Tricking My Cold Lover

"Hurry! Your grandpa is going to get angry again!" Scolded Nari, seeing Amelia and Ava argue about which dress to wear from inside the children's room.      

"Mommy! I want this one!" Screamed Ava, barely pronouncing the TH sound.     

A loud scream left Amelia's lips, she said, "No! Mine!"     

They both wanted to wear the same pony dress, but sadly it was only one kind. Nari made that mistake of buying two different kinds of dresses for them to wear the other week.      

Ava and Amelia had recently turned two years old, both were able to converse well, using sentences with five to eight words. They often stumble and stutter, barely to pronounce some words, but overall, they were already easy to understand.      

"I'm going to give that to Melissa!" Announced Nari as she grabbed the dress they were always arguing about.     

She went to the closet and took out a twin attire, also an equally adorable dress. She said, "you'll wear this!"     

"You sure know how to deal with them." Nari turned to the door and saw her sister leaning against the frame. She was carrying her one-year-old daughter named Melissa.      

"Hey Unnie, we have a new dress for Melissa," suggested Nari, holding up the dress her twins were arguing about.     

"Nice! I am so happy, I don't have to worry about shopping," remarked Chan-Mi. "Are you packed?"     

"Yeah, Mom helped me last night. I'm all set, I just need to get these two dressed!" Said Nari.      

Everyone in their family was getting ready to leave for China. They were going to have an entire one-month vacation in Beijing while attending their cousin Alfred's wedding first thing when they arrive.      

Alfred was their aunt Andrea and Lu Fang's youngest son, and he is finally getting married.      

Only Geun and Ara would stay in Beijing for a shorter period of time. Both meant to return soon, especially since someone has to look over the business.      

Yeong Soon and Jae-won, on the other hand, had no plans to leave. They were too tired to take a long trip.      

Soon enough, Salvi made his way to them and said, "Let me carry Melissa. You are pregnant."     

Chan-Mi just smiled and handed their baby to her father and said, "I'm still two months pregnant, no biggie."     

After seeing Salvi made his way to the stairs, Chan-Mi help put on the dress for Amelia. She pecked her niece's face and said, "You are so beautiful, just like Mommy!"     

"I hope your second baby is a boy," said Nari while fixing Ava's dress.      

"I hope so too!" Said Chan-Mi.     

Chan-Mi watched as Nari keep some hairpins, buns, and small toys in a handy bag before she suggested, "Nari, you should... date again."     

The proposal made Nari stop whatever it was she was doing, merely freezing at the idea of accepting that Luiz may have actually left them for good.      

They never found Luiz. Whenever her father thought that he had found another clue, it always led to a dead end.      

Till that very day, Nari and the Merenos were never had closure of Luiz being missing.      

For an entire year, Nari cried almost every day. She only slowed down when she realized how much she had neglected her own children. She lost and an incredible amount of weight, despite still not returning to work.      

Throughout her suffering, Chan-Mi and her family were always there for her, but she could not deny how the pain could not be erased from her heart.      

Nari took a deep breath and said, "I don't know. I - I can't forget Luiz." She was suddenly reminded of the pain that tears welled up in her eyes. She said, "I can't accept it. I just can't."     

Chan-Mi got up from the bed where she sat and embraced her sister from the back. She hugged her so tight before telling, "I'm sorry, Nari. I really am."     

"I don't know why you have to go through this, but I want you to know... it's not the end of the world," reminded Chan-Mi. "Many of us love you and you have Ava and Amelia."     

Nari turned back to her sister and hugged her back. She let the wetness roll down her cheeks before she said, "I know that Chan-Mi. I know that. Thank you for being there for me."     

"Everyone, let's go." Anton walked in on his daughter, hugging each other. Seeing the tears on Nari's face, he knew what triggered it.      

For more than two years, he had been going back and forth to Italy, just to get leads, but because previous leads had turned out to be a dead-end, he had not shared with his family, the recent findings Hanxi and him had found. It worried him that it will only dismay Nari.      

Which is exactly why he was willing to take a longer trip, this time around. He meant to divert his family's attention while in Beijing.      

"Nari? Chan-Mi. It's time to go," said Anton before offering to carry one of the twins.      

***     

Arriving at the airport in Beijing, the Yeong family was met by Lu Fang and Andrea, together with Alfred, their son.      

They exchanged pleasantries and while they were at the airport, Alfred approached Nari and said, "I have two friends whom I'd like you to meet. You'll meet them at the wedding."     

"Oh, boy. Someone is playing cupid with me," said Nari. "I don't know about that... I really have... have not moved on."     

"One friend is a dear - dear friend of ours, Justin Clark, he is the upcoming CEO of Intramed Wise US and the other friend - well, actually he is a friend of Justin' but we met and we clicked, so I also invited him to our wedding," explained Alfred.      

"So you are hooking me up between two friends?" Nari asked with a frown.      

Alfred chuckled and said, "Well, you'd have to choose between a coming CEO or a restaurant tycoon who is also a chef! His name is Ramon Russo."     

"Anyway, Nari. You'll meet them at the party, so good luck with choosing," teased Alfred.      

"I'll help her choose, Alfred," suggested Nari as they were walking their way to the car.     

"Russo. Russo, where have I heard that name before," said Nari with a frown. She shook her head, dismissing the familiarity, and turned her attention to the twins instead. "Okay guys, one stay with Nanny Lucille, and one stays with me."