Chapter 01:

WWYM01

"Some of your new works seem unhappy." I immediately looked behind me when I heard someone.

He smiled at me but I remained a blank expression on my face so he won't annoy me that much.

"And so does your eyes," he added when he got closer to me.

I frowned. Was he here to annoy me?

"Alam mo kung wala kang magandang sasabihin sa akin today, just go home." I said and rolled my eyes at him before I walk away.

But he quickly followed me.

He really took seriously what I told him last week. I'm not even sure if Nicholas is really cheating on me. Maybe I was just paranoid.

"Chill, girl. Your wrinkles are showing." he chuckled. 

I rolled my eyes again.

"Bakit ka ba nandito? Sabi mo hindi ka pupunta, 'di ba?"

"Lia insisted, that's why I'm here. She wanna get one of your works for her bedroom, kaya sinamahan ko na." nag-kibit balikat sya.

Ayaw pa aminin na proud lang talaga sya sa akin e.

"Where's Nicholas, by the way? I didn't saw him since I got here."

I immediately peeked on my phone to check the time. It's been two hours since my exhibit started, and Nicholas is two hours late.

"He's still probably busy, but he will come." sagot ko sakanya at ngumiti.

"Yeah yeah, I already know you're going to say that." tumigil sya saglit at nilagay sa bulsa ang kanang kamay,

"But this is your first major exhibit. He should've at least set other things aside so he could be here, on time or at least early." dugtong nya.

Pumikit ako nang mariin.

"Still haven't moved on about the fact that he wasn't there during your awarding, three months ago, and your international feature celebrat—" I cut him off, I didn't let him finish because I'm starting to get pissed.

And I can't be. Because this is my day.

"Please lang Cortis Ismael ha, 'wag mo 'kong bad trip-in today." kung ano anong sinasabi nya, ni hindi nya pa nga ako kino-congratulate.

This creature is seriously giving me headaches.

"I was there when he vowed to be with you in every milestone you will achieve. This is a big milestone, and he's not here." hindi agad ako naka sagot.

Hindi ko alam kung anong sasabiin ko kasi totoo naman iyong sinabi nya.

But it's not as if Nicholas won't come, dadating iyon...late nga lang.

Saglit akong natulala at napa tingin sa suot nyang damit. He's wearing my gift when we graduated from college. The white anti-social club shirt.

"He's going to be here," I said when I got back on my senses.

"Whatever." he said, "Congratulations, Av!" he added. I immediately gave him a sarcastic smile.

But I also gave him a sincere smile, after Tams, I know he's my biggest fan.

"Ang dami mong sinabi bago mo ko binati, bwesit ka talaga! Puntahan mo na nga si Lia roon, baka may napili na."

Ngumiti sya, "Sorry, smile ka na. This is your day. Enjoy it. See you around, Av." sabi nya bago ako tinalikuran.

Ako:

Looove! Makakaabot ka ba?

Binalik ko sa handbag ang phone ko pagka tapos kong mag send ng text. I walked around and scanned my works.

There's a total of twenty-five paintings here. Some were made years ago when I was still in high school, some are my college works, and some are recently made—the ones Kurt labeled as unhappy.

"Av! Nandito ka lang pala, naikot na namin ng Papa mo ang buong venue at nakita na namin lahat. Ang galing mo talaga, I'm so proud of you." Mama said and hugged me, then I whispered to her thank you.

"Manang mana sayo, mahal." nakangiting sabi ni Papa.

"Mas magaling pa! Yung pangako mo na bibigyan mo ko ha? Ilalagay ko sa living room natin." Agad naman akong tumango.

"Where's Nick? Dumating na ba?" tanong ni Papa, nginitian ko sya bago sumagot. Nakita kong papalapit si Arthur, ang kapatid ko.

"On the way na raw po." sabi ko, kaya nagumiti naman sya.

"Gusto ko syang maka usap, ipapa-redesign kasi namin ng Mama mo iyong kwarto ni Kia at ang ibang parte ng bahay." sabi ni Papa.

Sadly, Kia can't be here dahil may importante silang inaasikaso sa school.

"Congrats, Ate!" bati ni Arthur at niyakap ako.

"Thank you, kasama mo ba girlfriend mo?"

Umiling sya, "Hindi e, nasa bakasyon." sabi nya kaya tumango naman ako. Naramdaman kong nag vibrate ang phone ko kaya agad ko itong kinuha galing sa bag. 

Nicholas:

I'm almost there, love, see you *wink emoji*

Agad akong napangiti.

I knew he'd come. Will really throw a fit this time if he won't.

"Si Nick na ba 'yan? Sabihan mo bilisan nya na para makapag family picture na tayo." sabi ni Mama.

"Hello po Tita, Tito!" sabi ni Kurt nang makalapit sila at nag mano kay Mama at Papa, bumeso naman si Lia sa akin.

"Nakapili na ako." masayang sabi nya sa akin,

"Ipapabalot ko mamaya, advance birthday gift ko na sa iyo 'yon, okay?" sabi ko sakanya,

"Oh my God, thank you so much, Ate! Kuya was willing to buy it for me na sana e, I already convinced him after so many nags." sabi nya at tumawa naman kami pati sila Mama.

"I'll give it to you as a gift. I bet your Kuya can't even afford it." sabi ko at tiningnan si Kurt na nakataas ang kilay sa akin.

"Wala ka pa rin girlfriend, Kurt?" tanong ni Papa kay Kurt.

"Unfortunately," sabi nya at tumawa, tumatalab na nga yata talaga iyong sumpa ni Tams sakanya. Or talagang may hinihintay lang?

"Nakapag asawa na si Av, may nobya na rin si Arthur at baka ikasal na rin. Ikaw, wala pa rin?" sabay sabay kaming natawa,

"Pa, bata pa ako. Masyadong pang maaga para sa usapang kasal." sabi naman ni Arthur,

"E bakit? Maaga rin namang nag asawa ang Ate mo ah." sabi ni Papa, kaya naman nabaling ang tingin nila sa akin.

"Pa, magka iba naman kami ni Ate. At saka bakit ba ako ang pinag uusapan natin? Dapat si Ate ang bida dahil araw nya 'to." sabi ni Arthur,

"Basta Kurt, ninong ako sa kasal mo ah?" hirit pa ni Papa kay Kurt na abot langit yata ang saya dahil yung ngiti nya abot tainga.

"Of course, Tito, if possible, you can even walk me down the aisle with Dad." sabi nya at tumawa, "I'll find a bride first." dagdag nya pa,

"Love!" sabay sabay kaming napa lingon nang marinig namin iyon.

Agad akong napangiti.

There goes my husband, holding a bouquet and smiling as he approaches us. 

He shortly kissed me on the lips and whispered congratulations. "I'm very sorry, I'm late," he said, ngumiti naman ako at sinabing ayos lang. He hugged me tight and handed me the bouquet. 

Binati nya sina Papa at Mama pati sila Kurt.

"Kanina ka pa namin hinihintay, mabuti naman at nandito ka na." sabi ni Papa,

"Pasensya na Pa, I planned to leave early, but we had an urgent meeting sa office." sabi nya. Tinuloy nila Nick at Papa ang pag uusap sa may pub table pagkatapos ay nag picture taking na kami bago i-wrap up ang event.

After our little celebration through dinner, we stayed for a while, then nauna nang umalis sina Kurt, sumunod na ding nag paalam sina Mama dahil pagod na raw sya.

We watched them go safely before we go.

"Kailan ka pupunta sa bahay?" tanong ko kay Nick na abala sa pag da-drive at focus sa daan ang tingin. 

"Your parent's house? Next week pa, si Papa mismo ang nag set ng date." sagot nya at ngumiti. Inabot nya naman ang kamay ko gamit ang kanang kamay nya.

"I'm sorry if I was late. Something just really came up on our project kaya we had to fix it immediately, kailangan na kasing matapos." tumingin sya saglit sa akin.

"It's okay. I understand. Ang importante nakapunta ka pa rin. How's your project, by the way? Naayos nyo ba?" I said, trying to be understanding enough. 

No. I've always been so understanding.

"Yeah, I needed to go there to check personally. Pinaasikaso ko rin agad, I don't wanna disappoint my client."

He always doesn't want to disappoint his client. He has always been so passionate about his work. But I just can't believe mas pinili nya muna na asikasuhin iyon kesa sa maging on-time sa exhibit ko. It really makes me a bit disappointed in him.  

He glanced and gave me a slight smile, "It's an exceptional one."

Okay, exceptional naman pala. Kaya mas inuna kesa sa akin na asawa.

"Oh, okay." sabi ko na lang.

Hindi ko na sya napilit na 'wag na munang pumasok sa trabaho ngayon dahil may exhibit ako, kaya nangako sya na on-time sya dadating.

Pero late pa rin sya.

What's so very special with his client that he broke his promise to me? He's been keeping his phone too, which he never did before. Kaya nga ganun na lang ang reaksyon ni Kurt nang sabihin ko sakanya e.

He has never done this before.

"How about your exhibit? How was it? I never really got the chance to meet all of your special guests. I'm really sorry." sabi nya kaya agad akong natigil sa pag iisip.

"Okay, naman, some accquaintances from college are looking for you. I'm not really selling my works kasi you know naman how much they mean to me, but some really wanted to buy it. So, why not 'di ba? The money can help my organization. Aasikasuhin ko bukas, pati yung regalo ko kay Lia." tiningnan ko sya at parang hindi naman talaga sya nakikinig sa akin.

Now, I'm starting to get pissed.

Kanina hindi pa pero ngayon, nararamdaman ko na talagang nag uumpisa nang kumulo iyong dugo ko. Sinandal ko na lang ang ulo ko sa gilid. Ayaw kong ma badtrip, maganda ang araw ko ngayon at ayaw kong masira iyon.

"You're sleepy. Don't worry. We're almost there. I'll wake you up when we're home. Try to take a nap." sabi nya at binuksan ang stereo.

He was humming. It was A whole new World, playing. It still gets me always.

God, how can I be mad at him?

I woke up when I felt somebody was tapping my shoulder, it was Nick. Agad akong nag ayos para bumaba dahil gusto ko na talagang magpahinga. But when I looked outside, we were not in the parking lot of our condo building.

"Where are we? Wala ba tayo sa condo o nananaginip na ako? Where are we?" sabi ko habang kinukusot ang mata.

"This is the project I was talking about. I think I left my folder, kaya dumaan muna tayo, do you wanna come with me or iiwan kita rito?" sumilip ako ako sa labas, madilim pero malaking bahay iyon.

"Can I use the CR? Ihing ihi na ako." tumango naman sya kaya bumaba na ako at naglakad na kami papasok.

Though it's dark, I can tell that the house was huge—HUGE and really different from all the other houses he has designed before. Ganda naman ng taste nung

client. Kaya siguro todo effort nya rito, at lagi syang busy.

"You can use the common CR sa may kitchen. I'll go upstairs to get my things," he said kaya tumango ako.

Mayaman siguro iyong client nya, dahil halatang magagandang materials ang ginamit kahit dito sa CR. Imported pa yata itong mga 'to e.

Nicholas didn't mention how much this project costs. Alam ko naman na talagang mayayaman yung mga clients nya, pero parang first time na sobrang bongga masyado ng house project. Kung hotel, maiintindihan ko pa.

Tiningnan ko ang sarili sa salamin, ang haggard ko na. Mababatukan ako ni Tams kung nandito sya ngayon at nakikita ako.

"Love, are you done?" tawag ko nang makaalis na ako ng kusina at nasa may pintuan na palabas.

I looked around, and dammit! Even their living room looked so fancy kahit wala pang mga gamit. At ang taas ng ceiling, parang artista pa yata may ari nito e.

Inaantok na talaga ako kaya sumandal muna ako sa may pintuan, mukhang nasa taas pa yata si Nick. Ngunit dalawang minuto. Tatlo...

Apat na minuto na ang lumipas ay hindi parin bumababa si Nick.

"Nick, ano na? Nandyan ka pa ba? Let's go home. I wanna rest already." I said with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Love, can you come up here? I need some help." he sounded like he really needed help kaya agad akong nagtungo sa may hagdan at umakyat.

"Saan ka ba?!" I shouted dahil hindi ko naman sya nakita pag akyat ko.

"Here!" he said kaya agad akong pumunta doon sa dulong kwarto kung saan galing iyong boses nya. Malawak iyong kwarto at my malaking kama na. Pero wala pang ibang gamit. I think it's the master's bedroom.

"Love, over here, please." I heard him kaya pumasok ako roon sa may walk-in closet siguro. Sa may kabilang side lang naka on iyong dim lights.

"What are you doing? Nakuha mo na ba iyong gamit mo? Umuwi na tayo!" I told him when I just saw him standing in front of a center glass cabinet. He turned around to face me.

"What? Tara na, uwi na tayo. Pagod na ako," I said.

He smirked. Tinaasan nya ako ng kilay para bang nag tatanong sya.

Ilang segundo ang nakalipas. 

Parang alam ko na 'to.

"Don't tell me I failed, again?" he said. I immediately raised my eyebrows.

"Oh God," nag face palm sya, "I knew this was going to happen again."

"Ano bang trip mo, Nicholas? Kanina pa kita hinihintay sa baba."

"Didn't you see my surprise?"

"What surprise?" tanong ko kasi 'di ko gets.

"Ugh. I failed again. Tara, let's go. I'll show you na lang." he said tapos hinila na ako palabas nung walk-in closet. Nagpahila lang ako sakanya hanggang sa tumigil kami sa may malawak na space.

"Ayan oh, read it." sinundan ko iyong tinuro nya. There are silver and pink balloons. Nahirapan pa akong makita dahil madilim. Kulang pa sa lightings ang bahay na 'to. Dapat priority ang lightings e. That's what makes a house beautiful, lalo na kapag gabi.

Aanhin mo naman ang bahay na malaki kung kulang sa ilaw?

Tumingin ako kay Nick, "Hey," sabi nya,

I looked on the wall again, na busy ako kapupuna sa lack of lightings ng bahay e.

The metallic balloons say, "Welcome Home, Love."

Parang unti unti nang nag si-sink in sa akin iyong nangyayari.

Wait, don't tell me...this house is ours?!

Kaya pala may kakaiba akong nararamdaman sa bahay na 'to e.

"God, I can't believe until now I still can't execute a successful surprise." tumawa sya, buti alam nya!

"Hoy nakakainis ka, atin ba 'tong bahay?" my heart started to beat so fast because of excitement.

He shrugged. "Surprise!"

Tears started to pool in my eyes.

Bahay namin 'to? Talaga ba?!

"They accidentally installed the wrong color of blinds, kaya I needed to go here earlier, then I talked to Sandy's Team if they can help me decide which chandelier to install since I know you once spoke to them about what you want," he paused.

"I didn't wanna disappoint you if ever I picked one that is not your type. And that's why I'm late for your exhibit. I'm still sorry." dugtong nya. Nag pout sya, nag pout din tuloy ako.

Ibig sabihin, ako iyong exceptional client nya? Sarili ko pala 'yong pinagduduhan kong client kanina? Gusto kong matawa, I'm really an overthinker.

Tuluyan nang tumulo iyong mga luha ko.

"Why are you crying? 'Di mo gusto iyong chandelier sa baba?" hinampas ko sya sa braso.

"Nakakainis ka talaga, hindi ko pa naman nakikita e. I didn't bother to look further around kasi inaantok na ako." tumawa naman sya.

"Are you surprised? If yes, then you're going to buy me Play Station, right love?" tuwang tuwa nyang sabi.

Antonio Nicholas and his undying love for video games.

"Doesn't count! I already have a strange feeling from the moment I entered this house."

sabi ko habang pinupunasan ang mukha, hindi na ako makahinga dahil iyong ilong ko barado na ng sipon.

He laughed. "Welcome home to our new house, love." bulong nya at niyakap ako.

Ano ba 'yan! Naiiyak nanaman tuloy ako, hindi na nga ako makahinga dahil sa sipon ko e!

"I hate you. Dapat nagtatampo ako sayo ngayon e, kasi late ka dumating sa exhibit ko." mas lalong hinigpitan iyong yakap ko.

"I love you, advance happy anniversary, and congratulations on your exhibit! The paintings will be installed tomorrow, sa may living room," sabi nya at nagulat naman ako sa huli nyang sinabi,

"What do you mean? The paintings?" tumango sya,

"The paintings you sold tonight, I bought some of them," naiyak na naman ako,

Yung iba kasi doon hindi naman dapat talaga isasama sa exhibit kasi baka raw may magka interest, e favorite paintings nya 'yun. 

"I love you, thank you...thank you. Sorry, wala talaga akong ibang masabi." sabi ko tapos humagulhol pa ako,

"It's okay," sabi nya habang pinapatahan ako at nilalagay ang buhok ko sa gilid ng tainga,

"Did you like it? Our new home?" sabi nya, halos ma-dislocate naman iyong leeg ko sa katatango.

"You may always fail on giving me a successful surprise," parehas kaming natawa, totoo naman kasi e, "but you never fail to make me happy. I love you so much, love." I said while giving him the warmest hug I could ever give.

"Anything to make my wife happy. I love you so much, Mrs. Ojales." he smiled and gave me a quick kiss,

"I'm already happy being married to you,"

"I know, but I just wanted to give you your dream house." sabi nya, pagkatapos ay may tinuro sa may bandang likuran ko, lumingon naman ako at nakakita ng malaking easel na may white ribbon.

Nilapitan ko yun habang unti unting sumindi lahat ng ilaw.

May ilaw naman pala!

Standing in it was the painting of my dream house. The one I painted. Lumingon ako kay Nick na palapit na sa akin. Nag umpisa na naman ang mga luha ko.

Nang makalapit na sya sa akin ay niyakap ko sya nang mahigpit tapos dire-diretso na ulit ang luha ko. Hindi na titigil to!

"You're really a cry-baby," sabi nya habang hinahagod ang likod ko,

"Did you really make my painting a real house? Oh my god," kumalas sya sa yakap at may binigay sa akin na envelope. Binuksan ko naman yun at nakita ang land title at property documents. It says that it's going to be under my name.

"Welcome home to your dream house," sabi nya, niyakap ko na lang sya ulit.

Hindi ko na talaga alam kung anong sasabihin ko, pa ulit ulit ko nalang syang niyayakap.

Grabe!

"Masyado mo namang pinatunayan na magaling kang architect. Alam ko naman yun, dati pa. Wala na akong masabi, I'm still in awe with everything," sabi ko habang pinupunasan ang nababadyang sipon sa ilong ko,

"But always know that you're my favorite home and forever will be. I love you," we both smiled, and he kissed me after. Seconds later, he was slowly dragging me back to the bedroom.

And showed me even more how married life with him can be so happy.