Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hours has passed and when I woke up it's already Sunday. Sunday is my rest time and work out time but today I am so lazy and tired that I want to sleep more but I can't. I still need to revise the contract between me and Zale.

Tamad akong bumangon mula sa kama sa papungas-pungas na bumaba sa unang palapag na tanging cellphone lang ang dala. Pero sana iniwan ko na lang ang cellphone ko dahil pagkabukas ko ito ay message kaagad ni Mommy ang bumungad sa akin.

Mom:

I heard your boyfriend from your Dad. How can you be so proud if your taste are like that? Disgusting.

Napalunok ako at napatiim bagang dahil doon. I chose ko ignore it. I did not reply.

Wala na rin naman akong magagawa kung iyon ang isipin niya. I am slowly learning and accepting every hurtful words from them. Kaunti na lang at masasanay na ako. Back then, I was so young when I realized that. After my brother died their other daughter also died for them.

I want to complain. I could still clearly remember now how I cried and begged. I literally cried when they decided to send me to London to study after that incident. They pushed me. They sent me to London and I was so young and alone there with my maids. I studied like I was an orphan.

I badly want their affection and love just like how they love Kyla, my Ate. But for them, I made a biggest mistake. Dad lost his heir. They lost their son. And that's because of me.

Kahit anong gawin ko parang hindi iyon mabubura sa isipan nila. Ni hindi nila naisip na bata rin naman ako noon. Wala pa akong kamuwang-muwakang. What can I do?

I sighed before closing my eyes.

"Nonsence," malungkot na bulong ko sa sarili ko sala tuluyan nang hininyo ang pag-iisip sa mga bagay na iyon na nakakasakit sa akin.

I never had a boyfrienf. But my first heartbreak is my family. I lost an older brother and after that I totally lost my family.

I silently prepared my breakfast and after eating I immediately work for the revision of the contract.

"Kiss," I murmured.

Napairap ako saka napangiwi nang maalala na dalawang beses nang nalabag ang kasunduan tungkol sa halik. Mabilis ko iyong binura. Fine, we can kiss. Couples are kissing so this is fine because we are acting as one. But if only if needed.

Marami pa akong binago sa kontrata at matapos iyon ay inabala ko na ang sarili ko sa pagwo-work-out. I need to freshen up my head and I guess I did.

Kaya matapos kong magpapawis ay kaagad kong hinanap ang numero ni Zale sa phone ko. I immediately messaged him the address and the name of the restaurant where our dinner will be held later.

I waited for his reply after I sent the message and my brows raised when he immediately replied after one second.

Mr. Villanueva:

Yes, Ma'am.

I boredly rolled my eyes when I read his reply before throwing my phone on the soft couch. Akma sana akong tatakbo papunta sa kwarto ko sa taas pero biglang nag-vibrate ang phone ko kaya inis ko iyong kinuha.

I rolled my eyes when I saw his name on my notification.

Mr. Villanueva:

What time again?

I rolled my eyes.

Me:

7:00 pm, flat. I hate late.

I clearly ended the conversation but I didn't expect him to still reply in my rude message.

Mr. Villanueva:

I won't be late, Ma'am.

Inis akong ngumiwi saka muling binagsak ang cellphone sa couch. I just really hope that this pretend thing will work. Three million isn't a joke.

I spent the remaining hours on my bed watching some random n*****x movies. At nang dumilim ay doon lang ako nag-ayos para sa dinner. Buong akala ko ay matagal pa ang oras pero pagtingin ko sa wrist watch ko at saktong alas siyete na. Napangiwi ako dahil doon pero hindi ko pa rin minadala ang sarili ko. I take my time to finish my make up and to put my jewelries on.

Nang kunin ko ang cellphone ko ay doon ko lang napansin ang text ni Zale.

Mr. Villanueva:

I'm already here.

Napatingin muli ako sa wrist watch ko. It's already 7 o'clock and thirty minutes in the evening. Hindi na ako nag abala pang mag-reply at bumaba na lang sa parking lot. I immediately went inside my red sports car before driving my way to that restaurant.

The restaurant that I chose isn't that from my condominium building but because of the traffic I spent one hour on the road. But it doesn't affec me. I still walked towards the restaurant with my head held high. At nasa entrance pa lang ako nang matanaw ko si Zale sa lamesa sa hindi kalayuan na panay ang sulyap sa relong suot niya.

Dahan-dahan akong naglakad papunta sa pwesto niya at hindi nagtagal ay napansin niya ako. I saw pissed in his eyes buy it immediately disappeared. Bahagya ko ring tiningnan ang lamesa niyang walang kalaman-laman.

"Why did't you order your foods?" I casually asked before looking at his face.

"You are more than an hour late, Ma'am," he said and I could sense sarcasm so I raise my brow at him.

"Nagrereklamo ka?" hamon ko sabay senyas sa waiter na kaagad namang lumapit.

"Of course no," mahinang sambit niya na tila napipilitan pa.

Hindi ko siya pinansin at um-order na lang ako ng pagkain. Nag-order rin siya ng sa kanya at nang umalis ang waiter ay muling nagtagpo ang mga mata namin. I maintained my straight fsce before handing him the white folder that I brought.

"That's our revised contract. I need your signature again," I said while watching his expression while he's reading our new contract.

"This is still the same," he muttered so my forehead creased. Bigla akong nainis sa sinabi niya dahil pakiramdam ko bobo ang kausap ko.

"Can't you read? Basahin mo ng sampung beses para maintindihan mo," inis na sambit ko pero sinara na niya ang folder saka sinalubong ang inis na mga mata ko.

"Still the same but I could kiss you now, right?" he said so I sighed before rolling my eyes.

Hindi ako nakasagot kaagad kasi biglang dumating ang mga pagkain namin. I waited for the waiters to finish serving our goods before looking at him again.

"Yes, I'll send you the remaining two million later. So basically, you can't back off. Because you knew what I can do if you won't follow our contract," sabi ko bago mag umpisang kumain.

Sandaling nagtagal sa akin ang mga tingin niya habang kumakain ako kaya inis ko ulit siyang binalingan.

"At wala dapat ibang makakaalam tungkol dito. This is exclusive for you and me. Get it? Even your d*mn fiancee can't know about our contract," I said.

"Right, I won't let Trish know, anyway," he murmured so I rolled my eyes before continue eating.

Tahimik kaming kumain matapos iyon. Pero kapag nagagawi ang mga mata ko sa kanya ay nahuhuli ko siyang pinapanood ako. His deep set of black eyes is uncomfortable. Para niyang hinuhukay ang kaluluwa ko sa mga tingin niya. His eues can be soft, serious and deep sometimes.

Matapos kong kumain ay tumikhim ako saka dahan-dahan na kumuha ng ballpen sa bag ko saka inabot sa kanya. Kinuha niya naman iyon sa akin saka sandaling pinagmasdan. Seems that he's still thinking if he would still continue our contract or not.

"I need your signature," I said but he didn't move.

I suddenly tapped my finger on the table. Nakuha ko ang atensyon niya dahil doon.

"Dad already knew you as my boyfriend. Pangatawanan mo. Sign the contract. Now," I said authoritatively.

"Paano ko ipapaliwanag sa mga katrabaho ko na nakakaalam na ikakasal na ako? They saw us holding hands in the office," he suddenly blurted so I cross my arms on my chest.

"That's not my problem," I said so his jaw clenched before shaking his head a bit. Buong akala ko ay hindi siya pipirma pero pinermahan niya rin makalipas ang ilang segundo.

I smirk after he signed before grabbing the contract.

"You are only allowed to kiss me if we are prentending and if needed," I said.

"Paano ko malalaman kung kailangan?" tanong niya. I scoffed before glaring at him.

"Use your common sense. Why? Are you planning to kiss me everyday? What do you want? Every second or every minute?" hindi makapaniwalang tanong ko kaya bahagyang umawang ang mga labi niya na tila hindi rin niya inaasahan ang mga iyon.

"What?" naguguluhan na sambit niya kaya muli ko na lang siyang inirapan.

"I said use your common sense. And I don't allow touch. Only kiss. If needed. Get it? I can sue you. Don't try me," I said. Napasinghap siya sa mga narinig at niluwagan niya pa ang suot niyang neck tie na tila hirap na hirap siyang intindihin ang mga sinabi ko.

"Didn't I say that I am engaged, Ma'am?"

I smirked.

"Mr. Zale Villanueva, didn't I tell you that I don't care?" balik sarkastikong tanong niya kaya bumuntong hininga siya saka pilit na tumango na tila sumusuko na lang sa diskusyong ito.

"Okay, fine. I understand it clearly," he said.

Matapos iyon ang muli kong tinawag ang waiter para sa bill.

"I'll pay," Zale suddenly said when the waiter handed me the bill. Nagkunwari ako na hindi ko siya narinig at kaagad naglagay doon ng isang credit card.

"We are all done here," I said when the waiter returned my card.

Kaagad akong tumayo at iyon rin ang pagtayo niya. I can't read his eyes right now. Pero halatang-halata na pinagmamasdan niya ang mga galaw ko.

"Check your account later. I'll transfer the two million," I said before turning my back at him.

Tuloy-tuloy akong naglakad palabas at nakasunod naman siya sa akin. Nang makarating kami sa parking lot ay bahagya akong natalisod pero mabilis niyang nahawakan ang baywang ko dahil sa likuran ko siya kaya hindi ako tuluyang natumba.

Kunot noo ko siyang tininghala matapos iyon. We stared at each other's eyes for how many seconds until we realized our position. Mabilis ko siyang tinulak bago ako umayos ng tayo.

Tinalikuran ko siya at tuloy-tuloy akong lumapit sa kotse ko. Hindi ko na ulit siya nilingon na tila walang nangyari. Yes, I am proud and arrogant. I am not nice. I am Chloe Lorin Navrus, afterall.

Kaagad akong nakatulog pagkauwi ko. At pagkagising ko sa umaga ay nagulat ako sa mga nabasa sa mga balitang sunod-sunod na pumasok. I scrolled the trending articles. Palagi akong laman ng news articles. My awards and success as one of the youngest Ceo of the country is highly publicized.

But today it's different.

I was on the article with the stolen picture of me and Zale last night. Inisa-isa ko iyong binasa at halos mamutla ako. This is so weird to read this kind of article about me.

And the whole nation probably know about it now. Lalo na ang mga nasa hilera namin.

"Yes, I am dating someone. Yes, this is all true," I murmured before smirking.

I kinda like it. Now that everybody knew about it. Mom and Dad won't just arrange my marriage into a stranger because our beautiful name will get ruined.

This is nice.

Everything is in my favour.

And as expected—because of the news everyone is staring at me when I arrived in our building. I'm walking with my straight face and I slowly went inside my exlcuisive elevator which is newly installed.

Pero bago pa magsara ang pinto ng elevator ay may hingal na hingal na pumasok sa loob habang umiigting ang panga. Napahalukipkip ako at napasandal sa pader ng elevator habang nakatingin sa kanya.

He's catching his breath and he's sweating really hard.

"What were those articles?" he frustratedly asked before caging me beteeen his arms.

I chucked sarcastically.

"I am Chloe Lorin Navrus. I am successful. Hindi ako kung sino-sino lang. Hindi mo ba naisip na pwede itong kumakat?" sabi ko sa mabagal na paraan kaya mas lalong dumaan ang inis sa mukha niya.

"Ang sabi mo magpapanggap lang tayo kapag kailangan! Pero ngayon buong bansa na ang nakakaalam! My face is so clear on those photos! I am engaged!" he shouted so I glared at him.

Hindi niya inalis ang dalawang braso niyang nagkukulong sa akin.

"What are you trying to say, Mr. Villanueva?" I angrily asked.

Umigting ang panga niya na tila pinipigilan ang sarili na magtaas ng boses.

"You are selfish," he said so I pushed his chest really hard.

"And you are stupid! Sana naisip mo na pwedeng i-cover ng media kapag nakita tayong magkasama dahil kilala ako bago mo tinanggap!" I fired before pushing him again. Tumabi siya at doon bumukas ang pinto ng elevator kaya tuloy-tuloy akong lumabas.

"Let's talk," he followed before grabbing my hand.

Inis ko iyong binawi bago dumiretso sa opisina ko. Like I care about his personal life.