman. Siya nga ang madalas." Napangisi siya ng malawak. "But like me, before, I doubt he'll care if there's a zombie apocalypse outside, as long as he can get to sleep. If someone tries to wake him up just for breakfast, he might start crying."

I swallowed down laughter at what she said. Her husband, Magnus Aquillan, is a poor soul who always looks like he's on the verge of losing consciousness. Gaano kaya siya katinding pahirapan ng mga writer niya? O mas tamang tanong ay kung gaano siya pinahihirapan ni Lucienne?

Breeze lifted the corners of the picnic blanket, and Luna took her shoes off to stop them from flying to us.

"I've read this in the books."

She chuckled. "Those books are the cheat codes to being with a Dawson." Her gaze stopped on the gravestones. "To be honest, I really don't know what to feel being in here. We've been to this place countless times for the two parents that we thought we'd lost."

She might be the first one to visit this place after they found out about their father. It must have really felt confusing for them.

Ipinilig niya ang ulo niya at nakangiting binalingan niya ako. "We didn't come here for that." Inginuso niya ang maliit na paperbag na dala ko. "You have the letter."

Inilabas ko sa paperbag ang music box. I pulled out the letter from the slot where Domino put it. I turned it over, and I looked at the beautiful handwritten words on top of it. To the woman that my son Domino will love someday.

I was tempted to read it, but I knew that it had to be here.

"I can't believe that this is the last one."

I looked up at Luna when I heard a hint of melancholy in her voice. My eyes misted over when I saw that hers were already clouded with unshed tears.

She's a Dawson. Compared to her brothers, she might look fragile, but I could sense strength in her that I've felt whenever I'm around her brothers. So it was really a surprise to see her this way.

"I made a promise." Huminga siya ng malalim at itinuon niya ang mga mta niya sa puntod ng ina nila. "We were all stubborn. We all want to make something for ourselves, and because of that, nothing else matters but getting what we want to have. But my mother was always full of life, and she wanted that for us. A life that is not consumed by what we think we need but rather one that makes us feel like we are actually living."

The small strip of light above us expanded, spreading out in the sky, blending with the darkness that once colored it.

"I made a promise that she will always be with us. That she will have a part in the best chapters of our lives. But she also made me promise something else. That when she's gone and I will be the only woman left in a house full of strong-willed men, that I will make sure that they won't lose their years busying themselves on what they think only matters, which is the company. I told them how impossible that was. Kahit na nandito pa sila nila Papa ay wala ng inisip ang mga iyon kundi ang negosyo namin. But she told me that I just needed to wait. I need to be patient and give her letters to the women that will come into my brothers' lives to show them that there's more to life. She said that she'd prove it to me. She was so sure of it because she said... she said that while I'll do my part here, she'll do hers wherever she may be." A lone tear fell from her eyes as she turned to look at me. "And she did, you know? Somehow, whenever a letter falls to the hand of the woman one of my brothers falls in love with, I always feel that she's here, reminding me that she was right."

"Y-You didn't feel hesitant about me or the others? Kahit kaunti? You didn't think that there were more women out there who were more deserving of them? Of the letters your mother left you with?"

Umiling siya. "I always believe in my brothers' choices because it's not really about who I think suits them better. It's about who they want to be in their lives. My brothers are hard-headed. They get what they want, they achieve great things, and they accomplish everything perfectly. The fact that they will ask me for the letter means that our mother was indeed right because, when they found their one, they realized what our mother wanted them to understand in the first place. That life holds greater meanings than the definition of it that they think they know." Marahang tinapik niya ang kamay ko na may hawak na sulat. "And I think that you understand what that means too."

She was right. I, myself, have achieved a lot of things. I got more than what I needed. I have acquired more than I wanted. And yet, life was just life. Something I wake up to, something that I need to face every day.

But with Domino, every little thing feels different. It was as if existing became so much more. The anticipation of his smile and his words, the warmth coming from his presence alone, and the promise that every moment will be an embrace full of love.

I took a huge breath, and as I let them go, I started opening the letter. This is it.

To the woman that my son Domino will love someday,

The time finally came. The time when the last of my boys will finally find the path towards the woman that will make his life complete. As I pen these words, I know I wouldn't be there to witness it. But I want you to know that I really wish I could. I want to meet you, the person who makes my already happy child the happiest.

Domino was a joy to be around. There's a calmness in him that will assure you, no matter what situation you're in. He was always in control of his emotions even when he was little. He was one of the youngest, and there were moments that he could be a headache, and yet I could sense maturity in him that was not as apparent to his siblings when they were as young as he was. Of course he gets himself into trouble, but most of the time he's the peacemaker.

He wanted everyone to be as happy as he was. He has that in common with Trace. And just like his older brother, he wants to convince everyone that he's not hurting too. However, unlike Trace, Domino does it all the time. Not just when he's trying to hide his pain, but also when he wants to be just who he is. Something that I don't think he's aware that he's doing.

Domino believes in everyone. He's the kind of child who will choose the lanky, uncoordinated kid to be on his team even if the rest of his group tells him not to. He always sees possibilities and hopes in everyone around him. He's not the one to give up on them. Until the end, he will support them and somehow make them see what he's seeing: that they are capable and that they deserve to be celebrated and accepted. It is what makes him happy. Seeing others fly.

But I couldn't help but feel worried. That others might not see all that he could be, all he could do, the way he sees them in others. That he won't be supported the way he supports everyone. I want to see him be truly happy too, as much as he wants to see it in other people. I want him to be unrestrained and to be who he is. I want him to be free the way he deserves to be, even if he stubbornly tries to hide that from the rest of the world.

As the youngest of the boys, he has always been taken care of by the others. He has always been protected by them. But Domino has a soul that yearns not just for protection but also for connection. It was as if it were an essential part of his being. Something that I don't think he knows that he needs. Because as much as he recognizes the depths of people's hearts, he can't do the same for his own.

Let him care for you, let him support you, let him make you happy, and though his complexities might be hard to understand, I hope that you can see that it's just part of who he is—someone he needs to be—and I wish that you'll let him be that.

I want him to be able to express himself without worrying about the judgement of others and without the fear of wearing his heart on his sleeve. I hope that you embrace every part of him the way he will with you—every dream, every vision, and every quirk—unapologetically. Let him be the king to your queen, and I promise you that you won't regret it.

He will make you the happiest, and at the same time that you will bring as much joy to him. Your heart will be handled with nothing but gentleness. He will build towering walls if that means that he can protect you. He will create a world solely for you so that no harm will come your way. All of that because his love is the strongest shield there could be that nothing in this world could destroy. The only thing that is strong enough to make him surrender, to make him go down to his knees, is you, my dear, and yet he only has to do it because I know you are the only one that my son could be vulnerable with enough for him to give all of him.

In the perfect world, life would have no hardships or pain. I want your world to be that way for you. But if it so happens that it wasn't the case and you have bruises and scars from all the times that you have fallen down and gotten hurt, I hope that the stumbles could be transformed into an art of resilience until they could have led you to his arms. His soul, which could see so much, and his heart, which could love in the greatest capacity, will be something that you can lean on to, something that steadies you back to your feet so that this time the rhythm of life's dance could be shared by the two of you.

Though I wouldn't have the chance to meet you, you are one of the most important people in my life. There won't be enough thank you that can encompass my gratitude to you, my son's sweetest surrender.

Love,

Liana Irene Dawson

Inilayo ko ng bahagya ang sulat sa akin. I don't want to ruin it with my tears. Narinig ko ang mahinang tawa ni Luna na sa kabila no'n ay kariringgan ng emosyon na katulad sa akin. I felt her tug on my hand, making me turn to her.

She dabbed tissue on my cheeks with a shake of her head. "Mireia will kill me if you turn puffy."

"I-I don't think there's escaping that today."

"That's true. I have a feeling that this will be just the start." She eyed the letter I'm still holding. "Did she happen to say anything about a dance?"

Sandaling kumunot ang noo ko sa pagtataka sa tanong niya pero pagkaraan ay tumango ako. Rhythm of life's dance. "She did. Why?"

Nangingiting bumaling siya sa puntod saglit bago siya nag-angat sa kalangitan. This time the sun has completely risen, bathing everything it touches with warmth.

"Somehow she just knows. We don't know why or how, but she just knows." She meets my eyes, and the way her eyes shine bright reminds me so much of his brothers. They were purely transparent, like they had no fear of showing what they felt. Something that is rare with Luna. I sometimes feel like she's guarding herself more than anyone else. "It's like she's doing everything she got up there to make sure that the perfect one will come into my brothers' lives."

"And yours."

She didn't say anything to that, but she just smiled her secretive smile. We silently ate, and when we were done, I helped her gather all the things back into the basket. Nasa ganoon kaming tagpo nang mag-ring ang cellphone niya.

She grinned at me when she saw the caller ID. "I hope you're ready. The Dawson wives are all ready to use their full energy to turn you into the beautiful bride that will put my brother on his knees."

He better be. It's only fair because I know that I will be the one doing the kneeling once everything is over.

And I can't wait.