The Man He Chose

Chapter 8

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Earth's POV

I cried and begged and pleaded.

I even went down on my knees.

No tears could stop Santa from leaving me. His heart was hard as stone. And he didn't even give an explanation why he suddenly decided to leave me.

I kept asking him what I had done for him to leave me so suddenly. We had just shared a very passionate night and now this!

All he said before he went out the door was, "Give your whole heart to Kao." and then he was gone with the wind.

I did not go back to bed.

I slouched on the couch and stared at the ceiling till the first rays of the sun came shining through the small space between the curtains.

Then like a robot I went to the bathroom to do my morning rituals.

My tears and sobs came back once more when I saw his good bye note stuck to the bathroom mirror.

I couldn't understand how after more than half a year of living happily with me, Santa had suddenly made Kao an issue with him.

He had told me when we were just starting out as a couple that he would never let Kao come between us. That he trusted me and that even though he was aware that I was still in love with Kao, he was not going to let that fact come between us. That he was willing to live with that. That the important thing was that we were living happily together.

Throughout the more than six months that we had been together, he took good care of me, lavishing me with gifts even when there was no special occasion.

There was always a delicious breakfast set on the table when I woke up in the morning and a rich nutritious dinner was always ready for me when I came home tired from work, all courtesy of this very young but mature lover of mine. He never let our seven year age gap bother him. To him age was just a number. Besides, he said, I actually looked younger than him. Of course I was sure he was just saying such a thing to keep me from being insecure about our age gap.

I read his good bye note once more and then cried like there was no tomorrow.

When I somehow completed my morning rituals without really being aware of what I was doing, I walked like a zombie towards the kitchen to fix myself a cup of jasmine tea to calm my nerves.

I was about to plug the electric kettle into the outlet in one corner of the kitchen when my phone started to ring.

The ringtone told me that it was Title's mother calling.

"Hello, son," she said after I swiped my screen to take her call.

"Hello, mom," I replied, "How is Title doing?"

"Well, I was getting ready to help him change the dressing on his head wound when we both realized that the aftercare instructions from the hospital were not with him," I heard her say. "I was wondering if those papers were with you."

Oh shit, I had forgotten to hand them over to Title's mom when I dropped Title off at his house from the hospital yesterday evening.

"Let me quickly search through my satchel," I said. "Stay on the phone with me."

"I will," Title's mom said.

Sure enough the aftercare hospital documents that Kao had handed to me yesterday evening were still in my satchel. I had been too distracted at seeing Kao again after all these years to remember to hand the papers over to Title's mom.

"Yes, they're still with me," I confirmed with Title's mom. "I will bring them over to you right now."

"Okay, thank you so much, son, and I'm sorry for the burden that Title and I are giving you," she said.

"Oh no, no," I protested. "You and Title will never be a burden to me."

I grabbed my satchel and took off the key from the hook by the wall just beside the front door and rushed to the parking lot of our building.

I noticed that the transparent plastic bag that was labeled "Patient's Belongings" were still in the back seat of my car. It contained all the materials needed to give aftercare treatment to Title's head wound.

Soon I was buzzing on the front door of Title's house.

I gave Title's mom a hug and a kiss when she greeted me at the door.

She led me into the living room where Title was sitting on the couch.

Title smiled at me when he saw me enter the living room.

He stood up from the couch and gave me a tight hug.

All the loving years that I had spent with him came rushing back to my mind like it was only yesterday.

I hugged him back as tightly as he did and before I could stop myself, I started to sob into his chest.

"What's the matter, son?" Title's mom was immediately at my side, her voice full of concern.