Author's Note: Please leave a review. This story is already so I decided not to make it one-by-one per week. Thank you so much! :D

Chapter 14: Choices

A few days later, Rika Nonaka had finally finalized the date of her leaving. It was on the eighth of June and Rika became pale when the plane ticket was issued to her because that date was a significant one for her. It was the day Henry told that he loved her, making it her anniversary with Henry when she was still in a relationship with him.

Maybe it would be best if I forget about him, Rika thought. I've been hurting and hurt already with me around him. I already avoided his calls but maybe avoiding him for the rest of his life would do the best.

It was a Thursday morning when Rika was seen talking to Naomi Kitara in the conference room. She gave her official resignation letter that would take place after this week. It may seem abrupt but it was for the best in her life.

"What's this?" Naomi Kitara asked her, somehow puzzled with the letter.

"I'm going to resign now, Ma'am Kitara," Rika answered sullenly. "Effective, next week."

The older woman wore a shocked look and her eyes went wide as she heard them. The fact that she heard Rika resigning took a large toll on her mind.

"What? Why?" the woman asked consequently. "Why are you resigning, Rika?"

Rika took a deep breath. "My mother just petitioned me to join her and my grandma in America. I know it's really sudden and that was the reason why I didn't want to get promoted in the first place."

"This is really abrupt, Rika," Mrs. Kitara stated seriously as she held Rika's resignation later. "Are you sure you want to do this? You really have a bright mind which will be utilized here in this office."

Rika nodded seriously. She did not want to upset her boss even more.

"Alright… If that's what you want. I'll inform Ma'am Mitsui immediately so she can hire you a replacement as soon as possible," Mrs. Kitara replied seriously and suddenly remembered something. "I already have the first copy of the story you published."

Rika's eyes lit up with interest as she heard what her boss said to her. She was surprised with what she told her.

"And you, the writer, will have its very first book," Mrs. Kitara replied with a smile. "Follow me to my office so that you can get it."

Eventually, the two went away from the conference room so they could go to Mrs. Kitara's main room. It was not far from the conference room so in a matter of few minutes, they were already there in her room. They entered the room and Rika only stood near the door because she would not stay that long inside her office. Mrs. Kitara began digging something from a box as she bent down to find it more.

Not long after, Mrs. Kitara stood up and held a small red object and handed it to Rika. Rika was puzzled because the red book was not that thick and not that thin.

"This is my book?" Rika asked her boss as she held the small object. Wow! It maybe small but it sure is light!

"Yes, Rika," Mrs. Kitara replied with a smile. "Your story somehow had fit the qualifications of the publisher."

"That's nice," Rika answered as she felt that her wish had been granted and held the book. Now my wishes had come true!

Mrs. Kitara only smiled wryly. "I'm really saddened with your sudden resignation, Rika. I don't want to lose editors with such huge potentials. When you said that you're serious, I felt that I couldn't immediately find someone who can replace you… Two years in the service was already long and I commend you for having a steadfast service here in Shinjuku Publishing!"

"I've been really regretful that I had to leave but I only felt that I could have a future somewhere else," Rika answered sincerely. "Plus, six years was already long for me to be separated from my mom and grandma. I really miss them so much."

Mrs. Kitara only nodded. She knew also about Rika's life of being alone for six years so she could also help but pity the young woman right now because she was always alone.

"Okay. I respect your decision, Rika," Mrs. Kitara answered back with sympathy. "After all, families come first."

"Thank you, Ma'am," Rika answered back, finally having some things to back her religious items at home.

Eventually, Mrs. Kitara led Rika to the door. Rika went outside to the hallway and began walking towards her cubicle.

When she arrived in her cubicle, Zoe took her turn in visiting Rika's cubicle.

"Rikaaaaa!" Zoe said and hugged her. "Rikaaaaaaaaaa!"

Rika was surprised when Zoe hugged her since she definitely did not know what was going on.

"Zoe? What's wrong? Is it the end of the world?" Rika asked consequently. "And for the record, anong laro yan?"

"No… Nothing's wrong," Zoe explained as she broke for a bit. "You're going to resign! I'll lose a very quiet and nice teammate!"

Rika was surprised to how did Zoe received the news in span of minutes. She was sure that Mrs. Kitara could have told her anything.

"How did you know about it?" Rika asked, puzzled to why Zoe knew about her secret resignation.

"Well, it happened that I passed by Mrs. Kitara's office and I heard about something…" Zoe explained.

"I'm really saddened with your sudden resignation, Rika. I don't want to lose editors with such huge potentials. When you said that you're serious, I felt that I couldn't immediately find someone who can replace you… Two years in the service was already long and I commend you for having a steadfast service here in Shinjuku Publishing!" Mrs. Kitara said to Rika.

"I've been really regretful that I had to leave but I only felt that I could have a future somewhere else," Rika answered to her boss. "Plus, six years was already long for me to be separated from my mom and grandma. I really miss them so much."

Rika became flabbergasted with what she heard. "Well, good job for eavesdropping, genius!" she added with a snort. "You heard exactly all of them and please lower your voice. Someone might hear us!"

"Thank you!" Zoe, whose voice was already lower, smiled and shook Rika who was only standing nearest to her cubicle.

Eventually, her expression changed because of the fact that Rika would be leaving them totally.

"You're an idiot, Zoe!" Rika snorted but found it somehow grateful. "I may resign as your teammate but that won't stop me from being a visitor here, you know?"

"That's the point! I'll lose a very industrious teammate!" Zoe explained behind her sad expression. "You're the quietest and kind!"

"Enough with the drama, Zoe!" Rika said while narrowing her eyes seriously. "But yeah, I'm also going to miss you because I won't hear any of your jokes anymore together with Mimi."

Zoe only smiled wryly and still she stalled in front of Rika's desk. Somehow, she could not ask any more questions about Rika's abrupt resignation.

"Why did you resign?" Zoe finally asked. The conversation between Rika and Mrs. Kitara inside the boss's room was the only thing she heard and not the original reason.

Rika thought for a moment. "Well… My mom wanted me to follow her and my grandma to America. I could not blame her since it's been six years when I last saw her. And, I only resigned just now since I was already sure that I'd leave at a specific date set by the airport."

"Oh… I remember about that… tragic story of yours," Zoe replied thoughtfully. "It's so sad!"

"Yeah." Rika nodded wistfully. "It's so tragic that I can't even bear to tell anyone except you girls and to our boss."

Eventually, Zoe threw her arms around Rika affectionately. They had been friends since college until now.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Rika," Zoe said with sympathy as she held Rika tightly. "You're the best officemate and college friend I ever had. Not to mention best friend, that is!"

"You're welcome and thanks as well for being nice to me." Rika shook her head playfully. "But you have to promise me that you'll be friends with my future replacement, okay?"

Zoe smiled as she broke away from Rika's grasp. She only laughed even more.

"Of course! I'm friendly enough to make enemies, you know?!" Zoe winked. "Leave the friendship to me!"

"Okay! If you say so!" Rika snorted but it was actually one that was filled with amusement. "Way to go, girl!"

Eventually, Zoe went with Rika so they could have their last moments with each other before everything would end at that day.

Meanwhile, inside Henry's office, the blue-haired young man was busy preparing his slides for the next presentation.

It sucks to be the company owner, Henry thought since he felt that he lost all of his ideas. Gosh. I don't know what to present or anything!

Then he heard a knock on his door. It was Takato who was behind his door.

"Hey, Henry!" Takato greeted sheepishly. "Hey, Henry!"

"What is it, Takato?" Henry asked as he saw his friend who was smiling like a fool in front of him.

"You know about the presentation regarding the board, right?" Takato asked with gaiety.

"Then what about it?" Henry asked, feeling anxious with Takato's presence in his office.

"It's cancelled!" Takato answered jovially. "There'll be no presentation or anything else!"

Henry felt that something heavy was removed from his chest. He had been trying his best in crafting his presentation very precisely.

"Thank God," Henry said as he patted his forehead. "I ran out of ideas in my head!"

But back to where he was stationed civilly, he was still torn despite the invitations being printed already. He did not want to get hitched with somebody that he did not know.

Maybe this was the reason behind my lack of idea, Henry thought to himself. I don't want to remember that I'll be getting married soon.

After finalizing her resignation, Rika stayed at the office so that no one would get suspicious regarding her sudden resignation. She decided that she would inform everyone the next day when she would get her approved resignation letter. She did not want her apologize to admin.

Now that she had removed all of her things in her office secretly, Rika eventually went home since it had been settled that she would resign and a replacement would fit inside her job. That went well.

Now that she was in the Nonaka residence, she could not help but think of the choices she just did for the past week. While thinking, she heard a knock on her front door. She went outside so she could answer it. Once she was outside, she saw a black-haired woman with a blue dress standing outside her door. Rika recognized her as Aimei Chen and her heart raced in horror as a probable bad news would come towards her.

"Hey, Rika!" Aimei greeted with a smile. "How are you?"

Rika only raised an eyebrow because she did not know what caused the other young woman to visit her.

"Uh… Hi?" Rika replied with a tinge of uncertainty. "What are you doing here, Aimei?"

Aimei only smiled at Rika and handed her an envelope. Rika was curious to why Aimei just dropped by at her house as she held it.

"I came here to give you that invitation," Aimei explained the presence of the envelope on Rika's hand. "You know about the wedding that Henry and I will have, right?"

Rika felt numb after hearing this. She did not expect that she would get invited at her ex's wedding.

"When's this?" Rika asked Aimei dubiously. "I mean, when's the wedding?"

"June 8," Aimei answered cheerfully. "It's a Sunday."

Rika became pale as she heard the date. It was her anniversary with Henry and now, it was the date of Henry's wedding. It was also the date of her departure to America so she became even number. She did not know what to feel right now because two significant events would occur on that day.

"J-June 8?" Rika asked, somehow stammering because of the date. Are they serious? They're inviting me when I'm supposed to be leaving already? Do they want to kill me?

"Yes, why?" Aimei answered, curious to why Rika was stammering in front of her. "Is there any problem?"

Rika let out a deep and labored breath. "It's my date to leave for America. That's why I'm not going to attend the wedding because of what you said."

Aimei's eyes became wide at that fact. She was surprised that her friend would be leaving for America.

"What? You're leaving and you're not telling me anything?!" she pointed out. "Why?"

Rika only nodded as she held the invitation tightly. "Yeah. I'm going to leave at that time."

Aimei could not take Rika's refusal. Something must have been working inside the auburn-haired woman's mind.

"You know my Mom, right?" Rika began. "She asked me to join her in America with my grandmother. I'm the only one who's left here in Japan because I tried my best to finish my college degree here."

"So was that the reason why I don't see Mrs. Nonaka or Grandma Seiko for that matter?" Aimei asked.

Rika nodded. "They've been in America for six years straight already. I'm the one who's left in Japan."

"What about your best friend?" Aimei asked, somehow referring to Henry. "He's even happy if you'd attend his wedding."

Rika only scratched her head sheepishly because the topic about Henry was brought up once again. But she decided to tell the truth about her past relationship with Henry once and for all.

"Aimei," Rika started with her revelation. "Henry's not my best friend."

Aimei raised an eyebrow. "What? Pardon me, Rika?" she added.

"Henry's not my best friend," Rika repeated. "He's my ex."

Aimei even became shocked at this point. "He's your ex? Why?!" she asked. "What happened? How come?"

Rika sighed as she decided to bore her with the details. "Well, he's not exactly my ex. But I just left him without a trace because I thought I was going to die from leukemia at that time. I disappeared away from his for six years just like that."

Aimei felt sorry and placed her hands on her chest because she did not believe what Rika had been saying earlier. "Die from leukemia? How come you had that?" she asked curiously.

"It's a long story, Aimei," Rika answered casually. "I thought I was going to die so I didn't tell him that I have leukemia. I don't want him to take care of me. He already had a promising future ahead so I decided to let him achieve it."

"I didn't know that you had to get through that, Rika," Aimei said somehow feeling sorry for her friend. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't pity me, Aimei," Rika answered with a snort. "This is why I don't want to tell anyone about my sad back story. Anyway, I know that you and Henry will get through once you two get married. And I don't know why the airport had finalized the flight on June 8. I only think that my flight and Henry's wedding is purely coincidental."

"I see," Aimei answered seriously. "Anyway, thank you for your support. Just think of this invitation as a souvenir."

"Yeah. Just don't tell Henry about this one. I don't want him to be placing other people before himself," Rika answered sullenly. "Just take care of him for me, okay?"

Aimei only sniffed and hugged Rika sincerely. "Yes. Yes, I will."

"Thank you." Rika nodded sheepishly. "Thanks so much, Aimei."

"Take care, Rika. Say hi to Miss Rumiko and Grandma Seiko for me," Aimei replied with a smile. "Take care!"

Eventually, the two broke away from each other. With this, Aimei only gave a last smile as she stepped away from the Nonaka residence.

"I'll see you," Aimei replied and walked away from the house.

With this, Rika closed the door. Once it was closed, she began to wonder why she would get invited in Henry's wedding in the first place.

Whether I'm invited or invited, I'm still going to push through with my trip to America, Rika thought. Maybe I should talk to Henry so we could have the closure needed since he's getting married anyway.

She opened the invitation and saw that it was only simple.

Henry Wong & Aimei Chen

Inside the Wong residence, Henry was busy with his paperworks when all of a sudden, Aimei came to his door. She still wore the plain look after hearing Rika's story earlier.

"Hey," Aimei greeted pleasantly.

This caused Henry to turn around and saw Aimei standing in front of her.

"Hi," Henry only replied casually. "How's Rika?"

"Anyway, I gave the invitation…" Aimei started but decided not to tell it as of now. "But I only saw no one there. I'm sorry."

Henry only smiled dryly. "It's okay. At least, you tried your best in reaching out to her."

With that, Aimei nodded and walked away. While doing so, Aimei wished that she had something to do for Rika aside from taking care of Henry. After all, Rika had been doing so much favor to her when they were still younger. Besides, this arranged marriage with the Wongs had driven her crazy. She only knew Henry's family just because of her mother.

When Henry heard about Aimei's visitation in the Nonaka residence, he felt really frustrated. There was nothing he could do as of this moment but to say yes. Rika was gone forever in his life because he was going to marry someone else.

I'm sorry, Rika, Henry thought sadly. If there's only something I can do as of this moment then I would get back and stay with you.

~ I'm never gonna say goodbye
Cause I never wanna see you cry
I swore to you my love would remain
And I swear it all over again and I
I'm never gonna treat you bad
Cause I never wanna see you sad
I swore to share your joy and your pain
And I swear it all over again ~

At that moment, Aimei was already outside of the Wong residence and became even afraid of what she just heard. Rika was the "ex" of her betrothed and at the same time, her friend. However, she was torn between two things.

Now I know why Henry had that reluctant expression when the wedding's always mentioned, Aimei thought. My hunches were right. They were somehow related with Rika and Rika was Henry's girlfriend before…

She remembered that Henry never told her about Rika. Same went for Rika who had just told her about Henry when she dropped by to give the invitation to her.

So that's why… But then again, I'm really not interested in pushing this stupid thing, Aimei thought as she had started cleaning her conscience. It's just my mother who wanted me to set up with this so that she could get the money from the Wongs. This ain't right! I can't hurt any more people!

Meanwhile, Rika was seated at the couch and was still reading Henry's wedding invitation and her newly published book. She decided to give Henry a present before he walked down the stairs since she would not see him once she got to leave for America anyway.

Would that be a meaningful thing to give? Rika thought to herself. The book I wrote?

When she opened the cover, she saw the dedication and read it. she also saw the drawing that she

"To my mother, my grandmother and to my friends… and this is for my first and last love."

Nice one, Naomi, Rika thought in her mind and smirked as well. You really added what I told you before.

~ We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world? ~

Suddenly, she remembered something and she immediately stood up. She was supposed to talk to her mother in a video message because her flight to America was already finalized!

"Damn it!" Rika said and eventually ran towards her room so she could get her laptop. "Why am I so forgetful?"

When she ran upstairs, she realized that she had to be careful because she slipped at the stairway before. Fortunately, she landed on her feet at that time.

"Why oh why…" Rika mumbled as she arrived at her doorway and opened the door leading to her room.

She went inside and found that her laptop was just lying on top of her bed. She took it as well as the charger and some cables so she could set up the connection downstairs. She went downstairs and returned back to sitting in the couch. As she sat down, she plugged all the necessary cables and wires in order to establish the connection that she needed for her to talk to her mother. She opened the laptop and waited for the video message to pop in because of the program installed in it. Then after a few moments, she saw her mother in the screen.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Mrs. Nonaka greeted. "How's everything?"

"Hi, Mom…" Rika said in reply. "I'm ready to go in America on Sunday."

"Sunday?! As in June 8?" Rumiko exclaimed. "Why so sudden?"

"Yes, Mom," Rika answered. "It's the date the airline gave me."

"For the last time, are you really sure about leaving Japan?" Mrs. Nonaka asked with definite hesitation. "I don't want you to regret later on!"

"Yes, Mom… I'm really sure," Rika answered wistfully. "I handed my abrupt resignation letter since I'm already sure when to leave."

"Okay," Mrs. Nonaka answered casually. "See you on Sunday."

Eventually, their video message was finished and Rika closed her laptop. Her eyes were once again diverted to the invitation that was just given to her earlier.

I just don't know what to do, Rika thought.

That night, Rika was sleeping inside her room when she found herself living in her own dream. Somehow, she did not know why she was having it anyway.

DREAM:

She and Henry were walking in the sidewalk when their daughter began laughing merrily.

"Mommy! Daddy!" their blue-haired daughter which they named Kimiko squealed. "Look!"

The couple looked and found themselves standing in front of a toy store. With this, the parents smiled at each other.

Rika bent down to talk to her daughter. "What is it?"

"I want a toy!" the little girl answered with her violet eyes twinkling.

With this, Rika smiled sweetly at her daughter and then turned to face her husband.

"I'm okay with it. How about you?" Henry asked good-naturedly.

"I'll go with her," Rika replied as she fidgeted for her purse. "Besides, she's always been good to us so she deserves something today. Come on, Kimiko. Show Mommy what you want."

"Yaaaaay!" Kimiko squealed and grabbed her mother's arm.

At this point, Rika woke up and felt shivers crawling in her skin. Her heart had pumped faster at the image of her being Henry's wife and being a mother to a little girl. A part of her wanted that to happen but it was definitely impossible now that she knew that Henry would be getting married to someone else.

I really need to talk to Henry when I see him, Rika thought. He's really disturbing me and my dreams. I can't talk to him over the phone. That will sound embarrassing!

With that, Rika decided to lie on the bed once again and focus on sleeping. But it was hard for her because she was afraid that the same dream would recur once again. Fortunately, if she would toss and turn right now, she would not have to wake up the next morning because she already resigned. It may be an abrupt one but she knew that it was for the best.

Meanwhile at the Wong residence, Henry woke up with the same peculiar dream. It contained him, Rika and a little girl in which he deduced as his daughter. He wished that somehow it would come true since he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend but it was definitely impossible knowing that he was already engaged to Aimei Chen. His heart actually fluttered at the thought of Rika as his wife and the mother of his child.

If that happened, Rika could be the most wonderful mom ever, Henry thought as he realized how happy he was in that dream. And the best wife for that matter…

Henry could not believe that he had that dream. He went to get his phone and searched for Rika's picture in his phone. When he was already at the gallery section, he saw Rika's picture when they were in Okinawa. He caught her picture during their vacation. He missed her so much that seeing her picture hurt him.

Rika, I miss you so much, Henry thought. Wherever you are, you'll always be in my heart forever.