"Shall we?" tanong niya sa akin, habang inaalok ang kaniyang braso. Kinapitan ko naman 'yon. Kung noong una at pangalawang punta ko rito ay kinakabahan ako, ngayon tila mahihimatay yata ako sa kaba. Parang tatakas na ang puso ko mula sa akin. Dumeretso kami sa dining room kung saan nanghihintay si Sir Mikael, Ma'am Elisse, si mom and dad. Napalunok na lamang ako sa kaba dahil nakikita kong naroon ang magulang ko na kapuwa naghihintay sa pagdating namin ni Ismael. Ni minsan sa buhay ko ay hindi ito nahagip ng imahinasyon ko. This is fucking unbelievable."Jothea! You're back!" Agad na tumayo sa pagkakaupo ang mama ni Ismael para salubungin ako ng yakap. Kita sa mga mata niya ang galak. Hinaplos niya pa ang kamay ko, at napansin kong nawala sandali ang ngiti niya."Ismael, anak," pagbati niya naman sa lalaking katabi ko bago hinalikan ang magkabilang pisngi nito. "The food is waiting."Napatingin na lang ako kay Ismael. He pulled the chair for me. I am sitting beside him, while her mot
"I have already proposed to her, so you don't have to worry, Mr. Alvandra. Just like what you told me before, I will take care of all her financial needs."Nawala ang inis ko nang magsalita si Ismael. With those kinds of words, who wouldn't be touched? Pampakalma ko talaga siya."W-wait, did you propose to her already?!" Ismael's mom's voice was full of excitement. Napahawak pa siya sa kamay ng dati niyang asawa. "Did he propose to you?" tanong niya sa akin. Talagang tumayo siyang muli sa upuan para puntahan ako at muling tingnan ang kamay ko.Ngumiti ako at hindi ko na napigilang mapangiti nang makita ko ang masayang mukha ni Ma'am Elisse."He did, m-mom." I remember what she requested of me last time—to call her like that.Ipinakita ko sa kaniya ang kwintas ko kung saan naroon ang dalawang singsing—ang promise ring pati na rin ang diamond ring na ibinigay sa akin ni Ismael."Oh, God!" Napayakap na lang sa akin ang mama ni Ismael. "I thought this day would never come!" At tuluyan na
"I will still invite your parents to our wedding, Jothea."I sniffed before looking at him. He held my head and leaned it on his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist as I felt his comforting warmth."They will come for sure," sagot ko habang umaasa na magbago ang isip ng mga magulang ako katulad ng pagbabago ng isip nila kanina. I don't want to walk in the aisle alone."Let's go to my room. I'll have you rest for a while."Tumango ako. Inalalayan niya naman ako sa kwarto niya. I really have to take some rest. Pakiramdam ko rin sa mga mata ko ay babagsak na ito sa pagod kaiiyak. Kinumutan niya ako habang nakangalungbaba siya sa gilid ko.He was staring at me as if he wanted to say something."What is it, Ismael?" tanong ko habang nakangiti sa kaniya.Umiling siya. "I was just amazed by how brave you really are. I feel like I need to be that brave too.""What do you mean?""Do you want to be the first lady of our clan, Jothea?" He offered, which made me stunned to speak."You mean.
"Hey, don't tell me you're allergic to flowers, but still, you gave me this?" Inilayo ko sa kaniya ang mga bulaklak. Nakakaawa naman itong taong ito. Mukhang kanina pa pinipigilan ang pagbahing. "It's okay. It will go away eventually. What's important is that I have flowers for you. Aren't you happy?""I am more than happy, Ismael. I appreciate your effort. Thank you." I kissed the tip of his nose. "But next time, don't sacrifice your health for this, okay? I'll be fine with artificial flowers if you really want to give me one."Hindi siya sumagot. "Ismael... Are you listening?""Alright, Madame."Binuhat niya ako bago dinala sa banyo. Sabay kaming naligong dalawa na parang mag-asawa. Hindi nawala ang paglalandian naming dalawa. Hindi ko alam kung magkakaroon ba ng isang araw na mananawa kami sa isa't isa. Pakiramdam ko, hindi.Pagkatapos no'n ay naglakad-lakad kami sa malawak nilang hardin. Hindi ako makapaniwalang ang ganito kalawak na lupain ay naapakan ng paa ko. Napakaganda ng k
Hindi ko natapos ang sasabihin ko nang muling matamaan ng sinag ng araw ang mata ko dahilan para mahilo ako at mawalan ng malay. Nagising na lamang ako sa boses ng isang babae."That's why I'm here! I am still part of this family but yet you never invited me yesterday to that family dinner. Am I not a member of this family, Mikael? Dahil nand'yan si Elisse?!""Veonna, calm down. Jothea still needs to rest.""Shut up, Elisse. I know you're celebrating because you finally got what you wanted. You've been using me since then. You always do and I'm so stupid to be fooled by you.""Veonna, come on. Let's not do this here."Iminulat ko ang mga mata ko at sumalubong sa akin ang nag-aalalang mukha ni Ismael. Hawak-hawak niya ang kamay ko habang inaalalayan akong bumangon. "Finally, you're awake. How are you feeling?""I'm f-fine."Ipinasada ko ang mga paningin sa buong kwarto ni Ismael at nakita kong naroon ang mga magulang niya pati na rin ang mama ni Danjer na si Miss Veonna."Glad, she's a
"Not at all. I was more worried about your parent's faces when they heard I wasn't pregnant. I know they are expecting something. I was expecting it too, since we always do it, I am expecting to have a child from you," I admitted."It is not based on that, Jothea. You see, may mga mag-asawang kahit ilang beses silang magsama ay wala pa ring nabubuo. It is not because of my sperms, or because of your egg cells collide. Children are a blessing from God. He is the one who gives people a child. So you don't have to worry about this. God will give us twelve children if it is meant for us, kung makabubuti sa atin. Understand?""Pero, Ismael...paano kung may problema pala sa akin? Paano kung hindi kita mabigyan ng anak?""Who's asking you to give me a child, Jothea? As long as
Her eyes were welled up with tears that were afraid of falling. "It was my idea, and Veonna was also a victim of my greed, yet both families see me as the one who suffered the most when it was them.""Still now, I am. I am so full of greed that I wanted my son to take over the presidency since it was his in the first place, but it got ruined because of me. And now I am overly guilty to see that Veonna deserves it more since if she wasn't there, the family tradition would never have been fulfilled, and the presidency from Mikael would have been voided. But I did not want that to happen, not for my children. I want to give them the best."I can see now why Ismael doesn't want this at all. Desiring something great requires a great sacrifice. Ismael's mom sacrificed herself as a wife just to maintain Sir Mikael's position as clan
Ilang minuto pa kaming nagkuwentuhan ng mama ni Ismael bago siya nagpaalam na muling uuwi sa bahay niya roon sa pangalawa niyang asawa na si Mr. Auckland. Ibig sabihin, wala rin palang naiiwan sa mansyon na ito kung hindi ang mga maids and butlers nila Ismael.Bumalik na ako sa kwarto kung saan naghihintay si Ismael sa akin. Wala naman kaming masyadong gamit na dala, kaya hindi ko alam bakit natagalan sya bago bumaba. Hihintayin ko na lang sana siya sa baba dahil tinatamad akong umakyat."Are you finished?" tanong ko kay Ismael nang madatnan ko siyang nakaupo sa kama. "Are we going home now?"Nagtaka ako nang tumayo siya, at niyakap ako nang mahigpit. He placed his head on my shoulder.Nagpapalambing ba siya?