They say that once you tell the truth you will be free from something. But Samantha felt nothing but free right after she told her family and Aaron her secret.
The loud silence inside the room was choking her, filling her heart with overwhelming uncertainties—with guilt so heavy for only one to bear.
“What? This a*shole is the father of Charlie?” gigil na tanong ni Lucas nang makahuma sa pagkabigla sa sinabi niya. “This is the man who abandoned you and my niece?” Lucas continued in gritted teeth. She sobbed, unsure of what to say.
“Lucas, I didn’t know. I was drunk that night when—“
“You were drunk? You took advantage of my sister?” gigil na putol ni Lucas kay Aaron. In one swift move, Lucas was already a few feet away from Aaron, ready to charge. Humakbang na rin palapit ang mga bodyguards ng kapatid, closing in on Aaron. Agad siyang nagpanic.
“No, Lu
Tahimik si Samantha habang hinihintay ang sagot ng Daddy niya at ni Lucas. They were in the lanai, near the pool. Nagsisimula na ang pag-aagaw ng iba’t-ibang kulay sa langit. Sa malayo ay tanaw na rin ang paglubog ng araw.Iniwan niya si Aaron sa salas upang kausapin ang ama at kapatid niya tungkol sa pakiusap nito na makita si Charlie. She knows that at the end of the day, it would only be her decision should she want Charlie to meet Aaron as her daughter’s father. But she wants her family to understand where she’s coming from kaya siya nakikiusap ngayon sa mga ito. She already have enough trouble to last a lifetime and she doesn’t want to be at odds with her family, not right now.“Whatever you think is good for Charlie, just do that, Sam,” anang Daddy niya bago siya nilapitan at niyakap nang mahigpit.Gumanti siya ng yakap sa ama at lalong ibinuro ang mukha sa dibdib nito—taking more of his comfort
Samantha silently watched Aaron as he laid their sleeping daughter on their bed. It’s past 10 in the evening at katutulog pa lang ni Charlie. Mula nang ipakilala niya ang mag-ama kanina, hindi na bumitiw si Charlie kay Aaron. They played and watched Charlie’s favorite movies. Maging noong hapunan, mas gusto ni Charlie na kausap si Aaron kaysa sa kanya. And she wasn’t jealous a bit. She knew they were trying to catch up with the many years they had spent apart.At kung siya ang tatanungin, she’s genuinely happy. Sa kabila nang galit na naramdaman niya noon kay Aaron, she had longed for this time to come—that she gets to introduce Aaron to Charlie. She knew it’s not a good time to be happy just yet, with the scandal and the threat to her life, but she is more than grateful to have this moment to celebrate.Aaron gently kissed Charlie’s forehead. “Goodnight, my princess. I will see you in the morning,” bu
“Yes, mother. No, I have yet to know today, if the Aguinaldos would let me. Yes, I will tell Sam. No, I’ll probably stay here for a while. Okay. Bye.”Mabilis na isinuksok ni Aaron ang cellphone niya sa kanyang bulsa. It was barely six o'clock in the morning saubalit nakaligo na siya at nakabihis. He barely slept last night. He was excited for today. He promised Sam that he’ll be there when she wakes up kaya siya maaga ngayon.He just got a little bit distracted when his mother called and asked him where he was. Ayaw pa sana niyang sabihin ang totoo, subalit sinabi na rin niya to ease his mother’s troubles. As expected, his mother was ecstatic. Ang gusto nga nito magpunta agad sa San Gabriel upang makilala si Charlie. But of course he had to explain the situation. Hindi pa nga niya nakakausap ang Daddy ni Sam at ni Lucas.There are still things that needed to be discussed with the Aguinaldos. And of course, ang tungkol
“Where exactly are we going?” kunot ang noong tanong ni Samantha kay Aaron. It was just a few minutes after four o’clock in the morning and there she was, already awake and off to somewhere with Aaron.She barely slept last night or technically early that morning. Nasa isip niya kasi ang pa-secret ni Aaron. Sa trabaho niya bilang events planner, sanay siyang magplano ng surprises ng mga kliyente niya. She does her job as flawless as possible because that’s what her clients deserve—a high that only a surprise celebration that comes from the heart can give. And now that she’s clueless to what Aaron was about to do, siya naman ngayon ang kinakabahan. She’s half-excited and half-worried to be exact. At kahit na kanina pa siya sinasabihan ni Aaron na h’wag nang magtanong, nagtatanong pa rin siya.“I told you, babe, it’s a surprise,” ani Aaron, ang mga mata nasa daan pa rin.Humaba na ang
Hindi mapakali si Diego habang hinihintay niya ang tawag ng bago niyang boss na si Joshua Sandejas, ang bagong CEO ng Sandejas Shipping Lines. Today will be the first time that his new boss will be meeting the board. At hindi niya alam kung ano ang dapat niyang asahan. He had met Sir Joshua a few times before. Maayos naman ito, mukhang friendly. Subalit alam niyang nag-iiba ang ugali ng magkakapatid na Sandejas pagdating sa trabaho. They all looked serious and would accept no non-sense when it comes to work.“Ready na ba ang board room?” tanong ni Ms. Viviane sa kanya.“Ayos na, Ma’am. I checked it out myself,” sabi niya, kampante.“’Yong mga reports ng bawat departments, handa na rin ba?” anito.“Handa na po. Nakalagay na sa folders, ready for distribution.”Tumango-tango ang matandang babae. “Good,” sabi nito bago tumayo mula sa swivel chair nito. “I have
Pigil na pigil ni Samantha ang kaba habang pababa siya sa hagdan kasama si Charlie. The time has come when she'd get to introduce her daughter to the rest of Aaron’s family. At kahit na mainit naman ang pagtanggap ng ina at mga kapatid ni Aaron sa kanya kanina nang dumating ang mga ito sa beach house, hindi pa rin maalis sa dibdib niya ang kaba. Hindi para sa kanya kundi para sa anak niya.What if they are expecting something from her child at hindi nito magawa iyon? Paano kung magka-iba pala ang pagpapalaki niya kay Charlie sa nakagawian ng mga Sandejas? Siya ba ang sisisihin ng mga ito? Would that be a reason for them to dislike her for Aaron?“Mommy, my hand is ouchie,” reklamo ni Charlie. Agad siyang napabaling sa anak niya. Lukot na ang mukha nito, nakalabi na rin. That’s when she realized that she’s holding her hand too tight.Agad niyang binitiwan ang kamay nito at binuhat na lang. “I’m so sorry, swe
Muling nagpumiglas si Samantha. If this person holding her right now was really there to hurt her, she needs to fight back in every possible way she could. She will not let this person win. She will not—“Babe, stop moving. You might hurt yourself,” anang pamilyar na tinig ni Aaron sa likuran niya.She instantly relaxed and turned to him. She saw his familiar eyes that takes away her breath every time. Noon pa lang siya tuluyang nakahinga nang maluwag.“Are you trying to kill me?” gigil niyang tanong rito sa pagitan ng malalim na paghinga. Hindi pa rin humuhupa ang kaba sa dibdib niya.Aaron chuckled and snaked his hand around her waist. “Nagulat ka?” naaliw na tanong nito. She rolled her eyes in annoyance.“Anong klaseng tanong ‘yan? Would I squirm so badly if I wasn’t scared?” she replied just above whisper. “At saka anong ginagawa mo rito, lurking in the dark?&
“Kumain ka lang nang kumain,Gael. H’wag kang mahihiya,” ani Samantha sa bata na ngayon ay kasama nila ni Charlie na nag-aagahan sa front porch ng beach house.Kahit anong pilit niya kasi kanina, ayaw pumasok ng bata sa loob ng bahay nila. Nagdahilan ito na ayaw nitong pumasok dahil marumi ito. Nagpaalam na nga ito na uuwi na subalit pinigilan niya. Something in her heart was telling her that she has to at least let the kid eat before she allowed him to go.Kaya naisipan niyang magpahanda sa katulong ng agahan sa front porch. Mabuti na lang at pumayag ito. And now, there they are, silently eating breakfast at the front porch.The boy shyly glanced at her before he returned his eyes on his plate. Marahan ang bawat kilos nito, tila nag-iingat. Bakas din ang takot sa mga mata nito and that doesn’t settle well with her.Maybe she could talk to him to keep relax and enjoy his food or at least know a little bit about h