Love me, regardless

Chapter 5

Cyrill's POV

"No, Toto!" Aries' joyful laughter echoed throughout the garden as he played with Matt.

Both Aries and I had woken up early that morning, so we headed downstairs so I could prepare breakfast. I was halfway through cooking when Matt arrived, so I invited him to join us.

"Breakfast is ready!" I called out to Matthew and Aries, who were busy chasing each other around the yard. Aries' excited laughter made the whole house feel alive.

"Come on, buddy. Mommy says it's time to eat." Matt took Aries' hand, and the two of them ran toward me together.

I didn't know what it was about Matthew, but I felt completely at ease around him. Somehow, I always felt that Aries and I were safe whenever he was with us.

A month had already passed since Aries and I went into hiding. He still hadn't asked why we were living here or why he hadn't seen Yuri and Kaizer in so long. And in just a span of one month, a lot had happened already.

We met Elijah and Zero through Matthew. We met them during our second week here when they came to visit Matthew. We happened to be having lunch at his house that day. At first, they even wondered whose child Aries was after seeing Matthew happily running around and playing with him.

I was really skeptical about introducing Aries to other people, but I know sooner or later I could use some help. And they didn't disappoint. Elijah and Zero were incredibly kind, and more often than not, they would come straight to our house after work.

Thankfully, Aries wasn't the type to get bored easily. Hardly a day went by without him playing with Matthew, Elijah and Zero, so maybe that was why he hadn't started asking about our old home.

Matthew had also been a huge help whenever we ran out of supplies. I usually asked him to buy whatever we needed, and he never complained. Sometimes Aries went with him, and other times I tagged along, but I never got out of the car, so the two of them were always the ones who did the shopping.

In fact, Matthew probably spent more time at our house than at his own. Sometimes we'd eat at his place because I felt guilty about everything he'd done for us. But every time I apologized, he'd simply tell me not to worry because he genuinely enjoyed helping us.

"Cy, do you have any aluminum foil? I just realized I've run out," Matthew asked while I was helping Aries change into clean clothes.

"Check the pantry. I'm not sure if there's any left. If we're out, we can go grocery shopping today. We're almost out of everything we bought last week," I looked at him teasingly.

"That's because you and Aries eat so much."

"Oh, please. You make it sound like I'm the only one emptying your pantry. Elijah and Zero eat here even more often than I do," he grumbled.

"By the way, when are those two coming back? I promised I'd cook for them when they returned."

"Who, Mom? Toto Eli?" Aries asked, tugging lightly on my shirt.

"Yes, baby." Maybe another reason Aries hadn't been asking about Yuri and Kaizer was because of Zero and Elijah. He had grown incredibly close to both of them in such a short time, and he was always asking Matthew about them.

Zero and Elijah were both airline pilots, so they only visited whenever they had long layovers in the Philippines. And whenever they returned from overseas, they'd always bring Aries new toys, no matter how many times I insisted he didn't need any more.

"When are they coming back, Mommy?" Aries asked again.

"I'm not sure yet, baby. Toto Eli and Toto Zero are busy with work. Remember when I told you they fly airplanes?" He nodded enthusiastically before proudly showing me the toy airplane Zero had given him.

"For now, Toto Matthew will play with you until Toto Eli and Toto Zero come back." Aries nodded once again. A few moments later, Matthew came out of the kitchen.

"Cy, I've made a list of everything you're running low on in the pantry. Should we go grocery shopping now?"

"Sure. Let me go change first." I smiled at him.

"Can you watch Aries for me while I'm upstairs?" Without waiting for his answer, I headed upstairs to change my clothes.

___

"Mommy, can we buy this?" Aries asked, holding up a box of Koko Krunch.

I glanced at Matthew, who immediately looked away. Aries didn't even like Koko Krunch, so I knew this had to be Matthew's doing. Sometimes he acted more like a child than Aries did.

"Okay, baby. Put it in the cart." I pretended not to hear Matthew's quiet, triumphant "Yes!" as I continued shopping.

Did he really think I was going to pay for it? He must've forgotten that I was the one holding his wallet—and that I even knew the PIN to his card.

Once I'd gathered everything we needed for the house, I added a few more snacks that I was certain only the three of them would end up eating. Honestly, Matthew, Elijah, and Zero acted more like kids than Aries.

"Looks like you bought a lot today," Matthew commented as we waited in line at the checkout. He was carrying Aries, who had grown tired from walking around the store and was already dozing off on his shoulder.

"Are you stocking up because those two idiots are coming back?"

"Of course. You three are the only ones who'll finish all of this anyway." I rolled my eyes at him and Matthew just grinned.

"That's so like Cyrill Alcantara." He looked ridiculously pleased that I was treating them.

"Will you be paying with cash or card, sir?" the cashier asked after scanning all our groceries.

"Card."

I answered and handed over Matthew's credit card. The i***t wasn't paying any attention—he was too busy trying to lull Aries to sleep. Just wait until you see the charge on your account.

"Thank you, sir." The clerk said and handed me my receipt

"Thank you." I accepted the card back before pushing the cart toward Matthew.

I took the sleeping Aries from his arms since the groceries were too heavy for me to carry along with him.

"Thanks for the treat," I said with a teasing smile before getting into the car.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matthew's eyes widen in realization as he hurriedly pulled out his phone to check his banking app.