The Odds of Happily Ever After (The Reyes Siblings #2)

Chapter 4

chapter four

luna

Luna

How’s life in Manila??

Ate

Hot, noisy, and I’m always full.

Luna

So just like it used to be?

Lonzo

That, except she’s a local celebrity now.

Ate

Ugh.

Luna

HAHAHA!!! Congrats, Ate!

“Stop moving the phone, Juan,” Mama said as Papa blocked the camera with his hand in an attempt to get both their faces inside the display.

They bickered over the positioning of the phone—their typical exchange that was half mild annoyance and half good-natured teasing. When I was younger, that back-and-forth had been a constant occurrence at home. But after our grandmother got cancer, Papa went to work in the UAE, Mama took on night nursing shifts, and Ate moved here for college. That left the house a lot quieter than before.

Especially when Lola passed away.

“There we are,” Mama said as they settled in the center of the frame. Behind them was the photo gallery Lola created on the wall of our combined dining and living room.

The sight of it brought a lump to my throat because it reminded me of when we were all together. When we were complete—one happy family.

“How are you two?” I asked, relieved my voice came out steady. “Papa, how does it feel to be home?” After more than a decade of working abroad, he finally found a good opportunity in Manila and moved back a few days ago.

“Great, but I think your mama’s sick of me already.” Chuckling, he put his arm around Mama’s shoulders.

Mama shook her head but leaned closer to him. “He keeps rearranging the room. I told him things are the way they are for a purpose.”

“You should thank me for fixing up. It was so hard to find anything in there.”

I chuckled because I used to be the one cleaning up for Mama and knew exactly what he meant.

“I have a system,” she argued.

“You do,” Papa told her. “I’m just adjusting it so it actually works.”

Mama swatted his arm, which only made him laugh. “Oh, be quiet,” she said. “Luna, how are you?”

“I’m good,” I said. “I’m finally getting the hang of balancing school and work.”

“Are you sure you can do both?” Papa asked, frowning. “You know you need to keep your grades up to maintain your scholarship. If you lose it, having a job won’t matter.”

“I know. My grades are okay. I mean, they’re nothing like Lonzo’s, but they’re good enough for my scholarship requirement,” I added.

If the comparisons between me and my brother hadn’t been obvious enough, they sure were when he got accelerated, putting us in the same year level despite me being a year older.

Papa harrumphed. “Just make sure you keep it that way. We can’t afford for you to stay there if you don’t have that scholarship.”

The pressure to excel weighed heavier on my chest. “Yes, Papa.”

“What if you just came home?” Mama asked, catching me off-guard. “You moved there so you and Tala could be together, but she’s here now. So is Papa. There’s no reason for you to stay where no one can look after you.”

I fought to keep my face from crumpling. Mama didn’t say anything I hadn’t thought of before, but to hear it from her?

Between my parents, I thought she’d believed in me a bit more.

“I . . .” I swallowed, hating how small my voice sounded. “I thought the plan was for all of us to move here one day?”

“Not anymore,” Papa said. “Tala doesn’t want to live there, and we’re almost done paying off your lola’s hospital bills. Your mama’s right—it’s not good for you to be alone.”

“Ate lived alone for years.”

“That was your sister. She’s always been independent.”

Not like you. He didn’t say it, but I heard it just the same.

Pressing my lips tight together, I sucked in a shallow breath that only drove what felt like a shard of glass deeper into my chest. I tried to inject as much confidence into my voice as I could muster. “I can do it too.”

“You don’t need to be there. Tala went to help with the bills, but now that your lola’s gone and Alonzo has a full scholarship, we can manage. Anyway, you’re studying management .”

My mouth fell open. “I chose that because you wanted me to study something practical.” If I had it my way, I would’ve gone into fashion, but my parents would never have approved.

“I wanted you to study nursing like your mama and Tala,” Papa said. “You can continue your classes here. It won’t make a difference.”

“We’re just worried about you.” Mama spoke in an appeasing tone. “You’re on your own, and we don’t want you to put too much pressure on yourself.”

They didn’t seem worried when Ate did the same. But why would they? She always was the strong, independent child they could count on.

“It’s not too much pressure,” I insisted. “And I like being here. It’s a chance for me to grow.”

“Is that why you want to stay, or is it the boys?” Papa’s eyes narrowed.

I reared back. “What? Of course not!”

“You say that now, but if you get pregnant?—”

“Papa! I’m not even dating anyone.”

He started to say something, but Mama shushed him. “Remember what I told you before you left,” she told me.

Like I could forget her speech about giving myself away and risking disease, pregnancy, and throwing my future down the drain. “I remember, Mama. I told you—I’m focusing on school and work.”

“You should, or we’ll buy you a ticket home,” Papa said sternly.

I wanted a ticket home—to visit. Not because they thought I couldn’t make it on my own or that I’d lose my mind over a guy. “I promise I won’t do anything to jeopardize my future.”

“Will you two stop harassing Luna?”

My body nearly melted with relief at Ate’s voice.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” she told our parents. “You need to trust her more.”

“ You moved to the States and fell in love with some basketball player,” Papa muttered.

“I moved back here, didn’t I?” Moving into the screen, Ate waved at me.

Papa just grunted. “For now.”

“Speaking of Jason, did you see his game yesterday?” I said, attempting to switch topics. “They destroyed the competition.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lonzo called out from beyond the screen. “Jason’s double-double was epic.”

A grin stretched across Ate’s face. “That was his best game this season so far.”

“I’m crossing my fingers they make it to finals,” Lonzo said, squeezing himself in next to her.

“They will.” I refused to believe otherwise.

“Alonzo,” Papa interrupted. “Did you tell Luna the news?”

“What news?” I asked.

Lonzo rolled his eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”

“He was recruited by the debate team. Usually, you have to sign up but they asked him to join,” Papa explained.

I smiled at my brother. “That’s great! Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he said. “I wasn’t going to apply but I might as well try it out.”

He spoke about school, then Ate told me about the dance classes she was giving at a local studio. Our parents commented here and there, and they all seemed so at ease with each other. So together . After years of us being separated across three different countries and time zones, this felt like a blessing.

Seeing the obvious change, in Mama most especially, made me happy, but at the same time, I felt even more alone. Like an outsider looking in.

After the call ended, I returned to my study guide and spent the next hour trying to understand the marketing concepts on the screen. My eyes scanned the same words over and over, but my brain couldn’t move on from the knowledge that my parents didn’t believe I could succeed on my own—and the realization that they only let me come here because Ate had been here too.

Everything I’d achieved didn’t seem to matter because someone else had done it all before me, better than me. Ate was the standard I measured myself up against since the day I realized she could do so many things I couldn’t. Then Lonzo defined what it meant to do well in school. Sometimes, it felt like I was forever trying to reach for the bars that my siblings set, which rose higher with each bit of progress I made.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have the chance to change your parents’ minds—don’t waste it by falling apart.

I psyched myself up and forced my mind to focus. I would prove them wrong even if it meant I had to give up sleep trying.