Chapter 3

“Attorney, why did you make us come to you when you could tell us where Allianna was?” Benjamin Quinter asked when he and his wife sat before the Attorney.

“Mr. and Mrs. Quinter. I could do that, but I don’t understand why Allianna is there.”

“Where is she?” Mialyn asked nervously. She was nervous, as if her son was missing, and she wanted to see him.

“The court decided to take Ms. Allianna.” The couple frowned.

“What do you mean, Attorney? Doesn’t Allianna’s mother have a sister? How did she end up in the orphanage? That’s not possible because she also has godfathers and godmothers.”

“That’s our problem, Mrs. Quinter. No one wants to take Allianna because the child is already a teenager and doesn’t need a parent to raise her. So no one tried to take her. I don’t know why.”

“What? Allianna is still young; she still needs a parent to guide her. They can’t do that. They shouldn’t give Allianna to the orphanage if she has a family.”

“There is no lawyer to help Allianna, so we can do nothing if we don’t follow the court’s order.”

“I will not agree.” Mialyn stood up and looked at the lawyer seriously. “I want to get the child. I want to be her guardian.”

“But that process is difficult, honey. It will take us about a year to get what you want.” Benjamin made his wife sit and calm down.

“No matter how long it takes, I will not allow my best friend’s child to grow up in an orphanage. She cannot live there. I cannot do it.” Mialyn stopped her tears from falling, calming herself down.

“Just tell us where the child is, Attorney. Let’s talk about it again tomorrow. Please fix this problem and do what my wife wants. No matter how long it takes. No matter how much money we must spend, we will do it. Just get Allianna Gregorio."

“Yes, Mr. Quinter.”

When the Attorney told them the address where Allianna was, Benjamin accompanied his wife to their car.

“Do you remember what Lia told us?” Mia said indifferently.

“How can I forget that? They have been our friends since childhood, so I will never forget that, hon.”

“Lia told me that when she has a child, she wants us to take care of their child if something happens. But look now, Benjamin. Their daughter is in an orphanage, and I don’t want her to suffer there. What if she is being hurt there? She is not being fed properly. Are they torturing her? That’s not possible. We have to work it out. We can’t let her grow up in that orphanage.”

“That’s why we’ll find a way to get her out of there, right? I’m sure we’ll get Allianna because we’re the only ones who want to care for her. Allianna needs someone to care for her because she can’t be alone yet. Everything will be fine. One day you will wake up, and Allianna will be at our house.” Benjamin held Mialyn’s hand so she felt better.

“I hope so.”

***

When they began practicing, there were already women watching, so the men playing became more animated. Daylon played seriously. Every time the ball was passed to him, he immediately shot it into the ring, even though it was far away. His practice lasted almost an hour and a half, so they were tired. Daylon was sweating, so he drank some water.

“That’s it for today; I still have somewhere to go,” he told his team before leaving the basketball court.

While he was walking, someone blocked his way. The person had both hands outstretched and was holding a paper. 

“Daylon, please accept it,” the woman said.

When he faced the woman, he suddenly got nervous and looked away. “Throw that away because I don’t need it,” he said, feeling relieved after passing her.

His friend William joined him as they walked together. 

“You didn’t even talk to her,” William said.

“I don’t have time to read useless letters,” Daylon replied.

“It’s not that it’s pointless. You should take the love letters they give you because they put effort into them.”

“When I take their letter, they will think I want something from them. So just shut up.”

“Well, you have a point. I won’t even take the love letters of my baby loves,” William said. Daylon just shook his head and got on their bike.

They went to the bookstore because they had to buy something there. Daylon thought of buying his brother a book. He picked up one titled “Tips to Make Your Crush Fall in Love with You” but quickly put it back.

“What have you got, Daylon?” William asked him, and he showed the three books he was holding.

“Just three? Why? We’ve been here for almost half an hour, and you only got three? I already got five,” William said, looking at Daylon without emotion, so Daylon licked him.

“Gay,” William teased.

***

Allianna’s POV

What was I doing at the orphanage? It felt like a prison. The people I was with there were different. Children who were always happy, as if they had no problems. After all, they didn’t have any problems yet, because they were still young. All they thought about was fun. But it wasn’t like that for me. Everyone had issues.

Living there was hard. I was still trying to figure out where I would end up. I was always shy whenever food was given to me. It wasn’t their obligation to feed me because my aunt was supposed to do it. There was nothing I could do but accept what would happen in my life. That’s what should be done, right? I thought my life was perfect because I had a happy family. We didn’t have any problems with money, but I didn’t expect to lose my parents so soon. To make matters worse, they thought I had killed my parents.

I looked at the wall and closed my eyes as I lay on my bed. I only needed to understand why no one wanted to adopt me. No one wanted to take care of me. Everyone was right. When you don’t have money, they won’t recognize you, and they’ll forget about you. They won’t help you. But I hoped someone at the orphanage would take me and fight for me.

“Anyone there? Please help me. I feel so alone.”

My eyes widened when someone suddenly opened the door to our room.

“Miss Allianna?” I stood up suddenly and looked straight at Ma’am Flora.

“What?”

“You have a visitor. Go to the visitor’s area.”

“Okay.”

When she closed the door, I felt nervous. Could it be that my visitor was my aunt again? I hoped not because I was ashamed of her. I didn’t know how to look at her because she believed that I had killed her brother, my father, even though I didn’t.

I wondered if I could still refuse to go to the visitor’s area. Maybe I didn’t have to see them. That’s what they told me.

But I was surprised when someone knocked on the door.

“Hurry up, Miss Allianna. They’re waiting for you.”

“May I know who they are?”

“They didn’t say their names, but they said they were friends of your parents. So hurry up; they want to speak with you.”

The nervousness I felt earlier suddenly disappeared. My parents had friends, but why would they visit me at the orphanage? All I knew was that all my parents’ friends were angry with me during the court trial.

When I got out of the room, Ma’am Flora smiled at me.

“They’re kind people, Allianna. Don’t be nervous or worried. They’re not like the people who were at the court. I’m sure you’ll get along well with them.” I smiled at her and walked to the visitor’s area.

No one was there except for the couple who stood looking at me. The woman was holding her hands over her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks, and the man was smiling at me.

I didn’t know this couple.

“Are you Allianna?” the woman cried as she walked toward me. When she got close to me, she took my hand. 

“You look just like Lola Emelda,” she added, making me frown.

“Do you know my grandma?” 

The woman made me sit before them, and our conversation started. Her husband gave her a tissue to wipe her tears. What a sweet couple. Just like my parents.

“Yes, since your parents and I were young, we have been friends. At your grandmother’s house, we always felt bad because our parents always scolded us when we hung out at our house,” the woman said as she took her bag and showed me a picture. The people in that picture were the two couples before me, my parents, and my Grandma.

“We have been looking for your parents for a long time, Allianna. We just found out that they are gone on the news,” she continued. I bowed, expecting them to be angry with me. 

“We’re on your side here, Allianna. You don’t have to be shy with us because we will help you,” the woman reassured me.

“Why?” I asked.

“We know you are not the one who killed them because we know our friends. I know Lia, and I know that she would raise her child well,” the woman said. Tears welled in my eyes as I couldn’t believe someone still believed me.

The woman came to me and hugged me, and my crying got louder. 

“We’re right here. We will not abandon you, and we promise to get you out of here, but you will have to wait a long time because we still have to arrange to get you. We want to clear your name. We want everyone in the courtroom to apologize to you. We will avenge you. So don’t worry about your future. As long as we live, you are safe. Can you wait, huh?”