CHAPTER THREE

Tahimik na nakatanaw si Liv sa labas ng bintana ng kotse ni Andrew. Ever since she decided to get into his car and go with his flow, kanina pa pabalik-balik sa isip niya ang naging nangyari kanina sa engagement party ng mama niya.

Tumikhim ito kaya ay napalingon siya dito. When she faced him, she saw his smug face.

"You seem happy," sabi niya dito.

He faced her, his smug smile now evident on his face. "Did you see their faces?" 

She couldn't help but roll her eyes and immediately regretted her recent life decision. Parang gusto niyang tumalon sa bridge na dinadaanan nila ngayon.

"You can drop me off at the next taxi stand," imporma nalang niya dito.

"You sure, princess?" tanong nito.

"One hundred percent," sagot niya. "Besides, nakakahiya naman sa iyo."

"Well, I don't mind," anito pa. "Hatid na kita."

Napailing siya. "No, thank you. It's okay, really. I can handle myself," pagdidiin niya. Sana naman ay makuha nito na ayaw niyang ihatid siya nito.

Kumunot ang noo nito, pero hindi pa rin nawawala ang ngiti sa mukha nito. "Remind me again, why don't you like me?"

She is starting to get annoyed, at hindi na niya kaya pang itago iyon dito.

"And besides, it's not right that I allow my fiance to be alone in the streets, in the middle of the night, waiting for a taxi," dugtong pa nito. "Call me old-school, but I don't roll like that."

Napabuntong-hininga nalang siya. 

"Whatever. Do what you want," sagot nalang niya dito, saka ay ipinikit ang mga mata.

He doesn't know where she lives anyway. Bahala na itong hanapin ang bahay niya. 

Ngunit, hindi na niya namalayang tuluyan na pala siyang naidlip. She was awakened when she felt a warm cloth that enveloped her. When she opened her eyes, she saw Andrew fixing the blanket on her. 

Wala sa oras na napatitig siya sa mukha nito. His face was so close to her that with one wrong move, she might just kiss him accidentally. She could even smell that husky perfume he was wearing that night, a familiar scent that she tried not to remember.

But it was then that she realized that he was a truly handsome man. Mahahaba ang mga pilik-mata nito, matangos ang ilong nito, at mapula-pula pa ang mga labi. His eyes were a deep set of brown, in which she could get lost in if she stared long enough. The more she stared at his handsome face, the more she felt her stomach tightened. If she wasn't mistaken, it's almost as if her heart skipped a beat. 

Hindi niya namalayan kung gaano katagal niya itong pinagmamasdan nang bigla nalang itong tumingin sa kanya. When he caught her staring at him, lumabas na naman ang pilyong ngiti nito.

Napaayos siya ng upo at inayos ang buhok at mukha. Naramdaman niya ang pag-init ng pisngi niya. Kung bakit pa kasi siya nito nadatnang tumititig dito? Nakakahiya!

She cleared her throat. Then she realized that she was already home. Napakunot ang noo niya.

"We're here?" tanong nya dito. Hindi pa rin siya sure kung bakit naiuwi siya nito sa bahay niya.

"Yes, we're here," sagot nito. "Actually, a few minutes have alreaady passed. Pero nakatulog ka kasi sa biyahe, and I thought to just let you be until you wake up. Parang pagod na pagod ka kasi. It was not right to disturb your sleep."

"Paano tayo nakarating dito?" she asked Andrew.

"I'm not sure I get your question right," he answered.

"I mean, how did you know where I live?" she revised her question.

"Oh..." and then he smiled, "I have been here before."

Kumunot ang noo niya. Confusion was written all over her face. "What? When?"

"Hindi mo ba naaalala? Naihatid na kita sa bahay niyo noon," he said a matter of factly.

"When?" She was still confused.

"In your high school senior year," sagot pa rin nito. "Noong JS Prom ninyo."

Hindi pa rin niya matandaan na naihatid siya nito noon. As far as she could remember, she was drunk on her JS Prom night at si Anna ang kasama niyang umuwi ng bahay nila. At tsaka, imposibleng nandoon din ito sa JS Prom niya. Andrew was three years ahead of her. College na ito noong High School Senior siya. So paanong naihatid siya nito sa bahay niya noon?

"What are you talking about?" tanong niya dito.

Hindi pa rin niya matandaang naihatid siya nito sa bahay noon. Kahit pa man sabihin na lasing siya, pero tandang-tanda niyang si Anna talaga ang kasama niyang umuwi ng bahay noon.

"Well, mukhang hindi mo na maalala," he replied coolly. "And I don't plan on spending the rest of the night trying to make you remember it. Because I have more important matter to discuss with you."

"What?"

"But... before I proceed," he said and sheepishly looked at her. He was so cute that she wanted to punch him. "Can I use your toilet? Kanina pa ako ihing-ihi, eh."

At that point, an evident smile has unwillingly escaped from her lips.

__

"So, what is that important matter that you need to discuss with me?" tanong niya dito nang naka-pwesto na silang dalawa sa sala ng bahay niya.

"What day do you want to do it?" he asked as he sipped on that hot tea she prepared for him.

"Do what exactly?" tanong uli niya dito.

"Get married," sagot nito. 

Hindi agad siya nakasagot dahil sa pagkabigla. Is he tripping? "Are you tripping?"

"No, I'm not tripping," he answered in a serious tone. Nawala na ang pagka-pilyo nito.

Napatunganga pa rin siya dito. He really is serious about it. "Why are you doing this?"

Napabuntong-hininga ito, saka ay napasandal sa upuan nito. "I don't want my father to marry your mom, no offense to you."

Napalingo siya. "None taken."

"I love my father, and l admire him in so many ways."

"So, bakit mo nga ito ginagawa?"

"Bitter pa rin kasi ako sa paghihiwalay nila ng mama ko. Naniniwala pa ako na pwede pa silang magkabalikan," sagot nito.

She had to admit, she was a bit shocked to hear his reason. She was expecting about him wanting to take over his father's company, or any other horrid reason. Pero simpleng-simple lang ang rason nito kung bakit ayaw nitong magpakasal ang mga magulang nila.

"I told you, I'm old school. I believe in fairy tales and happy ever afters," he chuckled. Pero kitang-kita niya sa likod ng ngiti nito ang lungkot. "Eh, ikaw? Bakit ayaw mong magpakasal ang tatay ko at nanay mo?"

She sipped on her own tea. "Just because," she curtly replied.

Kumunot ang noo nito. "Oh, no honey. I need to know for this to work."

Halos mapatawa siya sa sinabi nito. So talagang totohanin talaga nito ang pagpapakasal nila. "You know what, we can just say that we broke up even before we got married. Kasi nalaman natin na ikakasal na pala ang parents natin."

"And what? Give them their happiness?" anito. "Akala ko ba walang karapatan maging masaya ang nanay mo?"

Napatda siya sa kinauupuan. "How did you know that?"

"At the bar, remember?" he simply replied.

"You remember?" gulat na tanong niya.

"Honey, I have a very sharp memory," sagot nito.

Talaga? Kung matalas ang memorya nito, bakit hindi nito maalala kung paano nagsimula ang pagka-disgusto niya dito?

It's almost as if he read her mind when he smiled to face her, and said, "Although, I cannot remember what I actually did for you to hate me."

"I don't hate you," automatic na sabi niya dito.

"You just don't like me," pahayag nito, na hindi naman niya kinontra.

Totoo naman kasi. She realized hate is just too strong a word. She reserved that word for someone like her mother. 

"So," anito at uminom na naman sa tasa ng tsaa nito. "What day do you want to do it?"

Hindi pa rin siya makasagot sa tanong nito. Instead, she asked him, "Do you really want to get married to me just so your father can't get married to my mother?"

"Yes," walang pag-aalinlangang sagot nito.

"Are you really sure?" tanong uli niya. 

"Yes. I'm sure," confident na sagot nito.

She let out a heavy sigh at napatingin sa mukha nito. Wala talagang bahid ng biro ang ekspresyon nito. She could see that he was genuinely, seriously thinking about it.

"Well, I'll give you time to think about it," anito nang hindi pa rin siya makasagot. Saka ito tumayo sa kinauupuan nito at nagtungo sa pinto. 

Napasunod nalang siya ng tingin dito, while thinking of the matter that they have just discussed. She still couldn't believe that he really was proposing marriage to her. Gusto ba talaga nitong magpakasal sa kanya ganoong alam nitong ayaw niya ito? Is he in his right mind at all?

"And, uhm..." He stopped to face her just before he reached the door. "Thank you for the tea, by the way. I'll be waiting until tomorrow for your answer. You can meet me at the hotel."

"Ah..."

"See you tomorrow," he said and flashed her the most charming smile she had ever seen in her life.

Buti nalang at nakatalikod na ito, kung hindi ay nakita nito ang pamumula ng mga pisngi niya.

__

"So, you made a deal with the son of your mother's fiance for marriage?" a surprised Madeleine asked.

"Hindi pa. Proposal pa lang," sagot niya.

"And you are both doing this para hindi matuloy iyong kasal ng mama mo at papa niya?" 

"Thinking of doing it, but have not yet decided," sagot pa rin niya.

Umiling-iling ito bago humarap sa kanya. "I think that is a bad idea."

She raised an eyebrow. "How could you be so sure?"

"You hate this Andrew Villanueva, correct?"

"Uhm, yeah. Kind of," she curtly replied.

"So? How can you pretend to love him, when you even hate him?" Madeleine asked. "You're not even that good of an actor."

She laughed. "Oh, please. I don't think it's that hard to act like you're in love."

"Paano kung mabuking kayo? And you're gonna register this marriage, am I correct?" tanong uli nito.

"I guess so," sagot niya dito.

"Paano kung malaman nila na peke pala ang kasal ninyo, tapos kasuhan pa kayo ng fraud niyan?" anito. "As your lawyer, Liv, I won't allow it. I'm against it!"

"I'm not asking for your permission, Madeleine," sagot ulit niya dito.

Lumaki ang mga mata nito. "So... you are thinking of doing it!"

Nagbuntong-hininga siya. Hindi pa talaga siya sure kung tama ba ang iniisip niya, pero parang patungo nga doon ang desisyon niya.

"Oh my God, Liv! Please think this through," suhestiyon ng abogada niya.

"I am thinking it through," sagot niya.

"But you are not! Knowing you, I know you are already thinking of going to Andrew to tell him that you agree to his proposal," anito.

Nagbuntong-hininga uli siya. Parang desidido na siya.

"You can't seriously hate your mother that much to fake a marriage to someone you hate," exclaimed Madeleine.

"Well, news flash Mads... I do," she said, then stood up from the table and got her coat from the coat hanger.

"Liv!" Pilit pa na pagpipigil ni Madeleine. 

Pero desidido na siya. She will accept his proposal.

"I'm sorry, Mads. I'll call you when it's over," aniya dito, bago tuluyang lumabas ng study room at iniwan ito doon.