novelxo Chapter 66: Last night with him
Seven pm. in our house...
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you... happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday... Elsa."
Me, including all of our maids, some guards, even the hardener we're all in the living room and celebrating one of our maids'
birthday, Elsa. It's the last day of my vacation leave and Gabriel is still in the office.
"Thank you, Ma'am Madi. You're the best!" Elsa has tears in her eyes when she walked closer to me. I
"It's a small thing, Elsa. It's okay." I smiled and hugged her.
I was in the mood to cook earlier, especially when I heard that it's her birthday. It would be my first and last birthday gift to her.
"No, Ma'am, for me, it's a big thing. It's the first time I would celebrate my birthday here in the mansion with a lot of food! Thank
you, Ma'am Madi."
She said hugging me again and I hugged her back with tears also forming around my eyes. I will miss that moment. I will surely
miss them.
"Happy birthday! Let's stop all the drama and let's start the celebration!" I raised my glass of wine. "Cheers!" and everyone
followed my action.
"Cheers for Elsa's birthday!"
"Cheers!"
-'Cheers for my aching heart, and the pain I am about to go through after this.'- I silently screamed.
"But you know what Ma'am Madi, we're all happy that you came into this house." We all turned to one of the guards, Simon.
"Yes, that's true Ma'am Madi. When you came here, we started to feel like this is a real home and not just an empty mansion." it's
Lily one of the maids.
"Yeah, an empty mansion with a grumpy ghost---- I mean, boss!" and we all laughed with what Elsa added.
"It's the first time we have eaten this type of food. Thank you so much Ma'am Madi for cooking this delicious food for Elsa's
birthday."
I couldn't help but smile when everyone sent me their thanks and warm hugs.
"It's okay and because of that, I will give you all something," I said smiling as I took the cards out of my shorts' pocket. "Tada!"
I gave them the black VIP card one by one and all their eyes went wide as they looked at me.
"Oh, my God! Is this real, Ma'am Madi?" Elsa's eyes were wide as saucers.
"Yes, that's real and that's all yours." and I heard their gasps and squeals. "Do you know the 'Maiden Restaurant' in town?"
"Yes, Ma'am, that's one of the famous restaurants here in the City."
"But we've never tried to eat there or go in because it's too classy and it's only for rich people."
"No! That's not true! Who told you guys about that?" my eyebrows scrunched as I looked at them one by one.
"We've just heard some people talking about that restaurant when we were in the supermarket."
"Ahh.. okay," I said nodding. "Well, that restaurant was happened to be mine."
"Huh?" they all gasped in surprise.
"Yes, I am the owner of Maiden Restaurant. Maiden is short for Madielyn, which was my nickname when I was a kid and it's my
Dad's nickname for me. And the card that each of you is holding right now, that's the VIP card of the restaurant." I paused just to
chuckle at their reactions. "Don't ask me how much is the amount inside that card, because it's a huge amount, guys. I was the
one who put the money in there and anytime from now on, you can go in and eat in that restaurant for free! Anytime... using that
card!"
"Wow!"
"Oh my God! This is a dream come true!"
"Thank you, Ma'am Madi!" they all squealed in happiness and excitement.
"Cheers for Ma'am Madi!"
"Cheers!"
And because we're too busy with our applause sessions, we didn't notice the sound of Gabriel's car and the opening of the front
door.
We all turned to him. He has a shocked expression when he saw every one of us wearing a party hat. I took a deep breath
before wearing the sweetest smile I could muster and walked over to him.
"Hi, it's Elsa's birthday."
I kissed him on the cheek, but he pulled me into a tight hug. He put his head in the crook of my neck and inhaling my scent. I
gulped as I felt the shivers slowly crawling down my spine.
Everyone around us was cheering and clapping their hands, especially the guards who don't know our setup yet. Well, we don't
need to inform all the maids because they can see which room we're from every morning.
I hugged him back and even filled my nostrils with his manly scent. I will miss all of this.
"Love..." He whispered.
"Hmm?"
"Tomorrow we will have the results of the DNA test." I gulped again as he continued to whisper.
"Ahh... well good luck."
He pulled back and looked directly at me.
"I'm still hoping it's not mine."
I smiled and cupped his cheek. "Well, whether it's yours or not, it's still a blessing. It's a precious gift from heaven. And love, let's
not talk about it tonight. It's Elsa's birthday, let's just talk about it tomorrow."
He nodded and smiled at me. I don't want to hear that topic at that moment and if he sees me in the mansion the next morning
when he gets back, then we will talk about it... forever.
We stood there staring at each other's eyes.
"Wait, have you had dinner, 'love'?" I was the one who broke the staring contest.
"No, not yet." he put his hand on my lower back.
"Sir, would you like me to serve you dinner? Ma'am Madi cooked bolognese pasta and delicious lasagna." Elsa told him with a
wide smile.
"Really?" he turned to me and I smiled, nodding.
"Yes, it's for her birthday." and he kissed my forehead.
Elsa brought him dinner in the living room with us.
"Happy birthday, Elsa."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Hey, please continue what you're doing. Don't mind me here, I'm just going to watch you guys," he said and started eating.
"Okay, let's start the party," I said motioning for Simon to open and set up the entertainment device.
It's my last night with them and my last night with him. So, I'm going to seize every minute and second of the moment.
We started picking our songs from the songbook and putting them on the screen. And when Gabriel finished eating, he also
joined us to celebrate Elsa's birthday. For me, it's a double celebration... the last one is for my heart and soul that is about to die
tomorrow.
"Okay, that's my song." I squealed when I saw the title on the screen, although my heart started to cry.
***I will leave my heart at the door, I won't say a word. They've all been said before you know. So why don't we just play pretend,
like we're not scared of what's coming next or scared of having nothing left? Look don't get me wrong, I know there's no
tomorrow...
All I ask is if this is my last night with you, hold me like I'm more than just a friend. Give me a memory I can use, take me by the
hand while we do what lovers do. It matters how this ends, 'cause what if I never love again...***
They all clapped their hands and cheered for me, except Gabriel who's just sitting on the couch and staring at me with an
emotion I couldn't even read... no... I really don't want to read. I don't wanna look into his eyes, because I don't want to melt
again.
It's not new to me that anyone can fall in love with him. Just the way he smiles can make anyone's heart melt. The way he
moves can make anyone turned around. The way he laughs can send a certain vibration into someone's heart. And the way his
eyes mirror into someone else's and can speak thousands of unspoken words.
So if someone's gonna ask me why I fell in love with him, that's my answer. And why it's hard to say goodbye and let go of these
feelings go, it's because everything about him is like magic. In which, he casts spells that have made my world magical, even in
those short periods of time.
And another title of the song flashed on the screen. This is it.
***It pains my heart to see you go away, 'cause I thought you'll always stay. I just can't believe it's true, 'cause I'm still in love with
you. I'm gonna make it through without you, soon I'll come to see the light. Won't be living in my dreams, and what's far from my
sight...
I'm going to miss you, oh baby. Gonna miss everything about you, gonna miss your love. So now I'm letting you go, it's the right
thing for me to do. Though it hurts me so, it's so hard I know...I'm letting you go..*** (Jaime Rivera)
I blinked back the tears that began to form in my eyes when I noticed the kind of look he's giving me as I sang the chorus of the
song, but I ignored him and continued to sing.
***You'll always be a special part of me... though we're not meant to be...
At that moment, I became brave. I walked over to him and looked into his eyes as I sang the next lyrics.
***Knowing you I won't forget, loving you I'll never regret... So now I'm letting you go, It's the right thing for me to do.. though it
hurts me so, it's so hard I know... I'm letting you go... I'm letting you go...***
And a lone tear escaped my eyes, but I immediately wiped it and turned around to pass the microphone to Elsa. But the moment
I turned around again, I was engulfed by a tight hug and a deep, passionate kiss.
And that moment, no matter how hard I tried to control my tears, they were as stupid as me because they were all racing down
my cheeks. When he pulled back, he noticed the tears from my eyes. He wiped them with his thumb as looked directly at me.
"Why do I feel that you're going to leave me?" he asked almost a whisper, and I had to laugh just to stop my tears.
"Going to leave you--- what are you talking about?"
"With your songs, i's like a message of goodbye."
I laughed again and held both his hands. "It's just a song, Gab." I took a deep breath before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.
-'You have no idea how hard it is for me to do this, and how hard it is to let you go, but I have to because it's better than
pretending to be fine in front of you. I have to do it for myself. I have to stop dreaming that you will love me back, that will be
mine. I don't want to give up on this love, but it's slowly tearing me apart day by day every time I see you with her. I can't do it
anymore, Gabriel.'-