When She Cries

Stage Two: When Reality Sets In

The reality phase often will begin to creep in slowly during your relationship. The couple will decide whether or not they want to stay together. You start to see flaws in your partner or simple behaviors that you just don't like. That doesn't mean that you are no longer in love, but your partner doesn't seem as great as the first time you met him. The relationship doesn't seem like as much of a fantasy as compared to before.

Gino and I had been enjoying each other's company for about a year now. A lot of things have changed between us. Our relationship grew deeper. We started to build dreams together. It's not any other typical relationship, even if we are not officially together but we are enjoying the fact that we are exclusive. We don't date other people, we exchanged messages and talk almost every night like a couple. Our relationship doesn't need any label, just basing it in what we feel every time we go out, it's enough for us to know that we are already a couple.

Phone beeping, I got my phone and read the message my friend Alexis sent me, " Results are in Bella". Alexis was my former batchmate, and a very close friend, we took the examination together. She convinced me to dream of working abroad, that l should step out in my comfort zone. No matter how stable the job, there's nothing wrong with dreaming big.

The moment I read her message, I hurriedly opened my computer. I broke into a sweat. My heart is pounding, and my hands are sweating. Tapping my nails on the table as I patiently wait for the website to load. The very act of watching was hurting my eyes. I am currently on my computer, nervously waiting to see if I pass my nursing examination for abroad. My feeds on social media are flooded with grateful passers expressing their heartfelt joy of passing the examination. The page has loaded, 2017 NCLEX passers, I scrolled down to check if my name is on the list. "Francine Bella Dela Victoria, I passed" I murmured to myself. I then started to scream, and jump for joy, I can't believe that I passed. My months of review and hard work paid off. I am now eligible to work abroad, I can now start shaping my future and see myself in my dream country, The United States of America. So I called my family and told them about the result. They were ecstatic of the news, they never had a doubt that I can definitely nail the examination.

I can't wait to share the good news with Gino. I grabbed my phone and dialed his number. Phone ringing, " Hey, Gino, guess what, I passed the exam." screaming over the phone.

" I told you, you're one smart lady, that's so impossible that you'll fail. Are you up for a celebration tonight?" he replied back.

" Sure thing. say what, the same place?" I excitingly replied.

" How about I take you someplace else, pick you up at 7?" he asked.

" Okay, sure, 7 is good. See you Bye." I hung up the phone. I am still in the state of bliss. Gino and I had been praying for this exact moment to happen. Passing the exam is one of the signs that I asked, that I am indeed taking the right path.

I showered and put on my favorite black mesh top and high waist boyfriend jeans, with my white sneakers. It was 7, and Gino was already outside waiting for me. The moment I went outside the gate and saw him with his leather jacket on, it gives me jitters all over again, the same way I felt when I first met him. " So where are we going, badass?".

" Somewhere special" He smiled back. So I put on my helmet, and we took off.

He took me to a park located in the Highlands of our town, Mountain View Nature Park and Resort. A park on the mountain top and has this scenic view on every level surrounded with trees, the city lights during the night time and the cold breeze draws the attention of the crowd, one of the highly visited parks in our place. Just a nice place to bring your special someone with you.

The moment we arrived, he blindfolded me, " Don't take this off, I prepared something special for you." He held my hand as he took me to the place, the moment I entered the room I can smell the scent of flowers. The room was filled with music, playing the song Beautiful in White, one of the most romantic songs for me. He took off my blindfold, and I was surprised to see a dim litted room full of flowers and silver and black balloons on the floor, a candlelit dinner was prepared at the center of the room. In front of the table is a screen projecting our pictures together.

As I was watching each transition on the screen, Gino came up behind me, " Before I met you, I've never been the guy who believes in commitment. I dated a lot of women, that it came to a point that I was desperate in finding my perfect fit. I was lonely, and out of desperation, I prayed. Not long after that Bella I met you, you were wearing this beige crochet top and high waisted short, but it's not the outfit that made you stand out, it was your smile that brightens up that night. I have been watching you all throughout that night, and I said to myself that I can't end this night without knowing who you are. So when I got the chance, I approached you and I did not only got the chance to know your name, but I also got the chance to spend the night with you. I wanted to know if it was just plain coincidence or it was fate that brought us together that night. You don't know how happy I am when I met you at the pub for the second time, guess it was a sign that you really are meant for me. You came into my life when I was lonely, you brought colors into my black and white world. The love you have for your family, your perseverance and hard work made me appreciate you even more. You made me believe in fate, and you taught me how to love. I had learned to accept even your imperfections. Thank you for being my answered prayer, thank you for loving me." He kneeled down and grabbed something from his pocket, it was a tiny red box, as he opened it I saw a beautifully carved diamond ring, " The moment I started to build dreams with you and imagining my mornings having to wake up seeing your beautiful smile, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I cannot promise you a relationship without fights, life has its ups and downs but allow me to take care of you and hold your hand along that journey. Bella, will you marry me?"

Tears started to roll down my cheeks, as I was staring at Gino kneeling before me. I just can't believe everything that has happened in my life, from me passing the examination to this possibility of marriage with the man I fell in love with. I'm unsure if marrying him will be a great idea, but one thing is for sure that I loved him. And I know that with that love we can surpass anything. "Yes, I do Gino. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." and I hugged him.

We enjoyed the candlelit dinner he prepared while looking at the wonderful view of the city lights. This got to be the start of our journey as a real couple.

A year after the perfect proposal, we had our civil wedding, invited our family and friends and had a simple celebration. After the marriage, we processed our papers together, I will be applying for a working visa, and he will be under me as my dependent, bound to USA. Things went smoothly, I was able to take my IELTS examination, got all the necessary documents for the application. All we need now is a company that can sponsor my working visa and an agent, that can help us throughout the whole process.

" I'm set, everything is ready, I'm still looking for a company online." talking to my friend Alexis over Skype. She just recently flew to USA a couple of months back right after the examination.

" I knew someone who can help, I can refer you to her. As for the company, I'll try to ask if the hospital I'm working with is still hiring, as far as I know, they were looking for additional nurses, but I'm not sure though if they prefer locals or someone overseas can apply. I'll get back to you within a week. " Alexis replied back

Smiling back to her I said, " Then that's great, okay I'll just wait for any feedback, for now, I'll just try to browse online if there are any job openings bound to USA that I can apply to. Have to go, got an earlier shift. Take care okay, thanks for the time." I closed my computer and prepared for work.

The marriage, so far, had been running smoothly. Of course, there are arguments but we managed to sort them out right away. Both of us have had been working lates, and in shifting schedules, so we barely have the time to go out. We needed to save, a visa application is costly. But if we had the same rest days, we see to it that we can spend it out of town trips or maybe over a fancy dinner. We had our priorities straight, we are on the right track, so far so good.

After a week, my friend Alexis, messaged me back saying that she can refer me to an application with her hospital. All I need to do is send her a soft copy of my document so that she can submit to the management, and have me scheduled for a Skype Interview.

So I was able to nail my interview, got the job, and was referred by someone to this agent, who says that she can assist me throughout the process for a number of fees to be paid along with the process. I informed Gino about this, and he agreed that we pay the upfront fee first so that the agent can start processing our papers.

We met this Agent handed her the payment and photocopies of our documents. Not long, she got back to me, saying that my passport is ready, I need to pay the visa appointment fees so that she can proceed with the next step. So I deposited the money to her account. She responded right away, that currently, our visa is in process so we need to fly to Manila right away.

We filed vacation leaves from our company and booked the earliest flight the next day. We arrived in Manila after an hour of flight and headed to our booked hotel. I started to unpack my things, but just then I received a call from an unknown number.

I answered the phone call, " Hello, Who is this, please? ".

" Hey Bella, it's Job." The person on the other line replied. Job was a friend of mine from college, the same as I, he is currently processing his visa application. He referred me to the agent I am working with today, Ms. Helen Cruz.

" Yes, Job. How can I help?" I replied back. I can sense that something was wrong, judging by the tone of his voice.

" Do you happened to still be in contact with Ms. Cruz, I was in Manila for about 2 months and just decided to go back to Cebu, I was not given the appointment she promised me. She made me pay almost around P 250,000.00, been waiting until now for feedback. But I can't seem to give her phone a ring. I'm kind of worried Bella." worryingly he said.

Upon hearing what he has to say, I was worried sick. My hands and knees were numb. My voice was shaking, and I don't know what to say. I hung up without saying goodbye. I kept thinking of every conversation, every interaction we had with Ms. Cruz, the fees that we paid, not to mention that we flew straight away to Manila. And this is all I got, I flew for nothing. I started to blame myself, how stupid I was to trust directly the person without even asking her questions. I then began to think about how to tell Gino about the news. I know him so well, that he will be disappointed about this. So I stood up and slowly approached him. He was also busy unpacking his stuff on the other side of the bed. When he noticed me, pale, quiet and was shaking all over. " Who called you? Is anything wrong?" quite concerned he approached me, and wipe the sweat dripping all over my face.

" It was Job, he was just asking about how are we doing here." Because I was nervous about how to start the conversation, and the possibility that maybe we were scammed, I decided to hide it from him. I know it was a mistake, but I don't know how to tell him. Maybe I will, but not today.

A month has passed, and he has started to ask so many questions. He was becoming suspicious, but I tried my best to assure him that nothing was wrong. But then one night, as I was sleeping, I was not able to turn off my computer, Alexis sent me a message via skype. Alexis knew about the situation, about what Job told me. He was able to read all of it, detail by detail, from the call I got from job to the time I hid something from him to avoid conflict. He knew that I f****d up, and he was furious about it.

I woke up to the sound of crashing, I saw my laptop crashed into small pieces. Gino was standing at the foot of the bed, his face was red, veins on his forehead, he was very angry. " Why did you not tell me, Bella?"

I don't know what to say, I am guilty of the fact that I chose to hide it from him, I was afraid. My heart began to pound faster, as I see his angry eyes. Words were stuck in my mouth. And then something happened which I never expected. He was so angry that he grabbed me from my shoulders, and dragged me off the bed. He pulled my hair and pushed me against the wall. " You made me look like a fool, you made me believe that everything is okay." He punched me so hard in the stomach that I fell into my knees. He slapped me in the face a couple of times. He continued to kick me so hard, punched me straight to my face till I lost consciousness, all I can hear was him yelling and screaming.

I woke up with bruises all over my body, my face was swollen, blood dripping from my forehead. Tears began to fall right through my eyes. I can't move because of the pain. I then realize, that, that night I saw the other side of Gino. His side that I was not able to see when we were still dating. I realized, is this still brought about by fate? Do I really deserve the beatings? Does he really love me? A lot of questions have been going in my mind as I watched him sleeping, while I was lying broken on the floor. Is this really the end, or the beginning of something tragic?