Enemies by Fate, Lovers by Choice

Maria lowered her head, trying to hide her emotions. She was happy to know that Lilith had loved her, but it was in the past, not now.

 

"Ari?" Lilith called out, noticing Maria seemed distracted.

 

Maria looked up and met Lilith's gaze. Lilith still looked young and healthy. Thinking about Luna, Maria realized Lilith's husband must be a good person too, since they raised such a wonderful child.

 

Maria started to think she might be overthinking things. Maybe Lilith was just feeling apologetic, which is why she seemed so attached to Maria now.

 

"I understand now," Maria said. "He told me you kept looking for me back then, but I couldn't help feeling disappointed and angry."

 

"You can hurt me if you want," Lilith said, her voice choked with emotion. "I was so immature and self-centered. I didn't even think about your situation back then. I was blinded by my own feelings. I'm sorry."

 

Maria felt a pang of pain in her heart seeing Lilith cry. She gently wiped away Lilith's tears and comforted her. "It's all in the past now."

 

"No," Lilith said, her voice filled with anger. "What happened to you was a crime. You needed someone back then, but I wasn't there. But now I am, and I'm going to do something about it. We need to make him pay for what he did. He doesn't deserve to live a good life."

 

Maria shook her head. "Lilith, back then, yes, I really needed someone to help me put him in jail. But he's Mira's father after all. When he found out about Mira, he insisted on marrying me and taking responsibility. You know, I don't have a family. So when I found out I was pregnant, my first reaction was… excitement… because I wouldn't be alone anymore."

 

"You… forgave him?" Lilith asked, her voice filled with doubt. She understood Maria's longing for family, but she felt it was wrong to forgive him for what he did.

 

"I can't forgive him for what he did," Maria said. "That's why I chose to get away from him. Even if he hadn't married again, I would have still run away with Mira."

 

"But still… let me make his life a little harder," Lilith insisted.

 

Maria nodded after a moment of thought. A long silence fell between them. Lilith felt she should say something, but she wasn't sure what to say after they cleared up the misunderstanding.

 

"What's your plan now?" Lilith asked, after a moment of contemplation.

 

"Resign," Maria said.

 

"What? Why?" Lilith asked, surprised.

 

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable," Maria explained.

 

"No, don't resign," Lilith said earnestly. "We already cleared up the misunderstanding, right? Can't we go back to being friends? I know I was wrong before, but this time I promise I will only listen to you and will only believe in you."

 

Seeing that Lilith was serious, Maria finally nodded and smiled.

 

Luna was trying to figure out how to talk to Mira. While she was thinking, Maria called her. Luna answered right away, but then she saw her mom looking at her. It was like a switch flipped in her mom's eyes. The warmth that had been there a moment ago was gone, replaced by a sharp, knowing look. Luna's stomach dropped. She knew, in that instant, that she was in trouble.

 

Maria noticed Luna's worried expression and quickly turned to Lilith. Knowing that Lilith didn't know Luna often visited her, Maria defended her daughter.

 

"Don't scare her," Maria said. "She's a good child. She visits me and helps me whenever she has time."

 

Luna came downstairs quickly when she realized Maria had called her. She wasn't sure why, but she trusted her mother.

 

"Mom, you must be tired," Luna said, trying to divert Lilith's attention.

 

"Look, your daughter is so concerned about you," Maria added, giving Luna a wink that Luna caught.

 

Lilith watched Maria and Luna interact and was speechless. The words she was about to say got stuck in her throat until finally she just sighed and smiled helplessly. She had some idea of how Luna and Maria got to know each other, and then she remembered how she and Mira had a fight before. She and Mira didn't get along well, unlike Luna and Maria, and she knew it was her fault.

 

"Now that I think about it, where's Mira?" Lilith asked.

 

"She's abroad," Maria answered.

 

"Mom, what's wrong?" Luna asked, worried. She also remembered that Mira had a fight with her mother.

 

Lilith looked at her daughter and saw her worry and nervousness. "Don't worry. The last time we had a fight, I just want to apologize."

 

"Fight?" Maria frowned, unaware of this.

 

"Yeah, we met before and said some unpleasant things. Do you know her address?"

 

"I do," Maria said.

 

"Then how about we visit her so I can apologize in person and you can see her situation," Lilith suggested.

 

Luna didn't expect her mother to willingly admit her mistake and even be willing to personally meet Mira.

 

"Honey, don't look at me like that as if I'm not someone who can admit their mistake," Lilith said, seeing Luna's reaction. Then she looked at Maria again.

 

"Okay, let's go see her but let's not inform her, it's gonna be a surprise," Maria agreed.

 

"Me too, I want to see her too," Luna said.

 

However, Lilith, who wanted to apologize to Mira and suggested going abroad, had another purpose. Luna, who she knew would get in the way, obviously wasn't allowed to come with them. "No," she said firmly.

 

"Why?" Both Maria and Luna asked.

 

"Because you have a job and you're just getting started. You can't ask for leave just to go abroad to play around," Lilith explained calmly, as if it were a matter of fact.

 

Maria, remembering that Luna was new to the company, agreed with Lilith. It wasn't a good idea to ask for leave unless it was an emergency.