Bright Fire

BY THE time they reached Tierra Felicia, Clara already felt like crying. She did not plan to return to her favorite place in that state. Thanks to Josef. Though it was a long trip, she wanted to ask Josef to go back because she could not find the courage to talk to Fuego. She felt weak, dizzy, and emotionally unstable, but she was trying hard not to show it. She did not want to disappoint Josef after all of his sacrifices.

When the car stopped in front of the house, Clara did not move to open the door right away. She was not sure if she still had the strength to do it. She sat there anxiously with her heart in her throat.

"Moment of truth, Clara," Josef said. He was already standing outside the car and pulled the door open.

Clara only stared at him. She could not move her feet. She was not ready. But Josef nodded and offered his hand.

"I told you I got you." He smiled.

She took a deep breath and took his hand. Clara almost tripped when her feet felt the ground.

"It's okay," Josef whispered softly and put his warm hand over her.

She forced a smile and let him guide her inside the house as if it was her first time.

"Clara!" Emerisa was smiling from ear to ear as she ran to meet her.

"Emerisa!" She broke free from Josef and ran to hug her.

"How have you been? I missed you. We missed you a lot!" Emerisa cupped her cheeks. "Are you okay? You look pale. Are you sick? Have you eaten yet? What do you want to eat?"

Clara sniffed, and in the next moment, tears were already streaming down her face. She missed Emerisa as much as she missed Fuego.

"W-what's wrong, dear?" she asked, worried.

"I missed you."

"I know."

"I-I missed you, Emerisa." And she cried some more.

Emerisa stared at Josef and mouthed, 'What happened?' as she pulled Clara back into her arms.

"Hormones," Josef replied.

"THIS SOUP might take a while. Is there anything you like? Clara, I know how much you love our egg pie."

Clara's lips quivered at the mention of egg pie. She had stopped crying, but she felt like she still had more tears to shed. They were already sitting on the kitchen counter. "I-I'm... I'm not hungry."

"Clara, you refused to eat anything while we were travelling. You look pale and weak," Josef said.

"I'm just tired. That's all. We'll leave once I'm done talking to Fuego, right?"

"Why don't you stay for a few more days, Clara? We want to catch up with you," Emerisa said.

"I have a flight I need to catch tonight," she replied weakly.

"Nobody knows when Fuego will return. He's been out with Venice for a couple of hours now."

Clara froze as she stared at Emerisa.

"V-Venice is here?"

"Do you know Venice?" Emerisa uttered in amusement.

"W-well, kinda. I haven't met her in person, though." She hastily stood up before Emerisa could ask questions about Venice. "If you'll excuse me."

"Where are you going?" Josef asked.

"I need to get some fresh air. I'll be back."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Josef stood up at once.

"I want to be alone for a while. I'll be back soon, I promise."

Josef's face showed protest, but he went back to his seat anyway. "Take care, Clara," Emerisa said.

CLARA stood outside the house and let the wind blew her face. She wrapped her arms around her as she shivered. She would not have allowed Josef to take her back to this place if she knew Venice was around. What timing. She only wanted to talk to Fuego. She had no plans on putting him in a difficult situation.

What if Venice gets mad and hits her? It would have been all right if she was not pregnant. She would understand. But what about her poor baby?

Clara's eyes reverted to the tree on the other side of the hill. The same tree where she watched the sunrise with Fuego. It had transformed into a treehouse, but it looked unfinished. She could also see a ladder beneath it. Could Fuego have done that?

"Clara."

Clara jumped and turned and saw Jeremy. He was smiling broadly.

"D-Doc."

"Hey. As much as I want to hug you, I can't. I just came back from the stable."

"I perfectly understand."

"When did you arrive?"

"Just this afternoon. I'm with Josef."

"Have you talked to Fuego already?"

She shook her head.

"I'm still asking myself if it's still worth talking to him. I might be the last person he wanted to see today." She forced a laugh.

"Why not?"

She shrugged. She could not bear to mention Venice's name.

"You look sick. Are you all right?"

"No, I'm not. The trip is just exhausting."

"Then, you should get some rest."

"We'll leave once I talked to Fuego."

Jeremy sighed. "I'm sad about how things turned out between the two of you. The last time I saw you together, you were just so in love. And now, look at you. Your eyes have lost their shine." Clara laughed weakly.

"I did not expect to reunite with you this way," she said. "I was happy the whole time I was here. I wish I could say it's nice to be back."

"What really happened, Clara?"

"Didn't Fuego tell you?"

"He won't. I was scared to ask him because he might hit me with a hammer. Before you broke up, he was excited to build that treehouse over there because he knew you would like it. He was working day and night. I laugh every time I remember that silly look on his face. But he stopped working, and the treehouse remained unfinished. I feel bad because it was a promising project."

Clara's whole body trembled as she stared at the treehouse.

"F-Fuego built that for me?" she choked.

"In my opinion, he's capable of doing anything that would make you happy." Jeremy beamed, but it was replaced by concern when she began to cry.

For goodness' sake, she was already tired of crying. She was trying to be strong for her child. But how could she stop these damn tears from falling? "Are you all right, Clara?" Jeremy sauntered closer.

She nodded.

"I just want to be alone."

"Okay. But if you need anything, just call me."

"Thank you. I really appreciate that."

"Oh, there he is."

Clara turned behind her at once. For a moment, her heart skipped a beat when two big bikes appeared and halted just a few meters away from them.

Clara could not keep her eyes off Fuego as he got down from his motorcycle and took his helmet off. She met his cold, blank gaze, and something sharp shot her heart. He looked like he did not know her.

The second driver was a tall woman in a dark suit with curves in all the right places. She took her helmet off and revealed a beautiful face. She looked like a goddess with long, wavy hair. She was something Clara was not. That moment, as she stood there and watched how good they look together, Clara wanted to die.

How could Fuego cheat on that gorgeous woman with her?

"Hi," Venice greeted. "Are you Jeremy's friend? I'm Venice."

"I-I'm "

"This is Clara, and she's not feeling well."

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly and turned to Fuego. "Hey, I'm going to go first. I need a shower."

"Go ahead," Fuego replied.

Clara looked away and closed her eyes. She missed everything about him. She missed him that bad.

"You know what this means, Fuego, right? You need to talk." Jeremy pressed Clara's shoulder before he went inside.

Clara wanted to stop Jeremy and ask him to take her with him. She still had not found the courage to talk to Fuego. She could not bear to look him in the eyes and pretend she was not hurting and jealous. But she wanted to touch him, feel his body close to her, and listen to his heartbeat.

"Do you have something to say?" he said in a cold tone.

The Fuego she was talking to at the moment did not look like the Fuego who begged her to come back to him. And Clara could not still bring herself to hate him.

"I-I still don't know what to say," she said. "All I know is that I wanted to see you and apologize for the last time. I'm sorry our story has to end this way. I'm leaving everything behind. I'm going home to my real family just like I always wanted. I can finally do that. And it was all because of you."

When she began to take a step toward him, Clara's legs were wobbly. She was feeling worse each time.

"W-why did you ask me to go back to you when there was already someone else?" Tears rolled down her face for the nth time that day. "T-that's not funny, Fuego, you know. How could you tell me you missed me when there was Venice? How could you cheat on that beautiful lady who looked like she was made for you? If I had not known about her, I would have gladly gone with you that night." Fuego stared at her in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Clara? What's Venice got to do with us?"

"And stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about!" she yelled. "Did she know you already slept with me?"

"How did you know about her?"

"Don't answer me with another question," she spat weakly.

Fuego grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him.

"Who's cheating on who?" he asked.

"I-I hate you. I r-really do." She sobbed. "But I love you more. Why can't I hate you as you hate me? That's just so unfair." Clara's knees gave in as her head spun. "Clara!"

She felt Fuego's strong body against her before everything went black.

CARLOTA arrived at the hotel lobby fifteen minutes late. She wore a black dress, a pair of red shoes, and red lipstick. She was able to pretend that nothing happened that day. She was on a date with Julian, and that was the only thing that mattered now.

But something was wrong. Carlota was not as excited as she thought she'd be when she used to imagine this moment. Well, it could be because of stress.

Julian stood and smiled at her as she approached him. Carlota smiled back.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said.

"Nothing to be sorry about. You look stunning."

"Oh, thank you. You, too."

Julian pulled a chair for her. She uttered a 'thank you' before they settled down.

"Nice place," she remarked as she looked around.

The restaurant was elegant and romantic. The jazz singer was already on stage serenading the guests.

"I'm glad you like it. Shall we order?"

"Yeah, sure." Carlota picked up the menu. She watched Julian as he went through the list. He was still as charming as the day she first met him. "Would you mind telling me what this dinner is for?" she asked nervously.

"What do you mean?" Julian asked as he glanced at her. "Oh." He chuckled when he realized something. "Do you expect us to talk about business the whole night? I'm sorry to disappoint you. I just really need a companion tonight. You were the first person that came to mind."

"Isn't that flattering? We're really on a date." Carlota giggled.

"Who says we're too old for this?"

They both laughed.