Chapter 4: A Prince For A Husband 2

A persistent buzzing sound from somewhere woke Tala up the next day. With her eyes still closed, she reached for her phone on the bedside table, wanting to make a stop on the annoying sound. Kaya lang hindi niya makapa ang bedside table. Napilitan siya tuloy na iungap nang kaunti ang kanyang mga mata.

Darkness greeted her. But the small amount of light seeping through the sides of the heavy curtain was telling her that it was already morning.

The buzzing sound continued. Iritable niyang hinanap sa bedside table ang cellphone at in-off iyon.

Finally, blessed silence.

Muli niya sanang ipipikit ang kanyang mga mata upang bumalik sa pagtulog subalit naramdaman niya ang bahagyang paglundo ng kabilang bahagi ng kama na kinahihigaan niya.

Agad siyang napamulat. She was sleeping on her side, like she usually does. Her back was facing the usually empty side of her bed.

Empty?

She heard a quiet groan. She froze. Now she’s more than sure that the other side of her bed wasn’t empty at all!

Agad na kumabog ang dibdib niya, lalong hinila ang kumot pataas sa dibdib niya. That’s when she felt the rawness of her core.

Why was she sore down there? It’s not as if she had—

Lalong nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata at nagmamadaling sinilip ang sarili sa ilalim ng kumot.

Her eyes widened and her heart running a mile a minute when she saw her nakedness underneath the blanket.

And just like a perfect cue in movies, nilunod siya ng tagpi-tagping mga alaala nang nagdaang gabi. But evertyhing doesn’t make any sense. It was confusing her all the more!

She shook her head, willing the blurry memories to slow down. With a silent curse, she forced herself to sat on the bed. Sandali niyang ipinaikot ang mga mata sa silid na kinaroonan niya, na alam na niya ngayong hindi kanya, bago siya bumaling sa kabilang bahagi ng kama upang tignan kung sino ang kasama niya.

Agad niyang nakagat ang pang-ibabang labi niya upang hindi siya mapasigaw.  Now that she has seen his face, the blurry memories from last night became clearer. Well, at least, some of it.

Oh god! She really had given herself away last night to a stranger! A hot and delectable stranger!

Napalunok siya nang bumigat ang dibdib niya. Naalala niya ang palagiang pangaral ng Grandma Liza niya sa kanilang magpipinsan na babae habang lumalaki sila. That they should only give themselves to the man who marries them and that’s a non-negotiable. She had always thought of that growing up. At kahit nitong ilang taon ng pagrerebelde niya, she never had a one-night stand. Never had thought of it. She did made out with the guys she used to hang out with but that’s it, nothing beyond that. She wanted to keep that promise she made with her Grandma.  And yet… there she was again, doing what she does best, be a disappointment.

Nangilid ang luha niya. Subalit agad din niya iyong pinalis nang bahagyang gumalaw ang lalaki.

Knoxx. Right. That’s the name of the guy.

Well, you kissed me, Knoxx. Do you agree to be my husband for a month?

Muli siyang natigilan. Naalala niya ang naging usapan nila ng Daddy niya about him marrying her off to some guy of his liking. She remembered the anger she felt and how it overcame her that made her do what she did last night.

But hiring a husband was just a spur of the moment. She didn’t really mean to do it. And yet…

Natutop na niya ng kamay ang bibig nang maalala ang sinabi niya kagabi.

With a silent groan, she buried her face on her hands. At a loss of how stupid she really is.

What the hell was she thinking? She even threatened to expose Elle and her secrets!

Elle.

Kumurap siya. Kailangan niya itong makausap. She needs to say sorry. Elle is all she had there in Paris. Kapag nagalit pa ito sa kanya, she’d have no one.

Maingat niyang inabot ulit ang cellphone niya at in-on iyon. Sunod-sunod na pumasok ang messages ni Pierre, ang secretary ng mayor ng siyudad. She had met Pierre a few times before. Mabait ito, conversational din. Subalit hindi niya alam kung bakit siya nito kinakausap ngayon. She opened the last message sent by Pierre. It was a document.

She zoomed the picture in and her heart almost jumped out right off her chest! It was her and Knoxx’s marriage certificate, signed by Elle’s uncle himself!

Panic instantly raced through her veins. Did she threaten Elle that much to make her connections work that fast?

Oh god!

Muli siyang bumaling kay Knoxx na tulog na tulog pa rin. Hindi niya alam kung matutuwa siya na asawa na nga niya ito  ngayon. At least, technically, she did manage to give herself first to her ‘husband’. The thought shook away a little bit of the guilt and disappointment she felt. But then again, she married a stranger. A damn stranger for Pete’s sake!

Baka hindi na lang Daddy niya ang magalit sa kanya, baka hunting-in na rin siya ng Mommy niya. Her mother had always been patient with her even during her ‘rebellious years’. But what she did last night was… the height of her stupidity and is utterly appalling now that she’s thinking straight!

Kumurap-kurap siya, her head pounding. The damn hangover was only making her situation worse.

But no, she must not let her logic falter now. She needs to get herself out of that situation before her parents find out!

Maingat siyang tumayo sa kama, isa-isang pinulot ang mga damit niyang nagkalat sa sahig bago dumiretso sa banyo, dismissing the slight pain she’s feeling down there. She was under the shower in no time, hoping the cold water will shake the damn headache away and clear her head.

Nang matapos siyang maligo, she dried herself with the fluffy towel and put a shower robe on. Maya-maya pa, nagpasya siyang tawagan si Elle. She wanted to know firsthand what happened last night. The last clear thing she remembered was Elle shoving her potential husbands away from her.

Sigurado siyang alam nito ang mga nangyari matapos niyon.

She tried dialling Elle’s number but her call won’t go through. She tried doing that thrice but it’s still the same, he cannot reach Elle at the moment.

Napabuga na siya ng hininga at nanlulumong sumandal sa dingding. Muli niyang niyuko ang cellphone niya at tinignan ang marriage certificate nila ni Knoxx. Getting married in Paris is complicated or so she heard from her Auntie Sam, her Uncle Aaron’s wife who is an events planner and the owner of world renowned Charlize Elizabeth Events.

Though she loathes being married to a stranger right now, she must commend Pierre for doing everything without any hassle.

She zoomed the document in. The document even had their signatures and—

“Are you sure about this, Tala?” said Pierre, his voice laced with worry and warning.

“Never been more sure,” she said, giggling as she signed a paper.

Muli niyang tinampal ang kanyang noo. Did she bug Pierre with her stupidity last night or did Elle endorse her to Pierre?

She closed her eyes and tried to think—willing her hazy brain to recall everything. But… nothing. Lahat ng naaalala niya kagabi, karamihan malabo.

She cursed again, dread now filling her. Kailangan niya ng solusyon sa problema niya ngayon din!

How did she manage to have just more problems now than she already had last night, beats her. Maybe she really is unlucky. Or she’s really just plain stupid. Or probably both.

She took a sharp breath as she looked at her phone again. Nakaagaw ng atensyon niya ang pangalan ni Knoxx.

He has quite a name. Knoxx Iossif Stefanos Stavropoulos.

Her husband’s name is complicated. Bagay na bagay sa sitwasyon niya-- nila. She rolled her eyes. Wala namag bago ro’n. Hindi siya naging paborito ng tadhana kahit kalian. Hindi ba kaya nga siya laging nalalagay sa mga alanganing sitwasyon noon dahil palagi siyang at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

She shook her head, dismissing those hurtful thoughts she had been dealing with for years. Saka na niya iisipin pa ang mga iyon. For now, she needs to know who’s the man she married.

She casually typed in Knoxx’s name on the search bar of her mobile browser only to be thrown off to the edge yet again when she learned who he really is.

Knoxx isn’t just an ordinary club-goer nor a vagabond. He is actually the owner of Croise, a motosport company that is worth billions of dollars. And not only that, Knoxx is also… a prince. Actually fifth in line to throne of the mediterrean country called Maritria.

Her mind raced again, more questions filling her. How the hell did he agree to marry her? If she was stupid, was he insane?

But the more important question is, if she married a prince, then that made her… technically, a princess?

Wala sa sarili siyang napatingin sa sarili sa salamin. “I’ll be damned,” she whispered at her reflection.

After the shock came the fear. No. She cannot be a princess! Not even in her wilderst dreams did she think of becoming one.

The rules. The customs and traditions. And the paparazzis.

Maisip pa lang niya ang mga iyon, pakiramdam niya nalulunod na siya.

Hindi. Hindi pwede ‘yon.

She needs to leave. Now!

She quickly put on her underwear only to cuss when she realized that she wasn’t able to grab her dress when she dashed her way to the bathroom.

With a slow breath, she grabbed her purse and carefully opened the bathroom’s door and slipped out of it. Subalit tuluyan siyang napatili nang makitang nakaupo na si Knoxx sa kama at gising na gising!

“Tala, right? Your name’s Tala,” anito, bahagya pang namumungay ang mga mata.

Subalit bago pa man siya makasagot, tumunog ang cellphone ni Knoxx at napatingin siya roon. Kinuha niya ang pagkakataong iyon upang takbuhin ang pinto at tuluyang lumabas ng silid.

No. She cannot talk to him. Will never talk to him ever again!

Last night was a mistake. Hindi siya dapat nagpakasal dito. Ngayon pa lang siya tuluyang namumuhay ng malaya, malayo sa Daddy niya at mapangmatang tao sa Pilipinas. And she will keep it that way as long as she could.

She will not exchange the freedom to live the life she wanted no matter how handsome and rich Knoxx is. Heck! Not even if they make her queen!

Nagmadali siyang pumasok sa lift at pinindot ang ground floor button. Pagdating sa lobby ng hotel, agad siyang pinagtinginan ng lahat. Bakit hindi? She was just wearing a friggin’ bathrobe!

Subalit wala na siyang pakialam. Kailangan niyang makaalis doon at makausap si Elle o si Pierre. Sila lang ang makakatulong sa kanya. Kung nagawa ng mga itong ipakasal siya kay Knoxx kagabi bypassing all processes, they could also make her unmarry the prince in one flick of a hand.

Nang tuluyan siyang makalabas ng hotel, agad siyang lumulan sa taxi. Sinabi niya ang address ng apartment niya sa driver bago niya muling kinuha ang cellphone sa kanyang purse. She wanted to try calling Elle or Pierre again. Kaya lang hindi pa man niya naida-dial ang number ng kung sino man sa mga ito, tumunog ang cellphone  niya.

A new number was calling her. She hesitated at first, but in the end, with a trembling voice, she answered the call. “H-Hello?”

“Mon cheri? Tala? C'est moi, Knoxx (It’s me, Knoxx).”

Her heart dropped at the pit of her stomach instantly. Gusto niyang sumagot kaya lang hindi niya magawa. Pakiramdam niya umurong ang dila niya.  

And how the hell did he know her number? Did he already use his royal connection to look for her? Was he already informed that as of early this morning, they are indeed legally married? Will the royal squad kill her for snatching their prince away from the bachelor’s market?

“Why don’t you come back here and let’s talk,” he said in an authoritative voice.

Talk?

Oh god, she’s doomed!

Her stomach churned at the thought but she willed herself to talk.

“N-non. J-je ne sais p-pas qui vous êtes (No. I don’t know who you are),” she replied in a shaky voice before ending the call, switching her phone off eventually.

Nagpalinga-linga siya, tinignan kung may sumusunod sa kanya. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that no one suspicious was following her.

Pagdating sa apartment niya, she stuffed her overnight bag with a few of her things. She put on the first pair of clothing she had a hand on and dashed out of her apartment.

In a few minutes, she was on her way to the airport. She's not just leaving. She's running away.