CHAPTER 13: HEARTBEAT AND HONEYSWEET
April–May 2000 — Somewhere in Batangas
The world still hadn't recovered from the Rivera wedding. Headlines dominated every front page for days. TV specials replayed the kiss at the altar, the elegance of Bella's terno, and the tearful vows that made the entire nation feel like they'd attended a royal ceremony.
But for Bella and Enzo, the wedding now belonged to the past.
What came next was the rest of their lives.
The Honeymoon Hideaway
They chose simplicity over spectacle. No international flights. No exclusive island resorts. Instead, they escaped to a private ancestral villa in Batangas, tucked between a ridge of mango trees and overlooking a quiet beach. It had no TV, no press, no signal—just silence, salt air, and the sound of birds at dawn.
They woke up every morning to sunlight spilling through capiz shell windows. Bella wore his shirts around the house, hair undone, cheeks flushed with a soft glow. Enzo brewed barako coffee and played kundiman music on a battered radio they found in the old kitchen.
They read books on the veranda, played sungka after lunch, and cooked every meal together—badly, and with much laughter.
"Burned the eggs again," Enzo groaned, holding up the pan.
Bella grinned, sipping mango juice. "We're not actors anymore. We're survivors."
They spent evenings by the bonfire, toes in the sand, hearts full.
Letters in a Jar
On the second night, Bella found an old mason jar in the bedroom marked: "Our Future."
Inside were dozens of blank notes.
"What is this?" she asked.
Enzo took a pen and wrote something quickly. Then he folded the paper and dropped it inside.
"What did you write?"
"You'll find out one day."
That became their ritual.
Each day, they each wrote a short letter—some long, some a single line. Promises. Dreams. Even silly arguments.
"You're still wrong about pineapple on adobo."
"I love you most when you're not wearing makeup."
"Let's grow old dancing in this kitchen."
The jar slowly filled, becoming a time capsule of their first weeks as husband and wife.
Visiting Home: Family and Friends
After their honeymoon, they returned to Manila—not to work, but to reconnect.
Their first stop: the Santiago ancestral home in San Juan.
Bella's parents welcomed them with a full salu-salo. The dining table overflowed with kare-kare, rellenong bangus, pancit, and her mother's famous leche flan.
"Eat for two," Elena insisted, piling rice on Bella's plate.
Enzo sat between the titos, being peppered with unsolicited advice.
"Dapat next year, kasunod na si baby number two!"
"Baptism sa Quiapo, ha? Sikat du'n!"
Bella giggled from across the table, watching Enzo blush.
Later, at the Rivera family home, Enzo's younger sister cried when she felt the slight bump on Bella's belly.
"You're going to be a kuya!" she whispered, hands on her brother's shoulders.
Even their old co-stars dropped by over the next few weeks. Their Hearts on Fire director arrived with a bottle of wine and a heartfelt letter.
"You two reminded us why love stories matter."
The First Heartbeat
A week later, Bella and Enzo went for her first full prenatal check-up at a quiet clinic in Pasig, known for its privacy and warmth.
The doctor smiled as she turned the screen toward them. "You ready to meet your little one?"
Bella's breath caught as the grainy black-and-white image lit up the monitor.
A faint flicker appeared.
Then—
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Enzo squeezed her hand. "That's our baby?"
"That's your baby's heartbeat," the doctor confirmed. "Strong and steady."
Bella turned her head and saw tears rolling down Enzo's cheeks.
He leaned forward and whispered to the screen, "We've waited for you all our lives."
Their Quiet Life
Marriage wasn't just grand gestures—it was in the little rhythms.
Sunday mornings were now for palengke runs and lumpia rolling. Bella painted again, something she hadn't done in years. Enzo planted herbs in the backyard. He liked to brag about his basil like it was a child.
They still had disagreements—over what movie to watch, whose turn it was to do dishes, whether the baby would be named after a lola or a rock band.
But their apologies were soft, and their hugs lingered longer now.
One night, while folding laundry, Bella suddenly turned to him and said, "I never thought love could feel this easy."
He kissed her temple. "That's because we worked hard to make it feel that way."