What Becomes Of Us (An Anthology)

Rare Star - Finale

"Mae, I just want to talk to you." Luke said.

"Why? What for? I have nothing to do with you." Mae spat.

"Please, Mae. Ayoko makipag-away just listen to me please." Luke took a couple of steps closer to her.

Allen stepped in front of her and stared at Luke coldly. "You can talk right there, dude."

Mae clutched Allen's hand.

Luke took a deep breath and extended his hand to Allen's. "You must be Mae's boyfriend. I'm Luke, her ex."

Allen looked at Luke's hand but did not take it. He gave the other guy a stern look instead. "I know who you are. Anong ginagawa mo dito? Whatever you have to say to MY GIRLFRIEND, you can say in front of me. "

"Pare..." Luke started.

"That's Dr. Reacher to you." Allen interrupted.

"Okay, Doc. I know you all think I'm a jerk."

"You are a jerk." Colleen stepped in after sensing the tension between the three.

"Hi Colleen. Please di talaga ako manggugulo. If you could just let me talk to Mae in private." Luke said.

"No." Allen answered.

"Babe?" Mae whispered and Allen turned to look at her. "Let me talk to him. You can stay here with me. I just want this to end once and for all, okay? It's Ethan's birthday, we don't need to spend any more time arguing with him."

Allen sighed and held her hand tighter. "Okay, babe, but I'll stay right here. I don't trust that guy."

"I don't trust him either. Kaya mas gusto kong andito ka. Thank you, babe."

"Okay mga babe I think nagkasundo na kayo. Babantayan ko na lang si Ethan." Colleen said.

"Yes please, Cols. Thank you." Mae smiled.

Colleen went to Thomas's car and warned him about Luke. She was left to watch Ethan after Thomas went off to check on his daughter.

"Mae, I'm sorry. Alam ko ang ginawa ko sa'yo. Walang kapatawaran yun pero kahit patawarin mo ako o hindi gusto ko pa ring humingi ng tawad." Luke said.

Mae remained quiet. She just blankly stared at Luke as he continued.

"I know I hurt you. The truth is you are a great girl. If I wasn't such a selfish and stupid bastard, I would have made it work between us pero imposible siguro yun. Because from the very start, I had malicious intentions."

Mae's expression turned to defiance as she clenched her fist.

"I am a poor orphan that was passed on from one relative to the other since I was young. They looked at me like an old toy they could just toss around. I had nothing, no family, no money, no pride. All I got was some smarts and a little charm and I planned to use that to gain access to a good life."

Allen placed his arm over Mae's shoulder when he saw her shoulder tense up and her jaw tighten in anger.

"Then you came along, a beautiful rich girl. You were friendly and so naive. You never thought of anything bad about anyone. So, when you needed help with your History research, I took that opportunity to make you fall for me and you did. When you got pregnant, I thought that was the chance for me to marry myself to a rich family and be set for life but..." Luke was stopped mid-sentence with a sharp pain on his left cheek and a ringing in his ear as she slapped him hard across the face.

Mae was breathing heavily as tears flowed down from her eyes. Her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles turned white.

"Stop! Just stop! I don't need this! I don't need you to remind me of how stupid I was to believe you." She cried.

"Mae, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Hindi yun ang sadya ko. I just really wanted to apologize." Luke grabbed Mae's hand. She pushed him off. Allen was about to step in when they heard Thomas.

"Don't touch my daughter! Umalis ka na!"

"Tito..."

"Don't you dare call me Tito. Ang kapal ng mukha mo matapos ng lahat! Umalis ka na!"

"Chairman Mendez, please po. Nakikiusap po ako. Mae? Five minutes. Just..." Luke took something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Please... It's just a photo."

Allen took the photo and looked at it before handing it to Mae.

She took a look and saw a picture of a little girl, around Ethan's age, she had black straight hair, olive skin, and smiling slanted eyes. The rest of her face was covered with a face mask. Mae looked up at Luke questioningly.

"That's Chloe, my daughter. Ethan's sister. She's very sweet and loving. She loves and adores me. She looks up to me. She completes me. She is my everything and she has no idea what kind of monster her Daddy is." Luke started crying. "She has Acute Myeloid Leukemia. My wife, Jen, and I will be taking her to the States for treatment. That's where Jen's parents are. I just... I just wanted to finally make these things right for Chloe. I don't know if she'll survive all of this but I want to be the Daddy who deserves the unconditional love she's giving me. I want her to be truly proud of me."

"Luke... I'm sorry to hear about Chloe." Mae said quietly.

Luke nodded and smiled at Mae. "You have always been so kind and thoughtful, Mae. You didn't deserve what I did to you and I know that you will always worry about me reappearing in Ethan's life and ruining everything for you. That's what I came here for. I want us all to get a fresh start. Here..." Luke handed Mae the folder he had been holding.

"What is this?" She asked.

"It's a document that says that I am waiving my claims of paternity for Ethan. I also signed a valid denial of paternity and you can be assured that I will be cooperative in case Doc here or your future husband decides to adopt our son." Mae couldn't believe what she's hearing.

"I know it's too late but I want to make things right for all of us specially for Chloe and Ethan."

"How can we be sure that you are going to keep your word?" Allen asked.

"I guess you can't be sure but I know that I will keep my word for Chloe. You're gonna have to trust me. We'll be leaving in a month. I guess you're going to have to act soon, Doc, if you want a hassle-free adoption of my kid." Luke said smugly.

Allen gritted his teeth.

["A jerk is a jerk even in his offer to make peace."]

"Mae? Can I atleast meet him? You don't have to tell him who I am if you don't want to." Luke asked.

She thought silently for a minute, carefully considering his request. She looked at Allen, her dad, and Luke. She turned to the car where Ethan was and sighed.

"Okay."

"Babe, are you sure about this?" Allen asked.

Mae looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You're here, babe and Tatay is here. What do you think he can do?" She smiled to reassure Allen.

She then called Colleen's phone to tell her to take Ethan to them. After a few arguments and explanations, her friend finally agreed.

All eyes were on the little boy as he walked with Colleen towards them. Ethan's eyes were glued to the stranger who watched him with a smile.

Allen met Ethan half-way and picked him up in his arms. He then rejoined Mae who smiled at her son.

"Mama, Daddy, who's that man?" The little boy asked as he looked at Luke curiously.

"That man, love... That man is... He's..." Mae couldn't finish her sentence.

"Hi Ethan. I'm Uncle Luke." He said. "I'm an old friend of your Mama. I just came here to greet you a happy birthday and to give you my little gift." Luke offered his hand for Ethan to shake and handed him a small toy car.

The little boy shook his hand and smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Wuke."

Though his heart ached by his own son calling him "Uncle", Luke knew it was the right thing to do and he felt good for finally doing something to correct things between them. When Ethan grows up, he'll let Mae decide whether to tell him the truth or not.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Ethan." Luke smiled. "I would love to stay for your party but I have someone waiting for me."

"Okay. Thank you." The little boy answered. "Bye, Uncle Wuke. Take care."

Luke smiled back as he blinked back his tears. "Bye, Ethan. Enjoy your party."

They all watched as Ethan ran back inside with Colleen.

"Chairman Mendez, Doc, Mae, I'll go ahead. Here's my number. In case you need to contact me for anything in the future." He said as he offered Mae his card. "Thank you for letting me meet Ethan."

"Thank you, Luke. We'll be praying for Chloe. Goodbye." She said, took the card and gave it to Allen.

Luke stared at her for a few seconds and smiled gently. "Goodbye, Mae. I really hope for you and Ethan to be happy." He nodded his goodbyes to Thomas and Allen then left.

Mae turned to Allen and hugged him. She leaned her cheek on his shoulder and sighed.

"I really hope that's it." She whispered.

"Me too, babe. Me too." He answered as he held her tighter and kissed her temple.

***

Some time after, Allen made another list for a very important plan. 

THE PROPOSAL PLAN:

Take Ethan to Colleen's place

Buy flowers

Cook special dinner

Set the mood with roses and candles

Shower and wear Mae's favorite polo shirt and pants combo

Set up the table for a romantic dinner for two 

Pick up Mae

Have dinner

Surprise dessert with secret proposal

***

Mae rushed inside, in the yellow dress he sent her, just as Allen was lighting the candles.

"Babe! Ang aga mo! What are you do... ummpph..." His words were interrupted by Mae's lips on his as she kissed him.

"I finally did it, Babe. Look!" She said as she waved a piece of paper in front of him. "I got my degree."

"Wow! Congratulations, babe! I'm so proud of you!" He smiled and kissed her again.

"Thank you, babe. Did you know already? Is that what the dinner is for?"

"Uhm... No, babe." He replied.

Mae gasped. "Oh my god! Are you proposing?"

Allen was stomped for a few seconds.

["So much for that last step. She caught you off guard again."]

He shook his head helplessly and laughed.

"Always a surprise, babe." He smiled at her and took her hand. "I PLANNED a surprise for you. We were going to have dinner then I was going to serve you this."

Allen took a goblet of Strawberries and Cream from the table. There was a white gold emerald cut diamond ring on the top neatly set on one berry. He chuckled softly as he showed it to Mae. "Surprise?"

Her other hand flew to cover her mouth and her eyes started welling up with tears. "Babe..." She sobbed.

He went down on one knee, still holding her hand. He set the goblet down and took the ring.

"Mae, you came into my life unexpectedly. I was following a quite perfectly laid out life plan when I stumbled upon you."

"Are you sure this is a proposal, babe? It's not starting out very good." She said.

"It is, babe. Just let me finish please. You just sent me off course again." He chuckled.

"Sorry, babe. Okay. Zipping it. Go on please." She smiled and batted her eyelashes cutely.

"And I melt." He laughed. "Okay. Here goes. Mae, you were a surprise in every turn. My ride with you has been bumpy. I've never been more confused, more troubled, or more hurt about anything in my whole life except when I was with you. You came at the wrong time and ruined all my plans but I couldn't be happier."

"You showed me how to really live. You made me feel most joyful, most grateful, and most loved at the same time. You were everything I was trying to avoid in my life of order and control. But you being in my life and drawing me into a world of confusion and chaos, was the best thing that ever happened to me. Life never felt more perfect."

"I know I was made for all these. I was meant to find you and Ethan. That no matter how everything about you went against all my plans, I was exactly where I should be because that was God's plan."

"Mae Mendez, you are my destiny. You are my perfect confusion, the crossroad to my straight path, my glorious mess, my ultimate blessing in disguise. I love you with all of my being and I promise to take care of you and Ethan to my very last breath. So… Mae, the love of my life, will you make me the happiest bewildered man in the whole world and marry me?"

"Yes. Of course, yes. Most definitely yes, Dr. Allen Reacher. I will marry you."

Allen smiled widely as delighted tears streamed down his face. He slipped the ring on Mae's finger and kissed her hand. He got up and stood face to face with her. "I love you so much, babe. Thank you. If you said no, I wouldn't have known what to do with my life."

"You, worry wart, I wouldn't say no. I love you so much, babe. You are a rare star that shone on our darkest night. I never thought I would ever find a perfect man who would truly love me and Ethan. You are a miracle and I won't make another stupid mistake by losing you. I wouldn't know how to live my life without you, Allen." She touched his face and smiled.

"So, are you going to kiss me or what?" Mae smirked.

Allen grinned. "I hope to never get used to your surprises, Mae, and live a life of constant amazement and revelation with you and Ethan." He smiled. "And yes, I am going to kiss you now."

He cradled her face in his hands and lovingly caressed her cheeks as he stared deep into her eyes. "I love you." Allen whispered as he slowly inched his face closer to hers and kissed her fervently with all the love and passion he felt for her, leaving Mae delightfully surprised.

THE END