PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 27: A KISS FOR SLEEPING BEAUTY

THE WHOLE drive didn't go well as they both didn't expect the atmosphere to turn bland. Something felt off inside the car, and Jade felt like she can't breathe.

She was looking outside the window, allowing the cold air to brush off her thoughts and keep her away from everything she didn't want to think about at that moment. Jade wanted to shrink or just to disappear like she didn't exist at all entirely. Because she's tired of all the problems that she's dealing with, which leave her confused and doubtful of her entire existence.

Yes, Jade loved Geralt. She loved the man because he was the only person who sticks to her even if she was nothing but a broken piece of art. Geralt was her only friend and the most genuine person she met. And with that, Jade is more than grateful to have him a part of her life.

Even though they had not seen each other for a long time, Jade knew that her feeling hasn't changed. A part of her had space where Geralt belonged. She had made room for him to stay. However, it wasn't the place where she could feeling nothing but a love for a friend.  And now, the love that Geralt was offering her was something she didn't expect to arrive at all. His confession...

Everything was so honest yet so wrong.

This wasn't the time. Geralt—he isn't the one.

They were altered by the course of time, by the wind, by the passing of time. Everything grew, and everything changed. And as much as Jade convinced herself to tell herself that she still considered Geralt as the best friend she knew, deep within, something has already been rewritten.

Jade is used to his unusual habit.  That's why Jade and Geralt built a special bond that only existed between them. They became close and inseparable. They became super tight that a partner in crime they became. Jade was the only one who accepted Geralt when his classmates constantly bullied him when they were young, while he was the only one she trusted so much. If Jade hadn't ever been present and rescue him on the day kids bullied Geralt, then she was sure that Geralt would always be beaten closed by others' desire to ruin someone else's life.

And since that day, not only did Jade helped someone from despair, but she did find herself, someone she could fully trust. Someone who understands. And that is how their fixed bond began.

Every cherished memory comes from the lost, painful one that she could never forget. Geralt was about to leave, and she wasn't able to do anything. Of course, who was she in the first place to stop something that somebody already decided to happen? Everything she felt started to collapse when destiny chose to separate them.

Tears turned into a pool of sadness and pain she thought she would never feel towards someone she cherished the most.

Jade thought, when she was too young to understand the world, that when you honor someone more than anything in the world, you will know how to nurture your existence. And it surprisingly did! Jade started to recognize her importance, her purpose in the world because finally, someone showed her where to look.

But it was funny because at the end of the day, the more you cherish someone without sparing some for yourself, the more unbearable it gets to realize how hard it is to let go and move on of someone who's not supposed to leave you at all cost.

They were young, but the agony that watered the ground where Jade stood was brutal for a young one like her to handle.

But what made Jade believed in what destiny could hold was that when Geralt was about to leave, he ran towards Jade and left her an unexpected promise. "I promise to come back, Jade. So, you better wait for me, and then I'll ask your mom in marriage by then!"

A silly promise she holds dear. A vow that brought hope inside her and sheltered her bleeding heart. At a young age, Jade knew the value of vows and the importance of the person who made them. That's why she holds on. She kept on holding on.

Her heart could manage all those pains and sorrows, the anxiety and sadness of hoping for him to come back and make that promise into a reality.  It may be an impossible thing to happen, but she never gave up.  She holds onto it as if her life depends on that promise.

But then, an unexpected turn of events shattered her fairytale story as Eisen came into her untold tale to shackle the rope she's holding into for too long.

She thought she would end up like a princess in a Disney movie where a prince would take her into his castle and make her his queen and live happily ever after.

Jade saw Geralt as the prince who would dance with her in a ball with beautiful ball gowns that shimmer underneath the chandelier made of silver and gold. She thought Geralt would be able to hold her hand tight, that no matter how many turns they make or how long does it take for them to be in someone else's arm as long as they find each other's touch and grasp each other, as long as no one let's go, nothing can stop them.

Until the music changed into a rigorous symphony that made a few remain in motion, making Geralt miss a step and Jade unable to reach him, which resulted in her hands landing on the arms of another man whose arrogant persona brandished her—Eisen.

They danced and danced, without letting go until the sky turned gray and eventually subsided until his smile painted the sky blue. Jade never wanted to let go. And so does he.

But as soon as Jade made a turn, as a part of the dance step, she found herself falling into a dark chasm with a single white rope to help her from falling into the despair of darkness. Jade thought at that moment, Geralt would be able to grab the rope and help her up before the string gives up, before she lets go.

But what's funny is that a man with forgotten memories decided to open his arms from below, ready to save him from falling into the pit of despair.

And because Jade was holding for too long on the rope of promises, her hands felt numb, making her unable to hold on and let her hand slip away from the promise that Geralt made.

The distance from air to the ground was breathtaking, unimaginable. And now, she let herself get saved by someone that is already someone else's prince, a forbidden to love began to grow deep within her core.

She loved Geralt. Oh, God knows how long had she kept that feeling to herself. Jade knew that she had a chance to win Geralt's heart. That is why she kept on holding on like it was the first and last thing she'll do until Geralt realize how much he means to her even though he's across the country, not even sure if he's thinking about her too.

However, it was overwhelming to understand that all those times, the moments she waited for her prince to come and save her, the fairytale blinded the princess she's been dreaming to have.

Over time, the promise that the man she considered prince, Geralt, made seemed like a memory that had captivated Jade's heart for years. And now, her fairytale story turned out to be something she did not expect. The ending she wanted for herself was rewritten by the journey she took. Jade forgot the path where she paved all those years to meet Geralt halfway.

Because as soon as she ventured to live with another perspective, she unconsciously paved a new path that leads her to the Knight in Shining Armor, who's been waiting for her arrival.

The latest yet dramatic version of Aurora, the sleeping beauty, waited for his prince to kiss him. The prince fought Maleficent, and as soon as he killed the monster, he kissed her, and they lived happily ever after.

But to Jade, the only difference between her and Aurora is that, instead of a prince to kiss her, the knight she met on the way was there to wake her up. And when she opened her eyes, it was too late for her to realize that her heart already belonged to him—to the knight who already had a forgotten queen in his abandoned castle.

"Geralt,"  Jade whispered as tears burned her eyes, desperately wanting to escape from her eyes. But she forced herself not to tear up, not to show pain. Her tears immediately receded when Geralt stopped the car in front of the house, which Jade hadn't noticed that they already arrived.

"Jade," but before Jade could even let Geralt finish, she hurriedly opened the door and scurried inside the house without looking back.

Because she can't, she can't look back and stare at Geralt in the eyes and see through him how sincere, innocent, and honest his emotions were—his feelings towards her—because she can't give something like that back to Geralt.

Yes, she loved him... She loved the man she can't give her heart to. And that's what the most painful realization she came up with.

"Jade, please," she heard the car's door closed, Geralt's voice nearing her. With that, Jade paced forward with speed, not wanting for Geralt to catch up with her.

"Let's talk about this later, Geralt. For now, just leave me alone."  Jade wanted to run away or just suddenly disappear. She can't breathe. She needed to breathe.

"Jade, come on."

And as soon as her hand was a reach away from the doorknob of the house, the door swung open to reveal her mother and aunt Jena, smiling and joyfully talking about something Jade did not want to know.

They stopped in their conversation as their eyes were wide open, studying Jade's body language. "Jade, what's wrong?" her mother suddenly asked, forcing her to smile at them even though it didn't reach her eyes.

Jade's hands tremble from beside her as she stopped herself from shaking before answering her mother's question, with a concerned look plastered on her face.

"I really need to go to my room. I'm feeling sick, and I need to rest. Can we talk later? I just wanted to go to my room... If you'll excuse me, ladies, " before they could even speak, Jade started pacing towards the second floor as her knees wobble in her way up.

Without inhibition, as soon as she reached her room, Jade slammed her door shut before she staggered on her way to the bed to find support. She didn't even realize that she's been holding her breath, a method for Jade to control her nervousness in front of everyone she didn't want to see her weakness.

And without a word, her tears started to escape from her eyes as she buried her face against the soft pillow that her hand had tightly held capture.

If he had just appeared earlier, maybe the fairytale story she dreamed of would come true, not only in her imagination but would undoubtedly exist in her reality.  If only Geralt had appeared in front of him and made his promise to come back after two years,  that certain spark would've never faded.

Two years, Jade could've held on longer. But 20 years of waiting was enough for her to know that she had changed... She's not the same anymore, along with the promise she once held on to.

Jade crumbled on top of her bed as her hand clenched against the clean sheets, wanting to bury all of the pain she felt, everything she couldn't control anymore. She wanted to be herself again. She wanted to be the Jade she knew before.

Because right now, she can't recognize herself anymore. The dedicated, loving, hopeful, positive thinker her. She's not the same woman she knew before.

__________

3 HOURS. Jade has been staying inside her room for 3 hours now, and her mom has been bothering her for the hundredth time already. Well, aside from Jade's mom, her aunties were ridiculously unhelpful as they've been alternating in knocking on her door, wanting to know what just happened.

Geralt could hastily fill in the details for them about what happened. He could just tell everyone how she overreacted about their discussion because she acted way beyond her usual litigations. It won't bother Jade because that's authentic and factual information is what they, her mom, aunties, brothers, or anyone in their household who concerned themselves with the predicament, needed at the heated moment.

However, before Jade could even properly lay down in bed and try to sleep peacefully, even though she's starting to get hungry, she suddenly heard a ruckus coming from outside her room.

However, the faint sound didn't come from her front door but somewhere else. Jade was about to stand up from her bed when her heart jumped in surprise when a loud thud occupied the corners of her room.

"What the hell?!" Jade almost screamed at the top of her lungs when her door busted open, revealing her brother Janus coming in from the opened window. "Janus?! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Oh. At this rate, I thought you needed quite an escape with someone who won't bother asking anything. You know, you became the TALK of the universe now." Janus uttered with annoyance at the same time with concern as he sat on top of the bed, making Jade provide a space for her brother to lay down for a moment.

"Thank you for being here." She replied before scooting beside her brother and extended her arm for Janus to lean on her arms.

"Yeah. But you might want to—" Janus then stood up from the mattress and then started walking towards the door, making Jade's eyebrow meet at the center, with curiosity written on her face.

However, when Jade saw her brother held on to her room's doorknob, she realized that Janus was about to open the door. With that, a scary aura instantly snapped out of Jade while pointing her finger towards him.

"Don't you dare, Janus! Ja—" but before she could even protest, Janus opened the door, and Jade firmly closed her eyes as she prepared herself to hear a scream or any violent reaction from people who are waiting outside her chamber. But after 10 seconds and didn't hear anything, Jade opened her eyes only to find out her brother Janni with a bag of snacks in his hand.

Janni entered her room with confidence and let her body fall onto the floor before opening every bag of chips he brought inside. Janus then closed and locked the door behind him before following Janni on the floor.

"Aren't you coming down, drama queen? Or should I open the door and call for mom to enter?" Janni asked before dipping a potato chip on a small bowl with cheese on it, and with class, he brought the food to his mouth and munch it without breaking eye contact.

Still not sure what was happening, Jade immediately went beside her brothers and began munching on the chips, as her stomach growls with satisfaction with just the presence of food. Her brothers lightly chuckle at her impulsive behavior, but Jade didn't bother. Instead, she even laughed at how childish she was for a moment.

"There's soda downstairs. Want me to grab some?" Janni asked, picking some chips on what was Janus is holding. Jade answered with a tight nod, and Janni instantly ventured outside the room, leaving her and Janus in the room.

"So, how was your stay so far? Janni and I were sorry for not telling you sooner that the jeep wrangler was kuya Geralt's." He emitted while dipping his pinky finger on the cheese.

"Well, my stay here was so much better and refreshing. I miss being with you guys, and I love knowing that I'll wake up seeing you all. And about that jeep wrangler, don't worry about it. I should've known in the first place because mom already mentioned to me that aunt Jena and, well, Geralt, is coming back to visit." Jade countered with a smile on her face before copying her brother's action, dipping her finger on the cheese.

"Here's the soda and—" and as Jade lifted her gaze to get the soda that Janni brought in, she instantly stopped in her action and stared at the person beside Janni, who immediately closed and locked the door behind him.

And as Janus whistled and deadly looked at Janni, Jade wasn't able to do anything but to shut up and look at the man towering in front of her.

"I think we really should talk now, Jade."