Nagmamadaling umibis ng sasakyan si Charlie pagkatapat na pagkatapat niyon sa isang restaurant sa loob ng mall. She had an overtime today at work dahil na rin sa dalawang araw siyang um-absent after her drugging incident. Sa totoo lang, to say that her family was angry with what happened was an undestatement. Her family was livid! After learning about the incident, her Grandma, Uncle Joshua and Uncle Kiel wanted to send her to California right there and then. That was after they went straight to the Secretary of Justice to ask for help and make sure that the Mondragons and Mr. Dominguez will pay for their crimes. Mabuti na lang napakiusapan niy ang mga ito na h'wag muna siyang pabalikin sa California at least for another 2 weeks. Kritikal kasi para sa recovery plan ng SSL Cruise ang susunod na dalawang linggo kaya hindi siya pwedeng umalis. She wanted to make sure that the initial phase of the recovery plan is well executed to ensure its success. Mabuti na lang pumayag ang mga
"Thank you, Charlie. I have never opened so many gifts in my life!" excited na pahayag ni Jasmine nang matapos na ang party. Halos sila na lang ang naiwan sa venue. Nagpaiwan siya dahil hindi niya nagawang kausapin ang kaibigan bago mag-umpisa ang party dahil late na siyang dumating. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jas. Next stop, welcome home party after you gave birth," aniya, nakangisi. Mabilis na nalukot ang mukha nito, suminghap nang di oras. Natawa naman siya. Kahit kailan talaga, apprehensive pa rin ito pagdating sa mga events. "Breathe, Jasmine. I was kidding," sabi niya, lalo lang lumabi ang kaibigan. Mabilis siyang bumaling sa dumaan na waiter na may bitbit na tray ng champagne flutes. She grabbed two glasses and drank it all in one go, one after the other. "Hey, that stressed huh?" ani Jasmine. She slowly nodded, magkasabay na ibinalik sa tray ang mga champagne flute bago muling kumuha ng isa pang baso na may laman. "Exactly," sabi niya. "Charlize?" anang baritonong
Charlie carefully watched Gael as he sipped from his cup of coffee. She was sitting opposite him at a round nordic style table inside a coffee shop that doesn't seem to have much customers, just them. And even at that point, she still doesn't know what made her say yes to his invitation. The man lived and breathed to make her life miserable.'He is also the one who helped you with your need', mabilis na dugtong ng isang bahagi ng isip niya. She secretly rolled her eyes with the thought. So ibig bang sabihin no'n lagi na lang siyang magpapasalamat dito tuwing magkikita sila?Biglang siyang nanggigil sa naisip."One thank you is enough,"she mumbled unknowingly. "What's that?" pukaw na tanong nito sa kanya. Kumurap-kurap siya. "N-Nothing," aniya bago marahang dinala ang tasa ng kape sa bibig niya, cursing herself secretly. She doesn't like what's happening to her. She's acting like a fool in front of Gael all suddenly when she vowed to hate him till forever for everything he had
Humigingal na ibinagsak ni Gael sa counter ang walang laman na bottled water. He consumed the contents of the whole bottle in one go in an effort to calm his racing heart. It was four o'clock in the morning and he just woke up from another nightmare. He dreamed of it again. That same freakin' dream with Charlize in it and asking for his help. He was able to ran after her this time, subalit hindi niya ito naabutan. But he knew a person from behind her was pulling her away from him. He saw the figure, it was man. A faceless man to be exact.At kung ano na naman ang ibig sabihin niyon, hindi niya alam. Didn't he already save Charlize from that perv Mondragon? Is the dream signaling him that something bad will happen to her? Was she in trouble again? Just how many enemies do they have? He huffed. Frustration filling his chest once again. After that incident with that perv Theo Mondragon, hindi na siya laging mapakali. His chest hurts everytime he thinks about her. His heart pushes h
"Just pull the car over right there," utos ni Charlie kay Gael. Itinuro niya ang palikong daan na ilang metro na lang ang layo sa kanila. She wanted to get off near the park they used to frequent to when they were still together. Mas malapit kasi iyon sa mansiyon. Axel and Jacob knows that place. It's still one of her safe places. Sometimes, when she wants to be alone that's her go to place. "To whom are you running from to anyway?" tanong ni Gael, amusement in his voice. "Was that your crazy ex-boyfriend?" dugtong pa nito Muntik na siyang mapabungisngis. Crazy ex-boyfriend. Why, the description suited him so well! She suppressed a laugh. "No. It's my secretary." He chuckled. "You know what, I totally get you. I ran away from Hugo from time to time too. The guy is giving me nightmares sometimes with the endless documents he lets me sign and the boring meetings he'd always put me into," natatawang kuwento nito habang pinapabagal ang takbo ng sasakyan nito. "Hey, I'm good he
Agad na natigilan si Charlie sa sinabi ni Gael. She bit her lower lip to prevent herself from sobbing. She can almost feel the sadness in his voice and her heart went to him in an instant. There she was thinking how Gael's life was easier than she was because he was not burdened by anything from his past, their past. But looking at Gael now, she never thought how miserable was the life he'd been living for the past half a decade because he doesn't know anything about the life he had lived. "I'm sorry," umpisa niya. "I'm not sorry for what you think my father did that made you live your life this way. I still believe that he's innocent. But I am sorry because I thought your life was easier than mine when it's not." Her lips quivered, willing her tears not to fall. Gael just looked at her, the deep sadness in his eyes lingered. That made her reach for his hand. "The day will come when you'll remember everything, Gael. You'll remember me, you'll remember us, and every single thing th
"It's been a little over a week now. How was the initial roll out of SSL Cruise's recovery plan?" tanong ng Uncle Joshua niya kay Charlie. They were talking via video call dahil wala ang tiyuhin niya. Sinundan nito ang pinsan niya na anak nito sa Paris. "I will send the reports to you, Uncle Josh. I don't want to sound bragging but it's looking good," nagmamalaking balita niya. Her uncle chuckled. "It should be. That's the last chance for SSL Cruise. Anyway, I will not keep you anymore. Send me a copy of the report. I'll read it before I sleep." "Alright. Take care, Uncle Josh," aniya bago pinutol ang tawag. Agad niyang hinarap ang laptop niya at mabilis na in-email sa tiyuhin ang hinihingi nitong report. Matapos niyon, hinayon niya ng tingin ang malaking bintana sa opisina niya. It was overlooking the sea for she's at her port office of SSL Cruise. None of the five cruise ships they own are at port. And it has only been a little over two weeks since the recovery pland has
Charlie kept shifting on her seat. Bakit hindi? Aside from the fact that she's tensing because of Gael's presence smothering her still despite him eating silently beside her, it was the first time in weeks that another person, aside from her bodyguards and Gray and Jasmine, learned about Gael's return. Well, they're not romantically involved anymore but still... Gael wronged her. Her family will go after him now that he's back. Lalo na kapag nalaman ng mga ito na ito ang nasa likod sa tangkang pagpapabagsak sa SSL. Her family will retaliate, she's sure of that. That's why she's been keeping the truth about Gael's return. Gusto na niya sanang umiwas sa gulo. But Eric Samaniego is a family friend. He has worked closely with her family before and is still close with her parents even now that he has retired from intelligence work. She's sure one of these days he will talk to them and then... there will be more chaos again. She will be forced to answer the endless questions inside h