168 It's Not That Easy To Forge

" Then why are you so flawless? " Anthon wondered why she didn't get a single scar in doing such dangerous acts.

"Mother had many rituals done on me with her herbal pastes. Every bedtime , she would let me bath with a water treated with lots of leaves and roots. Then she would pound on some leaves and apply it to my scars. At times, she would use lemon, aloe vera gel, coconut oil, honey, etc, or whichever were available. During daytime, instead of those leaves, she used 'Mantika de Cacao'. "

Cocoa butter, locally called as Mantika de Cacao, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. It is also known as one of the best natural ways of removing scars.

"Wow! So we don't have to worry anymore if Jian would get abrasions in one of our games." Anthon was now convinced.

"It's not my problem anymore. Isn't his dad a doctor? " She looked up to Jim and placed a hand under his chin.

"Right. " Anthon smiled as he glanced at Jim taking the hand of Jia away from his chin and pulled it to his lips to kiss it.

Anthon looked away hurriedly. He wouldn't say that this revelation would suddenly make him numb. It would need time... great amount of time to be able to heal and forget.

Mr. Wayne observed them silently. He saw the eyes of Anthon and the messages it conveyed. He got worried for him.

"Ton, can I visit you in your house?"

Mr. Wayne asked, aiming to find time to talk to him.

"Sure..., 'dad'.. " Saying it still felt awkward.

"Then, I'll sleep in your house tonight. " He, then, stood up to pick some things.

Kuya Nap stood up, as well, to bid goodbye to everyone.

Once in Anthon's house, he was so amazed to see how beautiful was it.

He was so impressed with the success he had attained. If only Sylvia was alive, she would be very proud of him.

Only that, as he noticed it, the design was so feminine. The more he got surprised when he saw that abstract painting in the living room. He, instantly, recognized that it was Jia.

While he stood before the painting, Anthon's voice rang into his ear.

"It's her."

"I saw it in your eyes. " He said without turning to look at him.

"Jia was my high school friend and classmate. Out of that friendship, a mutual feeling grew then, but I did something in the past that made her humiliated. It was my fault."

He paused for a moment while he took his hand and lead him towards a coffee table beside a glass wall that separated the house and the garden outside. As his dad was seated, he made them both a cup of chamomille tea.

"When we were in college, I went to look for her in their place but her parents told me that she was renting a place in another city but they didn't know where."

Mr. Wayne just listened while he was sipping his tea.

"I got so occupied, then. I even barely found time for myself since I was also working in the restaurant. But all through those years, we both knew that our mutual feelings still existed through our common friend, Jay."

Anthon paused for a while to take a sip of his tea.

" After ten years, we met because I and Jay, set up an event to meet with our group as our witnesses supposedly, aside from the concept of a reunion. It should have been the day that I would be proposing for a marriage."

Mr. Wayne straightened up to listen carefully. He was expecting this time for a shocking revelation.

"On our first night there, I got drunk after a long chat with the group. When everyone retired to their bed, I followed her to her tent at the far side of the resort. And under the influence of alcohol, I forced her into 'it'."

Anthon sighed as he felt the pang of pain lurking deep inside again.

"In the morning, as I asked her to do the papers with me, she went out. Only to realize later that she was not coming back."

"So Jian is your son with her? I have long speculated about it since the child is such your replica. "

"Yes. And Jim gave him his name. "

"How did it happen? "Mr. Wayne asked.

"When Jia ran away, she happened to work for Jim and Jim fell in love with her. "

"You were proposing a marriage but why did she ran away?" Mr. Wayne was too confused.

"At that time, I was already about to be wed with Giselle, her bestfriend, who was three - month - pregnant. "

Mr. Wayne understood it all as Anthon went into the full detail. He got so worried that his sons walked into similar but more complicated fate like his. He also understood how much pain they would both endure everytime each one of them would see her with the other.

"Son, I do not have the right to tell you what to do. I even destroyed my own home because of my stubborness to let go. It's not easy to forget a woman but she is already married to your brother. What is your plan now? "

Tears gathered around the corner of Anthon's eyes.

"Dad, after Jian's Garden would be completed, I would try my luck in another place or maybe, overseas."

"Whatever you think is best, I will support you."

After a long talk , Anthon took Mr. Wayne to the guest room to rest for the night but before he closed the door, he dared to ask about something that was already bothering him eversince he stepped into the house.

"Ton, why is this house so

feminine? "

Anthon smiled. " Because your son is as stubborn as you. Until today, I still go on believing that one day, I could give this dream house to her. "

Mr. Wayne shook his head.

"That's the disadvantage of being a one - woman - man. "