Skylar walked down to the breakfast table; a feeling of dread enveloped her as she dreaded seeing Vino's face this morning. With the way she had rejected him last night, she doubts he wouldn't be on the next plane back to New York right now. And even if he does that, she wouldn't blame him.
"I mean, who would stay after all the embarrassment she had given him," Skylar thought to herself as she made her way down to the lobby.
" Good morning, Miss Evans" The receptionist, a young girl in her early thirties, greeted Skylar as she stepped down from the stairs into the lobby " Sleep well?" She continued as she smiled at Skylar before bending down to search for something under her desk.
" Yes, thank you. Hawaii is such a beautiful place that I couldn't help sleeping soundly" Skylar replied in all honesty. After the event of last night, she had thought she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink, but as soon as her head touched the pillow, she had fallen into a deep sleep.
" That's great. There are other fun places in Hawaii, I think you should explore them before leaving" The receptionist replied with a smile on her face. Skylar could see that she was so fond of this place which prompted her to ask the next question.
" Are you a native here, ___ Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name" Skylar asked shyly rubbing her head at her stupidity? She couldn't believe she started a conversation with someone without bothering to find out about their name.
" Mirabel. You can call me Mira for short and I'm not a native here, I school and work here. I've been here for the past few years now" Mira replied, smiling up at Skylar who looked shocked to see that she was younger than she had imagined.
" It's okay, I get that every time because of my plump status. I'm twenty-five but everyone mistakes me to be in my early thirties" Mira replied with a smile on her face while Skylar looked embarrassed to have judged her wrongly.
" I am sorry, Mira. Thank you for making my morning. Now, if you would excuse me, I'll like to get started on breakfast before it gets cold" Skylar told her with an excited smile on her face as she turned to walk to the adjoining room where the cafeteria was but stop short as soon as she saw Vino approaching from the breakfast table, an excited smile on his face as he talked on the phone. As soon as he saw her, he stopped and the smile wiped off his face in that instant...
" Yes, I deserved that" Skylar muttered under her breath as she made to brush past him, she stopped to hear him requesting for morning papers from the receptionist before Skylar could make herself step into the cafeteria.
" There you are. Did you meet Vino on your way?" Paula exclaimed as she dragged Skylar to the chair beside her while she watched her face for any reaction.
" Yes, why?" Skylar asked her as she turned to smile at both Gian and Ernesto who were both lost in conversation with each other but they both stopped to acknowledge her greetings. She quickly averted her gaze as soon as she saw Elise glaring at her.
" What's wrong with the queen bee this morning?" Skylar asked Paula, her voice a mere whisper as she took caution for Elise not to overhear their conversation as she wasn't in the mood to deal with her tantrum this morning.
" I don't know about her. She has been this way ever since she came down for breakfast this morning. I guess things didn't work out as she had planned last night. And that reminds me, Vino is still in love with you" Paula told her, she couldn't kick out Vino's teary eyes from her mind last night. She could tell he was really in love with Skylar as he wasn't the kind of man that could cry for a woman.
" Why do you think so?" Skylar asked, she couldn't help being curious about it. She always knew Vino cared about her but love___ they've never spoken about it.
" No, don't worry, I'm not interested. It wouldn't change anything, the deed is already done" Skylar replied, cutting Paula off as she turned in the opposite direction to smile up at the waitress who was bringing their food.
Paula smiled, she could tell that Skylar was eager to know but was trying badly to hide it" Well, he told Elise last night after you left," Paula told her after sometimes ignoring her protest.
Skylar nodded, as she blinked back tears from her eyes before forcing the food down her throat. She couldn't believe that after all these months she had been waiting and hoping that he would tell her that he loves her only for him to say that yesterday when they officially broke up.
Skylar paused as soon as she remembered Paula's first question to her. She turned to look at Paula who was busy playing with her food "Why did you ask about Vino earlier? And where has he gone to?"
Paula shrugs as she pretends not to hear Skylar's question as it was in a whisper. She guessed Skylar was taking caution from Elise who knows what she will do.
"Paula" Skylar called her, trying to tell her she should skip pretending, she could tell she heard her quite alright.
"Fine. He found out____"
"Let me tell her," Elise told Paula, cutting her off as they both looked up to see Elise gazing down at them with a frown on her face. They didn't notice when she came to stand beside them.
"Tell me what?" Skylar asked, getting more confused as she looked from Paula to Elise before her eyes came to rest on Elise.
"Don't mind her Skylar, she's____"
"Don't mind them, Babe. I was just telling Vino that we will be going for a walk later in the afternoon, he grew annoyed and walked out from the cafeteria" Gian replied shrugging as he shot Skylar his signature smile who couldn't help smiling back as she believed him. Free from Skylar's gaze, Gian turned to frown at Elise while signalling her to keep her mouth shut else, she risked his anger.
Elise glared at him before storming out of the room in anger. She was so angry to see that everyone was protecting Skylar while Vino had to suffer alone and his company.
Her hands went to the phone in her hands as she read the headline news again "New York Richest Bachelor falls in love with his assistant who rejected him"
Elise groaned as a picture of Skylar and Vino at the bonfire last night greeted her, as she scrolled down the phone. If only they knew a reporter was lurking around, they would have been more cautious. And to think she had warned Vino but he just won't listen to her, he's so blinded by his love for Skylar. Elise couldn't understand what that woman had that she didn't. As far as she could tell, she was more beautiful than Skylar would ever be in her lifetime.
Elise minimized her phone as she went to the company's newsletter which was in this morning. Another headline news that got Elise cringing in fear was "Thompson's Stock went down @ 10%"
"Too bad. If this keeps going, the Thompson will be bankrupt before they know it" Elise whispered to herself as she went up the stairs ignoring the receptionist who was all smiles and ready to chit-chat with her.
Skylar watched Elise as she took an angry step out of the room. She couldn't help feeling guilty about what she had done. She had only wanted to give Vino a chance with his daughter not trying to cause a rift between him and Elise. She hopes they settle their differences soon.
"Come on, Babe. Stop wearing that long face. It doesn't suit you and you grow old soon if you keep that up. Oh! You're already spotting wrinkles" Gian told her as he attempted a joke trying to make Skylar smile but she only rewarded him with a smile, not a laugh as he had intended.
"That will be good. Then we could grow old together" Skylar replied as she put down her fork, already losing her appetite. If this keeps up, she will be losing weight every day which isn't good for the baby but what could she do as seeing Vino and Elise every day was getting on her nerves.
"Are you ready for that walk?" Skylar asked Gian as she stood up from the chair. Gian nodded with a smile, he put his hands around her back and guided her out of the cafeteria to outside where they took a cab.
***
Skylar skipped down the stairs that house the restaurant in which they have spent most of their afternoon overlooking the Waikiki beach which was north of their hotel Honolulu. Mira had described this place to her during their conversation this morning and she couldn't say it wasn't worth their visit.
"Woah! That was one of the best foods I've eaten in my lifetime" Gian comments with a smile on his face as his hands rubbed slowly on his belly which was still lean considering the number of spams musubi he had just consumed. Skylar thought to herself as she averted her gaze from him.
"You can say that again, though I haven't tasted a lot of foreign delicacies but so far, this is my favourite" Skylar nodded, shaking her head in affirmation. She couldn't believe she had eaten that much even though it wasn't what she would have liked.
"Come on, let's go back to the hotel," Gian told her, dragging her down the beach as they held hands and walked barefoot on the sandy beach.
"Gian I____ I can't date you" Skylar forced herself to say after some time. She had been planning and practicing all morning on how to tell him but this seems like a perfect moment.
She was expecting Gian to be angry and cussed out at her but he burst into laughter before turning to look at her "And now you've ruined beach vacation for me. It will forever be imprinted in my memory that I was rejected on a beach" Gian replied as he feigns hurt, clutching his chest to drive in his point.
Skylar's hands immediately flew to her mouth as she looked at him sadly, she didn't think about that before saying anything to him. Her mouth had just repeated what her heart wants "I'm sorry I was inconsiderate and_____"
"Shush! It's okay, I was only joking" Gian told her as they resumed walking. He paused and turned to her, "And about dating you, I'm not interested too"
Skylar's eyes nearly burst out of their socket as soon as she heard that. She couldn't understand what he meant, judging from his reaction these past few days, Skylar could tell that he was obsessed with dating her, then what changed now?
"I don't understand. What do you mean______"
"Actually," Gian's hands flew to his head as he scratched on it, shy about the confession he was about to make "I overheard Paula and you at the party, I wanted to help you. And I could see that you've achieved your aim___ No, you've ruined everything"
"I___ you___ wasn't in love with me?" Her question came out more like a statement as she struggled to believe Gian. He was so possessive of her that she believed he harboured feelings for her.
"No, I have a fiancée back at home. I was only trying to help Vino realize his feelings for you but_____" Gian stopped as he let his eyes run through Skylar's before coming to a stop on her stomach.
Feeling conscious of his eyes on hers, Skylar shields her stomach with her hands, trying to prevent him from seeing through her. She froze suddenly as realization dawned in her memory. He knew!!!
"You knew?" Skylar gasped as she battled with the tears in her eyes. What would she do right now? Gian may tell Vino about it and it will jeopardize his relationship with his daughter.
"Yes. Right from the first day. Come on, don't give me those eyes. I've seen many pregnant women in my life than I can count, I know when there's one" Gian told her with a smile on his face, he moved closer to Skylar and bent to whisper in her ear
"Actually, I'm more accurate than the average doctor" He winked at her, expecting Skylar to laugh but she didn't.
"How could you? I didn't even show any symptoms until three days ago?" Skylar sidestepped his poor attempt at a humorous conversation and asked him the one thing that has been on her mind still now.
"I've been on many volunteering visits and_____" Gian paused; he didn't want to go into details of him volunteering in almost every continent of the world. He didn't want to bore Skylar with his story, rather he went straight to the point.
"When are you planning to tell him? Vino is____"
"Never. And neither would you. Please can we go now, I've had more dramas today" Skylar called over her shoulder as she brushed her hair to the back with her hands which had come off due to the wave from the sea.
"Yes ma'am" Gian called as he rushed over to her side and pulled her close, they both walked slowly to the car park while appreciating nature.
Gian never brother on changing Skylar's mind since her mind was made up. He just hopes Vino will do everything not to lose her. She was a good woman. He would need to speak with Vino as soon as he gets to the hotel. With this resolution in mind, Gian helped Skylar into the cab as the cab took them to the hotel.