"Mommy, I feel sick," I told my mom when we were left alone.Kaaalis lang ni Daddy papunta kina Tito Easton— his best friend here in Florida. After Tita Jackie told us I can be sent home, agad na nagpatulong si daddy kay tito Easton para mabilis na maproseso ang mga papeles paalis ng bansa.I haven't been able to bid my goodbyes to Kiel. I'm still mad at him. Hindi ko pa rin maalis sa akin na sisihin s'ya sa lahat-lahat. If he didn't make a deal with Mr. Guineva, siguro ay hindi mangyayari lahat ng ito. Ethan could have been alive.Hindi na rin kami nagdalawang isip na pumunta ng Florida sa takot na baka muli kaming saktan ni Mr. Guineva. We can't risk it.The last thing I know too, days after being away, hiningi ni Kiel ang katawan ni Ethan kay Tita Jackie. He was cremated and his remains were put in a little purple jar. As much as I want to keep it, hindi iyon encouraged ni Tita Jackie because it triggered something in me. Bumabalik lahat ng memorya, trauma at stress na napagdaana
Our life abroad was fine. Lalo na nang dumating sa buhay namin si Dashiell. He brings so much sunshine to our family. Kahit na halos pagod kaming lahat ng mga magulang ko sa trabaho, tuwing nakikita namin ang ngisi at naririnig ang tawa ni Dashiell. Tila ba nabubura lahat ng pagod namin.That's how our life was for the past five years. Mommy and Daddy was busy working with Tito Easton. While I, on the other hand, was busy with my clothing business. Nag e-enjoy naman ako nang sobra rito lalo pa't mahilig din talaga ako sa fashion and design aside from medical stuff. As much as I want to pursue med, alam kong kukulanganin ako nang panahon para rito lalo na't gusto kong tutukan si Dashiell. I can't imagine myself being away from him. Baka habang nag-aaral ako ng med, ang laman ng isip ko ay ang pag-aalala kay Dashiell kung maayos lang ba s'ya.My mom suggested to look for a Nanny pero ayaw ko kasi nun. Gusto kong ako ang mag-alaga sa kanya lalo na't kaya ko naman."Are you excited, hone
I don't know what came into his mind bakit tumabi s'ya sa akin. And most importantly, bakit s'ya biglang naging shareholder ng kumpanya?Is he plotting something again? "Closer po," the assistant of one ot the cameraman mouthed ng camera man nang mapansin na panay ang layo ko kay Kiel.We are currently taking a picture. I'm not informed that he's now open to being known worldwide. Dati-rati, panay ang pagtago n'ya sa identity n'ya pero ngayon...I felt his hand on my waist kaya sinamaan ko s'ya ng tingin. Tinawanan n'ya lang ako at saka muling humarap sa camera para sa normal na picture.Signing documents earlier was so fast kaya agad-agaran din ang naging photo op namin. But despite what happened, hindi pa rin maalis sa isipan ko ang mga emosyong nakita sa mata n'ya nang magtama ang aming paningin. Kahit nang umupo s'ya sa tabi ko kanina, pansin ko na panay ang baling n'ya sa akin.He is like wanting to say something..."Let's have a simple celebration later at my office," ani dadd
We were silent inside the car hanggang sa marating namin ang aming bahay. I immediately walk out of his car when he unlocked it. Hindi ko na s'ya hinintay pa, dire-diretso na aking pagpasok sa aming bahay."Mom! Where's Dashiell?" Bungad ko kay mommy nang madatnan sila ni dad sa dinning table."Oh, darling! Where's Kiel?" aniya, tila ba hindi narinig ang tanong ko. Tumanaw-tanaw din s'ya sa likod ko. "Akala ko ba ang sabi mo ay ipinahatid mo kay Ezekiel?" baling n'ya kay daddy."Yes, honey. I told Kiel earlier.""Oh, eh bakit hindi—""He's outside, mommy! And besides, why did you do that, dad?" I said, frustrated."You two didn't talk?" Bumuntong-hininga ako. "A-A bit... but like I've said, I'm not yet ready, dad!" my eyes started to get blurry. Bago pa man tuluyang bumagsak iyon, dali-dali ko na silang tinalikuran at tinungo ang isa sa aming guest room.As much as I wanted to go to my room, hindi ko iyon magawa dahil paniguradong doon ipinagpahinga ni mommy si Dashiell, and I don't
Pagkalapit sa akin ni Dashiell, agad ko siyang binuhat at kinausap. Hindi nga lang sa akin nakatutok ngayon ang atensyon n'ya. Higit sa lahat, mukhang hindi man lang narinig ang mga sinabi ko. Pokus na pokus ang kanyang atensyon kay Kiel, who has a confuse look right now.I don't know what to feel now that I'm looking to the both of them. Nakatulala si Dashiell sa kanyang ama. And I know by now that he recognized Kiel as his biological father! Dahil noon pa man, marami na akong picture na ipinapakita sa kanya tuwing itinatanong n'ya ang tungkol sa daddy n'ya.Meanwhile, Kiel on the other hand, was like trying to figure out who the kid was in front of him, staring!"D-Dada..." Dashiell muttered, enough for us to hear it."Baby, let's get you some food, hmm? Are you hungry?" pag-iiba ko. Though yes, I wanted them to meet already and know their relationship to each other pero kabadong-kabado ako ngayon. Wala naman akong planong i-deny kapag nagtanong si Kiel. It's just that, I'm waiting
Hours later, we decided to go to the balcony para doon mas mapag-usapan pa ang mga nangyari noon. We don't want to disturb Dashiell's sleep.Ipinanghila ako ng upuan ni Kiel nang makarating doon. As we sat and look at the view in front of us, I smiled. Iba pala talaga sa pakiramdam kapag nailabas mo na ang lahat nang nasa loob mo. I felt happy and at peace.Naramdaman ko ang mga titig na ipinipukol ni Kiel sa akin kaya nilingon ko ang gawi n'ya."I love you," he whispered.My lips immediately formed into a smile. And I can feel how red my cheeks are right now!"I'm sorry if I startled you. We will take everything slowly, hmm?" muling sabi n'ya nang hindi ako tumugon sa kanyang sinabi kanina.Sa katunayan, wala naman iyon sa akin. Nabigla lang din talaga ako dahil akala ko, hindi ganito ang magiging relasyon namin agad. Lalo na ako! I thought it would take months before I would finally forgive him pero mukhang ngayon pa lamang, napatawad ko na s'ya. Maybe it was the madness kaya noon,
Kiel's POV"Do we really have to attend?" I asked my mom. I sounded irritated.I'm not used to attending parties. But since I grew up having parents working in the business industry, mukhang hindi ko na nga maiiwasan pa iyon. Dagdagan pa ang katotohanan na I will soon manage the company. I need to learn how to socialize."Of course, anak. Do you know whose party it is?" mapanuksong tanong ni mommy.Sinimangutan ko siya."It's the Unica hija of the Sarmientos," she answered her question.Mr. Frederick Sarmiento is well-known as one of the business tycoon in the industry. Marami silang koneksyon sa iba't-ibang tao. 'Yun nga lang, I think it would also be one of their problems. He has too much connection... too much people who might soon betray him.Who knows? People can do gruesome things for their own sake. That's why, ayaw kong makilala ako o ang makipag halubilo sa kung sino man. Siguro naman I can still manage to make our business grow without having to pull some string of socializa
KIEL'S PO It was so hard for me to find ways on how to court her. I really want her so bad pero hindi ako maka tyempo dahil hindi ko alam saan at paano ako magsisimula. Wala akong maisip.But it seems like destiny really are making its way to make us meet. Years later, I just found out about the status of Mr. Frederick's business. Agad kong inutusan ang aking tauhan na imbestigahan iyon. I found out that they are looking for someone who could help them. Nagkaroon din sila ng internal problem dahil nga mukhang ang isa sa mga shareholders nito ang may plano sa pagbagsak ng kumpanya.Muli, ipinaimbestiga ko sa tauhan ko ang lahat ng mga dapat malaman tungkol kay Mr. Guineva. And there, I found out about my father. He was working with Mr. Guineva. At that moment, litong-lito ako kung hahayaan ko na lamang bang bumagsak ang kumpanya ng mga Sarmiento dahil ayaw kong mag away kami ni Dad! But he's doing something wrong!I wonder if mommy knows about it. To find it out, I tried asking mommy
Just like what I have promised, my wife was really surprised. When I noticed symptoms of her pregnancy and my cousin confirmed that it could be really true that she's pregnant, I immediately ask for her help. Napilit ko si Calista na magpatingin sa pinsan ko. And since I can't risk her health, I ask another favor from my cousin na kung pupwede, s'ya na lang ang pumunta rito sa Maldives. Sinagot ko ang airfare n'ya kaya hindi na rin ito nagreklamo pa."I'm staying for one week, right? Libre mo?" Tinanguan ko ang pinsan kong abot-langit ata ang saya. Kakatapos lang n'yang i-check kanina si Calista and we were right. She's pregnant. She became emotional about it. "Kailan ba ang preparation ng surprise n'yo sa asawa mo?" pag iiba n'ya ng usapan.Nakatambay kami ngayon sa labas ng house tent na nirentahan ko. In front of it is a pool at sa malayong parte, matatanaw mo ang napakagandang dagat."I'm actually going to prepare later. I know she's scared right now. She had a miscarriage b
"Where's your mom?" I asked my 10-year-old son, Ethan."She's in the kitchen, dad. Preparing our food," he answered politely.As Ethan grew up, mas kapansin-pansin lalo ang pagkakahawig namin. Naalala ko noong nakalipas na mga taon. Tuwing imbitado kami sa mga events ng pamilya ko at ni Calista, they never forget to point out how me and my son looked alike. Kaya naman madalas, ito ang ginagamit ko sa asawa ko kapag gusto ko makita ang inis at pikon sa mukha niya. Regardless of what she feels, she always look beautiful. Kapag inis siya sa akin, para ko na ring nakikita kung paano o ano ang itsura ng isang diyosa kapag galit. Throughout the years, I still can't forget the things I did to her. Kaya naman, siniguro ko sa mga nakalipas na taon at sa mga susunod pa na gagawin ko ang lahat sa aking pamilya, hindi lamang dahil sa tingin ko obligasyon ko iyon, o kaya naman ay bilang pang bawi, bagkus ay dahil sa pagmamahal na gusto kong iparamdam sa asawa't anak ko.I walked silently to clos
"Have you prepared everything?" tanong ko kay Calista nang makarating sila sa parking lot kung nasaan ako ngayon.When we've settled everything, we decided to live at the mansion where we used to live. Dashiell was so surprised of how big our house is. But, I'm glad he loved it."Yup. Everything's here," masiglang sabi n'ya sabay nguso sa dalawang maletang hila-hila niya.I chuckled at her and then told them to sit inside the car already at ako na ang bahalang maglagay ng mga gamit nila sa compartment.I decided that we should go to Boracay. We will have a two weeks trip there.... Our first family trip. Gusto kong masulit ito at makabawi sa kanila ng lubusan kung kaya't ginawa kong two-week trip ito. And after that, I'm planning to bring them to Siargao. If ever they still are not tired.Because our two-week trip in Boracay will be full of activities. Siniguro kong masaya ang magiging bakasyon namin doon. Hindi rin naman na kami namoblema sa masasakyan dahil may private plane naman k
Mommy's death made daddy surrendered to the prison and bringing Mr. Guineva with him. I contacted lawyers to make sure na mabubulok sa kulungan si Mr. Guineva.I'm just glad that my dad was able to do it dahil mas napadali ang proseso sa gusto naming mangyari.I also tried rebuilding the Sarmientos business and decided to become their shareholders. Pinagawan ko rin ng cosmetics business si Calista and I also build a toy business as a reminder for my son Ethan.Its been five years since Calista left me. I busied myself into taking care of our businesses. Though at times, hindi ko rin talaga maiwasan, lalo na gabi-gabi ang maalala si Ethan. Sa tuwing uuwi ako ng bahay at doon gagawin ang mga papeles ko, lagi kong naaalala si Ethan. His remains on the jar that Calista gave me was always on my desk. Whenever I feel like crying and breaking down I tend to hug it. At dahil hindi ko maiwasan ang hindi ma-stress sa opisina, I decided to transfer Ethan's jar on my office table. I feel comfort
"Kiel, narinig kong planong umalis ng mga Sarmiento, alam mo ba iyon?" napatayo ako sa narinig kay daddy mula sa telepono.I know I've been a bad husband lately. I wasn't always there for Calista. Napapabayaan ko na s'ya ng anak namin. And instead of making her at ease. I'm just causing her too much pain."Dad, hindi ko po 'yun alam. Paalis na po ako," huling sinabi ko bago tuluyang pinatay ang tawag.Agad kong pinaandar ang kotse at tinahak ang daan papunta sa bahay ng mga Sarmientos. At muntik na akong masiraan ng ulo nang pagkarating doon ay naabutan kong pinaliligiran ng mga tauhan ni Mr. Guineva ang mga ito! Mr. Guineva himself was also there! Damn it! Calista, baby... Ethan my boy... I'm sorry. Inihanda ko ang aking baril at ginawa lahat ng aking makakaya para hindi masaktan ang mga ito. But too late tho, I saw how messy everything was. Mr. Frederick trying to punch Mr. Guineva. And when I was about to go near them I heard Calista's mother screamed, only to found Calista collap
KIEL'S PO It was so hard for me to find ways on how to court her. I really want her so bad pero hindi ako maka tyempo dahil hindi ko alam saan at paano ako magsisimula. Wala akong maisip.But it seems like destiny really are making its way to make us meet. Years later, I just found out about the status of Mr. Frederick's business. Agad kong inutusan ang aking tauhan na imbestigahan iyon. I found out that they are looking for someone who could help them. Nagkaroon din sila ng internal problem dahil nga mukhang ang isa sa mga shareholders nito ang may plano sa pagbagsak ng kumpanya.Muli, ipinaimbestiga ko sa tauhan ko ang lahat ng mga dapat malaman tungkol kay Mr. Guineva. And there, I found out about my father. He was working with Mr. Guineva. At that moment, litong-lito ako kung hahayaan ko na lamang bang bumagsak ang kumpanya ng mga Sarmiento dahil ayaw kong mag away kami ni Dad! But he's doing something wrong!I wonder if mommy knows about it. To find it out, I tried asking mommy
Kiel's POV"Do we really have to attend?" I asked my mom. I sounded irritated.I'm not used to attending parties. But since I grew up having parents working in the business industry, mukhang hindi ko na nga maiiwasan pa iyon. Dagdagan pa ang katotohanan na I will soon manage the company. I need to learn how to socialize."Of course, anak. Do you know whose party it is?" mapanuksong tanong ni mommy.Sinimangutan ko siya."It's the Unica hija of the Sarmientos," she answered her question.Mr. Frederick Sarmiento is well-known as one of the business tycoon in the industry. Marami silang koneksyon sa iba't-ibang tao. 'Yun nga lang, I think it would also be one of their problems. He has too much connection... too much people who might soon betray him.Who knows? People can do gruesome things for their own sake. That's why, ayaw kong makilala ako o ang makipag halubilo sa kung sino man. Siguro naman I can still manage to make our business grow without having to pull some string of socializa
Hours later, we decided to go to the balcony para doon mas mapag-usapan pa ang mga nangyari noon. We don't want to disturb Dashiell's sleep.Ipinanghila ako ng upuan ni Kiel nang makarating doon. As we sat and look at the view in front of us, I smiled. Iba pala talaga sa pakiramdam kapag nailabas mo na ang lahat nang nasa loob mo. I felt happy and at peace.Naramdaman ko ang mga titig na ipinipukol ni Kiel sa akin kaya nilingon ko ang gawi n'ya."I love you," he whispered.My lips immediately formed into a smile. And I can feel how red my cheeks are right now!"I'm sorry if I startled you. We will take everything slowly, hmm?" muling sabi n'ya nang hindi ako tumugon sa kanyang sinabi kanina.Sa katunayan, wala naman iyon sa akin. Nabigla lang din talaga ako dahil akala ko, hindi ganito ang magiging relasyon namin agad. Lalo na ako! I thought it would take months before I would finally forgive him pero mukhang ngayon pa lamang, napatawad ko na s'ya. Maybe it was the madness kaya noon,
Pagkalapit sa akin ni Dashiell, agad ko siyang binuhat at kinausap. Hindi nga lang sa akin nakatutok ngayon ang atensyon n'ya. Higit sa lahat, mukhang hindi man lang narinig ang mga sinabi ko. Pokus na pokus ang kanyang atensyon kay Kiel, who has a confuse look right now.I don't know what to feel now that I'm looking to the both of them. Nakatulala si Dashiell sa kanyang ama. And I know by now that he recognized Kiel as his biological father! Dahil noon pa man, marami na akong picture na ipinapakita sa kanya tuwing itinatanong n'ya ang tungkol sa daddy n'ya.Meanwhile, Kiel on the other hand, was like trying to figure out who the kid was in front of him, staring!"D-Dada..." Dashiell muttered, enough for us to hear it."Baby, let's get you some food, hmm? Are you hungry?" pag-iiba ko. Though yes, I wanted them to meet already and know their relationship to each other pero kabadong-kabado ako ngayon. Wala naman akong planong i-deny kapag nagtanong si Kiel. It's just that, I'm waiting