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

Flavia was surprised. Previously, Flavia knew that Gladwin’s twin sister was her stepmother. But goodness, Flavia was shocked because her stepmother looked so young and beautiful.

“Yes, Mother. You’re the one who came and proposed to me to become your father’s wife,” she said with a sweet smile.

Flavia bit her lower lip, more out of embarrassment. A gentle stroke touched her head, and it was her father’s hand. Flavia could distinguish the feeling because it was different.

“He’s your Altezza uncle,” Antony said, nodding his head towards the tall and handsome man with a stubbled face. The man gazed at Flavia for a moment before winking playfully, causing Flavia to startle. Her uncle deliberately teased her, prompting the tall woman to elbow his stomach quite hard, making him wince.

“And that’s his wife, Adaline. In her arms is their newborn baby, Baby Rayyan. They’re the parents of the twins, Falisha and Geremia,” her father continued to explain. Flavia looked back at the twin children, who were now engrossed in their own entertainment.

“How are you? I’m sorry I didn’t visit you in the hospital. It’s all because your uncle forbade me,” he said, annoyed.

“I’m fine, thank you for your concern,” Flavia replied honestly.

“When she entered the hospital, her name was still Flavia Quirino. And after leaving the hospital, she removed our name and replaced it with Flavia Hampton. Their move is smarter than ours, Mrs. Quirino,” Altezza quipped, nudging his wife’s arm. Antony, Claire, and Gladwin burst into laughter, while Adaline just scowled at her husband.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Ignazio, Francisca, and the twins made that specifically for you,” Antony pointed to the binder in Flavia’s hand. Flavia opened the first page of the binder and saw the inscription, ‘For Princess Flavia. The most beautiful siblings, Ignazio, Francisca, Falisha, and Geremia. We made this so Princess wouldn’t forget us again.’

Flavia turned to the second page and saw a large family photo that seemed to have been taken at a special moment.

“After they found out you were awake but suffering from amnesia, they immediately contacted people, asking for photos to be sent, and it turned out like this,” her father said again. Flavia smiled and ran her fingers over the colorful marker-written handwriting of the children.

“The Quirino Family?” Flavia whispered. Her father nodded. Then the next page was opened, showing a photo of an elderly man and woman. Below the photo was written “Grandpa and Grandma Quirino.”

Flavia carefully examined each photo. At the bottom of each photo was a name: Antony, Claire, Ignazio, Francisca, Meizar. In several photos taken, there were moments of togetherness with Flavia, usually featuring smiles in front of the camera.

On another page were photos of another elderly couple, whom Antony said were Altezza’s parents. Then a photo of Altezza, Adaline, Falisha, Geremia, and the newborn baby Rayyan. Next were photos of another elderly couple whom Antony said were Flavia’s uncle Gian’s parents, followed by photos of Gian, Joanna, and their children Sara and Luca. On the next page were photos of Claire and Gladwin’s family.

Flavia vowed in her heart that she would memorize those faces so she could recover her memories quickly.

The dinner was lively. Flavia felt genuine happiness because of it. Although she could only follow along with bits of every joke her family made-due to her memory condition-what always made her blush was the small attentions Gladwin showed her unabashedly in front of her family. Occasionally, this made Flavia the subject of teasing from her family members.

After her family left, only Gladwin and Abigail remained in the apartment. Flavia sat at one end of the long sofa while Abigail occupied the single sofa. They were watching a movie airing on one of the TV channels while Gladwin was on a call with someone on the balcony. Shortly after, he came in and lay down on the sofa, resting his head on Flavia’s lap.

Gladwin took Flavia’s hand and placed it on his head, asking her to rub his head.

“Heh, spoiled,” Abigail teased, giving her uncle a sardonic look.

Gladwin grinned mischievously. “Are you jealous?” he retorted. “That’s why you should stop being single and find a partner.” Gladwin responded to his niece’s teasing. He glanced towards Flavia, who was too focused on the television to pay attention to him. Abigail’s hearty laughter made Flavia realize and turn to look at them.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, puzzled.

“It’s nothing. Your husband is upset because you’re ignoring him. Poor guy, his face is apparently less handsome than Theo James,” Abigail teased.

Flavia bent down to see her husband, who now showed a disgruntled expression. “No, Abby is wrong. Uncle is still more handsome than him,” Flavia replied innocently, causing Gladwin to smile triumphantly and move abruptly, catching Abigail off guard with his unexpected movement.

“Really? Do you think I’m more handsome than him?” he asked enthusiastically, to which Flavia nodded. A quick peck landed on Flavia’s cheek. The girl’s eyes widened, and her cheeks instantly flushed. But then Gladwin lay back down as if nothing had happened.

Abigail clapped her hands loudly and stood up. “Okay, guys, I think I’m tired of holding back watching your lovey-dovey moments. So before I really feel nauseous, I better go back to my den and lay my eggs there,” she said, then entered her room and turned off the light.

Flavia remained still with Gladwin there. The silence seemed deafening even though the television screen was still on.

“Are you not sleepy yet?” Gladwin finally asked. Flavia shook her head. The clock on the wall already showed ten o’clock. “It’s getting late, and you’re still in the healing process. It’s better for us to rest now,” Gladwin suggested as he stood up and extended his hand.

Flavia took his hand. Gladwin turned off the television, and they walked into the bedroom together.

Intentionally, Gladwin didn’t close the window with the curtains per Flavia’s request. Instead, he turned off all the lights in the room, including the bedside lamp.

“Don’t forget to take your medicine,” Gladwin reminded her.

Flavia obeyed and took all the prescribed medication. Then she lay down on the left side of Gladwin. Very carefully, not wanting to hurt Flavia’s head, Gladwin’s left arm moved beneath her neck, and Flavia comfortably used his arm as her pillow.

“Are you happy?” Gladwin asked, looking closely at Flavia’s face.

Flavia raised her head, returning Gladwin’s gaze, and nodded slightly. Gladwin suddenly kissed her forehead and smiled sweetly.

“I am too. I am so happy because now we can be together. It still feels like a dream to me. Yet before, you kept avoiding and rejecting me,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” Flavia replied softly.

“I should be the one apologizing,” Gladwin replied. He hugged Flavia tighter, resting his wife’s head on his chest. “If only I hadn’t acted like a coward back then. Maybe by now, we would have two children,” he said jokingly. Flavia pinched his stomach until he winced. “Ouch, dear.”

“It’s your own fault. Did you think having children is easy?” she teased, while Gladwin just laughed.

“Well, I was just daydreaming, Darling,” he said again. He then cupped Flavia’s face with one hand. “You know? The effect you have on me is very strong,” he said, causing Flavia to look at him with confusion.

Gladwin tightened their embrace, pressing his lower body against Flavia’s. “Do you feel that?” Flavia felt something hard pulsating against her stomach. Gladwin then took Flavia’s left hand and brought it down to touch it. “Just seeing your face turns me on,” he whispered before pressing Flavia’s hand against his intimate area, still covered by his pajama pants and boxers. Flavia’s eyes widened, and she quickly pulled her hand away.

Her face flushed instantly while Gladwin laughed. “Why? Are you scared?” he asked, met with Flavia’s silence. Gladwin kissed Flavia’s forehead again, then both of her cheeks and the tip of her nose. “Relax, I won’t force you to satisfy me. You need to know, Flavia Hampton, I love you very, very much,” he said before gently kissing Flavia’s lips.

Flavia instinctively returned Gladwin’s kiss, both of them moaning in longing. However, suddenly Gladwin pulled away and redirected his kisses to Flavia’s neck.

“I will patiently wait until you recover and remember everything. I don’t want to touch you just to make you hate me even more later,” he whispered softly.

Flavia looked at her husband. A warm feeling surged in her chest, reaching the depths of her soul.

Gladwin, her husband. A man whom she had loved even in her current state of not remembering anything. Flavia wondered, when she remembers everything later, whether this feeling has reached its limit or if it’s just the beginning of her love.

The man embraced her again, enveloping her with his natural warmth. As if not wanting to let go, Flavia snuggled closer, burying her face in his strong chest and inhaling his scent before falling into a peaceful slumber.