A/N: Since this story is near its ending, I will update if the comments reach 50+. Happy reading, guys!

☨ ☩☣ ☘ † ❂ ⚕ ᴈᴑᴎ ☠ ☢ ⚔ ⚓♰☯☭

KELLY's POV

I looked at my wristwatch as I impatiently tapped at the arm of my chair. Then the blaring sound of the bell rang throughout the entire school. I abruptly stood up from my seat and then was about to rush towards the door to leave the room when I heard a voice.

"Hi, Kelly. It's been a while" it was Mike. He has a reluctant expression on his face. This was the first time that he approached me since that incident when Stephen kissed me in front of him. He told me that it was better for him to keep his distance from me because he didn't want to cause any problem in Stephen and I's relationship.

He accepted my offer as a friend but we haven't hang out ever since then. We just greet each other whenever we see each other in the school premises but we haven't talked any longer than that. Even though we're classmates in a few subjects, he chose to seat far from me.

"Yes. It's been a while even though we see each other everyday. How are you now?" the reluctance on his face disappeared. His eyes shone with gladness.

"I'm fine. I missed hanging out with you though" his tone became sad and I suddenly felt guilty. I avoided hanging out with him just like before because I didn't want Stephen and me to fight. Knowing him, he's a very possessive man. I mentally shook my head.

"We can still hang out together sometimes. We still have a week left before graduation so I want to make the best out of it"

"But your boyfriend will get mad if he saw me hanging out with you for sure" I sighed and then forced a smile.

"It's okay" it was all that I could say. Since Syril woke up and after that encounter that happened between us and Uncle Lucio, we haven't had a chance to talk properly yet. Yes, I told him that we would talk about us when the right time comes but until now, I was still confused.

I've been busy with my studies and I purposely didn't visit them. Even though I knew where they reside right now, I decided to just give a time for everything to settle down first before we could talk.

I didn't know why but knowing that Stephen Syril was now finally awake, I felt like I needed to talk to him first before I could properly face Stephen Tyler and settle things between us.

"Are you sure?" the voice of Mike pulled me put of my deep thoughts. I forced a smile and then nodded my head.

"Yes. I'm sure. Anyway, I really need to go now. See you around" his smile widened and this time, he looked happy.

I went out of the room and then directly strode towards the gate. I looked around but my grandparents' driver hasn't arrived yet.

Cyrus stopped being my bodyguard now and even though my grandma wanted to hire another one to guard me, I insisted that I didn't need one. She was so against my decision but when my father told her that I would be fine on my own, she finally conceded.

Stephen quit his job as well and decided to concentrate on Syril. His vendetta finally came to an end especially now that Horeeya is gone.

Cyrus called me the other day and informed me that Uncle Lucio finally spilled all the things that he knew about Horeeya. Because of the information that he gave, they finally located their new camp and managed to eradicate the remaining members of that terrorist group.

Syril is finally safe now because those people who were planning to kill him finally got caught. Some of them got killed because they fought against the soldiers.

Finally, the Silva brothers got the justice that they deserve. I wanted to visit them today but the timing wasn't good.

Last night, my grandma called me and she informed me that we would be having a family dinner at their place. I didn't know what the occasion was but I just said yes because I knew that she wouldn't accept a no anyway.

While I was looking around, the big tree near the gate caught my attention. I couldn't help but to reminisce those moments when Stephen Tyler and I hang out together under that tree. A smile formed on my lips upon remembering that.

Now that I think about it, Stephen Syril didn't like us hanging out under that tree before. I was so confused back then why he didn't want for us to even sit there but I just chose to ignore it. Now I finally understood why he was acting weirdly back then because he wasn't the same man that I used to hang-out with under that tree.

Then I found myself walking towards that big tree and then sat on the bench under it. I really missed him already but there was something that was stopping me from talking to him. I didn't know why. There was something inside of me that was telling me that I need to properly weigh everything first so that I wouldn't have anything to regret about someday.

I heaved a sigh and then took my phone out. I was about to call my grandma to ask her why the driver hasn't arrived yet when I heard that familiar voice.

"Hi, xuxu" my breath got caught in my lungs as I looked at my right side to confirm my suspicion. I was right. It was Stephen Tyler. He was staring at me full of longing and I couldn't help but to get affected. My heart skipped a beat upon seeing his handsome face.

He was looking at me as if he wanted to rush towards me and envelope me into a tight embrace but he didn't do so. He smiled grimly before he stepped closer to me.

"This is for you" he handed me the bouquet of flowers that he was holding. I gasped. It looked like the same flower he used to give me more three years ago.

The twins really have different styles when it comes to pleasing me. Even the flowers that they used to give me were different. Even though I noticed all those changes, I couldn't believe that I didn't ask about it to Stephen Syril.

"Thank you" I almost stammered. I bit my lower lip. I heard him groan as he raked his fingers through his hair.

"Please don't bite your lips like that, xuxu. You know that that's my weakness" I couldn't help but blush because of what he said. There was an obvious desire in his eyes and I felt like my body went hot all over.

"W-Why are you here?" I asked, intentionally changing the topic. He sat beside me and I groaned inwardly when our arms touched. I could smell his manly scent and it was sending my sense into turmoil. Goodness! I couldn't believe that he has this strong effect on me that I've never felt to other men before. Even to Syril...

"Before I answer your question, I just want you to know that I missed you so much, xuxu. You don't know how much" he said those words while looking into my eyes. Every word that he uttered has an intense emotion along with it.

I suddenly felt like there was a lump in my throat. I swallowed hard. I was about to answer when he continued.

"But I know that you're not ready yet. I know that you still need time to think things through especially now that Syril finally awake. Even though I am scared that you might have a change of heart and choose him after this, I will still give you enough time to think. I know that I am being selfish right now considering that Syril has just woken up from coma but I don't want to lie to myself anymore. I want you to know that even though I lied to you about many things before, my love for you is pure and honest. Please, don't ever doubt that especially now"

"What do you mean?" I questioned above whisper. I suddenly felt alarm of the way he talked. I felt like he was about to say something that I wasn't ready to hear yet. He sounded like he was saying goodbye or something.

He took my hand and then kissed it twice lovingly.

"Joaquin recommended Syril to his father. He's a famous doctor in Germany and he is guarantying that Syril would recover fully if he's going to be the one to tend to him"

"In Germany? D-Don't tell me..."

"Yes, xuxu. I will take Syril to Germany" I felt like I tasted something bitter upon hearing that.

"So, you're leaving me again" it was a statement. I couldn't help but to chide at him full of resentment. I stood up and tried to pull my hand from his grip, planning to leave him there, when he suddenly pulled me roughly to his body and then hugged me tightly.

My face was buried on his chest. The bouquet that I was holding got crumpled but no one between us cared about it anymore.

"Let go of me!" I tried to sound stern but he didn't let me go. I couldn't help but to feel resentful because of a reason I couldn't pinpoint but there was one thing that was clear and that was the fact that I didn't want him to leave me. I felt him kissed the top of my head.

"Please, don't be like this. I came here because I wanted to see you for the last time before we fly to Germany tomorrow" tomorrow?!

My heart tightened of the thought that he would be leaving me. I couldn't help but to feel emotional. I pulled away from him and then stared at him bitterly.

"I see that you already made your decision" I bit the insides of my cheeks to prevent myself from crying in front of him. My throat was already aching because of trying my best to hide my emotions. I wanted to appear like what he said was nothing to me but I couldn't do it.

He cupped my face and then made me look into his eyes. He looked emotional too.

"I am doing this for the two persons that I cherish the most and that's you and Syril. I want to go to Germany because I want to make sure that Syril will be better someday. I want him to have a normal life just like before, especially now that he could finally live in peace without worrying about anything because he's safe now. He never had a normal life ever since he got taken away from us and I want to do everything to give him the chance to recover from all of this. The people that destroyed our family will be spending their lives in jail and could not do anything to harm him anymore.

"At the same time, I am doing this for you. I want to give you time to decide. I know that deep inside of you, you're still confused about your feelings. I know that it's not that easy but I am willing to do anything to give you the time to think things through before you choose between us. I don't want to rush you into this. I just hope that when the time comes that we get reunited, you will choose to love me. Please forgive me for all the things that I've brought you. I love you so much"

Every word that he said brought an unexplainable feeling inside of me. Deep inside my heart, I knew that I already forgave him about what he did but he was right. We need a break from all of this. We need time to heal from all the things that happened and at the same time, we need to do this because the timing isn't good yet.

There's Syril to be considered first because we wouldn't be able to achieve real happiness if I we wouldn't settle our personal issues first.

"I already forgive you" I answered in an almost inaudible voice. I put my hand over his hands that were still touching my cheeks.

"Really, xuxu? Do you mean it?" he looked surprised but happiness was evident on his face as well. I smiled and then nodded my head.

"You made me so happy, xuxu. Thank you" we stared into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds before he slowly drew his face closer to mine and then captured my lips for a gentle kiss.

We both gasped when we felt each other's lips. It felt like it's been a long time since the last time we kissed.

"Will you wait for me?" he asked huskily. His lips were still touching mine. His eyes were like begging for me to say yes.

Gosh! I was just staring at him but I already knew what my answer would be. I just realized that I didn't need to be away from them in order to make a final decision because my heart already knew whom it belongs to.

I bit my lower lip. I felt so silly of thinking that I still need time to process everything because I've finally understood the degree of my love to each one of them. My heart was fully aware whom it loved ever since the beginning.

"You don't have to ask me that because I will be just here, waiting for you to come back" he gasped in surprise.

"D-Do you mean..." I smiled at him sweetly.

"Yes, honey. I love you too. From the beginning, you're the only one that I love" he beamed with happiness but that disappeared right away and replaced by guilt.

"What about Syril?" I heaved a sigh before I answered.

"I thought I loved him but when I discovered that there were actually two of you; that you were the one whom I first met and that he was the one who came back after a month and pretended to be you, I realized that the love I had for him wasn't that deep. When we got back together, the love I felt for you was incomparable that even though you deceived me, my love for you remained here" I said the last two words while pointing at the part of my chest where the heart was located.

To my surprised, he suddenly pulled me by the nape and then sealed my lips with a passionate kiss. I groaned in pleasure before I wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him with equal fervor.

The kiss was hot and wild. We were kissing as if we couldn't get enough of each other. Our longing for each other was too much.

"I really missed you" his voice was husky with evident hunger and need.

"Me too, honey. Me too" he kissed me again.

"Let's get out of here" he murmured against my lips after a minute or so. I instantly nodded my head. 

☨ ☩☣ ☘ † ❂ ⚕ ᴈᴑᴎ ☠ ☢ ⚔ ⚓♰☯☭

What do you think of this chapter, guys?

Do you agree that for them to get separated for them to think things through first? 

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