31It was a long, miserable night for me. Nagkulong ako sa kwarto at inubos ang oras sa kakaiyak, ni hindi ko magawang maka idlip sa dami ng nasa isip ko. Para akong nababaliw sa lahat ng tumatakbo sa isip ko, sunod-sunod, iba-iba. Mali ako. Nagkamali ako. After hearing what Tito Peter said, napagtanto kong tamang magalit si Maddix sa'kin.Napapikit ako nang maalala ko ang sinabi nito noong nag-usap kami sa phone. "I only trust my family, Liyah. I feel that if I trust others, I will be destroyed. I was once breached because I give so much trust; it is not obvious, but I am afraid of being destroyed again because of my trust," that is his exactly what he said.Alalang-alala ko pa ang lahat ng sinabi niya noong gabing iyon. The person who breached his trust, si papa kaya iyon? There's a big posibility that he is, kaya galit siya sakin dahil anak ako ni Franco. Napapikit ako ng mariin at hiniling nasa ay maglaho na lang ako.Mas lalo akong kinakain ng konsensya ko pagkatapos ng lahat ng
32Maddix's POV"What my niece did was really..." Napapikit ito at napabuntong hininga."It was her. She planned all of this with Alfredo. She planned it to destroy you. She thought that you were the reason why Franco died; it's not an excuse that she was young because she was at the right age now; she was blinded by anger, and what she did was bad. I stared blankly at Peter Fernandez, a general and Aliyah's uncle."Mahirap sa'kin na ilaglag ang sarili kong pamangkin, but I don't want to tolerate what she did. Maraming madadamay sa ginawa niya. I'm here to tell you that we will accept whatever decision you make. Kung ipapakulong niyo siya, ihaharap ko siya," seryosong sambit ni General Fernandez.Napatitig ako sa basong nasa harap ko, hindi na nagulat sa sinabi niya."How could she do this? We will talk to our lawyer about it, General Fernandez. We will sue her at mabubulok siya sa kulungan! I am not going to say thank you for what you confess right now---" I cut mom from talking.We
Maddix's POV (Continuation)Tinignan ko siya mula ulo hanggang paa para sana ipakita na hinahanap ko ang sinasabi niyang hindi siya bata, pero mas lalo akong nainis dahil bigla akong nainitan nang hagudin ko siya ng tingin.What the hell, Maddix? Just what the hell?"Bata ka pa. Wendell is 28 years old. Babaeng gaya ng nasa paligid mo ang kailangan niya, Bata. You think you can do what those woman doing?" I said that again to remind myself. Nababaliw na ako."Umuwi ka na. Hindi ito playground," mariin na dugtong ko pa at lalagpasan na sana siya, pero hinarangan niya na ako! God knows I did my best not to look at her chest with that slight showing! Bakit ba siya nagsusuot ng ganito?!"And what makes you think na hindi ko kaya?" Oh damn! Stop it, Aliyah! Hindi ka nakakatulong. Umuwi ka na lang at huwag ng babalik sa gamitong lugar!Umigting ang panga ko at tinignan siya ng masama. "Why? Are you going to kiss Wendell?"Thinking about that want me to punch Wendell lips. Ang sarap burahin
34Aliyah's POVNalaglag ang balikat ko habang isa-isa nang tumatayo ang mga kasamahan ko sa trabaho sa kanilang mga upuan. Biglaan ang desisyon na kahit magandang balita iyon sa'kin bilang empleyado ay hindi ko kayang maging masaya."Congratulations, Miss Aliyah! We're so happy for you. Everything your hard work is now paying off. You deserve it," maligayang sambit ng mga nakapaligid sa'kin at isa-isa silang lumapit para batiin ako sa promotion.They are happy now because the CEO appointed me to manage the hotel branch in the Philippines. They say that I deserve all of these. Gaya ng sabi nila lahat ng pagod ko ay nagbunga na, but I don't know if I can go home to the Philippines, even though it's already been 6 years.Pinatawag kaming lahat dahil sa may mahalaga raw na announcement. I know that the hotel branch in the Philippines was already done, but I was a bit shocked when the CEO announced that she was appointing me as a Hotel General manager.I should be happy. This is the best
35 "There will be no problem when you return to the Philippines, but the question here is, Iha, are you ready? Just like what you said, there's a possibility that you two will meet because the company you work for and the Villaranzas have a partnership. Villaranza was a Faja Hotel stockholder. Are you ready?" Tito Peter said when I said kailangan kong umuwi ng Pilipinas para sa trabaho. Nasabi ko rin na may koneksyon ang kompanyang pinagtatrabahuan ko sa mga Villaranza. Noong una ay natahimik silang lahat sa hapag, pero kalaunan ay binasag ni Tito ang katahimikam. Nasa hapag kaming lahat. Mama was shocked but remained silent in her seat. "And are you ready to tell him everything kapag nagkita kayo? Say sorry about what you did years ago? Alam ko na hindi na maaayos ang lahat ng nangyare sa nakaraan at ilang taon na ang nakalipas, it was late if you were going to say sorry now, but you still need to beg for his forgiveness. 'Yun lang ang magagawa mo ngayon," he continued. I took a d
36Namumula na ng subra ang ilong ni Ricy at naririnig ko na ang daing nito. It was obvious that he was hurt when the small suitcase fell on his face. Some staff are coming on us and asking what happened, including Freda and others in our team who were on the other side of the plane. They approached us and asked what happened. A stewardess took a compress para sa namumulang ilong ni Ricy.Maddix is already getting the bag na nahulog niya kanina. Kunot ang noo niya, habang pinupulot iyon na para bang naiirita siya sa bag na 'yun. He looked at Ricy again before putting the bag sa taas. Napakurap-kurap ako nang mapasulyap siya sa'kin, pero bago pa ako makapag-iwas ng tingin ay mas nauna itong nag-iwas ng tingin at bumalik na siya sa pagkakaupo, na parang walang nangyare. He didn't even ask if Ricy was fine.He is really Maddix Villaranza. Nakagat ko ang labi at unti-unting napaayos sa pagkakaupo.Ghad! Bakit naman agad-agad, lord? Di pa nga ako nakakaapak sa Pilipinas nakita ko na siya.
37Everyone is busy with the opening of the hotel. Many high-profile people were invited, so that's not surprising because this is a big hotel. A lot of the press is also here to get some news about this. Nasa tabi naman ako ngayon ni Mrs. Fajardo para salubungin ang ilang pang kilalang tao na nagsasadatingan pa lang.I am holding plenty of lei garland in my arms. I smile at the person in front of me; she is also one of the stockholders at naalala ko na minsan ko na siyang nakita sa Canada noon.I placed a lei garland around her neck and politely welcomed her. They talked for a while with Mrs. Fajardo before going inside. That was the scenario until I spotted the familiar woman. It was hard to keep a smile on my face when I saw that girl I saw at the airport; next to her was Maddix.I saw Maddix laughing when that girl said something to him. Nakakawit ang kamay ng babae sa braso ni Maddix. Nakuha tuloy nila ang ilang mga press at dinumog sila. Napansin ko ang pagdaan ng mata ni Maddix
38Ricy and I were scolded afterwards. We know that we did something wrong. We were considered the General Manager and Manager of the hotel, pero nagawa pa namin na magbangayan sa gitna ng trabaho.Malalim na buntong hininga ang napakawalan ko nang maalala ang nangyare. He used to look at me like that. May pag-iingat at pag-aalala. He used to look at me like I was the most beautiful girl he saw. Yung paraan ng tingin niya ngayon sa Kaye na iyon, sa'kin yun noon, pero dahil sa katangahan ko, dahil paniniwala sa isang kasinungalingan at dahil subrang sama ng ginawa ko noon, ngayon, ibang-iba na ang titig niya sa'kin.I bite my lower lips and can't help but let the tears flow in my eyes while staring at my reflection in the mirror. I have no right to cry, but I can't help it. I'm in my room, the working hour is done, and because I'm alone, the things that enter my mind keep coming. I was like that in 30 minutes. Thinking about him.Pinunasan ko ang luha sa mata ko nang matauhan ako. I tr
Leozardo's POV "I love you," I whispered when we were already lying in bed after I had taken her many times. She didn't say anything. She just buried her face in my neck while hugging me. "May lakad pa tayo," I whispered at her. Her dad called us last night. We will go to their house in Makati. I closed my eyes so badly that I thought Daryha had married Vanzeus Guevera. I can't help but think about everything. When I learned that she had already married someone, nawalan na ako ng pag-asa. Akala ko hindi ko na siya mayayakap ng ganito, hindi ko na siya mahahalikan at hindi ko na siya makakasama. "Love," I whispered again. "Pinagod mo ako kaya maghintay ka," masungit na sambit nito, pero mahigpit naman ang yakap niya sa'kin. Natawa ako at hinila siya para mas mayakap ko. The first time I laid my eyes on her when we were still studying, I said to myself that she would be mine, even though I knew that she liked Jerico. Everyone knows that she likes Jerico, but maybe she feels that
Wakas is waving!!!_________________________________________Takot pa rin akong umuwi sa Pilipinas. Nag-aalala ako na baka makita ko si Mommy at ang asawa niyo. Hindi pa rin akong handang makita sila, pero alam ko na dapat kong harapin ang mga nangyare sa nakaraan.It's been a month since Leozardo knew about Kent. We moved into his condo, and dad allowed us because that's what I wanted. Dad, Tita Geva, and Van also went back last Sunday to the Philippines. In a month, Leo and I both did not work. We spend our time together with Kent.I already talked to James and president. Sa totoo lang wala na akong contract sa kanila. I'm just continuing to work as a model, pero wala ng contract. I told them the truth: I want to spend my time with the father of my son and my son.The president and James got shocks when they learned that Leozardo Luenco was the father of Kent.Sa isang buwan namin dito ay kapansin-pansin ang palaging pagtawag ng pamilya niya kay Leozardo. They want Leozardo to go ba
WARNING! 18+ ONLY! ____________________________________________ Tita helped me cook after that, and Manang apologized more times nang madatnan kami at nakitang kami pa ang nagluto. Tita and I just say na hindi naman niya kailangang humingi ng pasensya. Mas naunang dumating si Daddy, kasunod niya lang sila Leo at Kent. Napangiti ako nang makita ang masiglang tawa ni Kent nang papasok na sila ni Leo. "Papasok ka, Anak?" Tanong ni Dad habang nilalagay namin ni Tita ang ilang mga niluto namin. Napansin ko ang pagsulyap sa'kin ni Leo na animo'y hinihintay din ang sagot ko. "Oo, dad. Ilang araw akong absent at kahapon ay hindi ko pa tinapos ang trabaho ko buong araw," sambit ko. "Kung ganoon ay?" Napasulyap si Dad kay Leo. I bit my lower lips. "It's fine if you stay here for Kent habang nasa trabaho ako," alanganin kong sambit kay Leo. Hindi agad ito nagsalita, pero napansin ko na para bang may gusto itong sabihin. Nagpakawala muna siya ng buntong hininga bago tumango. "Okay, th
46 "Let's talk about what you meant a while ago," he said gently and a little weakly while burying his face in my neck. "It's not necessary. Let's not talk about it--" "I want us to talk about it, Love. I want to know what's on your mind," he said quickly, not letting me finish what I had to say. Bumuntong hininga ako bago sabihin ang nasa isip ko. "I just don't want you to decide this fast. I want you to take your time thinking kung ano talaga ang nararamdaman mo. Mamaya hindi ka pala sigurado at gusto mo lang na mabigyan ng buong pamilya si Kent, well I also want to give Kent a complete family, but I don't want to be selfish towards you at ikulong ka sa responsibilidad mo kay Kent. Hinding-hindi kita ikukulong," malumanay na sambit ko. Narinig ko ang malalim na buntong hininga niya. Kumalas siya sa pagkakayakap sa'kin at iniharap niya ako sa kanya. "Ayos lang sayo kung magpakasal ako sa ibang babae?" Tanong nito sa'kin habang titig na titig sa mata ko. Para niya akong b
45Leo was the first to stop crying. He was even able to stop Kent from crying. He talks to him, and Kent seems to know what Leo is talking about. I cannot resist staring at them, especially Leo. I know that he will be a good father."Papa," Si Leo habang tinuturuan si Kent na banggitin iyon."Pap.. pa," Hirap na sambit ni Kent. Titig na titig si Kent sa ama at subrang attentive sa sinasabi ng ama niya.We are all in the sala. We are all sitting. No one talks, and we are all staring. Kent and Leo na para bang may sarili silang mundo."Pap...pa!" Ulit pa ni Kent habang tumatawa na at nagagawa pang pumalakpak."Yes, baby. I'm your papa," Leo said tl Kent.We remained on the sofa until Kent fell asleep in Leo's hand. When Leo fell asleep, I stood up to take Kent, but Leo didn't want to give him to me."Ilalagay ko siya sa kwarto namin," sambit ko, pero umiling ito."I still want to hold him," mariin na sambit niya kaya napabuntong hininga ako."Pero baka mangalay ka---""It's fine," sery
44Masaya ako, pero alam kong may kulang, pero sino ako para hilingin na mapunan ang kulang? We are going to talk, right? Then fine. What I want right now is for him to know about Kent. Kung noon ay medyo takot akong sabihin kasi baka mag duda siya lalo dahil wala itong maalala noon, ngayon ay sigurado akong hindi siya mag dududa. He knows what happened that night. He knows na siya lang at alam niyang nagsisinungaling si Joseph Vuenavista."He is the reason I endured everything that happened in my life these past few years. He is my everything. He saved me when I was so down and broke." dugtong ko.I saw him staring at his glass. Napansin ko ang malalim na pag-iisip niya. Pati ang pagseseryoso niya ay namimiss ko. Nakakainis! Kanina lang ay subra akong naiirita sa kanya."Ikaw? Are you happy right now?" Hindi pa siya nakakasagot ay muli ko iyong dinugtungan. "Of course you are, right? But I want to ask you, is it Danica? or some other girl?"Hindi man lang nagbago ang expression. Ser
43"Mr. Luenco, what do you think are you doing?" Tanong ko, pero nahimigan ko ang sariling gulat sa boses ko.He didn't speak, nagpumiglas ako para mabitiwan, but a car suddenly parked in front of us. The same driver I saw last time got out of that car."Ano ba? Ano ba 'to?" Nagtatakang tanong ko sa kanya at patuloy na tinatanggal ang kamay niya sa palapulsuan ko."Pumasok ka," mariin na sambit niya."N-No! What is this, Mr. Luenco? You think it's nice to pull someone like this? And you think sasama ako sayo? Makakarating ito kay President!" Iritang sambit ko. "Let's talk," seryoso nitong sambit na ikinatawa ko."Bakit kailangan ako? You had a girl beside you a while ago! Kung gusto mo ng kausap, pwede naman siya! Bakit kailangan mo pa akong hilahin!" "I said let's talk, Ryha!" Bulyaw niya na nagpatigil sa'kin.Pareho kaming natahinik sa biglaang tinuran niya. Napapikit siya at bumuntong hininga."Please, let's talk," mas malumanay na sambit na niya.Ayokong paasahin ang sarili kon
42I did what he said. Right in front of him, I called Van and told him that he didn't have to pick me up, but Van said he would still come. He said that I would go with James and the president to the place, but we would go home together. Doon na raw kami magkikita.Tudo tingin ako sa side mirror, malinaw ko kasing nakikita ang kotse ni Leo na nakasunod sa amin."Really, mom? That's good, so we can be able to have our photoshoot in there hotel," I just glanced at James when I heard his happy words to the President."I was really shocked why he suddenly offered his hotels in the Philippines, but well, business is business, and he will have benefits if he lends us his hotels," sambit naman ni President.Philippines? Mukhang napansin ni James ang pagtataka ko sa usapan nila nang sulyapan niya ako sa front mirror ng kotse."This is the project that will be held in the Philippines, and we're lucky that Mr. Luenco offered his hotel. If you don't know, Mr. Luenco is a billionaire. His hotel
41"Daryha, let's go." I heard a serious voice. James diverted his attention to Van, as did Leo and Levi, who both glanced at Van.Hindi na ako nagdalawang isip. Tumayo ako at pilit na ngumiti kila James at Levi. It was hard for me to look straight into his eyes, but I did my best to do that. I smiled at him. He just stared at me blankly, na para bang ni minsan ay hindi niya sinabing mahal niya ako.Nanikip ang dibdib ko at pinigilan ang nagbabadyang luha sa mata ko. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin at naglakad para malapitan si Van. "We go first, James. I'm sorry," paumanhin ni Van kila James."Stay a little bit, Van," sinubukan pang kumbinsihin ni Levi si Van, pero pakoramdam ko ay gusto na rin talagang umalis ni Van.Tumayo naman si James at niyakap ako and say his goodbye. Aalis na sana kami, pero mabilis kaming pinigilan ni James."Oh, I'm sorry. By the way, before you two go, I want to introduce Mr. Leozardo Luenco to you, Van. Mr. Luenco, this is Vanzeus Guevera," pakilala nito."Oh. I