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3. Undefined fear.
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2022-04-04 13:40:55"Bye, Eli. Behave, okay?" Hinatid niya sa pre-school nito si Elisha. "Remember, kay ate Yoly ka lang sasama pauwi, okay?" Tukoy niya sa nag-aalaga sa anak habang nasa trabaho siya.
"Yes, mommy... I love you."
"I love you too." She kissed her bago umalis.
Monday kaya kailangan niyang makarating agad sa opisina. Well, being a college undergrad, assistant pa rin siya hanggang ngayon. She was just lucky na may tumanggap pa rin sa kanya despite her having no college diploma.
Executive assistant siya for almost ten years na. That long service already earned her the status of being the little boss. Paano kasi, siya lang naman ang nakatagal sa amo nilang ipinaglihi sa sama ng loob.
Pagdating niya sa opisina ay nagpulasan ang mga empleyado pabalik sa mga pwesto ng mga ito mula sa kaninang kumpol-kumpol habang nagtsitsismisan.
"Good morning, Hannah!" Bati ni Mia. Ito ang pinaka-close niya dahil halos sabay silang dumating noon sa opisina, mas matanda ito dahil eighteen pa lang siya noon.
"'Morning, Mia," aniyang sumalampak sa upuan niya.
"Nabalitaan mo na ba?"
"Ang alin?" She asked as she turned her desktop on.
"Hindi natuloy ang wedding of the year!”
"Nino?" Blankong tanong niya.
"Ekk, Hannah. Nate and Olive, remember? And the excuse was so lame, they needed to postpone raw kasi may immediate commitment abroad si Olive."
"Ah." Napatango lang siya. She totally forgot na kasal nga pala dapat nina Olive at Nate kahapon. Hindi na rin kasi nila napag-usapang magkaibigan ang tungkol doon.
"Imagine? Kung ako si Olive, uunahin ko ang kasal ko. Nate Sarmiento is every girl's dream man. Choosy pa siya?"
"That's their life, Mia." Apparently, no one knows Olive nor Nate the way she does. So she just kept her mouth shut. Hindi niya kailangang makipagtalo para maipagtanggol si Olive.
"Yeah, but what I’m saying is mali ang desisyon niya. Poor Nate."
She did not answer. No wonder na kay Nate ang simpatiya ng mga tao. Olive left him to sort the mess. But her sympathy goes to her friend. Walang karapatan ang tulad ni Nate na saktan si Olive kahit pa nagloko ito. After all she just fought for her true love. Nate's nothing but a heartless jerk who once wanted her dear Elisha aborted.
"Let's get to work," sabi na lang niya.
Maaga ring dumating ang boss nila kaya agad siyang na-busy sa trabaho.
Pasado alas onse na ng makatanggap siya ng tawag mula kay ate Yoly. She sounded nervous kaya kinabahan na rin siya. Uwian na ni Elisha kaya malamang ay iyon ang dahilan kaya ito napatawag.
"Hannah," umiiyak na umpisa nito.
"Ano pong nangyari? Nasundo n’yo na si Elisha?" Kinakabahang tanong niya.
"Hannah, wag kang mabibigla... W-wala na si Elisha sa school. M-may ibang sumundo sa kanya!"
"'Po?" Hindi siya makapaniwala, patakaran sa eskwelahan na magulang at mga taong rekomendado lang ng magulang ang pwedeng sumundo sa mga bata. "Ate Yoly, sigurado po ba kayo?" Pilit niyang kinakalma ang sarili but to no avail.
Elisha was missing!
"Sinundo raw siya ng daddy niya!"
"What?!" Para siyang sinabugan ng bomba that she felt numb for a moment.
Natagpuan na lamang niya ang sarili na nasa eskwelahan ni Elisha at nakikipagtalo sa Admin.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Rodriguez. But your husband came to fetch Elisha," paliwanag ng school administrator nang sumugod siya roon para magwala.
"Husband?!" Hindi siya makapaniwala. "I'm not even married yet, Mrs. Ferrer! You gave my child to a complete stranger! Elisha is missing now and it's because you didn't stick to your rules!"
"Parents are allowed to fetch their children," kalmadong pahayag ng kausap niya.
"Oh please." Umiiyak na siya. "For almost a year ako lang o si ate Yoly ang sumusundo sa anak ko. I made it clear to you, the paper that I signed when I enrolled Elisha here. So don't give me that excuse. Elisha doesn't have a father!"
"I'm sorry-"
"Sorry? I don't even know where Elisha is right now! Paano kung kidnapper 'yong sumundo sa kanya? Paano kung-"
"Ms. Rodriguez, we are sure that Nate Sarmiento is not a kidnapper," deklara ni Mrs. Ferrer.
"What??!" She felt her world crashed. For a while akala niya matutumba siya sa pagkabila.
Tama ba ang narinig niya?
"Nate Sarmiento was the one who fetched your daughter."
"You're kidding me-" imposible! Hindi maaari!
How on earth did Nate learn about Elisha?
"Did he leave a number or anything?" Nanginginig na tanong niya after several seconds na tila nag-hang siya while trying to process what she just heard.
"Actually, he did." May iniabot itong calling card sa kanya na agad niyang hinablot at nagmamadaling umalis.
She could feel her heart breaking. Paano nalaman ni Nate na anak nito si Elisha? No, how did he even know about her in the first place?
Nanlalamig ang mga kamay na tiningnan niya ang calling card at tumipa sa kanyang cellphone.
She wasn't able to prepare for this moment and she could feel her nerves shaking with every unanswered ring. Nate has Elisha and that was enough to scare the hell out of her.
Would she see Elisha again?
'Oh please... please... don't take Eli away...' Piping hiling niya habang para siyang pinapatay sa paghihintay na sagutin ni Nate ang tawag niya.
"Where's my daughter?" She said in lieu of hello the moment the call was picked up.
"Hello to you too, Hannah." The icy cold voice from the other line sent shiver down her spine. He mentioned her name in the most expressionless way possible. Hindi pa siya nagpapakilala pero base sa reaksyon nito, he had been expecting her call.
"Where's Elisha?" Nanginginig ang boses niya --of anger and undefined fear to the man who currently has her daughter. "I beg you Mr. Sarmiento, give my daughter back. I don't know what your intention is, but please, don't take Elisha!"
"Last time I checked, she's my daughter." He let out a cold laugh. Nakakainsulto.
"No, no no... She's not... Please!" She's already crying hard, she couldn't lose Elisha or she would die.
Ito na ba ‘yong kinakatakutan niya? Na isang araw, kukunin sa kanya si Elisha ng tunay nitong mga magulang?
"Let's have a deal, Hannah," he said.
"What deal? I'll do anything... " Right, kahit ano pa ang kondisyon nito, ibibigay niya basta lang ibalik nito ang anak niya.
"It's best to talk about it in person." He mentioned a place to her that seemed like a home address. "So, I'll be waiting."
"You're bringing Elisha, right?" Umaasang tanong niya.
"That's for me to decide, sweetheart." He hung up.
Her shoulders dropped. She couldn't help but worry. Is Elisha safe? Nate didn't want the child then. Anong dahilan kung bakit bigla itong nagkainteres sa bata?
Pero hindi iyon ang tanong-- paano nito nalaman ang tungkol kay Elisha when the only other soul who knew about her existence was her real mother...? Could it be that Olive told Nate?
'No, Hannah... Olive is your friend.'
Yeah, right. Hindi gagawin ni Olive iyon sa kanya. Alam nito kung gaano kahalaga sa kanya si Elisha.
She shook her head to push away the thought...
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Because Nate was carrying Elisha on his shoulders, na-obliga itong pumila sa counter habang sinusubukang intindihin kung nasaan ang mga itinuturo ng anak nito. Si Hannah naman ang naghanap ng mauupuan nila. Nang makahanap siya ng pwesto, naupo na siya at pinagmasdan sina Nate at Elisha. The latter was a picture of a happy kid. Nate on the other hand was a picture of a loving father. Before she knew it, a smile already crept across her face. Hindi maikakaila ni Nate na anak nito si Elisha. Tama si Olive, female version ni Nate ang bata. She noticed a few people already recognized Nate Sarmiento as they began taking pictures of him in not so secret way. She knew that he knew and he didn't do anything about it. So hinayaan na lang din niya. After all, kahit hindi pa pinapakilala ni Nate sa publiko si Elisha, hindi naman nito itinatago ang anak nito. Nevertheless, she saw Paul and the other escorts stopping the crowd from
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Raising The Billionaire's Child Finale
"Eli," marahang nilapitan ni Nate ang anak na nakatulala habang naka-indian sit sa gitna ng kama nito. "Time to see your doctor, anak."Pakiramdam niya kinurot ang puso niya when Eli didn't even look at him. His little girl was drowned into her thoughts again."Elisha, Dr. Railey is already waiting for you." Tinabihan niya ang bata at kinabig ito para halikan sa ulo."I don't need a doctor, daddy," mahinang usal ng bata. "I'm not sick.""He will just talk to you, anak." Dr. Railey was Eli's psychiatrist. For a week now, nakakailang session na si Elisha and yet parang wala pa ring improvement. Madalas pa rin itong tulala at bigla na lang umiiyak at sumisigaw. "Hey, do you like to visit mommy?"Upon hearing the word mommy, Elisha nodded almost eagerly. Gano'n naman lagi. Kapag nahihirapan siyang kausapin ito, Hannah would always do the trick. Kapag nababanggit ito sa bata, Elisha would start responding like her normal self."Yes daddy! I miss mommy so much!""
Raising The Billionaire's Child 40. Evil plan.
"Olive," Hannah tried to calm Olive down. "Let's talk. Not like this. Please, natatakot na si Eli…" "No... We will talk like this. Eli has to know what a slut you are, Hannah!" Gigil na itinutok nito sa tagiliran ni Elisha ang kutsilyo habang pigil nito ang bata sa buhok nito. "How you ruined our family!" Eli wasn't complaining kahit nakadungaw na sa mga mata nito ang pinipigilan nitong mga luha. She was a brave kid! Hindi niya alam kung dapat ba niyang ikatuwa iyon na tahimik lang ito o hindi. "Don't hurt her, I beg you." Siya pa ang naunang maiyak kaysa sa bata. "She's your daughter, Liv! Your own flesh and blood!" She couldn't contain seeing Eli so scared like that but she couldn't do anything. One wrong move and Olive could hurt Eli. "I know... " bahagya nitong inilayo ang kutsilyo "I'm not going to hurt Eli. I need her so Nate would come back to me. But– " bitin nitong itinabi sa leeg ni Eli ang hawak nito. "If you're not going to coopera
Raising The Billionaire's Child 39. Patch things up.
Dumiretso na sila sa bahay. Nate held a meeting with the whole security team of his house. Kung bakit, hindi niya alam. After an hour, nagpaalam ito na makikipag-conference meeting sa mga staff nito via video call. She told him okay at nagpasyang mag-bake na lang ng chocolate chip cookies para sa asawa niya't anak. They were like crazy with the cookie. Mag-ama nga ang mga ito. Hannah smiled to herself. Hindi mapipigilan ng problemang dumating ang kasiyahan niya sa bagong estado niya sa buhay. Nate loves her at kahit hindi sila makapag-honeymoon ngayon, okay lang. She knew Nate, babawi ito. That's for sure. She was preparing the ingredients when her phone rang. It was Olive. "Hannah," bungad nito nang sagutin niya ang tawag. "Hello Liv," alanganin niyang bati. "Eli's with me. I'm wondering if you can come and get her? I have an appointment in two hours. I cannot drive her back. I need to fix myself pa." "
Raising The Billionaire's Child 38. With this ring.
Hannah woke up to the feeling of a hand stroking her hair. What??? Who??? How??? She was alone in the townhouse! Who could possibly be with her? "Hannah," it was Nate's voice, Hannah froze. Just last night, she dreamed of him. In fact it's still so vivid, she could actually remember every detail of her dream. So hearing Nate's voice when she was already fully awake though not still opening her eyes, made her heart skip a beat. "Hannah" she heard him chuckling. "I know you're already awake. Come on, open your eyes or I'll kiss you." Sukat sa sinabi nito ay agad siyang nagmulat, only to find Nate's face directly above her face. His amused gaze stared back at her surprised wide eyes. "N-nate?!" She stammered at nagmamadaling bumangon, totally forgetting na halos magkadikit pala ang mukha nila. So she ended up head butting Nate Sarmiento. "Ouch!" Exaggerated na sinapo ng binata ang noo nito. "I-I'm sorry!" Agad niya i
Raising The Billionaire's Child 37. The best dream.
"Welcome back, GM!" Paul, his best friend slash Eli's bodyguard, greeted him with a huge grin on his face. Ito lang ang pinagsabihan niya ng pagdating niya dahil kailangan niyang magpasundo galing sa airport. "How's everyone?" he asked nang makasakay na siya sa kotse. "You mean, Hannah?" he teased and an involuntary smile lit up his face. Pero agad ding naglaho iyon nang makita ang seryosong mukha ni Paul. "Not good." "What do you mean not good?" kunot noong tanong niya na bahagyang kinakabahan. "The news isn't true right, Nate?" nananantiyang tanong nito. "What news?" mas lumalim ang pagkakakunot noo niya. "That you and Olive are getting married." "What?!" bulalas niya. "Of course not!" Saan galing iyon? "Well, that's what Olive's been telling everyone. That you're getting married. There were pictures of you and Olive circulating online. That you're together in Macau and you're having your sweet time t
Raising The Billionaire's Child 36. Just this one time.
It was just supposed to be three days. Kaso hindi siya nakaalis dahil sunod-sunod ang naging problema. Nate hated every freaking time he needed to spend in Macau. Each second away from Elisha and Hannah's almost driving his thoughts into nuts. He missed Hannah so much that he needed to disconnect himself with his phone during his stay in Macau so that he wouldn't be tempted to call her every hour. Worst, fly back to the Philippines just so he would have her in his arms again. Because admittedly, he was so in love with Hannah that he would move mountains to be with her. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that at the given time. Nate never thought he was capable of loving one woman that way. He had Olive for five years. Pero hindi siya nabaliw na hindi ito makita sa loob lang ng ilang araw. Although he believed he used to love her, separation had never been a problem to him. But with Hannah, it's a whole lot different story. Hannah Rodrigue
Raising The Billionaire's Child 35. Together again.
It's a weekend.Hannah decided to pay Leah a visit. Isinama niya si Elisha para makipaglaro ito kay Seth at para makita nito sa unang pagkakataon ang kapatid ng kaibigan nito.As expected, Eli's reaction was adorable. Seeing Bethany for the first time, Eli repeatedly told her na bigyan na rin niya ito ng kapatid. Inggit na inggit ito kay Seth."Eli, mommy and daddy need to get married first," sabi ni Leah."When are you getting married, mom?" Ungot nito na ayaw bitawan ang kamay ni Bethany."In the right time, anak.""When is the right time?""You'll just know it, Eli." Paano naman niya ipapaliwanag kay Elisha na malabo pa sa sabaw ng dinuguan ang relasyon nila ng ama nito? Eli won't understand."Okay," naka-pout na sabi nito bago lumapit kay Seth na tinawag ito papunta sa playroom."Ano na? Four days na si Nate sa Macau, ah? Kailan ang uwi?" untag ni Leah.Malungkot siyang umiling. Four days in Macau and he had only called her once. Pagk
Raising The Billionaire's Child 34. Say that again.
"Coffee, Sir?" Hannah still works for Nate in the hotel. Pero sa bahay nito na siya nakatira at sinasabay na siya sa pagpasok after dropping Elisha to her school. Gusto pa sana niyang gawin 'yong dati na mag-i-stay siya sa school ni Eli but the kid herself said na kaya na nito with her yaya and Paul. "Yes, please." Hindi nag-aangat ng paningin na sagot ng binatang busy sa laptop nito. Maingat naman niyang inilapag sa tabi nito ang tasa ng kape na dala-dala na niya. "Express?" He smiled at her. "Yep..." nakangiti ring tugon niya. "For the ever busy GM." "Come here." "Hmn?" Kunot noong tanong niya na lumapit sa tapat nito, Nate's table in between them. "A good employee deserves a prize." He pushed his laptop to his side then leaned over his table, almost closing their distance while looking at her lips teasingly. "I am not aware of such," hindi siya umatras. "Wala ata iyon sa employee handbook."
Raising The Billionaire's Child 33. Come back home.
"What was that, Nate?" She asked Nate who closed the room's door behind him. Elisha was now out of earshot as Adam took her with him after much convincing that her mommy wasn't going anywhere. "Can't you stay for Eli?" he asked back. Lumapit ito sa kinauupuan niya at ipinaghila ang sarili nito ng upuan sa tapat niya. Then he started to gently press a cold compress on her swollen cheek. "You know that I'd do anything for Elisha," mabilis ang tibok ng puso at naiilang sa proximity ni Nate na sagot niya, mas nararamdaman pa nga niya ang kamay nito kaysa sa yelo na idinadampi-dampi nito sa pisngi niya. "Pero ikaw? Is it okay with you?" "What do you think, Hannah?" Inihinto nito ang ginagawa para salubungin ang mga mata niya. "I- I can't really tell," amin niya. He sighed before pulling away. "Please do this for Elisha. I want her to be happy," pakiusap nito. "It's not like I can say no. I'm still working for
