Philippines
The flight felt longer than it should have.
Alessandra barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, memories overlapped.
Her grandfather teaching her how to play chess when she was ten.
Her grandfather waiting up when she studied late during law school.
Her grandfather silently placing food beside her when she forgot to eat during Bar review.
And recently…
Ben.
His quiet smile.
Their last kiss.
The promise that he would come back.
She closed her eyes tighter.
Some goodbyes, she realized, happen without warning.
When the plane finally landed, she didn't waste time.
Her parents were already waiting at the airport, their faces carrying the kind of quiet sadness that told her everything she needed to know.
"How is he?" she asked immediately.
Her mother held her hand tightly.
"He's still waiting."
Still waiting.
Those words broke something inside her.
They drove straight to the hospital.
Every red light felt like an enemy.
Every minute felt stolen.
Every second felt fragile.
When she entered the hospital room, everything became quiet.
Machines hummed softly.
The smell of antiseptic filled the air.
And on the bed…
Her grandfather.
Weaker.
Smaller.
But still him.
His eyes slowly opened as if he sensed her presence before hearing her voice.
"Lolo…" she whispered.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Ale… you came home."
Tears immediately fell from her eyes as she held his hand carefully.
"I'm here."
His grip was weak but intentional.
"I told them… I would wait."
Her chest tightened.
"Wait for what?"
He smiled gently.
"For my strongest apo."
She shook her head through tears.
"I'm not strong."
He looked at her with the same knowing eyes he always had.
"Yes, You are."
A long pause passed between them.
No need for long speeches.
Some relationships never needed many words.
"I'm tired," he admitted softly.
She squeezed his hand.
"It's okay."
"I'm not afraid," he continued.
"I know."
"I saw you become who you were meant to be."
Her tears fell harder.
"I'm still becoming."
He smiled faintly.
"You always will be."
A soft silence followed.
Then he said the words she would carry for the rest of her life.
"Now… you live your life for yourself."
Her heart broke completely at that moment.
Because those were the same words her parents told her.
The same permission.
The same love.
The same release.
"I will," she promised.
He nodded slightly.
Satisfied.
His breathing slowly became softer.
Then quieter.
Then still.
And just like that…
It was as if he had only been holding on long enough to see her one last time.
At his funeral, Alessandra did not cry loudly.
She stood quietly beside his casket, fingers gently touching the wood.
Because grief does not always scream.
Sometimes it sits quietly in your chest and changes you forever.
Her father stood beside her.
"He was very proud of you."
She nodded.
"He never said it directly."
Her father smiled slightly.
"He didn't need to. He showed it."
She knew that was true.
Three days later, life moved again.
Because life always does.
Alessandra was at home helping arrange her grandfather's books when her phone began vibrating non-stop.
Messages.
Calls.
Notifications.
Her former classmates.
Law school friends.
Professors.
She frowned.
"What's happening?"
Then one of her closest friends called.
"ALE!!!"
"What?"
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"
"I just got back from China—"
"THE BAR RESULTS ARE OUT!"
Her heart skipped.
Her hands suddenly felt cold.
"When?"
"This morning!"
Her breathing became uneven.
"I… I haven't checked."
"Check it now!"
Her hands trembled slightly as she opened the official results page.
Her eyes scanned the screen.
At first, she couldn't process what she was seeing.
Then she saw her name.
At the very top.
HERNANDEZ, ALESSANDRA MARIE
She froze.
She read it again.
And again.
Her friend was screaming on the phone.
"ALE YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!!!"
Her mind went blank.
"Top… one?"
"TOP ONE!!! YOU TOPPED THE BAR!!!"
Her mother, hearing the noise, rushed toward her.
"What happened?"
Alessandra couldn't speak.
She simply, handed the phone.
Her mother read.
Then covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
Her father read next.
For the first time in her life, she saw his composure completely break.
Not from pressure.
From pride.
"You did it," he said quietly.
But Alessandra's tears came for a different reason.
She looked toward her grandfather's empty chair.
"I wish he saw this."
Her mother hugged her.
"He already knew."
That night, while congratulatory messages flooded her phone, Alessandra sat quietly by her window.
Top 1.
The dream she worked for.
The goal she gave her youth.
The promise she kept.
She should have felt only happiness.
And she was happy.
But her heart also remembered something else.
Someone else.
Ben.
She wondered if he ever looked for her.
If he ever realized why she left.
If she was just a memory now.
She touched her lips unconsciously, remembering their last kiss.
"Thank you," she whispered into the quiet night.
Not just to Ben.
Not just to her grandfather.
But to the life that shaped her.
Because now she finally understood something important:
She had fulfilled everyone else's dreams for her.
Now…
She had to discover her own.
And somewhere far away in Shenzhen, a man named Ben Wang was about to discover that the woman he only knew as Ale…
Is no ordinary woman.