"Boss, you have a meeting with the representatives of Hernandez Logistics at 1pm. It's about the new range of apartments we're developing." Gabe was briefing Nat on his schedule for the day.

"Hernandez Logistics? Is that the new contractor we just signed a partnership with?" Nat vaguely remembered the name.

"Yep, it's a local company. A mid-size family business founded by Mr Daniel Hernandez and currently headed by his younger son, Mr Anthony Hernandez and his older son, Mr Marcus Hernandez." Gabe read from his iPad.

"Did you just say Marcus Hernandez?" Nat reacted to the familiar name.

"Yes...Do you know him, Boss?" Gabe was surprised.

"Maybe or maybe not. Guess we'll see later..." Nat shrugged. In all honesty, Nat had prayed that he would never cross paths with Marco at work.

"Boss, Mr Anthony and Mr Marcus have arrived." Gabe held open the door as the two entered the meeting room. Nat immediately recognised the older Hernandez, and so did Marco.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Anthony. I'm Nathaniel Lee, the General Manager of Lee Holdings here in the Philippines." Nat extended a handshake to the older man.

"Pleasure is mine too, Mr Lee. Anthony Hernandez, Acting CEO of Hernandez Logistics." Anthony shook Nat's hand respectfully.

"Pleasure to meet you here, Mr Marcus." Nat managed a smile at Marco.

"What a pleasant surprise indeed, Nat. Marcus Hernandez, Chief Operating Officer of Hernandez Logistics." Marco gripped Nat's hand tightly and flipped it over, to assert dominance.

"Thank you for this partnership, Mr Hernandez. We could not be more than expectant to work with you and your company." Nat bowed slightly.

"Oh, the pleasure is ours as well. It's been a little messy since our father fell ill but I think this partnership is going to set us back on track. I've always wanted to work with your company since it entered the local market." Anthony knew that the company's public image had taken a tumble since their father was bedridden.

"Enough with the pleasantries, let's get down to business. Anyways, why did they only send a mere GM? We were expecting at least a C-suite representative." Marco rolled his eyes.

"Please excuse him, Mr Lee. He doesn't mean any harm." Anthony glared at his older brother before apologising.

"No worries, Mr Hernandez." It wasn't the first time Marco had done so.

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr Anthony. It was a great discussion. I think we'll produce something great." Nat was pleased with the meeting. Despite being younger, Anthony was a stark difference from Marco. Respectful, honest and humble.

"Me too, Mr Lee. You're one capable GM. I've heard people sing your praises and I see why now." Anthony was impressed by Nat.

"Thank you for the praise, Mr Anthony. You're too kind." Nat bowed.

"Psh, how far can one go working for a salary? How much do you earn a month? 45k pesos?" Marco chuckled smugly.

"Marco!" Anthony berated his older brother.

"It's okay, Nat and I here are acquainted. Aren't we, Nat?" Marco raised an eyebrow.

"We sure are, Mr Marcus. Don't worry about it, Mr Anthony." Nat smiled at the older man.

"Tell the uppers that we expect someone higher ranked in the next meeting." Marco crossed his arms.

"I'll be sure to convey your message, Mr Marcus. Mr Anthony, let me see you out?" Nat offered.

"Mr Marcus, anything else I can help you with?" Gabe was wondering why Marco didn't leave with Anthony.

"Obviously not with you." Marco rolled his eyes.

"I'll leave you with Mr Lee then..." Gabe gritted his teeth at the rude reply before leaving Nat and Marco in the meeting room.

"Let's drop the pleasantries. I have important things to talk about." Marco looked straight at Nat.

"Let's go to my office." Nat bit his lip.

"I'll cut to the chase. We want custody of Jamie. Aly and I. Main custody." Marco leaned back on the couch.

"I'm sorry? Did I just hear you right? Main custody?" Nat was speechless.

"You still get visitation rights. Like what Aly gets now." Marco shrugged as if it was nothing.

"You seem to think Jamie is a mere toy you can pass from one hand to another. Let me tell you something, she's my daughter and no one is taking her from me." Nat's face lost his smile.

"She's also Aly's daughter. She has as much rights to Jamie as you do." Marco contended.

"That's Aly. If Aly wants a bigger part in Jamie's life, it's up to her, Jamie and I to decide. I respect you as Aly's husband but there's a line to keep." Nat warned. He wasn't having any of Marco's rubbish.

"Think about it. I have the money, the resources, the connections and everything else needed to give Jamie the best life. It'd be easier on you financially and you don't have to worry so much about your relationship with Aika. It's a win-win situation." Marco threw his hands in the air.

"First, I have never deprived Jamie of anything. I am more than capable of providing for her needs and wants. Secondly, Jamie has never and will never be an issue between me and Aika. The more you treat my daughter as a object of possession, the more your wishes will never come true." Nat clenched his fist to control his rising anger.

"Are you sure? What about when her mother becomes President and the media comes for you? What would they say about the first daughter marrying a poor single father? What would they say about Jamie? What would they say about Aika? Wouldn't it be simpler and better for all of us?" Marco picked at Nat's two weak points, Jamie and Aika.

"I think there's nothing for us to talk about anymore. My answer now is no and will forever be a no. Gabe, Mr Hernandez is leaving." Nat informed Gabe through the intercom.

"Don't be so quick to refuse me, Nat. Give it a good thought. My lawyers are always up for a good fight, by the way." Marco waved as Gabe ushered him out.

~

"Hey kuya..." Tricia was calling at a weird timing. It was 2pm on a Monday.

"Hey doc, what's up?" Nat was surprised when he picked up the call.

"Uh...It's ate..." Tricia hesitated.

"Aika? What's wrong? Is she okay?" Nat was anxious. Aika had been busy for the past few days and Nat didn't want to distract her.

"She's fine...for now. She's been running a slight fever for 2 days but it spiked to 38.3 degrees this morning. I checked for other symptoms and she seems fine otherwise. Mama told her to rest but she insisted on going for the house-to-house today..." Tricia updated Nat.

"How's she feeling now? Where is she? I'm going over now." Nat grabbed his things before Tricia could even reply.

"Thankfully, she's in QC today. You can contact Joy, she'll update you on their location." Tricia sighed.

"Got it. Thanks doc, I'll keep you updated about her condition too. You take care too." Nat ended the call.

"I'm leaving for the day. Send me anything important and I'll make sure to get back to you by tomorrow morning." Nat told Gabe as he left the office.

"No probs, Boss. I'll try not to send you anything unnecessary." Gabe knew that Nat would only leave early for two things, Jamie or Aika. Other than that, Nat was the first in the office and last to leave.

"Hey Joy, could I please get a location update?" Joy had picked up within one ring.

"KUYA! Thank God you called first...Ate refused to let me call you. I'll text you the address." Joy heaved a sigh of relief. The team had been worried about Aika. It was obvious that Aika wasn't feeling well but she didn't let them call Nat for this very reason.

"I'll be there in 30 minutes. Help me keep an eye on Aika?" Nat looked at the address and pressed hard on the accelerator.

"Gotcha kuya." Joy was glad that Nat was coming.

"Backup is coming, titas. The only one that can get through a sick ate Aika." Joy whispered to Ella and Annie.

We're currently taking a short break in the car.

I see you guys. 1 minute.

"Nat? Why is he..." Aika was confused as she saw Nat approaching the car.

"I didn't call him! Kuya called me first!" Joy raised her hands.

"How are you feeling, sunshine? Are you okay?" Nat was only focused on Aika the second he entered the car.

"This girl hasn't really eaten anything since the morning. Only water and a pack of crackers." Annie 'complained' about Aika's lack of appetite to Nat.

"Touch her and you feel the heat radiating." Ella added.

"Doc said your fever spiked, you're really burning up..." Nat furrowed his eyebrows as he touched Aika.

"I'm doing fine...Patty said there was nothing else wrong with me...Plus, I ate some medicine." Aika tried to brush it off. There were only 5 days left. Every day was precious.

"We can go on but one condition. We are going to measure your temperature every 30 minutes and the second you feel faint, we need to stop. Doc's orders. I promised her." Nat had been reminded by Tricia. The rest of the family weren't in QC and Gaile was busy, leaving Nat as the only open option.

"But..." Aika tried to bargain.

"No buts. Even Ma'am said so." Nat shook his head. He'd have his head cut off by the rest of the family if anything happened to Aika.

"Fine..." Aika conceded.

~

"Leni Robredo for President...Maraming salamat po sa lahat..." Aika finished her speech to a group of supporters. The second she breathed the last word, Aika felt her head spin. Giving one last bow, she willed herself off the stage with the last of her energy.

"Aika? Aika?" Aika heard voices call out to her as she descended the stairs backstage.

"I'm fine...I'm..." Aika's vision started getting blurry and the next thing she knew, her legs gave way.

"AIKA!" Nat lurched forward to catch Aika as she lost her balance on the steps. One second later and Aika would have rolled down the steps.

"Aika, look at me...are you okay? Can you hear me?" Nat cradled Aika carefully.

"I'm good...I was just...a little...a little...dizzy..." Aika's voice was soft and weak.

"No you're not. We're going to the doctor's now." Nat wiped the beads of sweat off Aika's forehead.

"Nat's right. We're done for the day." Annie wasn't going to let Aika continue.

"Can we be seen at the hospital? I mean, if even one person spots ate in the emergency room, it's gonna spread like wildfire..." Joy interjected. She had a point. The closer it was to the 9th, the higher the stakes.

"I've got a way...Let's get Aika to my car first." Nat lifted Aika up and carried her to the car, which a volunteer had driven it right in front of the backstage tent so no one could see them.

"Gabe, can you call Dr Garcia? Tell him I need him at my house in 30 minutes, thanks." Nat had asked Gabe for help.

"What's the plan, kuya?" Joy was accompanying Nat and Aika in his car while Annie and Ella continued on with their planned schedule.

"Dr Garcia is our family doctor. I'm getting him to check on Aika at home. It's the safest option." Nat replied. After that scare with Jamie the time he'd first met Aika, Nat decided it was safer to have a family doctor on call.

"Hi Doc, sorry to call with not very good news but your ate almost fainted earlier but I called for a doctor to come check on her. She'll stay with me tonight. Do help me tell Ma'am and Jill. Thanks Doc." Nat was on the line with Tricia.

"Thank god for you, kuya...Update me with the doctor's diagnosis! Ate, if you're listening, don't resist and follow the doctor's instructions please!" Tricia raised her voice over the speaker phone.

"How is she, Dr Garcia?" Nat asked as soon as Dr Garcia was done checking on Aika.

"It's most likely an infection. The fever should subside soon but she's dehydrated and exhausted so try to give her lots of liquids and keep her on bed rest." Dr Garcia assured Nat.

"Thank you Dr Garcia." Nat was relieved.

"See, I told you I was fine...Dr Garcia said the exact same thing as Patty when she checked on me..." Aika laughed weakly as Nat sat next to her on the bed.

"Two excellent physicians told you that you aren't fine and you say the opposite..." Nat sighed in resignation.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Aika wondered.

"The titas continued as planned. Joy followed us back before joining them again." Nat wasn't even surprised at Aika's question.

"We have market visit in 2 days..." Aika recalled.

"If you wanna be up and running like the superhero you are in 2 days, it's time for you to take a good rest." Nat kissed Aika's forehead.

"Okay, okay. I admit that I was stubborn. I thought I would be okay..." Aika chuckled embarrassingly.

"Don't joke about your health, sunshine. You really scared us earlier..." Nat pouted.

"I'm hungry..." Aika gave Nat a cheeky smile.

"I'll go make you something. Get some rest before your little sweetie comes home and fusses you..." Nat covered Aika with the blankets.

"I love you, Chef..." Aika joked.

"I love you too, Ms Stubborn." Nat sent Aika a heart.

~

"Did lola not win the elections?" Jamie asked Aika. The entire family was gathered the day after the elections.

"She didn't sweetie..." Aika shook her head.

"But why not? Everyone said that Lola was the best person...Why doesn't the best person win?" Jamie couldn't gasp the idea.

"Sometimes, what's good and right fails to prevail. But we should never lose hope. Because one day, the light will outshine darkness. What your lola started wasn't just for this, it was for the future of the Philippines." Aika hugged Jamie. The family was still consolidating their own emotions about the results. It was a confusion of disappointment, relief, assurance and worry amidst a whole mix of other feelings.

The sisters were finally getting their mama back for themselves. But at what cost?

They felt apologetic to the people who had given their all in this huge fight towards a better future. They felt regret over not being able to reach out to more people. They felt worried about the unknown future. But they knew that this was only the beginning of something new. A fighting spirit that would only grow stronger, a flame of hope that would only shine brighter and a voice that would only grow louder. The fight had only just begun.

"Really? I'm so proud of lola, tita Tricia, tita Jill and you, ninang!" Jamie wrapped her arms around Aika's neck to comfort her.

"Me too, sunshine. Everyone fought hard." Nat hugged Aika and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"Lola...I'm really proud of you! You will always be the winner in my heart and the hearts of everyone who supported you!" Jamie ran up to VP Leni, who was sitting with Jill.

"Thank you, sweetie." VP Leni smiled at Jamie.

"I'm proud of tita Tricia and tita Jill too!" Jamie gave each of the girls a big hug. She knew how to put a smile on their faces without fail.

Life is often filled with what ifs, even after we gave it our all. What matters in the end is that we tried and the only thing we can hope for is to have planted a seed of hope and faith for the future.

~

"Marco! What's going on?" Aly stepped into the house and was surprised to find it in a mess.

"IT'S OVER! IT'S OVER FOR ME!" Marco yelled as he slammed his phone against the wall.

"What's over?" Aly was lost.

"HE'S DEAD! HE LEFT THE COMPANY TO MY BROTHER! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! AND HIS!" Marco stormed up to Aly and gripped her tightly.

"Your father is...dead?" Aly doubted her ears.

"He's dead. Everything is gone now. It's all because of that bastard." Marco gripped Aly even tighter.

"You're hurting me, Marco...And why is it Nat's fault?" Aly was in pain but she didn't want to show it.

"IF HE SIGNED THE PAPERS, I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE COMPANY! IF YOU DIDN'T PRETEND TO BE SOME NOBLE LOVING MOTHER, WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN CUSTODY OF JAMIE! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU TWO!" Marco slapped Aly.

"All you do is blame others. Have you ever thought why your father wanted to give the company to Anthony?" Aly held her cheek, feeling it burn from the tight slap. It wasn't the first time Marco had laid a hand on her but things were getting out of control in the last few months.

"Anthony is younger than me by 4 years. How is it that he deserves the company more than I do? I'm the older one!" Marco retorted.

"Maybe because he's much more qualified than you would ever be. That's why your father set such an impossible condition, he never wanted you to take over the company." Aly spat.

"You're lying. Dad would never do that." Marco growled. His anger had overtaken his rationality totally.

"Believe what you want. By the way, I'm done. I've had enough with you." Aly dropped another bomb on Marco.

"Done? Who said you could be done with me? Have you forgotten about your father? His business?" Marco threatened.

"Anthony promised to continue working with my father. I've had enough of your nonsense. I'm leaving you. I'll have my lawyers send you the divorce papers." Aly couldn't take it anymore. She had enough of his scrupulous ways, his stupid pride and his violence.

"ALYSSA CARLOS YOU COME BACK HERE! ARE YOU GOING BACK TO THAT BASTARD AGAIN? DO YOU THINK HE'LL ACCEPT YOU? DREAM ON!" Marco ran after Aly. He tugged at her wrist, leaving a bruise.

"You are the bastard, not Nat. Nat would never lay a hand on me. I was blind to have left him for a monster like you." Aly held her wrist in pain. It was turning an ugly shade of purple and blue.

"DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU! YOU'LL REGRET IT!" Marco huffed as Aly drove off, leaving him alone.

A shorter filler chapter:)