"Hi little one..." Aly wasn't sure how Jamie would greet her. She hadn't talked to Jamie or Nat after the revelation.

"Hi...Mum...Mummy..." Jamie mustered up the courage.

"Did you just call me Mummy?" Aly was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't expected Jamie to call her that.

"Mummy..." Jamie tried again. It was easier the second time round.

"Can Mummy give you a hug?" Aly knelt down and open her arms. Jamie looked at Nat.

"Go ahead, Princess. You said you wanted to give Mummy a hug, didn't you?" Nat smiled at Jamie to assure her it was okay.

"Oh god...Mummy was so scared that you wouldn't want to see me again..." Aly heaved a sigh of relief as Jamie gave her a hug.

"You're squishing me too tight...Mummy..." Jamie was still trying to get used to the new relationship dynamics.

"Sorry baby, Mummy was just too happy...Can I call you that?" Aly let Jamie go. Jamie nodded slowly at the question.

"Sorry for what happened last week Nat...I...didn't mean to..." Aly apologised to Nat, who was standing behind the girls.

"Let's focus on what's in front of us now, no point apologising for the past." Nat gave Aly a weak smile. All Nat wanted now was Jamie's happiness.

"Hey baby, Mummy bought you something. Do you want to see?" Aly turned to Jamie.

"Ooh, a manicure set!" Jamie's eyes lit up at the box that Aly handed her.

"I remembered that you liked the patterns on my nails the last time, so I thought we could do this together today?" Aly was relieved that Jamie was excited.

"I want this! Can you help me?" Jamie pointed to a blue nail polish and the nail stickers beside it.

"We can do anything you want, baby." Aly smiled as Jamie looked at her expectantly. Nat watched on from the side as Aly and Jamie had fun together. It was a scene that he'd desperately wished for just 1.5 years ago, but now, it was a bittersweet feeling.

"Daddy, look! Mummy helped me paint my nails!" Jamie ran up to Nat with her freshly painted nails.

"Wow, that's really pretty, Princess! Did you tell Mummy thank you?" Nat grinned.

"Oh right! Thank you Mummy!" Jamie ran back to give Aly a hug.

"You're welcome baby." Everytime Jamie called her Mummy, Aly couldn't help but break into a huge smile.

"Nat, can Jamie stay over with us over the Easter next week? My parents want to meet Jamie..." Aly was expectant.

"Easter? We were planning on heading to Naga with Aika and her sisters over the weekend. Would it be okay if we move it to Wednesday? We can pick her up on Friday before heading to the airport." Nat offered.

"That would be possible too. My parents are in Manila for the next 2 weeks." Aly didn't mind.

"Baby, do you want to stay with me over the week? I can send you to school, pick you up after and we can meet your other lolo and lola. They really want to meet you!" Aly looked at Jamie. Jamie looked at Nat again.

"Does this mean I'll be sleeping here?" Jamie wondered. Although Aly had the right to request for Jamie to stay over, Alice's presence meant that there was always someone to care for Jamie.

"Yes, Mummy has actually been putting your room together. It's not fully done yet but if you want, we can decorate it together when you come this Wednesday?" Aly suggested.

"Will I still be able to follow ninang, tita Tricia, tita Jill and Daddy to Naga after?" Jamie didn't want to miss her trip.

"Of course, Princess. Daddy and ninang will pick you up on Friday. We won't go anywhere without you." Nat assured Jamie.

"Okay!" Jamie agreed to the plan.

"I'll pick Jamie up after school on Wednesday?" Aly offered.

"Sure, I'll let her teacher know." Nat nodded.

~

"Nat! Nat! Have you seen this!" Gabe screamed as he dashed into Nat's office.

"Wow, you're actually running? Is the sky falling?" Nat joked as Gabe caught his breath.

"I'm serious, look." Gabe placed his iPad on Nat's table.

"What..." Nat went silent as he read what was on Gabe's iPad. Gabe could see the anger rising in Nat's eyes as he clenched his fist.

"Calm down, Boss...It's probably fake news spread by the trolls." Gabe knew Nat was about to explode from anger.

"Do I look like I'm angry because this is fake news?" Nat scowled. Gabe flinched, although he knew that Nat wasn't directing his anger at him.

"I'll cancel all your appointments for today!" Gabe called out as Nat stormed out of the office. Gabe prayed that Nat wouldn't cause too much trouble.

"Kuya? I'm guessing you've seen it?" Tricia picked up Nat's call.

"I did. Is Aika home?" Nat asked as he got into the car.

"The last time I checked, she was. Do you mind going over? All of us are out of town..." Tricia sounded worried over the phone.

"I'm on my way there now. Help me inform tita and Jill please?" Nat pressed hard on the accelerator.

"Will do. Thanks so much, kuya. Do update us later!" Tricia was glad that Nat was around.

I'm coming over now.

I'm okay.

5 minutes.

I'll be waiting.

Nat cursed under his breath as he drove. After parking at the first spot he saw, Nat dashed up the stairs, not wanting to wait for the lift.

"Hi, Aika is inside right?" Nat asked the security detail, who nodded. By now, the personal details of the family could recognise Nat.

"Sunshine? It's me." Nat called out softly as he knocked.

"Hey, you're one minute earlier." Aika tried to lighten the mood as she opened the door.

"You okay?" Nat asked in a gentle voice.

"I'm fine. Really. Your girlfriend is stronger than you think." Aika cupped Nat's face, trying to cool his flushed face.

"I know you are. I just...don't want anything to happen to you." Nat clenched his fist.

"My mama is a lawyer. Plus we have our legal team working on it. Fake news like this is meant to distract us from doing good. All the more we have to champion for what's right and not empower the spread of misinformation. Stay focused on doing good." Aika carefully unclenched Nat's fist and clasped their fingers. She was no stranger to such blatant lies about her being spread on the internet.

"I'll always be behind you, sunshine." Nat wrapped Aika in a tight hug. He would never let anyone hurt her.

"Remember to go in front of me when I need you to, muscles." Aika chuckled.

"You bet I will." Nat kissed the top of Aika's head.

"Also, I've gotten permission from your mama and sisters to stay here with you until we head to Naga on Friday." Nat showed Aika the text from VP Leni. He wanted to be here for Aika in case anything happened.

"What about Jamie?" Aika wondered.

"She's going to be with Aly from Wednesday till Friday. I'll head back after dinner to put her to bed before coming back and then I'll send her to school tomorrow morning." Nat didn't mind travelling back and forth.

"Isn't it going to be tiring? How about you stay with Jamie for the next two nights and come over on Wednesday instead?" Aika counter-suggested.

"I stay 10 minutes away from here, sunshine. Plus, I promised your mama and sisters to be by your side." Nat held Aika's hand.

~

"Is everything okay with Aika? Karine sent me an article. How despicable is it to attack a woman like this." Alice was equally indignant.

"We're focusing on the end goal. Not going to get distracted." Nat repeated what Aika had told him.

"That's good. Anyway, your Dad texted to say that our legal team is always available if VP Leni or Aika needs any help." Alice patted Nat on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I'll make sure to tell Aika. Also, I'm heading back to Aika's place after I put Jamie to sleep. I'll come back at 8.30 tomorrow to send her to school." Nat gave Alice a heads up.

"Sounds good. It's better that you're with Aika since the rest of her family are out of town." Alice agreed with Nat's plan.

"Hey Princess, sorry Daddy's late. I was with your ninang." Nat smiled as he entered Jamie's room.

"It's okay Daddy. Look! Today we learnt about being grateful in class. We wrote cards to the people we were grateful for! One for Daddy, one for ninang and one for Mummy!" Jamie laid 3 cards on her bed.

"Can I read mine?" Nat picked out the one with his name.

"I'll read it to you!" Jamie opened it up.

"Dear Daddy, thank you for loving me. Thank you for being my Daddy and Mummy for the last 5 years. Thank you for giving me everything you have. Thank you for making me happy all the time. I hope you will always be happy too. Love, Jamie." Jamie read.

"Aww, I love you Princess. I'm so grateful for you too..." Nat hugged his little girl.

"Can you help me pass this to ninang? I won't get to see her until Friday..." Jamie pouted.

"I'll pass it to her later. I'm sure she'll love it." Nat kept the card safely.

"Sunshine, I'm back." Nat returned after Jamie fell asleep.

"Looks like Jamie fell asleep quickly today..." Aika smiled as she handed Nat a drink.

"She did. Oh, she had something for you. They learnt about gratitude in school today." Nat passed Aika the letter. Aika leaned onto Nat's chest as she opened the letter.

"Dear ninang, thank you for being my second mummy. Thank you for not leaving me even when I found my first mummy. Thank you for loving me, giving me kisses and hugs every time. Thank you for making me and Daddy smile all the time. I love you so much. Love, Jamie." Aika's heart melted as she read the letter.

"I must have saved a nation in my past life to have been this lucky to have you by my side." Nat whispered before pressing a kiss to Aika's forehead.

"Maybe we were both warriors in our past lives." Aika joked.

"Maybe we were enemies turned lovers." Nat chuckled.

"Dreaming before you even go to bed?" Aika rolled her eyes.

"I dream about you even when I'm awake, sunshine. Can't you see that I have Jessica Marie Robredo written on my face?" Nat leaned in, balancing on one leg.

"I don't see anything..." Aika moved at the last second, making Nat land face flat on the couch.

"Oops sorry, muscles." Aika held Nat's cheeks and gave him a peck.

"It hurts here too..." Nat stuck his cheeks out, wanting a kiss there too.

"My mama didn't allow you to stay just to do this, Mr Lee." Aika pushed Nat away while laughing. Nat covered his mouth, as if he just got caught doing something wrong.

"I promised Jill that I would watch you go to bed." Nat remembered.

"Bunso made you do that? Anyways, why are you standing there? Aren't you sleeping with me?" Aika was confused when Nat leaned against her table.

"I'll sleep on the couch downstairs." Nat shook his head.

"My bed's big enough for us?" Aika shifted slightly.

"I didn't get your mama's permission." Nat confessed.

"I sleep right next to you on one bed at your house. What's the difference?" Aika was amused.

"It's different. This is your house, your room, your bed..." No matter how much Aika trusted him, Nat didn't want to cross the line.

"Good night, sunshine. I'll be right outside if you ever need me." Nat closed the door softly behind him.

~

No matter how hard Nat tried to fall asleep, he couldn't. Sighing, Nat looked through the documents he was supposed to finishing vetting by the Easter weekend. The faster he finished them, the faster his staff could process it and prevent any spillover. The condo was silent except for the occasional typing Nat did. Deciding that he needed some noise, Nat put in his Airpods and searched for something on Youtube.

Is he still awake? Aika thought to herself as she spotted a dim ray of light in the dark living room. She had came out for a sip of water. Tiptoeing her way down, Aika smiled as she spotted Nat sleeping on the couch, his computer still on. Curious as to what he had been doing, Aika carefully removed the earphone from Nat's ears and looked at his screen. It was the interview she and Tricia did with Boy Abunda just a few weeks ago. She let out a defeated laugh before stopping the video and closing the laptop.

"Sleep tight, muscles." Aika whispered as she covered Nat with a blanket.

Around 6.30am, Nat woke up to the sound of the treadmill's engine and Aika running in the exercise corner next to the couch. Resting on his stomach, he stared as Aika went on her exercise routine, first some light weight and finishing it with pull ups. Thank God the area was fully transparent.

"Careful you don't drool..." Aika joked as she stepped out.

"I was looking on with respect, not dirty thoughts." Nat raised his hands.

"On this topic, it looks like your shoulders got 3cm smaller?" Aika teased as she spread her arms to measure Nat's back.

"Smaller? What do you mean? I've been working out hard!" Nat protested.

"It used to reach up to here, but now its only up to here..." Aika pointed to her forearm.

"I'm still equally strong though!" Nat pouted.

"Really? I don't think so..." Aika stuck her tongue out.

"How about now?" Nat lifted Aika off the ground into a princess hug position. He carried Aika up the stairs and stopped in front of the toilet.

"Let me down!" Aika smacked Nat's chest.

"I'll prepare breakfast while you shower." Nat let Aika down gently, earning him another smack to the arm before Aika entered the toilet.

~

"Have fun with Mummy and Uncle Marco while you're there. And remember, if you want to come home anytime, just call me or Grandma with your smartwatch okay?" Nat pointed to the Apple watch on Jamie's wrist.

"Gotchu Daddy! See you on Friday!" Jamie waved as she entered her kindergarten. Nat watched until Jamie disappeared behind the gates.

You can pick Jamie up at 5pm when her school ends

Okay, thanks Nat

Remember bed time is 8.30pm and give her a cup of milk before that....

You've repeated it at least 3 times. Don't worry, I'll call you if I need anything.

I'll pick her up at 5pm on Friday

Aly had been preparing for Jamie to stayover for the past 3 days. It was her first time spending the night with Jamie and she wanted it to be perfect.

"Relax. She's a kid, not the Queen." Marco was on the way with Aly to pick Jamie up from school.

"I'm warning you, don't say anything stupid to Jamie. I'm watching you." Aly glared at Marco.

"There's no benefit in me scaring the child, Aly. I'm also trying to build a relationship with her here..." Marco retorted.

"Mummy!" Jamie hugged Aly as she spotted her at the gate of the kindergarten.

"Hi baby!" Aly beamed.

"Hi Jamie!" Marco waved, trying his best to be friendly.

"Hello Uncle Marco!" The girl smiled and waved back.

"Shall we go home and have dinner? I prepared all your favourite food..." Aly had gotten a list of Jamie's favourites from Nat.

"Yay!" Jamie nodded excitedly.

"What do you usually do after school when you're with Daddy?" Aly was curious.

"Hmm, yaya and Grandma take me down to the playground in the park to play until Daddy finishes work. Then we have dinner together! Sometimes when ninang comes over, we play games and then ninang tucks me into bed!" Jamie recounted.

"You don't have enrichment classes to attend?" Marco asked.

"I don't have anything on the weekdays...although I do have gymnastics and Chinese lessons on Saturday! Sometimes Daddy and ninang take me out to play too!" Jamie chirped. Nat didn't believe in forcing tons of extra lessons on Jamie.

"Gymnastics and Chinese? Is her dad struggling to get by or something? We should get her piano or violin lessons. Maybe ballet and coding classes too. Everyone does it nowadays." Marco rolled his eyes.

"For god's sake, Jamie's 5. Gymnastics and Chinese sound great. Plus I'm sure money isn't the point, Marco. Not everything is about money." Aly sighed.

"Can I see my room please?" Jamie requested as they reached home.

"Of course. Come on, it's upstairs." Aly held Jamie's hand as they headed up.

"Wow..." Jamie was surprised at the amount of things in the room. Aly had furnished it with as much things as she could.

"If you need anything, just tell me and I'll buy it for you. Uncle Marco has lots of money, not like your stingy Daddy." Marco shrugged.

"Thank you but I think this is enough, Uncle Marco. I don't need so much stuff for 3 days..." Jamie politely refused. Her own bedroom at home didn't have much other than the necessities and a few toys.

"It's not just 3 days, Jamie. You'll be staying here with us more often now. Perhaps even all..." Marco was about to finish his sentence when Aly elbowed him in the gut.

"Uncle Marco means that you can change it up however you like and come over to stay whenever you want...right, Marco?" Aly gritted her teeth.

"Right..." Marco muttered.

"Oh, it's already 8pm...come on baby, your Daddy said you had to be in bed by 8.30." Aly and Jamie were doing some colouring when Aly noticed the time.

"One second...Goodnight Uncle Marco, goodnight lola housekeeper!" Jamie ran up to Marco, who was sitting on the dining table doing his work to say goodnight before running into the kitchen where the housekeeper was washing the dishes to do the same.

"Daddy says I have to say goodnight to the elders before I go to sleep." Jamie smiled as she took Aly's hand.

"That's a good habit, baby. Come on, let's get you upstairs..." Aly affirmed Jamie.

"Lie here with me, Mummy...Ninang always lies with me until I fall asleep." Jamie patted the space next to her on the spacious bed.

"Do you want me to read you a storybook or something?" It was Aly's first time putting a child, her daughter to be exact, to bed.

"Ninang and I always talk about our day before we go to sleep. I tell her all about school and she tells me something fun that happened to her that day..." Jamie shook her head.

"Hmm, how about this? You can tell me everything about you, before I met you and I'll do the same. I want to know more about my baby." Aly suggested.

"Okay! What do you want to know?" Jamie wanted to know more about Aly too.

"Hmm, who else is there in your family other than you, Daddy and Grandma?" Aly asked.

"There's Grandpa and Karine! Karine is Daddy's little sister!" Jamie replied.

"How about your favourite thing to do?" Aly prodded.

"Hmm...it used to be spending time with Daddy but now, it's spending time with Daddy and Ninang." Jamie grinned.

"I see...what do you like about your ninang?" Aly couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealously that every of Jamie's sentences had Aika in it.