Never Let You GoThe first week of December came. Fifth of December to be exact. Isang buwan na rin pala ako rito sa Pilipinas. Pansamantala kong kinalimutan ang tungkol sa huling nangyari sa amin ni Anzo. After the call, he stayed by my side. We cuddled. Alam kong kinukutuban ako pero mali pa rin na pagdudahan siya lalo pa't wala akong ebidensiya. But... once I proved that my hunch is right, I will stay away from him. I promised myself to support him. That's the way I know how to love. I will sacrifice my own happiness. If they really had a thing, I would accept everything. Gladly.Hindi nagkukulang sa akin si Anzo. He texts me everyday, calls me even in the middle of his meetings. Uuwi rin siya sa Holme's Villa at matutulog. Kung minsan naman, ako ang pupunta sa East Village at matutulog kasama siya. It's a miracle that we haven't done it again. Well, I'm a little bit shy to open up that kind of sensitive topic to him. Though we're both adults, may kanya kanya pa rin kaming priori
Don't Close Your EyesWhen I was young, Mama once told me na darating ang lalaking para sa akin. The man like Papa. The man that will love me more than anything else. At hindi siya magsasawang iparamdam sa akin kung gaano ako ka espesyal. I was just infatuated at him at first, but preparing all this for our monthsary makes my heart melt. Hindi lahat ng lalaki, katulad niya na ma-effort. He walked towards me with soft eyes and a smile on his face. "Happy 1st monthsary..." He then smiled. "You told me you want to experience these kinds of things. We can't date for now, or even go in public so I planned this. I know it's a bit... cheesy and I feel like we've come back to being teens."I didn't speak. Pinagmasdan ko lang gwapo niyang mukha. No words can describe what I'm feeling now. And I can't help but to fall in love with him again. Instead of saying anything, I leaned towards him and encircled my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He was a bit surprised with what I did. Na
EmbraceNoises. That's what I can hear. Tila nagkakagulo. May mga natataranta at umiiyak? My body feels heavy, really heavy. I think I'm paralyzed dahil gustuhin ko mang igalaw ang katawan ko, hindi ko magawa. Maayos ang paghinga ko pero sobrang bigat ng katawan ko. Where am I? Am I still alive?I tried to open my eyes. Hindi ko nagawa sa unang subok. Even my eyes feel heavy. Kahit hirap na hirap, I forced myself to open my eyes. Unang bumungad sa akin ang puting kisame. At first, it was blurry hanggang sa luminaw na ang paningin ko. I wander around. Mayroong apparatus at dextrose na nakakabit sa akin. Marami ring tao na nasa loob ng kwarto. I even saw familiar faces. My heart tightened when I saw my guy cousins. Lahat sila'y nakatingin sa akin, nag-aalala. Am I just hallucinating? They are here?May lumapit sa aking isang doctor, to check me up. Wala akong naintindihan sa mga sinasabi niya. May tinanggal silang apparatus sa bibig ko kaya't nakahinga ako ng maayos. I tried to clo
Warning: Medyo SPG!-------------------------Kabanata 37Take Your Words Back"Hanggang ngayo'y hot topic pa rin sa showbiz ang rebelasyong buhay pa ang apo ng yumaong si Senyor Fabion Sotello Sr. na si Azerielle Tachibana. Taong 2020, sinasabing namatay ang dalaga dahil sa isang pagsa-"Mabilis na pinatay ni Kuya ang TV. Nakailang lipat na ako ng channel at puro ganon ang nakikita ko. Bumukas ang pintuan at bumungad ang mga pinsan kong galing sa trabaho, sina Kuya Yuan, Eron, at Kuya Efrain. They're with Zac, ang aming binata wearing his college uniform. Hindi makakadalaw si Vitorria dahil sa ibang bansa siya magpapasko. Ate Sha left early to run some errands. Napabaling si Kuya sa mga pinsan kong bagong dating. "Hi, Ate!" Zac waved."Hi, Arielle..." ngiti ni Kuya Efrain saka inilapag ang gamit sa gilid. Lumakad naman si Eron sa couch saka sumalampak roon. My cousins are really tired. Tumungo sa akin si Kuya Yuan saka ako hinalikan sa noo. "How are you, baby girl?" si Kuya Yuan
Kabanata 38Red Wine"Put it there," I pointed."Here?""No, medyo sa itaas pa." I tilted my head para makita kung pantay ba 'yong ginagawa niya. "Ayan. Okay na."Tumungo sa akin si Anzo saka bumaling sa kinabit naming Christmas decorations. "Should we light it now?" he asked and pulled my waist, hugging me from the back. "No. Antayin natin sila," I replied while hugging his arms. Nasa gilid kami ng pool at inaayos ang christmas tree.It's 10:30 PM, and we're going to celebrate our Christmas together. I'm referring to my cousins. We're having a christmas party here. Malawak naman ang bahay. Napagdesisyunan namin na dito na lang sa garden magcelebrate, malapit sa pool. Naglagay ako ng christmas lights sa gilid kaya't maganda tingnan. My cousins are not here yet. Sa ngayon, siguro'y nasa kanya kanya pa silang bahay. They must be with my titos and titas now. Once is a blue moon lang mangyari 'to. Ang pagcecelebrate naming magpipinsan ng Christmas nang magkakasama. We're old enough, b
Warning: SPG!----------------------Kabanata 39RingMy body shivered when he leaned closer to kiss me on my lips. The alcohol lingers on his mouth. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang tamis at pait no'n. At mas lalo akong nalalasing. My vision is getting blurry dahil na rin sa ilang shots na nainom ko. Hanggang ngayo'y ramdam na ramdam ko pa rin ang init. The coldness of his rough hands was heaven to my skin. It's like I longed for this, for him to touch me. The sound of our lips crushing into each other makes my mind gone wild. The sound coming from the garden will never stop us from what we're about to do. He immediately opened the shower, making us both wet. He kissed me hungrily like a wild beast. And it's thrilling me. The urge of kissing him is all I could think. I immediately reached his clothes. My hands are even trembling but I managed to unbuttoned his longsleeve. He also helped me get rid of it. My eyes burned more when I saw his upper figure. It was firm, rough and hard. I bit m
Kabanata 40 Ako MunaI bit my lips as Zemeira's words kept on flashing on my mind. I want to go back and confront Anzo, but once again, naunahan ako ng takot. I already gave him everything at ayokong sa isang iglap mawala ang bagay na pinapangarap ko. Mali lang ako ng dinig. Mali lang. I managed to walk even though my knees are trembling. Tulala ako maging sa pagsakay sa elevator. "Ma'am... ako po ang maghahatid sa inyo." One man appeared in front of me nang makababa ako. Hindi na ako sumagot at tumango na lang. Anzo must've told his driver where's the meeting place is since hindi naman siya nagtatanong sa akin kung saan pupunta. When we've arrived at the place, mabilis kong binuksan ang pintuan. "Ma'am, maghintay na lang po ako rito sa labas. Bilin po ni Sir na ihatid ko raw po kayo hanggang sa pag-uwi."I sighed. "No, Kuya. Kaya kong umuwi. Baka rin kasi magtagal ako.""Pero Ma'am, bilin po si Sir na iha-""Kuya, ako na pong bahala kay Anzo. Sige na po, bumalik na kayo ng bui
Kabanata 41Pain"What happened?" Hindi ako nakapagsalita at pinilit ang sarili na tatagan ang loob. Pagod na kong umiyak. Pagod na ko. Pagod na pagod na. Iginiya ako sa sofa ni Kuya. He didn't also know what to ask me dahil tahimik niya lang akong pinagmamasdan, tinitimbang ang ekspresyon ko. I don't even know how to open up.I wanted to tell him what I've discovered, pero ni isang salita'y walang lumabas sa bibig ko. The feeling I have right now is very foreign. I've been hurt many times, but it is different now. It's incomparable.Maagap akong sinalinan ni Kuya ng tubig. Tinanggap ko 'yon. My hands are even trembling. Umupo si Kuya sa tabi ko. "Is it because of Anzo, Arielle? What did he do? Tell me..." I bit my lips saka tinitigan ang baso na nasa hita ko. "K-kuya... Dito muna ako pansamantala... Ayokong umuwi sa bahay. At kapag h-hinanap ako ni Anzo o kahit na sino, h-huwag mong sasabihin na nandito ako."Kuya's forehead creased. Siguro ay nagtataka sa mga kinikilos at pinags