Chapter 1 A CRASH AND CLASH!

*Years ago. *

The cab screeched to a halt, and the pregnant woman groaned, her hands clutched on the seats as she squatted.

"Good job with that perfect squat, ma'am. Now, try to push gently." Said calmly, a young medical student, supporting her back. The woman's eyes grew wide as she gazed at the young man beside her, and she bore down, pain twisted on her face.

Onlookers had surrounded the car, all marvelling at the scene before them. Whispers and murmurings of prayer spread amidst the crowd, everyone's eyes glued to the woman and the student in the car with worry.

"Oh my, you're.. you're doing this perfectly." A midwife, who had been standing in front of the soon-to-be mother at the other side of the car stammered, as she watched the student's work.

"One more time." The woman pushed again, guided by the student who kept offering moral support and some encouragement. "Almost there, ma'am."

With one final push, a tiny cry filled the taxi, bringing instant relief to everyone in the scene as joy followed after. The young man beamed as he held up the baby. "It's a beautiful baby girl."

The mother's exhausted face broke into a smile as she instantly reached for her child, forgetting she was still squatted. The midwife quickly helped the mother relax back on the seat as comfortably as she could help her feel at the moment. And then, the baby was passed to its mom. The midwife turned to the young man, her eyes filled with admiration. "You've done an excellent job, young man. What's your experience?"

The student chuckled humbly. "I'm sorry, I'm just a medical student, ma'am. But I'm studying obstetrics."

Whispers erupted in the air, in awe at the young man's response. But before anyone could say a word, the ambulance sirens interrupted, drawing closer to the scene. The mother and child were ushered into the vehicle through a stretcher, alongside the young student.

*Years later. *

At a grocery store.

Items neatly arranged in their racks, customers at every corner calmly browsed around for whatever goods that brought them to the store.

"Easter periods here in the Philippines are always sweet. Everyone's happy, what a vibe!" Penelope said excitedly, picking up an item from the rack she'd stopped by, into the shopping basket she was holding.

"It's sweeter as it falls on yours and Peter's birthday this time around. Now the celebration will feel more special." Auria added, smiling from ear to ear as she also browsed around with her sister.

"Thanks to you, dad agreed to move back to the Philippines though." Said Penelope. Her eyes darted over at Auria for a fleeting second, filled with the bubbling excitement she was feeling, before focusing on the rack again. "I'm glad that after Thanksgiving, we still get to stay."

"Well, it's great. At least now I can get to see you guys often." Auria smiled. "So are those everything we need, Penny?" She asked, the girls still pacing around the store. Her sister, looked into the cart and also made her confirmation on the list. "I'm afraid not. I just remembered a few more ingredients." Penny replied, handing the list to Auria.

Auria nodded with a smile. "Alright, let's go get them then."

As the ladies headed for the vegetable rack, Penny suddenly felt the need to ease herself and calmly went to the restroom immediately.

Auria continued with the shopping while Penny was away.

Ahead of her, was a man, who was on a heated phone call, his face scrunched up in frustration. "How could you mix up my patients' meds?" he yelled at his phone. He was so caught up in the conversation that he didn't notice he was moving towards Auria's direction and he crashed into her, causing her basket to fall, the Items spilling out onto the floor.

Her eyes widened in annoyance, especially as he just kept walking away, still lost in his phone call. "Hey, you moron!" She shouted, her voice echoing through the store and the people nearby turned to watch the sudden commotion. The man stopped, turning around, his expression darkening. "Are you talking to me?" he asked, his tone incredulous.

"No, I'm speaking to your shirt. Of course, I'm talking to you." Auria scoffed, sarcasm dripping in her tone. "You just knocked over my basket. What kind of carelessness is that?"

The man's face twisted into a frown. "Does that give you the right to call me a moron?"

"It certainly does from the looks of it." Auria stood her ground. "You didn't even watch where you're going, and now you're just walking away like it's nothing?"

The man's expression softened slightly, but he still looked frustrated and confused. "Okay.. what do I do now that you've called me out?"

"What! I can't believe this guy!" Auria gasped dramatically, shaking her head and placing a hand on her chest. "You've got to pick up the items you knocked down." She said, her voice firm. The man stared at her for a second, but a voice called out from the phone still glued to his ear, pulling his attention. He suddenly shook his head. "I don't have time for this nonsense!" Then turned and walked away, leaving Auria stunned.

"Hey, you can't just walk away!" She screamed, following him to argue more. Turning around, the man pinched his forehead with a frustration sigh. "Look, I'm already having a bad day dealing with a serious issue. If this will make you better, I'm sorry, okay?" He said quickly and continued walking away.

A gasp left her lips, unable to believe this man as her eyes fixed on his retreating figure.

Just then, Penny appeared behind her. "What's going on, Aurie?" she asked as Auria turned around, explaining the situation.

"Oh dear." Penny patted her shoulder. "Let's not let him ruin our mood, okay?" She said, then bent down to pick up the items. "Come on, let's just get what we want and we go home."

Auria sighed as she also crouched to help return their items into the basket. However, just as she reached for the syrup which they'd gotten, she saw the bottle had broken because of the basket fall, its content spilled to the floor. "Okay, that's it. I won't let him get away with this!" She exclaimed, getting up and heading in the man's direction.

"Auria, wait! Relax!" Penny called out, but Auria didn't listen, and continued walking away.