"MAMA!" The door of the penthouse burst open and Jamie ran in. The entire family followed suit. Atty Leni, Tricia, Stephen, Jill, Gaile's family and even Aly were all here.

"Princess, what did you just call Aika?" Nat couldn't believe his ears.

"MAMA!" Jamie repeated.

"Princess..." Nat looked at Aika, unsure of her reaction. Going from tita to ninang may have been easy, but becoming mama was a whole new dimension.

"If you and ninang are getting married, doesn't that make ninang my mama? Right, mama?" Jamie turned to Aika.

"Aly...can I?" Aika wanted to get Aly's acknowledgement. Afterall, she was Jamie's mother and Aika wanted to respect that.

"Jamie's right, Ate. You are her mama." Aly assured Aika she was totally okay with it.

"Come to mama, anak..." Aika knelt down in front of Jamie with her arms wide open.

"I love you, mama!" Jamie crashed into Aika's embrace.

"I love you too, anak." Aika never knew the word 'mama' could stir her heart like that.

"Mama, how does it feel to finally have an apo?" Tricia whispered to Atty Leni.

"I can finally use that membership card from UP on Jamie's university." Atty Leni couldn't be more excited.

"Ateneo, mama." Tricia shook her head.

"Don't forget NYU, NUS, Harvard and Duke." Jill added.

"Dasao, I want to see the ring!" Karine, Kevin and Alice were on Zoom.

"Welcome to the Lee family, Aika. We couldn't be more excited!" Alice smiled.

"Thank you, Uncle and Auntie." Aika could see the smiles on all their faces.

"It's Dad and Mum now, Aika." Kevin reminded Aika.

"We'll fly over the second I'm done with my exams!" Karine really wanted to be here but she was in the middle of her national exams.

"Also Ate...I really wanted to ask if you had no idea that kuya was going to propose?" Tricia needed an answer.

"No...was I supposed to?" Aika was confused.

"How about you take a closer look at this?" Jill brought out the origami hearts that Jamie made.

"What about them?" Aika didn't understand what Jill was hinting at.

"Rearrange the letters, mama!" Jamie chimed in.

"M..A...R...R...Y...M..E...You mean I had this the entire time and didn't notice?" Aika gasped.

"It's okay, sunshine. What matters is that I'm yours now." Nat grinned, tickled by how adorable Aika was.

"Okay, what other hints did you drop?" Aika was curious.

"Uh...The Sunset is the name of this apartment? And when I said that this penthouse didn't have an owner yet..." Nat trailed off.

"No way. You mean this is the penthouse that you bought in January?" Aika remembered the key that Nat had gifted her during her birthday.

"Uh huh. I think it just found its owner. I hope you like it..." Nat handed the keys to Aika. He was afraid that Aika wouldn't like the place.

"I love it." Aika whispered as she hugged Nat.

"You can decorate any way you like. I like anything you like." Nat kissed Aika's forehead.

"We. We can decorate it the way we like it. All three of us." Aika picked Jamie up for a family hug.

"Cheers to the Robredo-Lee family!" Atty Leni led a toast to congratulate Nat and Aika.

~

"What's with that smile?" Aika saw Nat grinning through the mirror. Jamie had insisted on staying with the Robredos tonight so 'Daddy and Mama could just some space'.

"I just can't believe that I'm going to marry you. I honestly can't even imagine what life would be like if I didn't meet you." Nat didn't even want to think about life without Aika now.

"When should we hold the wedding?" Aika joined Nat on the bed.

"Hmm, about about the first half of next year?" Nat suggested.

"Sounds good to me. April or May would be nice..." Aika liked the idea.

"What kind of wedding would you like?" Nat realised that they never really talked about it.

"Hmm, definitely a small one with friends and family...Honestly, I've always thought that outdoor weddings were really beautiful." Aika snuggled closer to Nat.

"Shall we look into an outdoor wedding then? A beach? A garden?" Nat played with Aika's hair.

"We can do some research before deciding. I can't believe we're actually talking about this." Aika was looking at the ring on her hand.

"Neither can I. I don't think I can sleep tonight...Can you feel my racing heart?" Nat held Aika's hand to his chest.

"Should I call Patty?" Aika joked.

"I do need CPR. But not from Doc Tricia." Nat leaned in to close the distance between his and Aika's lips.

"Don't tempt me, Nat." Aika knew she was just muttering empty words as Nat nibbled on her lower lip.

"You sure?" Nat's voice was low and alluring.

"I take it back." Aika felt electricity shoot up her spine as Nat's warm hand came into contact with her bare skin. Nat was leaving sloppy kisses on Aika's jaw and making his way slowly to her neck.

"Tell me when to stop." Nat whispered as he pressed a kiss on Aika's exposed collarbone. One second later, Nat's shirt was on the floor. Sure there were makeout sessions throughout their 1.5 years of dating but this was different. Nat and Aika were now engaged.

"Good morning, Mrs Lee." Nat kissed Aika's shoulder as he felt her stir.

"Morning." Aika turned over to give Nat a peck.

"I'm still hungry..." Nat rested his lips on Aika's neck, a purple mark eventually forming.

"We have food in the fridge." Aika teased.

"I want you." Nat confessed.

"Jamie is coming home in 30 minutes. Go get dressed..." Aika tore herself from Nat's torso and picked up Nat's shirt on the ground. He was the only one undressed from last night.

"What shall we do with Jamie today?" Nat wrapped his arms around Aika's waist.

"Why don't we ask her when she comes?" Aika reached for the maple syrup.

"MAMA!" Jamie voice reverberated throughout the apartment.

"Hey sweetie!" Aika greeted Jamie with a huge hug.

"Mama, I drew this for you!" Jamie fished an A4 piece of paper from her backpack.

"Is this us?" On the piece of paper were 3 people, all dressed in formal wear.

"The man in the suit is Daddy, the one in the wedding dress is Mama and this is me!" Jamie pointed them out one by one.

"Are you going to be our flower girl when we get married?" Nat bopped Jamie's nose.

"Yep! Ate Nat and I promised to be flower girls when you and Mama get married!" Jamie was insistent.

"Mama and I were thinking of bringing you out...where would you like to go?" Nat wiped the whipped cream off Jamie's cheek.

"Hmm, as long as I'm with Daddy and Mama, I'm happy!" Jamie was over the moon about the thought of having Aika be her Mama.

~

"Nat, relax..." Karine was trying to calm Nat down.

"I'm getting married in 30 minutes. I can't help but be nervous..." Nat defended his anxious pacing.

"Kuya Steph, I'm leaving him to you. I'm going to see dasao instead." Karine left Nat with Stephen in the waiting room.

"Bro, I think my heart is about to pop out." Nat took a few deep breaths.

"It's all good, bro. You're supposed to be excited! You're marrying the love of your life...Heck, your heart will be racing!" Stephen assured Nat.

"I can't believe you're finally leaving us...I'm going to miss you so much." Jill pouted. She couldn't be more happy about her Ate finding her happiness but Aika had always been her shelter and hiding place.

"I'm not going anywhere, bunso. I'm going to be a 15 minute drive away." Aika laughed at Jill's emotional confession.

"It's okay, I'm still here Jill. I'll pester you instead." Tricia cheered Jill up.

"It's okay Ate Trish. In fact, I've been asking kuya Steph to marry you quick so I can have the room in the condo to myself. Mama and I can enjoy the house all to ourselves, right Mama?" Jill held Atty Leni's hand, like the bunso she was.

"Don't tease your ate like that on her big day...I'm going to miss you, Aiks." Atty Leni gave her daughter a warm hug.

"Me too, ate. You've spent the last 10 years taking care of us after papa left us, it's time you live your life. I'm so happy that you found your forever with kuya..." Tricia was living up to her emotional nature.

"Thank you for being the second parent, ate...You have no idea how much strength I've gained from you. You're the best ate anyone could ever ask for." Jill was tearing up.

"You'll always be our baby, Aiks. Mine and papa's big baby..." Atty Leni joined the group hug.

"Sorry to interrupt but the ceremony is starting soon!" Gaile peeked inside the room.

~

"Today, we are gathered to witness the union of Mr Nathaniel Lee and Ms Aika Robredo. Let's first welcome the groom, Nat!" Gabe was in charge of hosting the wedding.

"Hi, thank you for coming to celebrate our happy occasion...Aika and I really appreciate each and everyone of you." Nat was genuine grateful.

"Now for the long-awaited highlight! Let's put our hands to welcome the bride, Aika!" Gabe cheered as Natalia and Jamie took their positions at the back.

Nat watched as Aika and Atty Leni followed behind the girls. His eyes were fixated on Aika as she gracefully took each step towards him. Nat couldn't keep in his excitement as Aika drew closer.

"I'm handing Aiks over to you, Nat." Atty Leni patted Nat on the back as she placed Aika' hand in his.

"You look gorgeous, sunshine." Nat whispered as he and Aika turned to face Gabe.

"Thank you, anak." Aika smiled at Jamie as she handed them the rings.

"This is my promise to you." Nat gently pushed the ring up Aika's finger.

"You may now kiss the bride!" Gabe was more excited than Nat and Aika. Nat lifted the veil and slowly leaned in until his lips found its owner. It was a short but beautiful kiss they shared.

"Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Lee!" Gabe announced as Nat and Aika broke apart.

"When Gabe told me that I had to prepare a speech, I was left speechless. But I realised that this wasn't going to be hard because someone told me to just be genuine and sincere. So here I am. 2 years ago, Jamie and I landed in the Philippines with no end goal in mind. The first few weeks were okay until I started asking myself what I was doing, irresponsibly uprooting Jamie and placing her in a totally foreign environment. But that all changed when I met Aika. This is something I tell Aika all the time but she was the one that gave me an actual goal in life, both as Jamie's father and as Nathaniel, the individual. It was Aika who taught me that in order to love others, I had to love myself first. She was the first person to see me as I was. She was there whenever I doubted myself and allowed me to be vulnerable before her without any judgement. Aika was and will always be my angel sent by God. Mahal na mahal kita, sunshine." Nat was red with embarrassment.

"I've given lots of speeches and interviews but this is probably the one that will stay with me forever. After papa left us, I felt responsible for taking care of mama and my sisters, a responsibility I'll always be grateful for and take pride in. Mama, Patty and Jill were and are still my entire world but in the last 2 years, my world has expanded to include two very important people in my life. Nat reminded me of papa sometimes. The way he was always so ready to give, to extend a helping hand and sacrifice himself for others. But I realised that Nat was so much more to me. He was the one who stood by me silently, got angry and indignant on my behalf, was always there to shield me from danger and indulge me when self-inflicted stress got the better of me. He was there, rain or shine, day or night, never-changing and constant. I've never been more blessed to be your sunshine." Nat found himself tearing up when Aika finished.

"Look at you rubbing off your emotional side to ate and kuya..." Jill nudged Tricia.

"So it's my fault that they are crying?" Tricia nudged Jill back.

"Let's take a group photo!" Gabe gathered everyone.

"1,2,3...Smile!" The photographer snapped a picture.

"Time for the bouquet catch!" Gabe announced.

"1, 2, 3!" Aika threw the bouquet in her hands.

"Uh...okay..." Tricia stared blankly at the bouquet she now held in her hands.

"AHHHH! ATE TRISH IS GETTING MARRIED SOON!" Jill was over the moon.

"I'll look forward to your wedding!" Nat patted Tricia and Stephen on the back.

"Join the married club soon, Patty. I promise you, it's gonna be fun." Aika laughed at Tricia's bright red face.

"Daddy, Mama..." Jamie tugged at Aika's dress.

"Yes, anak?" Aika looked at Jamie.

"I want a baby sister. You and Daddy said that I'll get one for Christmas or my birthday next year..." Everyone burst out in laughter at Jamie's innocent request.

"We'll work hard, Princess. I promise." Nat picked Jamie up and gave her a pinky promise.

"What great parenting, Nat." Aika smacked Nat on the arm.

"Let's give it a shot tonight, sunshine." Nat whispered into Aika's ears.

"You're going to sleep on the couch tonight." Aika smacked Nat a second time.

2 chapters in one day?