NAPAHABA NA PALA ang oras ng pakikipag-usap ko sa aking sarilu kaya hindi ko na namalayang nandito na kami sa Manila Regional Trial Court. Nakita ko si Sir Richard sa labas at inaabangan kaming lumabas para i-escort papasok sa loob ng building. The four of us went out of the car and walked down the aisle of reporters. Madaming media reporters ang nagkalat at gusto kaming maka-interview pero mabuti na lang at hinawi sila ng mga pulis para makadaan kami.We were like on a red carpet without the red carpet, actually. Nagtabi kami ni Rina sa unahan samantalang nasa likod namin sina Rina at Jeffrey. Rina looks stunning with her fitted-dress, which also reveals her fair and white skin as well as her legs. Jeffrey looks so fine as well with his gray tuxedo and gray slacks, which made him look as a good-looking, professional reporter in a court trial.Napatingin naman ako kay Jelsey na diretso lang ang tingin sa daan. She was covered with confidence and her aura was strong. She's in black bla
"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" isang malakas na sampal ang muling natanggap ng kausap ni Rina mula sa huli. Nang silipin ko kung sino ito ay mas lalo akong nagulat.It was Prosecutor Bright for god's sake.Bakit sila nag-aaway? May koneksyon ba silang dalawa?Nagsisinungaling din ba si Rina sa'min?"Rina, calm yourself! You're a well-known model and your reputation is at stake on what you were doing right now—!""SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lalong lumakas ang boses ni Rina at halatang nanginginig na ang kaniyang mga kamay. "Pagbabayaran mo lahat ng ginawa mo sa'min, Prosecutor Bright. Hindi ka mananalo sa kasong ito at ang reputasyon mo ang masisira!""Go and do it, bitch!" Bright said in a hostile manner. Tumawa ito nang malakas na animo'y walang ibang tao na makaririnig sa kanila. Well, ngayon ay ako lang siguro ang nakaririnig dahil tago ang lugar kung saan sila nag-uusap. "Sa mga kaibigan mo siguro wala nang masamang mangyayari 'pag ginawa mo 'yan. Pero ikaw. . . sa tingin mo ligtas ka?"Sinubukan ni
Hindi ko napigilang mapangiti dahil sa sinabi nito. "Ayusin muna natin ang lahat, Sandoval. Tapos pupunuan natin ang mga oras na nagkahiwalay tayo." I suggested and trailed off.Natigil ang pag-uusap namin nang pumasok na si Judge Marquez kaya nagsitayuan kaming lahat. Kitang-kita ko sa kaliwa namin sina Prosecutor Bright at Dark kasama ang pamilya nina Tyler at Villaluna na may galit kay Sandoval. Nginisian ko lang sila't tumingin nang diretso sa unahan. "All rise for the presence of the Honorable Judge Natasha Magnaye."A few seconds have passed after Judge Magnaye seated on her chair, we also sat down and went quite. Kinakabahan ako dahil ito na 'yon eh, nandito na mismo ako sa korte at ilang minuto na lang ay dedepensahan ko na si Sandoval. Pero kahit na gano'n, buo ang loob ko na malalaman namin ang katotohanan at makalalaya si Sandoval.The judge looked at the prosecutors and nodded. "Prosecutors, state your opening statement for this trial."Prosecutor Bright stood up with conf
CONTINUATION OF MR. SANDOVAL'S POV NOONIlang segundo lang ang lumipas ay bumukas na rin ang elevator. Seo Hyun and I left the executive's elevator and went to the meeting room. "You can now leave, Seo Hyun. Remind the accounting department of the financial analysis that I was requesting."Seo Hyun nodded and stopped. "Got it, Anthony. Bye and congrats!"I smiled at her as we bid each other goodbye. Pumasok na ako sa loob ng meeting room at naabutan ang mga board members na nag-uusap-usap. They were happy with their glass of champagne in their hands. Nagpunta na ako sa gitna kaya nagsitahimik na sila't tumingin sa akin."Let's give the CEO of Rivamonte Hotel, Mr. Sandoval, a round of applause!"The company's board committee gave me a round of applause and cheered like a fan who has their favourite soccer team won. I stood up and bowed slightly to show my gratitude towards them. All of them were grinning genuinely aside from the man near me.It's John Tyler.Tumingin ako sa kaniya't na
CONTINUATION OF MR. SANDOVAL'S POV"Good evening, Hon!" I greeted as soon as I opened the door of our room with my fiancé. Naisipan kong yayain si John dito sa kwarto namin sa Rivamonte Hotel dahil tutal, dito na rin naman sila mamamatay. I smiled and kissed Charisse after she hugged me. "Yeah, I invited John for a dinner. Is that okay with you, Hon?"Charisse smiled and beamed at his half-brother. "I would be a villain if I didn't let my half-brother here, right?" Charisse said in a serious tone, but after a few seconds, she bursted out laughing and opened the door wide. "Just kidding. Yeah, come in. Maghahanda na muna ako ng makakain natin.""What about a delivery while we're waiting?" John suggested and went to the big couch. "May resto naman dito sa hotel.""Right, I'll call Maria Baraña to serve us food." Charisse got the telephone and put it on her ear. "He's a great kitchen staff.""Maria is a 'he'?" I asked, somewhat shocked. Charisse motioned her hand, saying that Maria is ga
CONTINUATION OF MR. SANDOVAL'S POV"Cheers—!""NO!" Isang malakas na sigaw ni Charisse ang nakapagpatigil sa amin ni John. I eyed her and twitched my lips meaningfully. She shattered the glass of whiskey that John was holding with her bottle. Ngayon ay nabasag na ang baso nilang dalawa kasabay ng pagtapon ng alak sa lamesa.Napatayo ako sa kaniyang ginawa at tinitigan siya sa masama. "WHAT THE FUCK, CHARISSE?""STOP THIS MADNESS, ANTHONY!" sumigaw ito ng malakas at kinuha ang bote ng whiskey sa lamesa. She smashed the glass table with the bottle of whiskey with full force. Nabasag na rin ang lamesa kaya napatayo na rin si John at tinitigan si Charisse. "HE'S ABOUT TO POISON US, JOHN! HE'LL KILL US!""What did you say?" kunot-noong tanong ni John at tinapunan ako ng masamang tingin. "WHAT'S THIS, ANTHONY?"Natawa ako nang malakas at itinapon na rin ang baso ng whiskey na nasa kamay ko pa pala. Tiningnan ko lang sila't ngumiti. "Charisse's right. PAPATAYIN KO NGA KAYO! HAHAHA!""SAY THA
(Author's Note: Balik na tayo sa PRESENT TIME! Nandito na ulit tayo sa court trial ni Sandoval. Happy reading!)ATTY. CHRISTINE'S VILLEZA"EHEM, EHEM!" Muntik ko nang maibuga ang iniinom kong tubig nang marinig ang mga ikinuwento ni Bright. Maramahan kong pinukpok ang dibdib ko samantalang si Sandoval ay hinaplos ang aking likod. Inilapag ko na muna sa aming lamesa ang bote ng tubig na iniinom ko.Judge Magnaye looked at me with a hint of concern. I nodded and gently smiled. "Sorry to interrupt you, Your Honor. Nasasamid lang ho talaga ako kapag nakaririnig ng katarantaduhan." Sabay tapon nang naiiritang tingin kay Bright. The latter just smirked after all the bullshits that he has said earlier.Bahagyang natawa si Sandoval sa aking tabi samantalang si Jelsey ay napangisi. Nagkaroon rin ng kaunting tawanan sa panig ng mga reporter na mapayapang nakaupo't nagsusulat paminsan-minsan.Judge Magnaye nodded at me then looked at Bright. "Is that all your opening statement, Prosecutor Bright
"Please, put me in the witness stand, Your Honor." the woman said and smiled. Kahit pa ngumiti ito ay kita pa rin sa mga mata niya ang kaba at tila bahagyang pagkalungkot na animo'y galing lang sa pagkakaiyak. She even glanced at me for a second, and I thought it was an apologetic one. Dahan-dahan akong umupo nang maramdaman kong hindi siya banta sa amin.Well, her words might be used against us, but I know that she's still a good person. I might use that to appeal to her conscience. My intuition tells me that she's nice by heart.Judge Magnaye nodded. Nakangiti naman si Bright habang pinagmamasdang pumunta ang babae sa witness stand. Yung ngiti na akala mo'y mananalo na siya't siya ang may hawak ng larong ito.Well, he's wrong. I can assure them all that we will win this case!Napatingin kaming lahat sa harapan nang magsalita si Judge Magnaye. "State your name."The woman looked at me with a straight face, but I can see in her eyes that she's glad to see me.But why?"I'm Katerina He
OH, SORRY. I've had enough.Nang saktong pagbukas ng elevator ay bigla akong nagsalita nang malakas. The two from behind were shocked and all of the other employees couldn't even move. Si Anthony naman ay nakatingin sa akin at nagulat. "Ah, wait. I forgot to turn off my audio recorder."Humarap ako sa kanilang lahat at matalim na tiningnan ang babaeng makapal ang mukha. Pinaalis na ni Anthony ang ibang nandito sa loob pero hindi niya pinalabas ang dalawang babaeng pinagchi-chismisan ako. Nakatingin lang ito sa amin at tila natatakot sa kung anong pwedeng mangyari sa kanila.Well, as they should. Narecord ko lahat ng mga kasinungalingang ipinakakalat nila. And it's recorded."Aren't you going to say something?" I asked them, still controlling my temper. Dapat lang na mag-sorry sila dahil hindi nakakatuwa ang mga sinabi nila. I usually don't give a fuck lately, but what they have just said pushed me into this. It's not as if I'm going to make them go to jail in an instant. "I mean, I re
"Inagaw niya sa akin si Anthony, ex-fiance ko. Sigurado akong kilala mo 'yon. Kalat na yung gwapo niyang mukha sa buong Asya."Napalunok ako sa sinabi nito. "Wait, inagaw sayo noong Christine na sinasabi mo?"Tumingin lang ito sa akin at natawa. "No, just kidding. As if Anthony became mine. Hindi naging akin si Anthony. He's always thinking about that damn Christine so I became like this. My obsession towards Anthony drove me into this."Huminga ako nang malalim at sinubukang lumapit sa kaniya. Mukha namang hindi siya nananakit kaya sinubukan kong lumapit. She even held my hand and massage it. "May galit ka ba sa kaniya?""Kay Christine?" she said and smiled. Patuloy lang ito sa paghilot sa aking kamay habang nakatingin sa kawalan. I felt like she's been alone here for weeks already. "No, I'm not angry at her at all. Wala naman siyang kasalanan. Kahit si Anthony wala ring kasalanan.""But they still hurt your feelings." I said and caressed her back. Isinandal nito ang kaniyang ulo sa
"I thought we'll be on it." I heard Anthony softly complained and heaved a heavy sigh. He's still cuddling me even though I know that he's a little bit disappointed. Nakayakap din ito sa akin habang ramdam ko ang init ng kaniyang hininga sa kaniyang batok. This moment was kinda romantic even though there's no scented candles around, just the study lamp on the table beside us."Sorry." I said and hugged his arm on me even more. "I'm really not in the mood. Inaantok na rin ako."He chuckled and held my hand. "You must be very tired. I love you. Try to sleep."I really feel sorry because I couldn't make it up to him right now. When we were about to start earlier, I stopped from removing my lungeries and made him just lay down beside me. He was confused at first until I told him that I don't wanna continue anymore. We just cuddled and he agreed.Though, I convinced him.I couldn't help but smile from what he had said. Humarap ako rito't hinalikan siya saglit. We were now facing each other
"No, send that tax receipt to Michelle since she's the tax lawyer. Forget about the other legal matters there. I'm taking care of that right now."After I said that over the phone, I put it down immediately to focus on my tasks. I don't know why they want me to take care of the tax receipts when I'm not the tax lawyer.I now work as the general business lawyer and the contract lawyer of Rivamonte Hotel. Yes, I currently work for Anthony at his hotel. 2-in-1 ang trabaho ko dahil bukod sa kaya ko naman, I have to work double to gain money. Hindi pwedeng puro asa na lang ako kay Mama lalo na kay Anthony.I have to work for my needs. Ilang buwan na lang ang itatagal ng savings ko. Baka umabot sa time na wala na akong maipa-sweldo kina Kuya Caesar at Ate Sising.Kahit na nandito ako sa loob ng bahay ay nakakapag-focus pa rin naman ako sa trabaho. The room beside my bedroom, which was Jelsey's room two years ago, was turned into my home office. Everything was set up, thanks to Ate Sising an
Severina nodded and smiled bitterly while she was looking at her photos on the screen. "This was the consequence that I got after I helped you free Sandoval. Bright warned me about this. This was the piece of information that he kept on using to blackmail me until I spoke the truth to the court room that day. That son of a bitch really destroyed my modelling career.""Si Bright pa rin ba ang nasa likod ng mga ito? Nagsilutangan ulit ang mga litrato mo, Severina." I asked. Napailing-iling na lang ako't iniisip kung ano na lang ang dinanas ni Severina para malagpasan ang mga ito."Who knows? Only God knows if Bright is still the one behind this." Severina answered."Oh my God, I'm s-sorry for not being there with you back then, Severina. . .""You don't have to be sorry, Christine." she told me and held my hand which was on the table. "You did the right thing to free Sandoval. I also did the right thing just like you. The only problem here is the asshole who spreaded this photos from
Napatingin ito sa akin at ngumiti. She looked so shy even though we already met before. "Thank you! Y-You too.""Don't be so awkward in front of her, Katerina." pagsingit muli ni Jelsey pagkatapos humigop ng kape. "It's not as if you did a heinous thing behind our backs.""She must be sorry for what she did two years ago." pagsunod din ni Severina para asarin ang kapatid niya. "Well, triny lang naman niyang ilubog ang pangalan ni Sandoval sa isang bagay na 'di naman talaga niya nakita. What a bitch, right?" tanong nito sa akin.Natawa na lang ako't umiling. "Nakaraan na 'yan, h'wag mo nang asarin masyado ang kapatid mo, Severina" Tumingin naman ako kay Katerina't ngumiti. "It's okay now, Katerina. I heard that you defended yourself from the law suit filed against you two years ago, huh? Noong napatunayan mo namang inosente ka, nawalan na ako ng problema sayo."After I said that, she laughed and hugged me instinctively. Niyakap ko rin ito pabalik tapos pagkatapos ay nag-sorry ulit ito.
Jelsey nodded and went to the bathroom. Umalis na rin si Anthony pagkatapos nitong magpaalam sa akin. Naiwan na ako mag-isa kaya umupo na muna ako sa harap ng office table ni Jelsey.Speaking of Katerina, I haven't seen that girl for years. Pagkatapos ng hearing ni Anthony two years ago ay hindi na ulit kami nagkita. Well, it's understandable since we really don't know each other pretty much. Ang koneksyon lang namin sa isa't isa ay si Severina at wala nang iba.I wonder if I'll also meet Severina today. Ang sabi lang naman ni Katerina ay pumunta kami sa office nila. We didn't know if whose request is this but we have to go because she said it's important. But whatever it is, I hoping that Severina's there so we can have a little chit-chat for a while. Ang huling pagkikita namin ay yung araw na nadischarge ako galing sa hospital. All of us are quiet busy these days so we barely see each other unlike before.After minutes of waiting, Jelsey finally went out of the bathroom after changi
"That was unusual. I never thought that I would see that friend of yours wearing a smile.""We're not friends!" I argued after Anthony said that. "We never became friends.""That's cold." he replied.Nasa office pa rin kami pero lumipat kami ng pwesto. Malaki naman ang office ni Jelsey, lumipat kami sa isang malaking sofa sa harap ng TV. Nakahiga ako habang ang ulo ko'y nasa hita ni Anthony. Si Jelsey naman ay nasa paahan ko, iniinom yung kape niya.Pagkatapos kuhanin ni Jelsey ng kape mula kay Dark ay umalis na agad ang huli. It took me a minute before I moved on from that smile. "What was that behavior, Jelsey? Kailan pa natutong ngumiti 'yon?""Well, that was part of his job." Jelsey replied after taking a sip of her coffee. Kanina, sinubukan niyang utusan si Dark na dalhan din kami ng kape pero hindi ako pumayag. I just want him to get lost from my face. Ayokong bumalik pa siya para dalhan kami ng kape. "When he applied for a job, I asked him to always smile so he could get along
IT WAS ALMOST an hour after we finished eating all the food that were served to us. Pagkatapos naming magpaalam kay Mama ay agad na kaming sumakay ng kotse't nag-drive sa susunod naming pupuntahan. We have so many itineraries today.Though, ayos lang. Minsan na lang din naman ako makalabas ng bahay dahil sa bago kong trabaho."I'm nervous." I told Anthony. Hinawakan nito ang aking kamay habang nagmamaneho siya. "It's been a while since I last saw her.""It's just two weeeks ago, Christine.""It's still long." I argued, looking at him at the rearview mirror.Bahagya lang itong natawa't tinapik ang aking kamay. "Yeah, yeah, I understand you. Unlike those days, you two don't get along together pretty often.""Ahuh, we both seemed super busy right now."Mabilis lang kaming nakarating sa isang malaking building kung saan nakatayo ang pinaka-successful na law firm sa buong Luzon. Pagkapark namin sa unahan ay agad akong namangha sa building na ito. Well, the owner of it was quite famous afte