Diary of Fragile Heart (Spin of Loving You Too Long)

Flavia was still lost in thought. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She lifted her head when Brianna spoke. “I think all of this is enough evidence for you. But maybe your associate has different news.” Her gaze shifted more towards Gladwin. Flavia glanced at her husband, who now looked pale.

“I never even imagined this.” Gladwin murmured softly. His gaze now shifted to Brianna and Arthur. Meanwhile, the two men Brianna had hired had left without Gladwin realizing.

“Sad, isn’t it? Considering who she is and her upbringing?” Arthur commented.

“Darling…” Flavia held her husband’s arm. Her small hands appeared to tremble. Gladwin reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, trying to convey warmth.

“Everything is beyond my expectations.” Gladwin tried to explain. “I already knew the truth about her biological father. I also knew about her selling herself. But this… I truly never thought she’d go this far. As fellow doctors, I’ve always known her as a great Doctor.”

“What should we do after this?” Flavia whispered, confused. Unfortunately for Gladwin, Flavia was the type of person who easily forgave. Actually, Gladwin himself had intended to forgive Phoebe once all of this was over. He thought if Phoebe was willing to leave them peacefully, he wouldn’t expose her disgrace to others. But this time? Well, Gladwin himself wasn’t sure.

“We’ll think about it later, Darling. What’s certain is that all this evidence will make her stay away from us. And for now, that’s enough.” Gladwin replied, stroking Flavia’s belly and kissing the top of his wife’s head with an unexplainable fear. “We’ll stick to our original plan. Return to Kansas and keep you both hidden for a while until I find the right time to reveal all these facts.” Flavia simply nodded in response.

Gladwin looked at the two parents in front of him with a questioning gaze, which they both responded to with nods. They clearly left all final decisions to Gladwin and Flavia. For them, as long as their grandchild was safe, they wouldn’t take any action. And that day ended not so well. Flavia’s and Gladwin’s minds were filled with all the information in the three envelopes handed to them. Claire and Antony, curious about the results given by Brianna’s team, demanded them to speak up because if they waited for them to speak first, Claire believed they wouldn’t get any information.

“Isn’t there anything you want to tell me?” Claire demanded, looking at Gladwin and Flavia alternately during dinner. Upon hearing Claire’s question, instead of answering, Flavia went to the nearest bathroom in the dining area. “Brother?” Claire looked at her twin brother in astonishment. Gladwin just shook his head. “Later,” he replied before following Flavia to the bathroom.

Flavia spent almost five minutes emptying her stomach, barely touched the food she had eaten before finally returning to the dining room. Her nausea still lingered. Although she didn’t actually experience morning sickness, she felt quite uneasy just because of the fleeting glimpse of the contents of the envelopes earlier.

“Shall I make you some hot tea?” Gladwin offered, which Flavia nodded to.

Claire struggled to keep her mouth shut, refraining from asking her stepdaughter, and decided to wait until her twin brother answered all the questions weighing on her mind.

The dinner was so quiet, considering Ignazio and Francisca spent the night at the Altezza and Adaline’s house. They would only gather again tomorrow afternoon when everyone would return to Kansas.

After dinner, Gladwin asked Flavia to rest, and his petite wife complied. “Darling?” Flavia tried to start a conversation. They were already lying on the bed, lying on their sides with Flavia’s back leaning tightly against Gladwin’s chest, allowing Gladwin to comfortably stroke her belly.

“Yeah?” Gladwin responded softly.

“What are we going to tell Mom later?” Flavia asked softly.

“We’ll tell her everything without skipping a single detail. If Mom ends up hating her, it’s not because of our fault.”

“But I really didn’t expect Phoebe’s actions,” she said still with her soft voice. “How could a woman who has a child do something so cruel?”

Gladwin could only soothe her by stroking his wife’s head and kissing the side of her head affectionately. “Don’t think about it, don’t dwell on it. Sleep now, for the baby’s sake. Tomorrow we still have to go back to Kansas, right?” Gladwin tried to calm his wife’s distress. Flavia nodded slowly, and slowly her body turned to face her husband.

Gladwin smiled at his wife, hoping she would feel calm. He then kissed her forehead again, gently stroking her cheek before pulling her petite body into his embrace.

“My wife and my baby, sleep soundly. It’s late, don’t stay up late or you’ll catch a cold. If it’s not a cold you catch, then it’ll be me catching you.” Gladwin teased, making Flavia laugh and playfully hitting her husband’s chest. “Why, Darling? Is our baby asking me to check on them?” He teased again. “Not now, okay, my baby, your mom is still tired. Still jetlagged. Dad is afraid Mom might get sick later. Let’s wait until tomorrow when we get home, Dad will check on you.” His persuasion shifted his body downward until his head was right in front of Flavia. Flavia, annoyed, hit her husband’s shoulder again.

“You, what are you doing? I’m embarrassed,” she whispered, although she felt a tingling sensation in her femininity from being amused by her husband’s teasing.

Gladwin’s body moved back up and he looked at his wife. “Why should you be embarrassed? I’m just doing what I should do, checking on my baby and making my wife happy,” he said again, still teasing.

Reluctant to answer her husband, Flavia chose to tighten her hug and hide her face in Gladwin’s chest. Gladwin just laughed and lovingly stroked his wife’s hair.

One hour later, after making sure Flavia had drifted off to sleep, Gladwin stepped out of the room carrying three large brown envelopes in his hand. He knew his sister would still be waiting for him as he knew his twin sister had a very high level of curiosity. And sure enough, as he reached the last step of the stairs, he saw his twin sister still sitting in the family room with her eyes fixed on the TV screen in front of her, although it was certain she wasn’t watching the program broadcasted by the cable TV station.

Gladwin chose to sit on a different sofa from the one currently occupied by his sister. At the same time, Antony came and sat next to his wife. Gladwin handed the envelopes in his hand to the couple.

“These are the results of the investigation by your mother-in-law’s henchmen,” Gladwin said with a tongue stiff because he was still not used to referring to Mrs. Brianna Quirino as grandmother.

Claire frowned, but she opened one of the envelopes while Antony opened the others. Frowning, shaking his head, gaping, even shrieking. Gladwin caught each expression from Claire. “Is this real?” She asked, looking at Gladwin with an incredulous look. “You’re not staging a scene from a drama or a crime news, are you?” She continued, still disbelieving. “How could all this happen?” Claire’s forehead creased deeper, her heart pounding very fast while her brain spun trying to digest all the facts she had just read.

Gladwin shook his head. “These are all facts. I’ve heard part of the story from Freddie, and part from my henchmen. But this is far more detailed than what I’ve heard so far,” he replied truthfully.

“Are you sure you want to give this to Mom?” Claire asked again. Gladwin looked at her, silently asking for her opinion in return. “I think it’s better not to expose everything to Mom. I’m afraid after this, Mom will be stressed out feeling guilty towards Flavia and might even choose to distance herself from Flavia.”Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.