"Morning Uncle, Auntie and Karine! Breakfast is ready!" Aika smiled as Kevin, Alice and Karine came down from their rooms.

"Morning da sao! You made all these alone?" Karine gasped as she saw the spread on the table.

"Excuse me, I had a role in it!" Nat came out of the kitchen with coffee and juice.

"Yeah, like 5%." Karine stuck her tongue out.

"Gosh, Aika...you didn't have to! What time did you wake up to prepare all these?" Alice felt bad.

"It's okay, Auntie! I'm a morning person so I usually wake up at around 6, get in a workout before making breakfast. Nat helped out so it was quick." Aika smiled.

"Wow, da sao I thought Nat was the only old soul who would wake up at 6am to exercise...who knew you were such an inspiration! You're my fitspo from now!" Karine gave Aika a thumbs up.

"Wait, why am I the old soul and Aika your fitspo?" Nat felt attacked.

"Hmm, this is so good!" Karine ignored her brother and took a bite of the food.

"I'm going to get Jamie from her room, she's the only one on my side." Nat got up from the table.

"I highly doubt so..." Alice chuckled.

"Princess, look! Daddy made breakfast for you!" Nat was holding Jamie's hand as they walked to the dining table.

"Ninang! Good morning!" Jamje let go of Nat's hand and ran straight to Aika.

"Morning sweetie, did you sleep well?" Aika asked as Jamie climbed onto her lap. The girl nodded.

"What is this feeling of betrayal..." Nat snorted.

"Stop being salty, son. So, where are you taking Aika today?" Alice questioned. Nat looked at Aika, who looked at Jamie.

"Jamie, where do you want to go today?" Aika asked.

"It's supposed to be Daddy and Ninang's date day, I promised to spend time with Grandma and Karine today!" Jamie shook at her and exchanged a smile with Alice.

"Jamie's right, Aika. This trip is for you. You get the right to choose! Leave Jamie to us!" Alice agreed with Jamie.

"Please take Daddy away from me, ninang!" Jamie put her hands together in a plea.

~

"So, anywhere you want to go?" Nat asked as they buckled their belts.

"Hmm, how about you give me a Singaporean's Guide to Singapore tour?" Aika suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea. Welcome to the Nat tour, Ms Robredo. I hope you enjoy our trip today." Nat grinned as they set off.

"Mind if we take a walk before lunch? There's this nature reserve trail I used to trek with Jamie...there's a pretty quarry too!" Aika nodded at Nat's suggestion.

"Woah, I didn't expect a forest like this in Singapore..." Aika was staring at the entrance of the reserve, surprised at the sight.

"This is just the beginning, the quarry is the real deal...But before that, mosquito repellent!" Nat winked as he whipped out Jamie's repellant patches from his bag. Aika laughed as she picked a butterfly shaped sticker and pasted it right smack in the centre of Nat's shirt.

"Just one more turn...Tadah!" Nat exclaimed as a wondrous sight revealed itself before Aika.

"Wow..." Aika's jaw dropped at the view. It was totally different from the lush green forest they had trekked through.

"Smile!" Nat caught Aika by surprise as she turned back to face him.

"Hey! I wasn't prepared!" Aika protested.

"Still pretty!" Nat showed Aika the picture. He wasn't wrong.

"I should show this to mama and Patty!" Aika started a video call back home.

"Hi mama and Patty! Look where we are!" Aika waved before turning the camera towards the quarry.

"Oooh, it looks cool! Where is that?" VP Leni was curious.

"We're at Bukit Timah Reserve, tita!" Nat jumped in.

"Wows sis, remember to take lots of pics and send it to us!!!" Patty smiled in her scrubs.

"Will do! See you guys!" Aika and Nat waved goodbye since VP Leni and Tricia had to get back to work.

"Hi, do you need help taking a picture?" An middle-aged couple approached Nat and Aika to offer their assistance.

"Yes, please! Thank you!" Nat handed his phone to the husband before joining Aika.

"3, 2, 1...Smile!" The man counted down. Nat surprised Aika by kissing her on the cheek at the count of 1, earning him a smack from Aika and a giggle from the wife looking on.

"You guys are so cute!" The wife commented as Nat thanked them again.

"Are you hungry? Wanna grab some food?" Nat and Aika had hiked back down since it was close to lunch time.

"Any hidden gem?" Aika was excited for lunch.

"How does Hainanese food sound? There's a restaurant that we like to visit." Nat grinned as he saw Aika's eyes sparkle.

"Most tourists don't know about it but this restaurant is famous among locals. Affordable and delicious." Nat led Aika to a traditional restaurant in one of the alleys.

"Any cravings?" Nat asked as he showed Aika the menu.

"Uh...How about you order the usual dishes that you get?" There was too much food on the menu for Aika to choose.

"How is it? Is it to your liking?" Nat asked expectantly as Aika took a bite of the food.

"I'm sold. Especially the beef noodles? It's so good!" Aika pointed to the stir-fried noodles before her.

"That's Jamie's favourite too! She always picks out the beef and I end up eating plain noodles..." Nat loved his daughter but plain noodles was just not it.

"Aww, you poor muscle boy, say ahhh..." Aika chuckled as she held a piece of beef to Nat's mouth.

"Beef never tasted this good..." Nat joked as he bit into the soft piece of meat.

"Do you have a coffee spot nearby? I think I need some caffeine..." Aika and Nat had guided Aika along the alleyways of shop houses near their lunch spot.

"Coffee? I know just the place for coffee and some fun!" Nat grinned.

"I smell coffee..." Aika's eyes brightened up at the aroma wafting from the shop in front of her.

"What's a trip to Singapore without a traditional kopitiam experience?" Nat pulled out one of the red plastic chairs for Aika.

"Kopitiam? What does it mean? Coffee shop?" Aika looked around, taking in the sights and sounds.

"Bingo, it's coffeeshop in one of the Chinese dialects. Coffee with a splash of milk and a bit of sugar?" Nat checked with Aika before ordering.

"Here is you kopi c siew dai and the necessary kaya toast!" Nat placed the hot drink down with a plate of toast cut up into tiny squares.

"Kopi c...what?" Aika tried to repeat the name but couldn't.

"Kopi c siew dai...coffee with milk and less sugar! I got teh peng...iced tea with milk!" Nat explained slowly.

"The cup is so cute too!" Aika adored the tiny porcelain cup that held her drink.

"This cup is kinda like a secret sign that the shop has been around for a long time. Every kopitiam has their own special taste. Some even make their own kaya paste!" Nat handed a piece of toast to Aika.

"100% sure that Patty would be drooling over this." Aika took a bite and immediately knew Tricia would love it.

"I knew Doc would like it so I asked the owners if they sold their kaya separately...But unfortunately..." Nat remembered that he promised Tricia half a year's long supply of the spread.

"They said no?" Aika pouted. The kaya here was really good.

"Yes, but I pleaded with them, saying that it was for my future sister-in-law in Philippines and that I had to curry favour with her to marry the beautiful lady sitting at the table over there. The lovely Auntie took pity on me immediately and sold me a huge container of it..." Nat winked as he whipped it out of the plastic bag.

"So you used your charms on the unsuspecting Auntie to get kaya for Patty?" Aika couldn't believe what she heard, although she was nonetheless grateful.

"Can't help if your boyfriend here is so charming, right?" Nat gave Aika a smug smile.

"Yeah, yeah, make sure you tell Patty about how you pleaded..." Aika took a picture of Nat and his tub of kaya and sent it to Patty, receiving a 😍 from the girl 1 minute latter.

~

"Ninang! Daddy!" Jamie ran to the front door as soon as she heard it open.

"Hey...right, ninang first." Nat opened his arms, only to retract them after seeing Jamie veer straight to Aika.

"Your daddy is sulking because he told me that you always only eat the beef and leave the noodles for him..." Aika joked as she gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek.

"Oopsies..." Jamie looked at Nat apologetically.

"Daddy, can we go out together tomorrow? There's a lot of things I want to show ninang!" Jamie gave Nat her best pleading eyes.

"Of course we can, sweetie. We can go anywhere you want." Aika assured Jamie.

"Anywhere we want. Ninang can choose too!" Jamie emphasised.

"They seriously have no rights being this cute, right Mum?" Karine whispered to Alice.

"I'm going to disown your brother if he doesn't marry Aika." Alice whispered back.

"Count me in." Karine agreed.

~

"Good morning tita Agnes." Aika was grabbing a cup of water after her morning workout in the kitchen. Nat was sleeping in since he was dealing with work into the wee hours.

"Morning Aika. How do you like Singapore?" Agnes smiled as she made herself a cup of coffee.

"It's a beautiful place, resembles Philippines in some ways but vastly different in other ways." Aika smiled.

"I used to visit every year before COVID but I haven't been back in two years..." Agnes shared.

"You must miss your family..." Aika was empathised.

"A little. But I should be able to head back at the start of next month..." Agnes grinned.

"That's great to hear!" Aika was happy for Agnes.

"You know, Natty boy has changed so much...in a good way, of course. " Agnes changed the topic.

"Mind if I ask how?" Aika was curious. Nat didn't seem that different in her eyes.

"Before he left, he was quiet, reserved and you could see the sadness in his eyes. Natty boy is a very good boy, but also a boy that's gone through a lot in life." Agnes remembered how she'd watched Nat grow and overcome all those struggles.

"But now, you see him smiling all the time, become more outgoing and the sadness is not there anymore. He used to only look at Jamie with a special shine in his eyes, but with you, it's a different look. One that I've never seen in the years I've watched him, not even when he was with that girl." Agnes had been silently observing Nat.

"You mean Aly? Jamie's mother?" Aika clarified.

"Yes, that girl. It's not the same. Aika, special ka sa kanya. Mahal ka niya kung sino ka." Agnes wanted to let Aika know. She knew it was easy for onlookers to doubt Nat's love for Aika as one that was transactional, one for the sake of finding a mother for Jamie.

"Alam ko, po. I have never thought otherwise." Aika was confident in Nat. Being a mother figure to Jamie was indeed an integral part of her relationship with Nat, but Nat had always made it clear about his love for her.

"I really hope that both of you will be happy. And that when the day comes for both of you to become one, I will be there to celebrate." Agnes smiled.

"Thank you, po." Aika felt warm with the words of blessing.

~

"Can't believe that the week passed so quickly..." Nat sighed as he placed his chin on Aika's shoulder. Aika was flying off to New York tonight.

"We're both sweaty..." Aika and Nat had just finished their morning workout together.

"What do you wanna do today? Any place we haven't visited yet?" Nat hummed as he looked at the display of polaroid pictures that he and Aika had taken at all the spots they had visited.

"I feel like we've been to so many places...how about we just take it easy today?" Aika suggested.

"Sounds great to me. You wanna stay at home or we could go to one of the cafes nearby for coffee and dessert?" Nat was open to anything Aika wanted.

"Actually, would it be okay if I looked around the company? I've always wondered what you and Uncle were doing...I mean, only if it's okay with you?" Aika had did a Google search about the family's real estate business and was curious about what Nat was helping out with.

"Why not! I'm assuming you mean uncover and not as the Boss' future wife?" Nat teased.

"Wouldn't the boss' wife be Auntie? The last time I checked, you have an entire board of directors to convince and I'm pretty sure Uncle wouldn't be passing you the company just because you're his son..." Aika crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Right, my bad. And you're totally right about Dad..." Nat chuckled as he remembered his Dad warning him when he was 18 that nothing was going to be handed to him on a silver plate. In fact, he started off as an intern and had slowly worked his way up to his current role of General Manager.

"Just curious though, how are you going to bring me around without standing out?" Aika realised it would be tough to hide Nat's tall height and muscular physique.

"It so happens that it's dress down day today so it won't be hard to blend in. Just got to throw on a cap and some glasses, it shouldn't be too hard. Plus, I haven't met much of the staff after coming back and given that I've been gone for almost a year, my face wouldn't be as familiar..." Nat grinned as he grabbed a baseball hat and a pair of metal-rimmed glasses.

~

"Welcome to the Lee Holdings, Ms Robredo. It's my pleasure to be your guide today." Nat joked as the lift doors opened to the lounge floor.

"Wow, this entire floor is the lounge?" Aika took in the spacious area.

"Yep, we revamped this a while back, implemented flexible working hours, dress down days and did a few tweaks to make things a little more forward-looking and hopefully less stressful..." Nat had worked with his team on all these changes.

"Do you have an ESG or CSR team?" Aika was curious since it was linked to her current job.

"Definitely. Dad's a firm believer in giving back to the society and the company is constantly looking at how we can reduce our environmental impact while maximising the social assistance we provide to the community." Nat beamed. He was an equally strong believer in using what the company had to help others in need.

"What about Philippines? Are there similar policies?" Aika was getting interested.

"We're trying to see how we can adapt what we have here but given how different the socioeconomic and political context is, we are still working things out..." Nat sighed. He had been looking at it with Gabe for a few months but things weren't going well.

"How about we talk to mama when we get back and see how she can help?" Aika suggested.

"Sounds good, I think Dad would be glad to hear that too." Nat grinned.

"I'm super curious but it would be suspicious if we enter your office randomly right?" Aika wondered how Nat's office looked.

"Well, you're lucky because my office isn't located on the same floor as most of the staff. We actually did an anonymous poll and a good majority of the staff said that sharing their office floor with the higher ups made them uncomfortable so we ended up shifting all the C-suites, Directors and Managers up a level." Nat knew how stressful it was for the staff to work while their bosses breath down their necks.

"Nathaniel Lee, General Manager...wow, so fancy!" Aika teased as she read the sign on Nat's office door.

"You embarrass me, Ms Executive Director." Nat teased Aika back.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Nat grinned as he opened the door.

"Not gonna lie, I thought it would be bigger than this..." Aika didn't know what she was expecting but the size of Nat's office felt a little 'too tiny' for such a huge company.

"This is my 'hiding space' office. I usually entertain VIPs in a common lounge so there wasn't a need for such a huge office..." Nat shrugged. All he really needed was a desk, chair and a computer.

"When did you put all these up?" Aika spotted all the pictures of that they had taken together in the last 11 months, some alone with Aika and others with Aika and Jamie.

"The second I returned to the office? How could I not hang these up?" Nat remembered smiling as he pinned all the pictures up 2 days ago.

"Aww, I'm so touched. Don't miss me too much when I'm in New York, okay?" Aika gently pinched Nat's cheeks as he pouted adorably at the reminder.

~

"Thank you for everything, Uncle and Auntie." Aika bowed slightly to Kevin and Alice. It was time for her to leave for the airport.

"We loved having you here, dear. Please send our regards to your mother and younger sisters for us." Alice hugged Aika.

"Do let Nat or I know if Leni needs any help for the upcoming campaign. It will be my pleasure to offer any assistance." Kevin gave Aika a pat on the shoulder.

"I'll miss gossiping about Nat with you, da sao..." Karine was sad to see Aika go.

"You have my number, you can talk to me anytime." Aika pulled the girl into a tight hug.

"Hope that the next time you visit, you will really be my da sao." Karine whispered to Aika.

"Ninang, how long will you be gone for?" Jamie asked as Aika took her seat next to Jamie in the car.

"Close to 30 nights...I'm sorry it's so long." Aika tried to make the month seem shorter.

"Are you going to see tita Tricia and tita Jill?" Jamie asked.

"Yes, sweetie. I haven't seen Jill in months..." Aika nodded.

"If you haven’t seen tita Jill in months, will 30 nights be enough? Why don't you stay longer?" Jamie wondered.

"I have to come back to help your lola Leni and also work...plus, I'll miss you and your Daddy." Aika stroked Jamie's cheeks.

"If I don't miss you too much, will you have more fun in New York? I want you to have a lot of fun with tita Tricia and tita Jill!" Jamie asked innocently.