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?
Hindi ako agad nakapagsalita sa gulat. He just smiled."J-Joth?! W-what are you doing here? Why are you driving this car?"But those questions were answered when a memory flashed through my head. The company he was talking about is the one Ismael owned? He is the company driver for LMC?Ngumiti lang siya at nagpatuloy lang sa pagmamaneho. Tama. He needs to focus on the road, but what about me? How can I focus, kung masyado akong nagugulat sa mga nangyayari? Why is he here? And the fact that he's smiling at me—that's so unusual!"Later. We'll talk later, ate Jothea. Sir Mondalla said to take you to Safira safely and early."A straight smile formed on my li
I opened the door to see the surprised faces of my coworkers. Hindi ko alam kung gulat dahil sa bigla kong pagbukas ng pinto o gulat dahil sa narinig nila. I exhaled as I flashed a playful smile. Nang makita nila iyon ay nagtatalon na rin sila at niyakap ako. Nakangiti lang si Mill at si Miss Ayu. They both mouthed congratulations.At dahil nga sa nalaman nilang balita tungkol sa akin, they asked me to treat them to food to celebrate my engagement. Wala sa plano kong gamitin ang black card na ibinigay sa akin ni Ismael kanina ngunit ngayon, mukhang magagamit ko na talaga. Baka maubos ang savings ko kung gamitin ko 'yong akin. Ismael really is a lifesaver. Nakalkula niya bang mangyayari ito, kaya binigyan niya ako ng black card?"So, how did he propose?" tanong ni Mill habang kumakain ng pesto. Napanganga ako. Hindi ko inasaha
But I realized that after a problem is solved, there is another problem to solve. It is inevitable. What matters now is that I have someone to face all of those problems and trials, and everything will be light. Hindi na magiging mabigat sa akin dahil may katulong na ako at kasama. Gwapo pa at mayaman. Ano pang poproblemahin ko?"Tama, hindi mo dapat tanggihan ang grasya," sabat ni Erl na siyang nagpaputol sa pagpapantasya ko. Natawa na lang kaming lahat dahil sa komento niya.But a smile vanished from my face when I felt something eerie in my stomach. I felt nauseated. Naduwal ako, causing them to look on synchronously."Hey, are you okay?" "Jothea, ayos ka lang?" sabay-sabay nilang tanong, pero hindi ko na nasagot dahil nagmadali ako sa pagpunta sa faucet. Rinig na rin
"I'm here, baby. What happened?"Bakas ang pag-alala niya sa boses niya.I pouted, suppressing my tears. "S-sorry for taking up some of your time, Ismael. Can I just go there instead? I have something to tell you."I am biting my nails while waiting for his answer."No need to say sorry, baby. Why? Is there something wrong? Why is your voice like this?""It was just—" Tuluyan na akong napaluha at dahil sa ginawa ko, mas lalo ko lang siyang napag-alala. Bakit ba kasi ganito niya ako tanungin? He's pushing the buttons of my vulnerability."Don't move. I'll go there."Ism