Chapter 3

"Damn it! This is legal, bro.."

Kenneth, Chris, and Rhaiven passed the marriage contract around so they could see and hold it. I didn't waste any time calling them for help. They initially thought I was just kidding until I showed proof, and they rushed over to my condo.

"I told you guys, you didn't even want to believe me earlier." I replied and placed the bottles of alcohol on the center table here in the living room so we would have something to share. I didn't forget our appetizers, of course.

"Well! How would we know if you're just messing with us? We know you too well." Chris retorted and took the bottle of alcohol I handed him after I removed the cap.

I also handed bottles of alcohol to Kenneth and Rhaiven, who were still examining the marriage contract. It's nice that they finally brought Rhaiven along.

After giving them their drinks, I sat down on the single sofa in front of them. I crossed my legs and the nervousness in my chest returned just because of that marriage contract that suddenly appeared in my life.

"Are you sure this is yours?" Kenneth asked, pointing to the marriage contract that Rhaiven was now holding.

"Of course, my name is there.."

"Then how did you get married without us knowing?" Chris asked full of curiosity and then munched on the appetizer I cooked.

"That's what I don't know, bro. All I know is when I woke up this morning, that damn marriage contract arrived. I haven't even read who I'm married to. Damn it." I chugged the bottle of alcohol I was holding without any difficulty.

"Mahana Salazar..."

We all looked at Rhaiven after he mentioned a name. Of all of us, he seems to be the only one who noticed that name because Kenneth and I, we prioritized focusing on the legitimacy of the paper.

"Mahana Salazar is the name of the woman you married on July 29th just last year." Rhaiven continued, so we hurriedly went to his side and checked if what he was saying was legit and it matched.

"Wait, that sounds familiar ah.." Kenneth's gaze shifted between me.

"Idiot! Isn't that the woman you rejected back in high school? The one who was like a dog wagging its tail after you, Luis?" Kenneth reminded me.

"Fuck! I don't remember being close to that woman, so how did I get married to her?"

My head hurts thinking about where I saw her. After high school, I only see a few of our batchmates, including that woman. Psh! How can I forget the woman who became the reason why I don't want to have a girlfriend?

"Where were you on July 29th?"

We looked at Rhaiven again. Aside from finding him weird, my chest is also filling with nervousness. Is this person a psychic?

"Where was I then?" I scratched my head and tried to remember where I was on that date. "Hey! You two, where were we then?" I asked Chris and Kenneth.

"As far as I remember, we were just here in your condo then." Chris replied.

"Idiot no, we went to a bar then because Jade invited us, right?" Kenneth's gaze shifted between the two of us.

Yes! At the bar, I can't be wrong, but how did we get married to that woman?

"I don't remember being with her there, so how?" I replied confusedly.

"Are you sure, Luis?" Rhaiven asked for confirmation. "Try to remember who you were with then and how it turned into a marriage that became legal."

July 29th....I was at the bar yes, but...

"What I remember is, you guys left me there with Jade.."

"Left? We thought you went home then, so Chris and I also left then." Kenneth replied.

"Wait, that's not the point, Luis, what's surprising is, how did Hana get there and then you got married?" Chris commented.

"Back then, did you notice her at the bar with me before you left?" I asked because I was hoping that maybe I did something different that's why we ended up together with that woman.

"Bro, only Jade was with you that we saw."

Damn it! Then how did Hana get there?

"According to this, Mayor Sherwin Queja officiated your wedding.." Rhaiven read from the piece of paper he was holding.

"That's Jade's father, right? Luis, you were with his father that night when you were drinking, don't you remember?"

I shook my head. "Chris, I don't remember anything. Damn it!"

"This is a big problem, especially since your marriage is legal, bro." Kenneth inquired, who was now putting the marriage contract back inside the folder so it wouldn't get lost.

"What's your plan? Your mother will kill you when she finds out.."

I massaged my temple because this is a big headache when Mama finds out. They are very eager for me to get married. I need to find a way so they won't find out about this. I will find a way to invalidate the marriage. This will be an obstacle to my freedom when Mama finds out.

"Luis, all of our batchmates, I've asked them, they said they don't know where Jade's family is." Chris reported while he was focused on his laptop.

We did nothing all day but call all our acquaintances to ask if they knew where Jade and her family were.

"Even our high school batchmates, they also don't know."

I could only curse because of this problem. If this is karma for being unruly, it's too much. I can accept other karma, just not like this. It's not funny.

"Why don't you try to find Mahana?" Rhaiven suggested, who was busy playing with his rubics cube.

"What good will that do?"

"She's the one who can say that you didn't want it."

"Rhai, we're not even sure that that woman is innocent. We don't know, she might be the one behind all of this, she might even be taking revenge on me." I replied because that's what I've been suspecting since earlier.

"You have a point, but it's better to be sure, right?"

Kenneth approached me and patted my shoulder to calm me down because they could see that I was very stressed with what was happening.

"You both have a point, okay? It's possible that Hana is the one behind all of this because she's taking revenge for what you did to her back in high school and just like what Rhaiven said, maybe she can also help to say that you didn't want it." Kenneth calmed me down.

"The question is, where are we going to find that woman?"

"Basic!" Our gaze shifted to Chris. "Come on! I know where she is."

We didn't waste any time to go to the place where Hana lives that Chris knew. I trust this friend of mine, so I went with him. We ended up on a street here in the city that was far from what we four were used to. But we didn't prioritize the fuss, we went to a house that Chris was referring to as Hana's house.

"Excuse me!"

An old woman appeared after we knocked on the small door in front of the house we stopped at.

"What is it?" The old woman asked.

"Ah, is Mahana there?"

"Oh son, she's been gone for a long time. She moved, it's been a few months already. Who are you?"

Damn it! Where are we going to find you, Hana?

"We're...we're her batchmates... Yes.."

"Ahh, she's not here anymore."

"Where did she move?"

The old woman shrugged at Chris's question. "I have no idea where, she just said goodbye to me."

"Do you have her cellphone number?" I chimed in to ask.

"I don't have it either."

We didn't get anything from our trip. Damn it! So while we were on the road, I could hardly contain the anger I was feeling. Rhaiven and Chris were calming me down, Kenneth volunteered to drive and we used his car.

"Damn it! Where am I going to find that woman? She's always been bad luck to me. Good thing I didn't make a move on her back then." I replied angrily.

"Your mouth! We're not even sure if your suspicion that she's behind all of this is correct. And, calm down, this is just the first day, there's still tomorrow to think of a way to solve your problem." Chris calmed me down, his tone was already annoyed.

"How can I calm down, bro? Our marriage is legal? Damn it. We don't know where Jade and her father are, plus that Hana."

"We get you, bro, there's no point in your outburst of anger. What you should do is calm down so you can think properly. Even if you get angry, explode in annoyance now, you can't do anything, what's supposed to happen has already happened."

And that's what I did, I calmed down. Somehow, I felt a little better. After they dropped me off at my condo, I looked at the marriage contract again on top of the center table. I've squinted my eyes countless times, it's still legal. I've slapped myself several times, nothing has changed. I just grabbed my hair in annoyance.

"Damn it!"

I went to the kitchen to open another bottle of alcohol to drink. I wanted to get drunk so that somehow I could forget about that thing.

I went back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. I chugged the bottle of alcohol effortlessly. I received several messages from my friends and they all said the same thing, that I should rest and calm down. I asked them to keep the marriage a secret for now. As much as possible, I don't want my family to know about it.

I was brought back to reality when I heard my cellphone ring. Mama was calling, so I composed myself. I pressed it to answer her call.

"Ma, if you're calling me back for our business again, I can't, I have something to work on..."

"No actually I have good news for you.."

"What is it?"

"Luis, why you didn't tell us.."

"Tell what, Ma?"

"That you're already married, actually your wife is here..."

"What?!"

I jumped up from my seat after hearing what Mama said on the other line. My soul left my body after hearing what she said. Don't tell me, she's there?

No fucking way!