I called the waiter right away to order some coffee. And only when she took a sip did she continue speaking.
“Maria and I were best friends, and we were both working for Mr.& Mrs. Williams. She’s as lovely as you. And do you know that you’re her replica?”
“No,” I answered, trying to control my emotion and my anger due to her delay. However, she enjoyed the suspense like it was leisure to put me on a cliffhanger.
“One time, he had a one-night stand with Maria out of his drunken state and she got pregnant. She tried to hide it from him, but eventually, Mr. William knew about it. He let her raise the child and let her continue working for his family. He even asked his wife to adopt the child as their own because they were childless.”
“Does Mrs. Williams know that I am his daughter?”
“Yes, after she gave birth to you. She got so angry that she filed charges against her for stealing her jewelry.”
“What happened then?” I was already cupping my mouth to keep myself from sobbing loudly.
“We escaped from the house when a typhoon hit the place. And that’s how we came into the city. The parents you grew up with accommodated both of you while a neighbor hired me.”
“Then where is she?” I couldn’t stop myself from sobbing loudly and I couldn't care less about the spectators who were glancing at us from their seats.
“She passed away, and on her deathbed, she asked your adoptive parents to adopt you. During that time, adoption wasn’t that complicated. And besides, you had already won their hearts ever since you and Maria came into their household. All because they didn’t have a child.”
I dropped my head on the table, pouring my emotion in that bitter cry. However, I still dared to ask one more question. “Why did she die?”
“The doctor said she had a brain tumor.”
More tears flowed down from my eyes like a river as I lamented over the loss of a mother I didn’t come to know. Because she already stayed with my parents when I was still a baby, that explained why I couldn’t remember growing up with her. But, maybe, she already knew she was going to die. And that’s maybe why she stepped back and allowed me to recognize my adoptive parents as my real ones.
Out of the true friendship Nang Zabeth had with my mother, I took her to a doctor. In the name of my mother, who leaned on her for support during her dark moments, I decided to take care of her. She even risked her life by running away with us.
“Stop crying,” Nang Zabeth said later while we waited for our turn to see the doctor. She even reached out and wiped my tears away.
“The heavens have mercy. Look, Maezy met Mr. Williams in Japan, and the latter told her that he was searching for a daughter from the Philippines. Fortunately, I had told her about your story. And that’s how you came to Japan.”
I got startled at another bomb she threw at me. “So, Maezy already knew me even before I went to Japan?”
“Of course. Even if I let her stay with my sister in the province, we still talked about how my life had been every time I visited her.”
“She referred you to a recruiter who took care of Mr. William’s applicants. But that came with a reward, of course, for finding a long-lost daughter.”
“Where’s Mrs. Williams now?” I asked, finally remembering her and her miseries.
“She also died due to cervical cancer.”
I heaved out a deep sigh. Life is indeed unpredictable. My life had been peaceful until that fateful trip with Kim in Japan. Because of that company visit, I had known about the missing pieces of my life.
The secretary’s voice calling Nang Zabeth’s name cut my reflection. I stood up and held her hand, and we entered the door together. I felt her shaking and her stiffness, but I pressed her hand, assuring her silently that I was there for her.
“She’s into depression,” the doctor told me after a thorough assessment and series of questioning and tested Nang Zabeth underwent. “And like all of us, she also needs support for her to recover fast.”
I smiled and nodded, affirming her that I would take care of her.
“Thank you. Let’s just hope she’s physically well.”
To keep Nang Zabeth from wandering around, I admitted her to a facility where she could have a support group to interact with and nurses to ensure she took her medication. I didn’t bother to ask permission from Maezy. She didn’t care about her anyway. And to keep me away from further issues, I called Kim to come over and facilitate the admission. He’s the son-in-law anyway, and the facility didn’t ask for a marriage certificate to prove his legal connection to her.
“Why did you do that?” Kim asked the moment he sat beside me in the car. However, I broke into tears right away as I told everything that I knew that day.
“Maezy showed me the video footage,” I said after I stopped crying.
“Video?” he repeated, throwing me a puzzled look.
“That night when you pulled your trigger at Josh.”
Kim went silent, and that gave me a chance to confront him further.
“Is that why Josh is still free today?”
“We settled amicably since both of us could go to jail. And it was clear that he failed in his assault on you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so ashamed of myself in that video. I couldn’t even recognize myself.”
“You were mad at me at that moment. All because of my jealousy towards Josh. But Maezy sold you over to him. And that’s one of the reasons why I broke up with her.”
“Also, because of deceiving you about her pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
“You told me it only happened once. But why did she get pregnant twice?”