Imperfect Desires

Xiu was caught off-guard emotionally to the point that the fork in her hand fell down with a clank. Her eyes went round in disbelief. To be very honest, she thought she heard wrongly but Francesca's next words said otherwise.

"From your reaction, I believe that Regi hasn't told you anything about this." Francesca was looking thoughtfully at Xiu. She had thought about it before and knowing her son, she knew he'd never say it himself. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Since you're a part of the family now, you should know a bit about the Salvay family."

"Regan is not your son?" Xiu abruptly ended up asking. 

"He is my son. He is my only son," Francesca's answer got Xiu in confusion. "But I didn't give birth to him." Xiu's body went rigid. "He is not Francesca Salvay's son. He is Florence Salvay's son."

"Florence?" repeated Xiu in a daze.

"Hm. Florence Salvay; my elder sister." The way she said that name made her bitterness very obvious. Xiu didn't know how to comprehend it all. "I heard from Regi that you believe I look too young to be his mother." Xiu nodded her head since she had said that on several occasions. "That's because when he was born, I was like 15 or 16?" France perched her elbows on the table as she went on, "Anyways, I remember I was in high school when he was born. But I got his custody when I was in college. Before that my dad took care of him."

"What about his real mother? Is she...?" Xiu only quirked her brow but didn't dare complete that sentence.

"Is she dead or alive?" France filled in for her and when Xiu nodded, she went on, "Honestly, I have no clue." Xiu frowned at her. "She vanished right after giving birth to Regi. After that, nobody saw her. And at this point, I don't want her to come back." Xiu was in astonishment. "My sister has no idea what she lost. Because let me tell you, there can't be a better son than my Regi. He's caring, loving, considerate, reliable, and most importantly a very good human."

Xiu was still having difficulty believing this. She had seen the way Darren takes about his mother. The respect, love, and admiration in his eyes for his mother had always been overwhelming to her but now she found the same thing in Francesca's eyes for him as well. 

"It must have been very difficult all on your own..."

Francesca tilted her head slightly, "Not really. Because I wasn't alone. I had my son with me all along." She smiled sadly to herself at the memories as she continued, "To be honest when dad died, I was really lost. The relatives tricked me since I was clueless and I lost everything. My family's house, my family's business, and my dad's legacy. I lost it all because it was my first time being all on my own."

She took a brief pause. "A girl who had a very carefree life and the one who always depended on her dad for everything was suddenly given a five years old kid's custody along with a hundred more responsibilities she wasn't ready for." Xiu was trying to read her expressions but couldn't do so. "I thought I was a failure when I lost everything because of my naivety. But then my Regi's small hands held mine and the trust and dependence in those eyes shook my heart to the core. It was only at that moment when I realized that I wasn't alone now. I had him who was my responsibility and I had to put up a fight for his sake."

 "You're right. This world is filled with cruel and judgmental people. I had been faced with that. Perhaps that's why I lost that itch to always judge people. I'm no better than why should I question other's choices? The only thing I can do is to better myself. And to care only about the ones who matter to me."

No wonder Xiu found her very genuine. She had faced her own storms and she had seen the hypocrisy of this world as well. She was so real because she knew how the fake hurt in this world.

 "But you still managed to raise a beautiful son," Xiu remarked with sincerity in her voice.

Francesca chuckled at her words. "This is where everyone is very wrong. I didn't raise Regi. It's actually the other way around." Before Xiu could question what she meant, she elaborated, "Regi had always been a very sensible kid. He never threw any tantrums and instead always tried to accommodate to whatever circumstances we're going through. And let me tell you, we went through pretty bad times together. However, he never complained. He always tried to take care of me instead."

She took a sip of the water and added, "I love him more than anything. But I hate the fact that he never asked me for anything. I hate it that he never complained. Not even once!"

Xiu didn't know why she felt like crying now. Tears were brimming in her clear eyes now. She didn't know why but she felt like she could understand Darren a lot better now. He went through that suffocation of trying to be the best in his life. It hurts, even more, to know that he never even shared this part of his life with her.

"I hate my sister for leaving him like that," said Francesca. "I hate her for abandoning Regi without a second thought. I tried being a better guardian for him. I really tried but I still lacked a lot. And I can never forgive my sister for this."

Xiu placed her hand over hers and said, "I don't think so. I think you're the most beautiful person I've come across in my life. And most importantly, you are the best mother in the world. I truly learned today that some bonds really don't require blood. Some of us just need a person like you."