166 'Til My Last Breath

"Auntie, after many months, I will come back here with you, right? "

He asked desperately as he threw his arms around her, as if he understood.

" Yes, after many months. Ton, whatever will happen, always remember that Auntie and Uncle love you very much. "

"Tonton loves Auntie and Uncle,

too! "

With this, the child followed Rosa, his head kept turning back to look at her.

Mr. Wayne waited for them by the door as he would take them to the town. His eyes were already red like ripe tomatoes in Sylvia's garden.

When they finally reached the port, he hugged Anthon tightly and promised to meet him in the city.

"Ton, we cannot go together since I and auntie would go to the hospital first. Once we will be there, I'll fetch you, then."

The child nodded while he sobbed in his neck. When he finally released him, Rosa took his hand.

"Rosa, let's talk about the child

later."

Rosa did not say a word. She cast him a final glance before she turned her back with Anthon.

When they disappeared from his sight, he hurriedly went back to the house to take Sylvia to the hospital before he would request a transfer to the city. But when he arrived, her lips were already bluish and her limbs were already limp.

Later at the hospital, she was declared dead on arrival.

No one could ever describe the pain that he felt that day. He felt his world was taken away from him. She lived alone in his world and his world with her was his only joy and happiness.

With only few people with him as his witnesses, he buried her in a grave under the giant trees. Buried together in that grave, was his heart meant to beat only for her.

He hired a caretaker to maintain the house. Every time he felt lonely and alone, everytime he missed her, everytime he was strewn with too much stress in the workplace, he would always go back to this haven to find comfort and peace.

He looked for the midwife whom Sylvia had instructed him with but everytime he went to her house, she was at another barangay to assist a labor. Until she accidentally died and was never able to tell him about Sylvia's last words.

Once he returned to the city, he looked for Rosa to ask for Tonton's custody but she and her family had suddenly moved away. He would have wanted the child to stay with him since in that span of years he was with them, they treated him as their own son. Aside from that, he was Sylvia's most precious treasure and he wanted to personally take over in the care of that gem she cared so much about in her absence.

But they were gone. As if they were hiding away from him. He even wondered if their disappearance was related to Sylvia's last word with her.

To forget the pain, he kept herself busy with work. Too busy that he almost forgot that he also had another wife and children waiting for his love and attention..

Just recently, when he visited back the house before Jia was taken there, the caretaker handed her a box. It was given to her by the daughter of the midwife. Inside it was a letter, a bankbook, a copy of a will and testament and two certifiicates.

____

" Ton, open this." Mr. Wayne said in a hoarse voice as he handed the box to him.

Anthon looked at him and hesitated. A lump was forming in his throat and he already wanted to burst into tears.

But Mr. Wayne held his shaking hand and placed it on top of the box. He opened the letter first. It was a letter to Mr. Wayne.

However, he could not read it. His eyes were too blurry. Jia pulled it out from his hand and beqan to read.

"Dearest Pepe,

Forgive me for keeping the truth from you. Tonton may have an abundant life in your care but he would be deprived of love and attention. You're other family may not be able to accept him and that is expected and understandable.

I registered our son under Rosa and Greg's name so that he would grow up with real parents and not as an illegitimate child of yours. Though I am your first and legal wife but our marriage was deemed to end even from the very start. I have already long accepted that and that was the reason why I lied about so many things. I told you I had remarried. I had also told you that I went after Rosa to Hong Kong to assist her in her delivery.

Greg was unhappy of her stubbornness to remain working in a faraway land and the fact that they were childless for seven years. When rumor had it that he started seeing someone else, I decided to give them our own son.

You already have a family of your own. I don't want him to become a stranger under your own roof, whereas, he could be a darling to my bestfriend's home.

I transferred to his name the ownership of the land property that I inherited from my family for his education in college and for his means of living should he decide to become independent in the future. The rentals of all those establishment are deposited in this account.

I knew from the start that I will die soon. I already had these lumps even before our marriage but I was too afraid to talk about it.

Forget me and live a normal and happy life. Learn to love your wife the way you love me and be a responsible father to your own children.

I hope that in the future, when our son could already understand, he will be able to accept me and accept the fact that he is the token of our love for each other.

Herewith, is a DNA result that could prove that he is my real son.

Please tell him that I love him and would have wanted to live for him and for you."

Loving you 'til my last breath,

Sylvia