My jaw dropped as he said that before walking away maybe to get changed. Sinamaan ko naman ng tingin si Hari na tawa pa rin ng tawa. Sinikuhan ko siya sa tyan niya nang tumigil siya kakatawa. “Now, I have to play as a slave. Thank you, Hari.” Inakbayan naman ako ni Hari. “What do you want for your birthday? That will be a week from now on, Ches,” masigla nitong saad. “Wala,” tamad kong sabi sa kanya. Masyado na akong matanda para magpa-party pa. Isa pa, gastos lang ‘yon. Napaisip naman si Hari. “Hmm, imposibleng wala,” then he smirked. “How about spending the whole night with me… In bed,” he teased. Napangisi ako sa sinabi niya at marahang hinawakan ang kanyang pisngi, “be my guest,” I replied and pinched his cheeks, stretching it hanggang sa hindi ko na mainat pa. Napadaing naman sa sakit si Hari, pero hindi niya naman tinapik ang kamay ko para tanggalin ang pagkaka-inat ko sa kanyang mukha. “Gusto ko sana kumain ng shrimp e. Kaso bawal.” Malungkot kong sabi sa kanya ts
Napatawa naman ng medyo malakas si Sylus. “Why? Haven is my friend. Hindi ko ba pwedeng akbayan si Haven? Lagi nga kayong umaakbay sa kanya e. Or maybe even more than that,” he smirked as he switched his glances over Hari and Baste. Like he knew something. Napakunot naman ang noo ko sa sinabi ni Sylus. “What are you talking about, Sy?” Naguguluhang tanong ko. Pero ang totoo, kinakabahan ako. I knew once it leaked, it destroyed the three of us. Am I ready to face the consequences now? Sobrang kinakabahan ako. Alam ba ni Gen? Pero kung alam niya, susugod iyon sa akin, hindi ba? “Oh, nothing, baby girl,” Sylus said, teasingly while grinning at Baste at Hari—who’s now furiously looking at Sylus. Tinanggal niya ang pagkakaakbay niya sa akin at nag-inat habang nakangiti. “Seems like I’m going to see you more often, Francheska. I have to go; I still have a class to catch! It’s really nice to see you!” Sylus said while walking backwards and waving his hands at me. Nakangiti siya at halata
SEBASTIAN EDISON SIERRA “What the heck is this, Edison?! You spent what? Hundred thousand for a shoe? Wait—there’s another one hundred fifty for a bag?! A lady's bag?! Are you gay, anak?! Lahat ng nasa notification ay puro pambabae?! Hindi ka naman bakla ano?!” I could feel my frustration building as Hari continued laughing, barely holding it together. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself as I clenched my fists. “You’re more worried about me being gay than the money, mom?” I asked, my voice tense, trying hard not to shout. “I don’t care about the money, anak. Hindi naman kami magtatrabaho ng tatay mo kung hindi namin mabibigay ang mga luho niyo. Pero sana naman, anak,” she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing in a softer tone, “Sana sinabi mo kay mommy na bakla ka. Tatanggapin ka naman namin ni daddy mo,” she added, her voice cracking slightly, as though she were on the verge of tears. That was it. Hari couldn’t hold it anymore. He burst into loud laughter, n
SEBASTIAN EDISON SIERRA I snapped out when I heard Hari’s laugh. “Alam mo bang tumawag si Tita Sam, nagtataka kung bakit may mga ladies bags, shoes, and clothes ang lumalabas sa bank statement ni Baste, akala niya bakla si Baste. That was epic!” Tawang-tawa si Hari nang i-kwento iyon habang nakasakay kami ng sasakyan pauwi. “Bakla?” Tanong ni Haven at nakitawa na rin kay Hari. Haven poked me from the backseat as I drove, her voice teasing. “Uy, bakla!” she called out with a smirk. I clenched my teeth and glared at her through the rearview mirror, but she only laughed harder, clearly enjoying my reaction. Despite my efforts to ignore her, her teasing continued until we arrived at the mansion. As soon as we stepped inside, Haven wasn’t letting up. Her laughter and jabs about me being “Bakla” echoed through the hallways. “Baste!” she shouted, but I went straight to my room, trying to escape her relentless teasing. “Baste! Ano ba ‘yan! Ang bilis mo naman maglakad!” she yelled a
Warning: This chapter includes explicit sexual content and discussions of intimacy between characters. Reader discretion is advised. “Dan, are you coming now?” tanong ko kay Daniel sa cellphone, nang magkausap kami ngayon sa videocall, habang inaayos ko naman ang mga gamit ko at muling napatingin sa salamin para ayusin ang make-up ko. Today is my birthday. At sabi ni Daniel ay pupunta ito ngayon sa Cebu para i-celebrate iyon kasama siya. Alam kong nasa Manila pa ito at ilang oras pa ang biyahe na papunta rito, dahil hindi naman sila kasing yaman ng mga Sierra na may sariling chopper. Pero heto ako at bihis na bihis na. Plano ko sanang salubungin si Daniel sa airport para supresahin siya. I heard Daniel chuckle. God. I missed him. I miss him so much. Isang taon at limang buwan din kaming hindi nagkita, kaya sobrang miss na miss ko na siya. “Calm down, baby. I’ll be there before you know it.” His gentle voice makes my heart flattered. Kinikiliti din nito ang t’yan ko dahilan p
Wala sa sarili akong nakatitig sa labasan ng arrival area dito sa airport, while holding a bouquet of roses for Daniel. Ang dami kong kasalanan sa kanya, at habang iniisa ko iyon, ay mas lalong bumibigat ang pakiramdam ko. Pero habang nakaupo ako sa tapat ng labasan, napapaisip ako kung handa na ba talaga akong harapin siya. I have so much to confess. But I can’t find the right words to say—or does it need to be right when all of these are wrong? Napayuko akong tumatawa. Nababaliw na nga talaga ako. At kasalanan ko. Muli akong napaangat ng tingin nang maramdaman kong nagsisilabasan na ang mga tao sa loob. Mapait akong napangiti ng makita ang mga nag-aabang na katulad ko na masayang sinasalubong ang mga mahal nila sa buhay. May iba pa na napapaiyak, siguro ay OFW dahil sa mga dami ng bagaheng dala. I felt more bitter when I saw them kissing and hugging, showing their love for each other. No matter how much distance keeps them apart, their love for each other is still intac
Kumain kami ni Hari na para bang walang nangyari sa aming dalawa. He keeps serving me food, habang patuloy ito sa paghigop ng kanyang sipon gawa ng pagkakaligo sa ulan at sa iyakan naming dalawa. Napanguso ako habang patuloy ito sa pagbabalat ng hipon para makain ko. Tulad ng sabi niya ay kakain kami no’n sa araw ng birthday ko. “Just eat a few, dalawa lang pala, ayokong mag-alala si Tita Nika,” ani nito sa marahan na boses. Medyo iba na rin ang boses nito. Kumuha siya ng tissue at pinunasan ang tumutulong sipon sa kanyang ilong. Hindi ko tuloy mapigilang matawa sa kanya, dahil nakanguso ito habang pinupunasan ang ilong. “Sino daw magkakasakit?” I teased. Sinamaan niya naman ako ng tingin, pero kaagad ding huminga ng malalim. “I didn’t know you have strong immune system than I do, partida pareho pang doctor ang mga magulang ko, tsk.” asik niya habang patuloy pa rin sa pagpunas ng kanyang ilong dahil ayaw na atang tumigil sa pagtulo ng sipon sa kanyang ilong. Napailing na la
DANIEL FORTELEJO “Dan, can you stay for a while? I need you in the company. I can’t do it all alone,” pakiusap ni mommy habang nanghihina itong pinupunasan ang katawan ni daddy. Na-stroke si daddy nang malamang bumabagsak ang company namin matapos na magkaroon ng malaking issue sa bridge na pinapatayo sa Bohol-Cebu, na bumigay ang iilang bahagi nito. So far, wala namang nasaktan sa mga empleyado namin. Iyon nga lang, nawalan ng investors ang konpanya namin at binawi sa amin ang proyektong iyon. We had already lost millions because of that project, and now the government is demanding a refund for the money we spent on building the bridge. But how? All the payments they gave us had already been used for the project. We can't refund the money because if we do, we'll lose even more, leaving us with nothing. That’s why I pushed to finish the project. I knew it was our only hope. I worked tirelessly, day and night, organizing every detail, overseeing construction, negotiating with suppli