Sinipat ni Samantha ang sarili niya sa salamin. She was wearing a little black A-line dress she had brought from Dior. It has a sweetheart neckline and a hem that falls just a couple of inches above her knees. She looked... perfect. But perfect is far from what she feels right now.
She turned to her bed and saw the pile of dresses she had tried on for the past hour. Halos okupahin na ng mga damit niya ang buong kama niya. At pakiramdam niya, she's still not wearing the right dress.
Muli siyang napabuntong-hininga bago humarap ulit sa salamin.
It's just a date. Just a date, sabi niya sa sarili.
Yes, tonight is the date she had promised Aaron. At kahit na anong gawin niyang pagpapakalma sa sarili niya, hindi niya magawa. Every time she thinks that she'll be spending time with Aaron na sila lang dalawa, she's freaking out. Why wouldn't she? Bumabalik nang kusa sa isip niya ang mga alaa
“Where exactly are we going?” hindi na napigilang tanungin ni Samantha kay Aaron.They have been flying for a few minutes now and at sigurado siya na nasa labas na sila ng Maynila. Nang hayaan niya itong igiya siya patungo sa chopper kanina, halos wala siyang reklamo. Well, that’s basically because she was busy composing herself. She almost melted from the inside out when she saw how handsome Aaron looked tonight. A thing she had rehearsed herself not to do before she went to see him.At dahil sablay siya agad sa unang task na sinabi niya sa sariling h’wag gagawin, inokupa ng takot ang isip niya sa maaaring mangyari sa mga susunod na oras na kasama niya ito.At ngayon na bahagya na siyang kumalma, ngayon lang niya naisip tanungin kung saan siya nito dadalhin.Bumaling ito sa kanya, ngumiti. “To my family’s home in Tagaytay,” anito.She inwardly groaned. Mukhang sablay na rin ang 2 to 3 hours t
Hindi agad nakasagot si Samantha sa tanong ni Aaron. Panic was racing through her veins at kahit na anong gawin niya, hindi niya mapigilan ang sariling mataranta.Bakit hindi? Iyon na ang ikalawang pagkakataon na tinanong iyon ni Aaron sa kanya. Kung bakit, hindi niya alam.Naaalala na ba nito ang gabing iyon? Imposible!He had lived for four damn years na halatang walang alam tungkol sa nangyari nang gabing iyon. At sigurado siya doon dahil hindi naman ito magtatanong sa kanya ngayon kung malinaw na nga sa memorya nito ang nangyari sa kanila sa penthouse nito apat na taon na ang nakararaan.He would have been sure. But him asking her all over again the same question she had already answered means that he’s still uncertain of his memories.Pinuno niya ng hangin ang dibdib at pinakalma ang sarili.She reached for her wine glass and took a swig of the wine in it to give her time to compose herself. When she had placed the w
Aaron gently cupped her face with his hands and desperate need instantly spreaded all throughout Samantha’s body. She's slowly drowning with the anticipation and she's willing surrendering to it.Just one kiss, she said to herself.Not a second later, confusion instantly rose inside her chest. And she knew it was her logic, trying to prevent her from doing another mistake with Aaron.Who the f*ck are you to judge me like that? Empleyada ka lang…. Know your place, Ms. Bautista. Now I want you out of my company and never come back!Her eyes flew open as Aaron’s hurtful words from four year ago rang repeatedly inside her head. Agad na nanumbalik sa isip niya ang lahat ng mga pinagdaanan niyang hirap matapos ang ginawa nito sa kanya. Para siyang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig.She then quickly pushed Aaron with all her might and he struggled to steady his steps backwards. He looked at her wi
Samantha took in a slow steady breath, trying to calm her heart hammering inside her chest. Truth be told she was low-key panicking from his question. How did he know about Charlie? lihim niyang tanong sa sarili. “I heard you when you were on the phone,” he explained, probably seeing the confusion on her face. “Is… is he your boyfriend?” Napakurap siya. How the hell did he thought that… Then it dawned her. Charlie is a man’s name. May kumislap na ideya sa isip niya. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang magiging resulta niyon kung gagawin niya. But if she does it well, maybe tonight can still end good, at least for her. “Y-yes. H-he is,” pagsisinungaling niya. “Something happened. H-he was rushed to the hospital,” dugtong pa niya. Nakita niya ang sandaling pagkunot ng noo nito bago ito tumango-tango. “So,you have a boyfriend.” She swallowed, hard. Steadying her composure as she keep up with the
Tulala si Samantha habang nakatingin sa anak niyang si Charlie na noon ay nakahiga sa hospital bed. Her daughter was fine. Luckily, Charlie just had a minor fracture on her right elbow. Ang sabi ng mga doktor, the healing process could take until 6 weeks and that her daughter was free to go home. Pero dahil gusto niyang makasiguro, they stayed for the night so that the doctors can thoroughly check Charlie’s condition.The doctors were already casting Charlie’s arm when she arrived at the hospital. And she quickly drowned in a mix of emotions when she saw her daughter’s face was puffy and red the first time she stepped in the emergency room. She was in a state of panic in an instant when Charlie turned to her and broke into tears once again as she called her name.Sa napakaraming pagsubok na pinagdaanan niya sa buhay niya, ang akala niya matatag na siya. But seeing Charlie withstanding the pain from her injury, that was something she was and will
“D-Dad?” Samantha croaked when she opened her eyes and saw her father standing at the bottom of the hospital bed. Her eyes flew on the wall clock. It was just 7 in the morning.“You’re early,” sabi niya ulit sa ama, sa namamaos na tinig.“Charlie didn’t call me last night to say goodnight. I was worried. Tumawag ako sa bahay kanina. Luz told me what happened,” seryosong sabi ng Daddy niya. “I would’ve been earlier only if the chopper wasn’t delayed.”Maingat na siyang bumangon sa kama bago singkit ang mga matang ipinaikot ang tingin sa silid. Wala sa couch si Bettina, kung naunang ginising ng Daddy niya at pinalabas o kusang nagpunta sa kung saan, hindi niya alam. But she’s sure, by the way her father was silently looking at her, she’ll be hearing some word from him about what happened to Charlie.Nagbuga na siya ng hininga. “I know Dad an
Samantha drew Charlie closer to her chest when the cool late afternoon air swayed the swing they were seating on. Hapon na at malapit nang lumatag ang dilim. Patunay niyon ang pag-aagaw ng kulay kahel at bughaw sa langit. Nitong nakaraang ilang mga araw, nakasanayan na nilang mag-ina ang pagmasdan ang paglubog ng araw sa beach. Not only because watching the sunset from there is relaxing, but most importantly, that’s the only time she could have some real mother and daughter time with Charlie. Sa umaga kasi, madalas, ang Daddy niya ang kasama ng anak niya. After lunch naman, nap time ni Charlie. And during those times na hindi siya kailangan ng anak niya, sumisilip siya sa laptop niya to answer emails o ‘di kaya naman makipag-meeting kina Mandy at Bettina, just to check on their progress with their events. So this sunset watching they’ve been doing for a couple of days now is really the only time she gets to spend with Charlie. Hind
Sandaling napamaang si Samantha, tarantang pinaglipat-lipat ang tingin sa Daddy niya, kay Lucas, kay Charlie at lalo na kay Carlo na blangko man ang ekspresyon ay siguradong nagtataka dahil sa tanong ng Daddy niya.Anong oras na ba at ngayon pa siya naisipang i-hotseat ulit ng tatay at kapatid niya? At sa harap pa talaga ng bisita!She took in a sharp breath, trying to compose herself. “S-superhero. You’re Dad is a superhero so his identity is a secret, remember?” aniya, nakadirekta kay Charlie subalit pinaglilipat-lipat niya ang tingin sa Daddy niya at kay Lucas.Charlie’s eyes lit up before turning to Carlo. “Oh yes! I can’t tell you my Daddy’s name because it’s a secret,” anang anak niya, tinutop ng malayang kamay ang bibig.Carlo smiled. “It’s okay, pumpkin. All superheroes need to protect their identity. Right, Samantha?” Carlo shot a quick glance at her and g