Chapter 6

-(GELAL THEODEN FRANCISCO POV)-

-☾-

Two weeks before the goddamn wedding. I still can't believe that I'm going to marry a woman who is 9 years younger than me.

But even so, I still tried to distance myself from her and I know she is doing the same. Hindi ko ginusto na may mangyari sa amin, hindi ko ginusto ang lahat ng ito but I have no choice because it already happened.

Mabuti na lang din naasikaso ko na ang lahat ng dapat gawin. From the church to the reception, everything was all fixed.

Naisipan ko na lugar para sa reception ay malapit sa bangin para maganda ang view. Ngunit nagdadalawang isip ako kung magugustuhan niya ba iyon or hindi.

I still feel nervous because I really don't expect na magpapakasal ako sa babaeng diko pa masyado kilala.

Kasalukuyan kaming nagte-taste test ng flavors para sa cake sa isang shop. I kept looking at her from time to time dahil napaka tahimik niya. 

Since hindi ako makapili, I called Jace kahit mabigat sa loob ko to help us decide on which flavor suits best. 

None of us were mimicking a word to each other, barely keeping a conversation. Tanging ang mga kubyertos lang ang maririnig mo throughout the shop.

I heaved a deep sigh before leaning on the backrest of the couch we were sitting on, the awkward silence was deafening to the point I can't bear it.

"Emerald." I called, breaking the silence between us.

Lumingon ito sa akin. "What is it?" She asked, curiously wondering.

"Is something wrong?" I asked back, my one eyebrow raised.

She slightly shook her head. "Nothing is wrong, I can assure you." She answered, a small smile plastered on her face.

"You've been quiet lately. Is your relationship with my brother alright?" Jace butted in and raised his eyebrow in front of her.

Bumaling ito sa harapan niya and nodded. "Everything is going perfectly fine for the two of us." She said and intertwined our fingers.

But in reality, we're not fine…

Napabuntong hininga ako and leaned forward, removing my hand from hers. I gestured the staff to come at sumunod naman ito.

"We will choose this salted caramel for the base and the red velvet for the two tiers." Saad ko rito.

"Would that be all, Sir?" He asked politely.

"Yes." Sagot ko pabalik, a small smile plastered on my face.

Tumango ito bago umalis. Akmang tatayo na kami ngunit narinig kong magsalita ang lalaking kasama namin.

"Gelal, hindi ba kayo pipili ng design para sa wedding cake niyo?" tanong nito as he munches the red velvet slice.

Akmang sasagot na ako ngunit inunahan na ako ng babaeng katabi ko.

"Nasaan ba yung baker?" Tanong ni Emerald as she looked around the area.

"Hello, I see nakapili na po kayo ng flavour para sa cake?" A woman with a white uniform butted in. 

This must be the freaking baker…

I saw Emerald smile at her and gestured to her to sit in front. Naglabas ito ng folder which shows a lot of designs. Some of them were simple, some of them had a classic elegant style, and others were engrande. 

Hindi na ako tumingin roon dahil wala akong kaalam alam pagdating sa mga ganyan.

Napansin ko kung paano tumingin si Jace rito, his eyes sparkling, his face reddening whenever she asked him at minsan pautal utal itong sumagot.

Hindi ko pa rin maiwasan na wag magalit whenever he looked at her like that. He looked at her like he was in love with her and I fucking hate it. 

Even though I already told myself na hindi mahuhulog ang loob ko sa kanya, I still can't bear to see him acting like this in front of her. Parang pinipiga ang puso ko habang sinusuri ko silang dalawa.

"Jace." I called, the tone in my voice and expression was solemn.

Lumingon ito sa akin. "What is it?" He asked as he removed the fork from his mouth.

"Come with me." Saad ko as I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Napalingon ako nang magsalita ang babaeng nasa tabi ko.

"Outside, we'll wait for you there." Sagot ko before leaning in for a kiss.

Sinadya kong patagalin iyon to see how Jace would react. Tumugon ito sa halik ko, her tongue entering inside my mouth.

Humiwalay rin ako rito and smiled a little at her bago bigyan tingin ang lalaking nasa harapan ko.

"Let's go?" Aya ko, seeing his orbs filled with jealousy satisfied me.

Tumango ito bago sumunod sa akin patungo sa pinto, quickly opening it as I made my way out.

Umupo kami sa mga upuan na nasa labas. He looked at me dead in the eye before leaning on the chair he was sitting on.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Tanong nito na seryosong nakatingin sakin.

"Stop looking at my girl like that." Sagot ko rito, my expression unchanged.

"What do you mean?" He asked again, his brows furrowed.

"Bakit sa tingin mo ba hindi kita napapansin?" Tanong ko pabalik, jealousy was slowly enveloping my system.

"I'm just looking at her, what's wrong with that?" He asked again, his expression unchanged.

I leaned back on the chair at napa hilamos ng mukha.

Maang maangan pa ang gago.

"What's wrong with that, you say? The way you fucking look at her, the way your face flushed whenever she looked at you, the way you utter when she talked to you. That's my fucking problem. Now, aminin mo nga sa akin, may nararamdaman ka ba para  sa kanya?" I snapped, my jaw clenched.

"What? No, I don't have feelings for her. Why would you say such a thing? Wala akong nararamdaman para sa kanya." Sagot nito ngunit hindi ako nasiyahan roon.

"Then why the fuck are you looking at her like that?" I asked, my eyes narrowed and my jaw clenched.

Hindi ito sumagot and looked away, heaving a sigh as he slightly shook his head.

"Kung may nararamdaman ka nga talaga para sa kanya, you better stay the fuck away from her from now on." Saad ko, which caused him to look at me.

"And why would I fucking do that? Sinabi ko na sayo wala akong nararamdaman para sa kanya. Masyado ka lang malisyoso." Sagot nito, his eyes narrowed.

"Ako pa talaga ang malisyoso ngayon?" Tanong ko, disbelief was laced in my words.

"Oo. Hindi ka naman aakto ng ganyan kung hindi mo binibigyan malisya ang kilos ko towards her. Mabuti pang hindi na ako pumunta kung ganyan lang din naman." Sagot nito, bakas sa kanyang tono ang galit.

-(EMERALD CORLYN VERDANIO POV)-

-☾-

"Okay, Ma'am. Is that all you want to add for your wedding cake?" The baker asked politely.

"Yes, just make it simple but a bit of elegance. I don't want a lot of decorations for the cake. Baka po kasi hindi magustuhan ng mga guests." Sagot ko rito and smiled a little at her.

She nodded before standing up from her seat. Tumayo rin ako at nakipag kamay bago lumabas ng shop. I saw the two of them talking ngunit parang nagkakainitan sila.

Lumapit ako sa mga ito and tugged his shirt from behind, causing him to face me.

His face softened as he gave me a small smile, gesturing me to get into the car before leaning towards my ear.

"Get inside, I'll just talk to my brother. Wait for us okay?" He whispered before handing me his car keys.

Tumango ako rito bago magtungo sa kotse, pressing the auto remote upang ma-unlock iyon.

Pumasok ako sa passenger side, inserting the key to the key slot bago paandarin iyon as I wait for them to finish talking.

Ever since sinabi niya sa akin iyon ay napansin kong dumidistansya na ito kaya ganun na lang din ako.

Ayoko siyang pakasalan kahit nahuhulog  na ng paunti unti ang damdamin ko rito. And from how he kissed me earlier, it was like my whole world stopped.

His eyes never showed emotion but I can see it in his actions that maybe… just maybe, he's falling for me too.

Pinipigilan ko rin mahulog nang tuluyan because I don't want to forget what his father did to me.

 I want to tell him, I want to rant in front of him pero wala akong lakas ng loob upang sabihin sakanya ang hinanakit ko. Takot akong mag open up because I'm afraid he might misunderstood me and argue about it. 

Napalingon ako nang bumukas ang driver's door, seeing him get inside as he sat on the driver's seat. 

He gave me a small smile before intertwining his fingers with mine which caused my heart to thump wildly.

"Gelal…" I mumbled, which caused him to look at me.

Akmang sasagot na ito when we heard the back door being closed. 

I forgot na kasama pala namin ang kapatid nito. 

"What is it, love?" He asked, loud enough for us to hear.

Ramdam ko ang pamumula ng aking mukha as he looked at me curiously.

"Um… I want to buy some sweets after natin maihatid yung kapatid mo." Sagot ko, making up an excuse to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Tumango ito. "Whatever you say, love." Saad nito bago paandarin ang kotse.

We eventually drove off at dahil sa traffic ay natagalan kaming ihatid ito sa mansyon nila. My heart was still pounding as he kept holding my hand habang nasa biyahe kami.

After 40 minutes of driving, nakarating din kami sa mansyon nila and successfully dropped his brother home.

"Thanks for the ride." Saad niya as he gets out of the car.

Sinara nito ang pinto at pinanood ko itong pumasok sa loob ng gate bago paandarin ni Gelal ang kotse.

"So, he's your brother." I started habang nagmamaneho ito.

"Step. Step brother." Sagot nito, his eyes focused on the road.

"Why did you call me love earlier?" I asked out of the blue, glancing at him.

"You said to act all lovey dovey. Nakakalimutan mo na ba?" He asked, glancing at me for a bit before focusing back on the road.

Oh… so that was an act…

"Okay. I was just wonder-" Naputol ang aking sasabihin nang sumagot ito.

"Bakit? Umasa ka na bukal sa loob ko iyon?" He asked which made my heart sink.

"No… of course not." Sagot ko before looking out the window.

Of course hindi naman yung bukal sa loob niya so why bakit ako aasa? He's fucking right, he is not the typical man na pasok sa standards ko. 

But why do I feel hurt nang sabihin niya iyon? Both of you are just acting para maipakita sa kanila na couple talaga kayo.

Everything that we are doing is just an act… no strings attatched…

We headed home without mimicking a word to each other. I kept quiet till we made it to the doorway. He entered his passcode at sabay na kaming pumasok sa loob. 

Nang makapasok kami, I made my way to his bedroom because I feel sleepy.

Closing the door behind, I removed my shoes bago umakyat sa kama. Quickly snuggling in the covers nang daluyan na ako ng antok.