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Be Honest 30

    “Little girl.” The voice on the other end of the line was deep and familiar, yet distant.


    A familiar face shed through my mind, and I instinctively said, “Philip.”


    I’d thought that changing my number would be enough to escape the Dolton family’s reach, but I never expected Philip to know it-and I certainly didn’t expect him to contact me.


    “Looks like you saved my number after all, didn’t forget me.” Philip’s voice held a teasing note.


    He was only two years older than Alvin, and before he went abroad, he’d always looked out for me, calling me “little girl” all the time.


    I didn’t know how to respond at first. There was a certain tone in his voice-something between teasing andint, though maybe it was just my imagination.


    The first couple of years after he left, we’d still keep in touch now and then, and I’d ask how he was doing. But as time went on, we lost contact.


    Philip wasn’t the type to reach out. Even with family, he kept his distance. Now, out of nowhere, he was calling.


    It was obvious that he knew about my breakup with Alvin, even though Philip wasn’t really close to the family, he still got wind of important matters.


    “How did you get my number, Philip?” I asked directly, not one to beat around the bush.


    “You asked me for money to pay your phone bill back then,” Philip replied.


    I couldn’t help butugh. Only Philip would remember a phone number after paying a bill once- and hold onto it for ten years.


    When my parents passed away, Eliseo’s phone became one of the few things I had left of them. One day, I found out it had been deactivated, so I decided to top it up.


    But at the time, I had no money and was too embarrassed to ask Peter and Michelle for help, so I went to Philip for a loan.


    He was worried I’d use the money for something else, so he insisted on going with me to pay bill. In the end, he covered the cost, and in doing so, he remembered my number.


    the


    I hadpletely forgotten to pay him back for that bill. So when he called, I teased, “Philip, are you calling to collect your debt?”


    “Yeah, I am,” he admitted, without missing a beat.


    I knew he wasn’t serious, but I went along with it. “Alright, I’ll transfer the money right now…”


    “Zoe,” Philip cut me off.


    Chapter ou


    My hand tightened around the phone, but I didn’t speak. Neither did he—at least, not immediately.


    After a brief pause, his voice came again, this time much softer. “My mom and dad are really worried about you. They couldn’t find you, and they’ve been frantic. My mom… she even copsed


    from the stress.”


    My heart squeezed. I’d expected them to be worried, but I hadn’t realized it was this serious. The guilt and anxiety hit me hard. “Is Michelle okay?”


    “She’s fine. Just high blood pressure from the stress,” Philip said, then paused. “Zoe… did Alvin do something to hurt you?”


    There it was. I couldn’t avoid the question any longer. I knew anyone who found out about us would ask the same thing.


    The thought of it made my temples throb, and I rubbed my aching forehead. “Didn’t you ask him first, Philip? Shouldn’t you talk to him beforeing to me?”


    “I did,” Philip replied. “He said he doesn’t know what happened.”


    I almostughed at that. “Didn’t he also say I was being unreasonable? That I was just throwing a


    tantrum?”


    Philip didn’t answer that. Instead, he said, “You were so in love with him, so determined to marry him. And now, you’ve suddenly changed your mind… He must have done something to hurt you, right?”


    The words he spoke stung, like a sudden sharp pain in my chest. Although Philip had been abroad for several years, he understood my feelings for Alvin better than even Jasmine.


    After all, we’d shared meals at the same table and lived under the same roof.
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