Love me, regardless

Chapter 2

Cyrill's POV

"Good morning, baby!"

I heard Yuri's voice coming from the kitchen, so I set aside what I was doing and walked into the living room.

"You're here pretty early."

"Well, of course. This is the only time I've had to spend time with my baby." Yuri had been busy managing the third branch of his clothing store, so we rarely got to see him these days.

"I think Aries is still asleep. Why don't you wake him up? He's been missing you." Yuri immediately ran upstairs. A moment later, Kaizer walked in carrying what looked like a mountain of shopping bags.

"What's all this?" As if I didn't already know. They were obviously filled with more clothes and toys for Aries. Those two practically kept his closet stocked. I was always donating clothes he'd never even had the chance to wear because they kept buying him new ones.

"It was Yuri's idea, not mine," Kaizer said the moment he saw the look on my face.

"Just put everything in Aries' room."

He hurried upstairs with the bags while I returned to the kitchen to continue baking.

When the three of them finally came downstairs, my son looked like he was about to attend Fashion Week. His school was practically next to our subdivision, and he was only there for three hours every day.

"Where are you all planning to strut your stuff?" I asked, rolling my eyes at my best friends.

"It's called fashion. Something you clearly know nothing about," Yuri teased.

"Oh, really now? Maybe I should just keep Aries away from you from now on." Instead of being intimidated, Yuri flashed me a sweet smile that only made me roll my eyes harder.

"Mom, look! I'm handsome now, just like Tito Dadi and Tito Papa." Aries bounced up and down, proudly showing off his outfit. I chuckled.

"Wow! My baby is so, so handsome." I walked over and showered both of his cheeks with kisses, filling the kitchen with laughter.

"I bet Aries' teacher wonders why he's always dressed up like a model when he's only in school for three hours."

"Let them wonder," Yuri replied proudly. "At least my godson has great fashion sense."

"Should we take Aries to school?" Kaizer asked.

"Yeah, please. I still have to finish baking and packing today's orders." The two of them were always willing to help whenever they came over.

"Kai, take Aries to school. I'll help Cy finish everything so he can get some rest," Yuri instructed. Kaizer nodded, kissed Yuri quickly, then scooped Aries into his arms before heading out.

The moment they left, Yuri turned to me. "You i***t! Just how many orders did you accept this time? This is ridiculous."

"I honestly didn't realize I'd taken on this many," I explained. "I've been so busy running the café this past week. Besides, this is the last batch. I won't be opening for custom orders again until next month." Yuri still looked annoyed.

He hated it whenever I accepted too many pastry orders. According to him, I already had a physical café—I didn't need to bury myself under even more work. Maybe he was just afraid history would repeat itself.

There was a time when I nearly worked myself to death because I was juggling too many jobs. I hated depending on other people's help. That experience taught me that accepting help wasn't a sign of weakness. I still remember how hard Aries cried while I was lying in the hospital. He was far too young to witness something like that. Even though it hurt my pride, I eventually accepted Yuri and Kaizer's help.

"You better remember this, Cyrill Heaven Alcantara. If you land yourself in the hospital again because of your own stupidity, I'm leaving you there." That's just how Yuri showed he cared.

"Okay, okay." I chuckled a little.

When Kaizer returned, he immediately helped pack the cooled cookies and brownies. The two of them insisted on finishing everything themselves and practically forced me to go back upstairs and sleep.

I woke up to the gentle touch of tiny hands against my cheek. "Mom... wake up..." A smile slowly spread across my face.

"Mom, wake up. Tito said the food's ready," Aries whispered. I'm not sure if he was trying to wake me up or lull me back to sleep because he was whispering so softly into my ear.

"Okay, Mom's awake." I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. He had already changed into comfortable clothes.

Carrying Aries downstairs, I was greeted by the delicious smell of Yuri's cooking. I didn't even complain that they hadn't woken me to help prepare lunch.

Honestly, Yuri was such an amazing cook that I sometimes wondered why he chose to run a clothing business instead of a restaurant.

"Looks like the princess has finally awakened," Kaizer teased as he placed the dishes and rice on the table.

"Tch." I rolled my eyes before settling Aries into his high chair. He was still too small to comfortably reach the table. I guess he inherited my height.

"Oh, Cy," Kaizer said, "Aries' teacher mentioned that Family Day is next week. Are Yuri and I joining him again?"

"I'll be there this time, but you two are welcome to come."

Last year, there had been an emergency at the café, so Kaizer and Yuri attended Family Day with Aries instead.

"Of course we're coming!" Yuri grinned. "We'll beat all of Aries' classmates in every game, right, baby?"

Aries clapped excitedly, his mouth still full of food, making Kaizer and me laugh. After lunch, they wouldn't even let me lift a finger. The two of them cleaned the kitchen while I stayed with Aries.

"Baby, clean up your toys. It's nap time." Without complaining, Aries immediately started putting away his toys.

I had never hired a nanny. Besides the fact that I couldn't afford one before, I'd always preferred taking care of him myself.

"Up, up." I picked him up in my arms.

"Kai, Yuri, if you want to rest, the guest room is clean. I'm just going to put Aries down for his nap." I clean the house once a week because I couldn't stand living in a messy environment.

"Alright. We'll head upstairs after we're done here. Goodnight, our baby."

"'Night..." Aries mumbled sleepily to his uncles. I carried him upstairs until he finally fell asleep.

___

Third-Person POV

"Come in."

Heath didn't even look up from the documents he was reading as someone entered his office.

"Report."

"Sir... we've found your cousin."

Heath stopped reading and finally looked up.

"Continue." The restrained anger in his voice was unmistakable.

"He's currently staying in the Philippines with Kaizer Villanueva..." The man continued speaking, but Heath had already stopped listening.

"Prepare my plane."

He stood abruptly from his chair.

"Sir?"

"We're going to the Philippines."