“The guy at the bookstore. Why can you smile at him like that? Even without your smile, he’s already interested in you. But you captivate him with your beautiful smile.” dwin expressed it with a hint of annoyance he didn’t try to hide.


    dwin was jealous? Of a stranger who introduced himself? via didn’t even share her phone number. But dwin reacted this way?


    “And that number eighteen.” He continued. via furrowed her brow even more.


    “Eighteen?”


    “Yeah. The skinny guy and his chubby friend.” Her uncle reminded via of the two men who greeted her in the restaurant, who happened to be her former schoolmates having lunch in the same ce they did earlier. But why the number eighteen? via wondered silently.


    “In my eyes, they look like the numbers one and eight,” dwin replied, causing via to bite her lip to hold backughter. Her uncle had returned to his sarcastic and mischievous self. Just the same old dwin that via had known. via’s friend did indeed have one with a slim build, while the other had a fuller figure but was slightly shorter than the slender one.


    “How could you shake hands with them in front of me, giving him your phone number without asking for my permission? You even seemed to forget my presence there. Do you like him? Charmed by his baby face and round sses? Is it because he looks like Daniel Radcliffe, your and Abigail’s beloved Harry Potter?” he asked with a fiery tone.


    From numbers one and eight to Daniel Radcliffe, a fantastic leap ofparisons. via held back her smile again.


    “He’s my high school friend, Uncle,” via answered honestly.


    “I know. He can’t be your boyfriend. But still, I don’t like it. If he sends you a message or even calls you and invites you out, that means I have one morepetitor. I haven’t been able to get rid of Eijaz, and now there’s this fake Potter,” he continued with an animated tone.


    “Uncle, his name is Brian,” via corrected. dwin, instead, red at her angrily. “And he’s already married,” via added, with a teasing smile on her face.


    dwin’s eyes widened instantly. “H-he’s already married?” dwin stammered, uncertain about via’s words. via nodded.


    “We were high school friends, and his wife is Abigail’s friend. He got married when I was in my sixth semester of college,” she honestly exined.


    dwin shrugged, a gesture via knew meant he was feeling awkward after venting his unclear frustration. “Fine. At least mypetition has decreased by one. But still, there’s this number eight who didn’t blink when he saw you,” he continued sulking.


    via walked closer to her uncle. “Uncle…” she called softly. “So, you’ve been angry with me all this time because of them?” A somewhat foolish question. via was aware that the cause of her uncle’s strange behavior was those two men. She asked more to reassure herself that what she thought was correct.


    “I’m not angry, via Quirino. Em-pha-size that. I’m jealous. You know? Jeal-Ous!” dwin replied, emphasizing each syble.


    “But Uncle shouldn’t be jealous. It’s not reasonable,” via responded. dwin was stunned to hear that.


    “Yes. You’re right,” dwin continued his almost finished task. “Not because of jealousy. But because of its unreasonableness. I have no right to be jealous because you’re not mine to be jealous of. Who am I? Just an old bachelor begging for love from his own niece,” he replied again, with a pitiful tone.


    “Uncle…”


    “Yes. Yes. Yes. I know. You prefer Eijaz, handsome and younger than me. It’s okay, I’m aware of myself. I won’t force you to ept my love. I won’t burden you anymore,” dwin closed the refrigerator and turned around. via was still frozen in her ce. Her slender fingers gripped the strap of her shoulder bag, turning pale. “You don’t have to look at me with pity, Via. I’m self-aware. I won’t openly express my feelings for you anymore. I don’t want to burden you.”


    Instead of answering, via shed a tear, surprising dwin.


    “Why? Did he say something wrong? Did he hurt the girl?”N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    “Vi-Via. What’s wrong with you?” dwin approached and hugged his niece with concern. Embracing her small shoulders, he gently rubbed her back. via held onto the edges of dwin’s shirt, squeezing them while sobbing softly.


    “Why? Why did Uncle do this to me?” asked the girl in his embrace.


    dwin tried to pull away from via, attempting to see her face. However, via hugged him tightly and buried her face in dwin’s chest.


    “Why is Uncle being mean to me?” she sobbed softly. “I’ve tried to forget Uncle. Stay away from Uncle. Uncle said he didn’t want a rtionship with kids like me. But why has Uncle changed now?


    “Why is Uncle being mean?” The girl’s consecutive questions, apanied by her trembling sobs, left dwin speechless. In response, he hugged via tightly, resting his chin on top of her head.


    “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know I’ve been selfish. I know I’ve been cruel to you. But I’ve given up. I’m tired.”


    “I can’t pretend anymore that I don’t have any feelings for you. I can’t hold back the jealousy anymore.


    “I love you. Not just now, but since a long time ago,” he said, causing via to freeze. via released her embrace, moving back so she could see dwin more clearly. “Forgive me if my words back then hurt you. But honestly, I didn’t want you to misinterpret your feelings towards me.


    “Admiration and love have a thin line between them. And I wanted you to realize first what I mean to you in your heart. But I was wrong. I should have just epted the feelings we both had.”


    “I’ve fallen in love. I feel like a criminal for loving someone like you.”


    “But Mom and Dad also had a significant age gap. Even more than us.”


    “Yes, I know. But they were adults back then. While you? You’re justing of age. I don’t want to tie you down while your friends are still out there, free. I don’t want you to regret someday for choosing wrong and not being able to enjoy your youth as you should.


    “I’m afraid you’ll leave me someday because you realize what you feel for me is just admiration, not love. Negative thoughts, indeed. But I can’t dismiss all those thoughts.”


    “But I’m not like that.”


    “Yes, I know. I realize it. I realize your determination. And I apologize for that. For underestimating your feelings.” dwin embraced via again, holding her petite body tightly. “I hope your rtionship with Eijaz isn’t serious.


    “Even though I love you, I don’t want to snatch you away from another man. I want you toe to me willingly. ept all my feelings,” he whispered. His confidence disappeared when Eijaz’s name surfaced.


    “I…” via nervously squeezed dwin’s clothing. “I don’t have anything going on with Eijaz,” she said softly against dwin’s chest.


    “But you’re arranged to be married. And you seem very…patible,” dwin said reluctantly.


    via pulled her face away from dwin. “Is Uncle jealous?” she asked with a mischievous smile. dwin turned his face away, a blush spreading across his face and ears.


    via shook her head. “I am indeed arranged with Eijaz, but there’s nothing between us. We’re good friends, that’s all. Eijaz is a good friend who has always been there for me when I needed him. But that’s it, nothing more.”


    “So, you don’t have any feelings for him?” dwin asked again, curious. via shook her head wearily. “Then, for the past five years, was I right in suspecting that you’ve been trying to avoid me?” dwin inquired again, wanting to know the truth.


    via lifted her head again, silently gazing at the man and choosing not to provide any answer. “So, it’s true? My suspicion all this time is correct,” dwin answered his own question. “But why?” dwin pleaded.


    “I’m scared.”


    “Scared? Scared of what?”


    “I’m afraid my feelings will waver again if I see Uncle.”


    “But why? Do you hate me that much?”


    via shook her head quickly. “N-no, it’s not like that. I just…” The sound of a password being pressed and the door opening diverted their attention to an intruder.


    “Oops… are you two having a drama scene here?” Abigail looked at via and dwin with a mischievous smile. Aware of their current embrace, via tried to distance herself from dwin, but he maintained his hold on her waist.


    “Sorry, we’re not having a drama here. But from now on, via and I are officially dating.” The announcement suddenly made via and Abigail both stare at the only man in the room with wide-eyed astonishment.