Kabanata 2

Erina

He coughed upon hearing what I just said. Nakita ko rin ang pamumula ng kanyang tainga kaya’t mukhang hindi niya talaga inasahan ang sinabi ko. Hindi ko rin naman dapat ito sasabihin ngunit ayoko na mag paligoy-ligoy pa.

"What did you say again?" tanong niya sabay tingin ulit sa akin.

Ngayon ay alam ko na kung bakit inis na inis ang ex ko sa kanya—ang gwapo! Tipong nasa kanya na ang lahat. Tapos kapag dinikit mo ang ex ko sa kanya ay magmumukha talagang basura ang ex ko. Basura naman talaga siya matapos nang ginawa niya sa akin.

I smiled, "I said that I am your future wife and…I am carrying our child."

Tiningnan kong mabuti ang reaksyon niya. Maigi na malaman ko na agad kung ano bang klase ng tao siya. Hindi ko man kayang mamili ng lalaki na mamahalin ay kaya ko namang mamili ng magiging tatay ng anak ko. Ayoko na matulad ako sa nanay ko na namatay na lang sa pang-aabuso ng sarili kong ama.

"Okay..." He paused, creasing his eyebrows as he looked at me from head to toe. “Is this a prank?”

"No." Inabot ko sa kanya ang pregnancy test tapos ang envelope kung nasaan ang ultrasound. "I'm serious. Magiging tatay ka na."

"I…I don't know what to say. Can I at least have a bottle of water?" Tumingin siya sa staff niya na nasa likod ko.

"Sorry po, Sir. Nagpipilit po kasi na pumasok. Tatawag na lang po ako ng security—"

"No, it is okay. I know her."

"You know me?" Sumunod ako sa kanya papasok sa loob ng opisina niya habang sinarado naman ng staff ang pintuan. "Akala ko ba ay hindi mo ako kilala?"

Namangha ako nang makita ang kabuuan ng opisina niya. Tanaw na tanaw dito ang kabuuan ng syudad. Sobrang bango rin ng opisina niya at napaka organize ng mga gamit, malayong-malayo sa ex ko na kabundok na ang kalat dahil sa sobrang tamad.

"Yeah, you are my future wife like you said," he grinned, turning to me.

I blushed. I didn't think it would fire back to me. Wait, did I just say I blush? Hindi ko napigilan ang paghawak sa pisngi ko. Ang init nga!

Tumikhim siya. “So, I am going to be a father?”

“Uh.” Kinagat ko ang ibabang labi ko. “Actually, I am not sure. Hindi ko rin talaga alam kung ikaw ba ang tatay ng anak ko. Nagbabakasakali lang ako na ikaw nga…”

"Why? How many guys did you fuck after we had a night together?" ani niya na parang may hinanakit.

Nalaglag ang panga ko. "Hold on, so you remember me? Ikaw nga ang lalaking nagdala sa akin sa VIP floor nitong hotel?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Oh. Okay."

Nawalan ako bigla nang sasabihin lalo na't sigurado na ako na siya nga ang tatay ng anak ko. Ano na nga ba ang susunod na dapat kong gawin?

"You were gone when I came back," he cut the silence.

"Yeah, I was embarrassed," sabi ko. "Sorry, I cannot really remember anything. Ayoko rin naman ng gulo. Hindi rin naman kita pipilitin na akuin ang bata. Gusto ko lang malaman mo para hindi ako magsisi na hindi ko sinabi sayo. I do not want to have any what ifs."

"What are you going to do with our child?"

I had to process what he just said for a while. All I did was stare at him until I finally spoke, "You believe in me?"

"Yes." He nodded, without blinking.

"Wow." I whispered. "I didn't expect that you would believe me."

"I didn't expect that you would actually come to see me. Kung hindi pa pala kita na-buntis ay hindi ka magpapa-kita sa akin." He seriously looked at me.

"Why? Were you looking for me?" Nagtataka na sabi ko.

Hindi niya sinagot ang tanong ko. "What about my half-brother? Does he know about your situation? I mean, if I am going to marry you and you are still–"

"We broke up. He cheated on me," I replied. "So surely he wouldn't mind."

"Good. Then, there is no problem about you coming to our house so I could introduce you to our family?"

"Huh?" Nalaglag ang panga ko. "Wait, wait, introduce me?"

"Yes." Tumango siya. "You are my future wife. Of course, they need to know."

"It is not that I am complaining but shouldn't you be asking for a paternity test to confirm that you are the father? That would be an acceptable reaction from you instead of you really taking seriously what I said about me becoming your wife." I laughed to hide my nervousness. "You do not need to marry me."

"Why not? You are the mother of my child."

"We can do co-parenting and..." I paused. "I really do not want to get married. I am not ready for that tapos hindi naman natin mahal ang isa't-isa."

"Ah, didn't know you are a hopeless romantic."

I rolled my eyes. "Duh. That is not it, okay. Why? Ikaw ba? Willing ka ba na pakasalan ako kahit na hindi mo naman ako mahal?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Let us call it a marriage for convenience."

"What are you saying?" Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.

"My half-brother and I need a wife to get our inheritance. Whoever got pregnant first will get a bigger inheritance than the other."

"Ah," medyo disappointed na sabi ko. "So, you are just going to use me."

"You can say that, but you'll get to have everything you want. Definitely, the best for our child. The marriage could last for a year or two, it depends. Kapag inilipat naman na sa pangalan ko ang mana ko ay pwede na tayong mag-file ng divorce. Don't worry, I am a U.S. citizen so we can have divorce instead of annulment so it’s faster and you can remarry again."

Bigla akong natulala at hindi ko na alam ang sasabihin ko. I didn't expect he would propose something. Akala ko nga ay ipagtatabuyan niya ako.

"How about our child?" tanong ko. "If we will have divorce, paano siya? Kanino siya mapupunta?"

"We can do co-parenting just like you said," he responded. "It is too soon to say, hindi pa nga tayo nagpapakasal."

"Yeah," I sighed. "Akala ko nga ay hindi mo aakuin ang bata."

"He's a blessing."

"Whatever." Inirapan ko siya. Akala ko ay iba siya sa ex ko pero pareho rin pala sila na mukhang pera. "Kaya mo lang naman 'yan sinabi dahil makukuha mo ang mana mo."

"You are right, but it is not just for me. Para rin naman sa kanya. I am not an irresponsible guy, okay? Aakuin ko pa rin naman ang bata kahit na hindi usapan ang mana. Let us just say that I am hitting two birds in one stone." He smiled at me. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, but I have a condition.”

"Go on."

"You have to tell your half-brother, who is my ex-boyfriend, that we have been going on for months."

He raised his brow. "You want me to tell him that we are cheating on him?"

"Yes." I nodded. "He cannot be the only one cheating on me, right?"

He looked at me with amusement as he laughed, "Yeah, you were right about that. I guess you are also using me to get over to him, huh?"

I smirked. "Yeah, you cannot also be the only one using me and our child."

"Okay, let us call it quits." He nodded. "But to make our relationship more believable, we need something."

Naglakad siya papunta sa drawer saka may kinuha bago bumalik sa harapan ko.

Nanlaki ang mata ko nang lumuhod siya sa harapan ko at buksan ang kahon.

"Wait, wow!" Nakaawang ang labi ko habang nakatingin sa abuhin niyang mga mata.

Hindi ko inaasahan na may handa na agad siyang singsing at mas lalo pa akong nagulat nang isuot niya ito sa akin. It perfectly fits my hand like it was really made for me.

"There. Our engagement ring." Hinalikan niya ang likod ng palad ko saka ngumiti sa akin. "Let's get married, future Mrs. Cojuangco.”