Abigail ced her bag on the bar table and walked towards the pantry, opening the fridge and drinking cold water straight from her bottle. “Let me know if Grandma invites Uncle for lunch or takes him out. Anywhere and anytime. I’ll be like a leech sticking to Uncle,” she dered loudly as she walked towards her room. “Good night, Uncle. Have a nice dream,” she added with a smile before closing the door.


    dwin didn’t respond to Abigail’s statement. The man strolled into his room and opted for a warm shower, changing into fresh clothes afterward. He theny on his bed and opened a video uploaded by Ignazio on his YouTube ount. Didn’t via know that her eldest brother often posted videos of their daily activities?


    dwin opened thetest video titled “Rasa Cinta” (The Essence of Love) that Ignazio had uploaded. In the video, Abigail and via were standing at the doorway. Ignazio yed the guitar, and Akara sang a verse of a song with her melodious voice. Lastly, the beautiful Francisca and her cousin Falisha ended the video with a funny closing remark typical of children.


    The video was unedited and had been uploaded about four hours ago. It had garnered a lot of views, thumbs up, and numerousments.


    “Oh my God, is that really Abigail? Introduce us, please…”


    “Wow, does this family have some special genes? How can their descendants be this talented?”


    And there were otherments requesting Abigail or via to be their partners or urging Francisca and Falisha to grow up quickly. Some women alsomented, asking Ignazio and Geremia to be their boyfriends.


    dwin smiled to himself. Nowadays, kids had their own quirky ways of expressing their feelings.


    dwin knew that his nieces had a YouTube ount. It had been just a year since they started ying around with social media ounts. There wasn’t any specific content on it; the kids used “Diary Ignazio Family” as the title for their stories. The videos mainly featured their family activities, with many showcasing Ignazio ying his favorite musical instrument, the guitar.


    A few months ago, Ignazio began uploading cover songs, ying them with Adaline or with via as the singer. yfully, the boy even uploaded funny videos of Francisca, Falisha, or Abigail singing loudly.


    Watching the videos made by his nieces was, in fact, one of dwin’s remedies for missing via. via was a reserved girl, even on her own social media ount; she rarely posted personal photos, unless someone else was in the picture.


    dwin opened the chat application on his phone and searched for via’s name.


    **Me:**


    How are you doing now?


    Feeling better?


    Via:


    I’m better now, Uncle.


    Uncle hasn’t slept yet?


    Me:


    Just arrived at the apartment.


    Via…


    Via:


    Yes, Uncle?


    Me:


    Love you.


    Always.


    Silence. No response.


    Me:


    I know you’re still unsure.


    But I won’t give up.


    I hope you’ll give me a chance.


    Don’t you feel sorry for me?


    I’m an old bachelor, you know.


    Again, just silence. Two clear blue checkmarks indicated that dwin’s message had been read by via, but there was no response from her. Whether she intended to reply or deliberately ignored it, he couldn’t tell.


    Me:


    Wait for me.


    If you really don’t want to respond to my messages,


    I’ll chase after you in your dreams.


    Love you.


    dwin ced his phone on the nightstand. Meanwhile, elsewhere, via could only stare nkly at her phone. This was the longest message her uncle had ever sent her.


    via couldn’t believe it. What was happening with her uncle? Just when she intended to put an end to everything, he reappeared and expressed something that Via had buried in her thoughts. via couldn’t sleep the whole night, contemting the various options she would face if she chose to ept or reject her uncle’s confession.


    In the morning, after closing her eyes for about two hours, via decided to return to her routine. “Good morning,” a warm greeting from a man that left via stunned.


    “Uncle…!” Her two younger siblings shouted simultaneously. What was her uncle doing here so early in the morning? via wondered in silence.


    “Brother, why are you here so early for once?” ire asked, having finished hanging her baby’s clothes.


    “I asked to be dropped off here. His car was left herest night. His assistant was supposed to pick it up, but it didn’t happen,” dwin replied, whether it was indeed the fact or if there was another reason.


    “And where’s Abigail?” ire asked since her chatty niece wasn’t heard.


    “She’s already gone to the location. I’m hungry, mind if I join for breakfast?” he said and took a seat without waiting for permission.


    via, who had finished her toast, was now moving the hot bread onto arge te while the house assistant brought bread and jam. “What toppings would Zio and Francis like?” via asked as she ced the bread on the table.


    “I want sunny-side-up eggs.”


    “I’ll go with sausages.”


    “I want both, sausage and sunny-side-up eggs,” dwin requested without being asked. via just nodded and returned to the kitchen. Shortly after, she came back with two tes, each containing semi-cooked sunny-side-up eggs and sausages.


    via, who usually sat on the left side of Antony, now found herself sitting next to Ignazio because dwin had taken her usual seat.


    “Why don’t you have breakfast at Mom’s ce? Mom would be happy if you ate there,” ire suddenly asked.


    “Lazy,” replied dwin, taking a big bite of his toast. via ate in silence, not intending toment on anything.


    “Tired of being asked about when you’re getting married, huh?” ire teased again.Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    “You already know the answer. Don’t bother asking.”


    “I’m just curious. Mom brought it up again yesterday. Why don’t you just say yes to her request? Isn’t it nice to have a wife, someone who pays attention to you?”


    “Someone to apany you in bed,” added Antony. “Marriage is enjoyable, brother. Every night feels warm.” Antony’s whisper made dwin choke on his food.


    “Are you mocking me?” dwin red at Antony.


    “Not mocking, just stating the actual facts. Altezza and Gian even regret not getting married sooner. What age are you nning to get married? Or are you just not desirable?” Antony’s question made dwin choke on his food again. His brother-inw was exceptional; he could insult someone without any expression.


    “Who said I’m not desirable? Being single and choosing to remain unmarried are different, Antony,” dwin defended himself.