The Mo family mansion was quiet, save for the occasional chime of an antique grandfather clock.
Charlie stood in the hallway outside Linsay Mo's bedroom, hesitant. For the first time in years, the air in their ancestral home felt heavier—like every step he took brought him closer to something irreversible.
"Pasok ka na," came his grandmother's voice, faint but sharp. "Nanghihina na ako, hindi bingi."
Charlie gave a dry chuckle and stepped inside. The room was filled with light—curtains open wide, fresh flowers by the windowsill, and a faint scent of chamomile.
Linsay was propped up in bed, her frail hands wrapped in a delicate knitted blanket. But her eyes—still fiery, still queenly—met Charlie's with no sign of age.
"I'm dying, Charlie."
He sat beside her, fingers curling over the edge of the blanket. "Lola, huwag ganyan—"
"Huwag akong 'lola-lola' diyan. Hindi ko kailangan ng drama. I need action."
He sighed. "Lola, please. You still have time—"
"That's the point. Time. I've run out of enough to waste it on denial."
Charlie fell silent.
Linsay looked out the window. "I've built this empire with your grandfather. Tapos ng buhay ko sa business. Ngayon, ang tanging pangarap ko nalang... apo."
He swallowed hard. "You want an heir."
"I want you to be happy, and to give this family a future. That hotel needs more than money—it needs a soul. A legacy. Blood."
"Lola..."
She turned her eyes to him, sharp like glass. "You almost had it with that Hee girl. Good riddance. She never loved you. She loved the idea of conquering a Mo."
Charlie's jaw tightened.
"I saw someone else recently," Linsay added, her voice softening. "A girl with too much sunshine in her. Too much hope. Too much... pink."
His heart thudded once. Then again.
"Peachy," he murmured.
Linsay didn't smile, but her tone warmed. "She reminded me of myself, when I was stupid and romantic."
"Lola, I—"
"She's the only girl I've seen who makes your eyes look less dead."
He chuckled bitterly. "She's gone."
Linsay raised an eyebrow. "Then bring her back."
"It's not that simple."
"It never is. But that's the difference between men and boys. Boys wait. Men fight."
He stood and paced the room, running a hand through his hair.
"Maia showed up again," he confessed.
Linsay's brows rose. "That cockroach?"
Charlie sighed. "She cornered Peachy. Said things. Manipulated again. And I—I froze."
"Of course you did."
Charlie turned to her, surprised.
"You're my grandson, Charlie, not a robot. You loved once and it broke you. It's hard to trust softness again."
He looked down. "But I should've protected her."
"No." Linsay's voice was firm. "You should start protecting her now."
He looked at his grandmother—her voice thinner now, her breaths shorter.
"Time is gold, Charlie. But love... love is rarer." She reached out, grasping his hand weakly. "Give me a reason to go in peace."
Charlie knelt beside her.
"I saw her, Lola. Peachy. Kanina lang." His voice trembled. "She's pregnant."
Linsay gasped quietly, then blinked twice. Her grip tightened.
"Sa'yo?"
He nodded, guilt and awe and wonder clashing all at once.
"And she didn't demand anything. Not a cent. Not even my name."
Linsay exhaled deeply.
"She's the one, Charlie. That kind of love? That kind of woman? Hindi na yan uso. Huwag mong sayangin."
He looked at her, tears threatening.
"Then what do I do now?" he whispered.
Linsay smiled weakly. "You stop waiting for signs. You make one."
That night, Charlie sat alone in his car across from Café Merienda.
Peachy was inside, laughing with a customer, a flour smudge on her cheek.
She looked... glowing. Not just because of the pregnancy.
But because, for once, she looked like she was enough for herself.
He watched her quietly, heart aching.
Linsay's words rang in his head like a bell toll:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0iZ5eS9Sp
"Stop waiting for signs. Make one."
He opened his glove compartment. Pulled out a blank pink sticky note.
And with trembling fingers, he wrote:
"If you still believe in second chances... I'm standing outside. - C."
He pressed the note on the café door.
Then waited.
End of Chapter 14.
27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtIlstyxB7
and then Add to home screen.