Lotlot adds, "Ang lalim ng pinagsamahan namin ni Nomar. May pera, wala. May career kami pare-pareho o wala. Nandiyan kami para sa isa't isa, kahit hindi kami lagi nagkikita o nagkakasama."

Ramon Pardo recalls Monching telling him he could always rely on Nomar to come over when needed, even when Monching didn't even have any money to pay for Nomar's taxi fare. "Hindi bumabanggit ng pera 'yon," Ramon quotes Monching. "Pag may ibibigay ako, 'Thank you!' Pag wala, okey lang."

Nomar's father adds: "He never complained to me. He never asked money from me. I knew there was a time that he was hard up. I never heard him complain."

Before working for the Gutierrezes, Nomar took on a myriad jobs. He worked as a production assistant for a Filipino stage show in Brunei, a waiter for Pilita's Kooka Bar, a worker in a cargo forwarding company in Korea, a worker in a tofu factory, and a caregiver for Pilita's sick aunt in Australia.

"Masipag" is how Lorayne describes her husband: "Kahit ano pong trabaho, basta may trabaho, 'tsaka maayos naman po."

Lorayne Torres came into Nomar's life in 1996. She had gone to visit a kinakapatid who sold Avon merchandise in Quezon City. Nomar, who was in the neighborhood, dropped by one day and inquired about the products.

"He was buying," Lorayne relates. "So sabi ko, 'Ayan, o, mas maganda 'yan.' So parang from there, nag-start na, nagkakilala kami. Wala pang cellphone noon, e. Beeper pa lang. So nagbi-beep na, 'Oy! Kamusta?' Ganito, ganyan. Hanggang sa, ayun na, dumaan na sa ligaw."

She was just turning 16 then, and he was already 28. Despite the 12-year age gap, "nag-click lang talaga kami," Lorayne recalls. "Sabi ko no'ng nakilala ko siya, he will be the one."

Lotlot, who witnessed Nomar and Lorayne's relationship blossom, says: "Talagang nagmamahalan 'yong dalawa, sobra. And they waited. They were together for a long time before they really decided to settle down."

The actress explains that Nomar was the type of person who saw the role of padre de pamilya as a big responsibility.

"I guess Nomar always wanted to settle down early kung pupuwede, pero ano 'yan sa pera—gusto niya he's in charge of the family, e. Ayaw niya 'yong wala siyang mapapakain sa asawa niya, sa mga anak niya. So, siguro kung natagalan lang 'yong pagiging mag-asawa nila, it is because 'yong hesitations niya. 'Paano ko bubuhayin 'yan?' But siguro, finally, nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob na, 'Hindi ko papakawalan si Lorayne.'"

In 2003, after seven years of being a couple, Nomar and Lorayne finally tied the knot. With the addition of two sons, Nomar considered working abroad. But he couldn't bear the thought of being away from his family.
"Babe," he once told his wife, "okey lang kahit na sabihin mong pagod ako, basta kasama ko ang pamilya ko."

"Kahit anong pagod niya," Lorayne says, "pag umuwi siya ng bahay, makita lang niya 'yong mga anak niya, happy na siya."

KARAPATAN KONG MALAMAN. When it was time for Nomar's wake and burial, one of the first to offer assistance to the family was the Kapuso network.

Lorayne says GMA-7 executive Carol Galve came to see her and told her: "Miss Lorayne, 'wag po kayong mag-alala sa expenses... GMA po ang magso-shoulder lahat ng expenses ni Nomar, sa burol hanggang sa pagpapalibing."

The widow was naturally grateful for the assistance. "Doon pa lang, napakalaki na 'yong tulong na 'yon," she says. But on the last day of the wake, before the cremation, she didn't specify who she was thanking.

"Hindi ako nag-mention ng mga names na pinasalamatan, kasi kung magme-mention ako at mayroon akong na-miss, baka may magalit, di ba? Kaya sabi ko nga in general na lang na, 'I thank everybody, sa lahat ng nagpunta, tumulong, and everything.'"

The wake for Nomar was held at St. Peter's Chapel in Quezon City, from May 22 to 26. On the first two days, Richard was still in the hospital, recovering from his injuries, but his parents, Annabelle and Eddie, were in communication with the Pardo family.

Lorayne relates: "Noong unang-una kaming nagkita at nagkausap ni Annabelle papuntang St. Peter, ang sabi ko sa kanya, 'Gusto ko pong makausap si Richard.' Sabi niya, hindi ko pa siya makakausap, kasi nasa state of shock pa siya. 'Ako din po, kami din,' sabi kong ganoon."

Annabelle, according to Lorayne, said of Richard: "Hindi pa niya alam na wala na si Nomar."

In the course of her conversations with Annabelle, Lorayne goes on, the talent manager admitted to her that she hesitated to let Richard drive on the night of the accident. Lorayne recalls Annabelle telling her: "Sabi ko kay Richard, 'Richard, 'wag ka nang magmaneho. 'Wag mo na lang dalhin ang sasakyan mo, kasi pagod kayo...' Ang sagot ng anak, 'Ma, okey lang, kasi malapit lang naman ang Tagaytay. 'Tsaka test drive na rin.' Iyon ang sinabi niya... Kumbaga, mother's instinct 'yon, e. Baka ano'ng mangyari."
It was also during this particular conversation, Lorayne says, that Annabelle offered to help put her kids through school. "'Wag kang mag-alala, 'Day, pag-aaralin namin ang mga anak mo—elementary, high school, college,'" she recalls Annabelle telling her.

She also says that Annabelle offered to bring food during the wake and to have Masses said.

"Hindi po namin hiningi 'yon, just to clarify," Lorayne says. "Kung maganda po ang intensiyon nila sa pagpapamisa, sa pagpapakain, 'Salamat po.'"

Ramon, Nomar's father, recalls Annabelle telling his daughter-in-law within the first two nights of the wake: "Lorayne, let us stop. Kalimutan na natin 'yong nangyari, 'yong past. You go on. Go on, mabuhay ka."
On May 24, on the third night of the wake, Richard came to St. Peter's Chapel, along with other talents of Royal ERA. A Mass was offered that was both a thanksgiving for Richard and a prayerful one for Nomar on that night, courtesy of Annabelle's talent agency.

Ramon recalls the young actor's arrival: "He shook my hand. He could not speak. I said, 'Let's sit down Richard. Upo ka na. Baka nahihilo ka pa.'"
He says, in hindsight: "I can never recall that he said, 'I'm sorry it happened.' Honestly."

Lorayne saw Richard's visit as an opportunity to talk to the young actor. After the thanksgiving Mass, she saw him sitting alone.

"Tinabihan ko siya," she narrates. "Pinag-iisipan ko kung kakausapin ko ba o hindi. Pero gusto ko talaga malaman kung ano'ng nangyari... So ang una kong tanong sa kanya, 'Chard, babalik ka ba tomorrow?' Sabi niya, 'Yeah, I'll be back hanggang sa mailibing si Nomar.' Sabi ko, 'Okey.' 'Tapos, sabi niya, 'Alam mo, no'ng nabubuhay pa si Nomar, ang dream niya, mapatapos ang mga anak n'yo. Tutuparin ko 'yon.' 'Okey.' 'Tapos, tumahimik po ako. Tinanong ko siya nang maayos, 'Can we talk?' 'Yes.' 'Can we talk just the two of us?' 'Okay.'"

Lorayne says Richard suggested that they talk right then and there, but she wanted to have a more private conversation with him, away from the crowd. The actor, she says, agreed to her request. She went off to find a room within the building where they could talk. When she finally did find one, she called Monching and asked him to tell Richard that she already found a room where they could talk.

Lorayne was waiting for Richard when Monching and Lotlot came in to talk to her. "Sabi nila, 'Ate Lorayne, 'wag na lang muna ngayon... 'Yaan mo, baka bumalik si Chard, 'yong wala masyadong tao. That's the time na makapag-usap kayo."

Apparently, Lorayne says, Annabelle got mad when she heard that Lorayne wanted to talk to Richard. Lorayne says Annabelle supposedly said, "Ano pa ba ang dapat niyang malaman?"

When Lorayne got back to the chapel, Richard and the Gutierrezes had already left.

"Ano ba'ng dapat kong malaman—kung kayo ang tatanungin ko?" she asks YES! "Ako ang asawa ng namatay! Hindi ko alam kung ano ang nangyari sa kanila. It is only Richard Gutierrez who can tell me what happened, dahil sabi nga niya, mulat na mulat siya noong time na nangyari 'yon, so alam niya. He can tell me everything dahil karapatan kong malaman 'yon, e, bilang asawa ni Nomar. Di po ba? Pero wala, e. Never niya 'ko kinausap."
Richard's May 24 visit was the first and last time the star attended Nomar's wake.

AT ANO ANG ITATANONG MO? A day after Nomar's cremation, Lorayne received a call from Annabelle's secretary, saying that the talent manager was angry at Lorayne because of talk going around that she was going to sue Richard and demand P4 million in damages.

She recalls telling the secretary: "Ako din, Ate, nagulat sa 'yo, e. Sa 'yo ko lang nalaman na mayroon akong demanda. Ano ba 'yon?' sabi kong gano'n. 'Tapos, sabi niya, 'So hindi 'yon totoo?' Sabi ko, 'Hindi.' Sabi ko, 'Di ba, ang hinihingi ko lang naman sa inyo, makausap si Richard?'"

Lorayne explains: "Nagulat din ako, kasi wala naman gano'n, e. Wala namang four million na kaso. Wala talaga, dahil ayaw ko talaga [magsampa ng kaso]."

The secretary called back sometime later, telling Lorayne that Annabelle had checks given as abuloy cancelled. The checks amounted to a total of P80,000, and came from Royal ERA talents Ruffa Gutierrez (P50,000), Heart Evangelista (P10,000), and JC de Vera (P20,000).

Lorayne recounts: "Sabi ng secretary, 'Sa sobrang galit ni Bisaya [Annabelle], nagalit sa 'yo, pina-stop-payment niya 'yong tatlong tseke.'