Chapter 166 - Women Are Complicated

Tired after the trip, they all decided to go directly to their homes to rest. Cherry insisted on staying at a hotel closest to Allie's house.

Allie and Ajie sent Mr. Dioko to his home first since he was alone while Jane and the Lopez couple went home on their own. Both the elderlies invited Allie and Ajie to live with them in their homes, but Allie kindly rejected it. She always had it in mind; that couples should live on their own, away from the influence of their parents.

"Now that we are still investigating who is after us,  I think we should stay in one place for close monitoring," Mr. Lopez suggested.

"As much as I also want you to be with me, I think you should be with Angelo because I will always be traveling. Or, you may now start building your new home in the property I am giving you."

These were the statements that lingered in Allie's mind as they drove home. Their family put the reality of their marriage annulment aside, or perhaps, forgot it already. Allie felt the dilemma of their current situation. Is she going to accept Ajie's proposal for another wedding, or would she do the marriage papers behind the public's knowledge? She knew she could no longer drive Ajie away, now that she was pregnant with their second child, and for the fact that Hayri was her biological brother.

After a hot shower and fresh change of clothes for her and Chloe, Allie went inside the room to sleep. Ajie followed and lay down beside her after his bath.

"You may leave and return to your apartment without waking me up," Allie said when he felt his arms caged her to an embrace.

Ajie froze. He thought Allie had already accepted him back as a husband and father to her children. After a while of thinking about how to react, he pulled her tighter to himself.

"It's our apartment, not only mine. We will go there together."

With her back facing him, she smiled, confident that he could not see her reaction. "Jie, why not enjoy your freedom from me? Try looking around, who knows you'll find someone better than me?"

"Shut up. Are pregnant women nonsense?"

"Who said?" she replied, trying to hold down her urge to laugh.

"I don't want my freedom. Let's arrange for our wedding as soon as possible." Ajie sounded sincere, and Allie almost gave in.

"I don't like the idea of marrying the same man for the second time. I might agree on the renewal of marriage vows but not on a second wedding."

Ajie found himself lost for words. He believed in the sanctity of marriage and the lifetime commitment it entailed, but he broke it out of anger and jealousy. His guilt and remorse haunted him again, and a pang of guilt pressed his heart once more. He ran his eyes over Allie's fragile built in his arms, with a shattered heart. How he wished Allie would stop reminding him of his mistake.

"I'm sorry about that. I was not with you during your first pregnancy, and I don't want it to happen again. So if you won't marry me again, don't drive me away."

Allie turned on her other side to face him, and she burrowed her face in his chest without replying. She coiled an arm around him and in the next moment, fell asleep. Looking down at her, Ajie sighed and murmured to himself, "women are indeed complicated."

Watching her dozing off, she called up Jane. When the latter picked up, he asked instantly, "Jane, do pregnant women sometimes become unreasonable?"

Jane chuckled out before she replied, "Why? What happened?"

"This woman here is speaking nonsense! I hope she does not mean what she says," he grumbled. His thoughts flew back to how he tried to win her again.

Jane laughed again. "Allyza's mood may be changing because of hormonal changes brought about by pregnancy. So, you must stretch out your patience and understanding."

"I see,"  answered Ajie, and before he ended the call, he said, "Jane, I need your help over something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'll talk to you later."

Allie woke up the next day already. Aside from being pregnant, the stress of Chloe's loss, Hayri's revelation, Cherry's and Andrew's meeting, and the travel drained all her strength. Perhaps, her body needed those long hours of rest to replenish her energy wastage. Probably, she needed the touch of home to put her into a healing rest.

She looked around and saw that the other side of the bed was already empty. She looked up at the wall clock, and it pointed to three in the afternoon of the next day. She sat up abruptly, feeling guilty of sleeping too and long.

When she went down, she heard voices as if people were talking outside. She also heard footsteps like people are rushing to and fro. Her heartbeats raced; there must be an ongoing commotion.  Could it be about Chloe again? How could she sleep so long when her daughter is in danger?

Just as she was about to go out, the door opened from outside. To her sense of relief, Ajie's expression was calm and happy. Her brows pulled together when she noticed that he was on a business attire without the coat on. She was about to ask, but Ajie's voice cut her thoughts, and her question flew away unanswered.

"Allie," he greeted, then he came forward and gave a quick smack on her lips.

"Jie, what's the commotion outside?" she squinted, trying to incline her hear to listen further.

"Nothing, those are just our parents chatting with some friends."

"They have friends coming over, also?"

"Yes, a few of them."

Ajie then placed an arm around her shoulders as he pulled her back upstairs. "Take a shower and change into a formal dress."

Allie nodded, and Ajie opened the bathroom door for her. After ten minutes, Jia came out, and Ajie was no longer around. Her eyes fell on the cream-colored dress laid out on the bed. A box of shoes was also on its side and smaller boxes on the other side. Curious, she walked over to the bed and bent over to touch the dress. The cut was simple but elegant. Running her fingers at the company's logo, she knew it was one of the most famous brands. Needless to ask, she knew it was hers. 

She hurried to put it on. If their parents were outside, perhaps, they were going somewhere. A party, maybe?