Lahat ng Kabanata ng Discreet Nights: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

I received a message from Sever the moment my private plane touched the ground. Ilang oras na raw nang umalis si Zalaria na ang paalam ay bibili lang ng kape pero hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa bumabalik. “I already tried tracking her location, pero hindi ko magawa. The tracker could work whether her phone is on or off. But her location won't show up. Isa lang naman ang ibig sabihin niyon, walang signal sa kung nasaan man siya.” I ended our call after knowing what I needed to know. Nakarating na ako't lahat sa condo ko ngunit hindi pa rin siya matawagan. I haven't felt this hopeless before. I have a lot of connections and it was only this time that they all became useless to me. We later found out about the message she received after reporting for her mission. We couldn't read the content since it was a destructive message, but when Sever logged in to the system, he was notified about it as one of the operators. “It was probably your brother. He used your name. I already blocked his

I let Zalaria talk to our sons and her mother through video call. Bumaba ako mag-isa nang mag-umpisa na ang ceremony. Pagharap ko pa lang sa hindi mabilang na mga camera at maiingay na tao sa labas, alam ko na hindi ko na 'yon uulitin pa. I decided not to continue my plan of attending the grand opening ceremonies. Ang sabi ni Leon ay hindi na talaga kayang maghanap pa ng magiging representatives ko, but when I told him I would triple the pay, my problem was solved. I immediately went back to our room after cutting the ribbon and delivering a short speech. The media wanted to ask me several questions, but I declined. Hindi ko alam kung bakit may kailangan pa silang itanong sa akin kung hindi naman ako relevant dito sa bansang 'to. Isa pa, the hotels would be under Sever's name soon. Isa 'yon sa mga kondisyon niya sa pagpayag niyang maging kanang-kamay ko. The construction of the hotels was already ongoing when he told me his condition was just a fucking joke. Ilang araw siyang tul

I told her everything she wanted and needed to know. From the history of Derrivy, to my connection with Rye, and about the death of my father. Nagpanggap lang ako na hindi ko alam kung sino ang nagpapatay sa tatay ko at sa kapatid niya dahil hindi ko gustong makilala niya ang babaeng 'yon. I promised to give them justice, at hangga't maaari, ayaw ko siyang gumalaw tungkol doon. Alam kong hindi imposibleng damay na siya at kilala na siya ng babaeng 'yon, kaya hangga't kaya ko siyang ilayo ay 'yon ang gagawin ko. Nilinaw ko na rin sa kaniya kung sino ako sa Sleverions at ang pinagkaiba niyon sa katauhan ko sa Derrivy. Hanggang sa mauwi ang usapan tungkol sa aming dalawa at sa mga anak namin. I answered her questions. I told her the things I thought she needed to know. Mula sa unang desisyon ko para sa mga anak namin hanggang sa huli. I showed her the room filled with my collection of photos of her and our twins. Dinala ko rin siya sa isang kuwarto kung nasaan ang isa pa na koleksyon

“And just like that, we're done!” Zalaria came. For the first time ever, I was in the same room with my sons and her, but all we could do was to stare at each other and talk with our eyes. Hindi ko sila malapitan. Hindi ko sila mahawakan. Hindi ko sila mayakap. Rye made me choose between Zalaria and our twins. I didn't want to choose, handa na akong isuko ang lahat ng meron ako kay Rye huwag lang malayo ang mag-iina ko akin, but Zalaria answered his question for me. “He's choosing his sons over me.” I was released from the ropes ngunit hindi pa rin ako hinayaan ni Rye na makalapit kay Zalaria. I couldn't be careless because my sons were still in danger. It was also the first time I carried Ruin in my arms. Nanginginig pa ang mga braso ko noong mga oras na 'yon habang pinapatahan siya mula sa pag-iyak. It was the weakest point in my life. Hindi ako makapagdesisyon nang maayos sapagkat ang mga anak ko at ang babaeng mahal ko ang nakasalalay. When Zalaria entered the room,

“Ikaw ha. Tahimik ka lang pero nakadalawa ka na pala agad,” Cauisent teased me. It was midnight when we celebrated the birthday of my twins. Dahil nga magkaiba sila ng kaarawan at medyo huli na nakarating ang mga inimbita ko ay gano'n na lang ang nangyari. Nagsimula ang party gabi bago matapos ang kaarawan ni Ruin at natapos madaling araw ng kaarawan ni Aero. We knew the celebration was odd, yet it was also special since sakto talaga ang oras ng party sa oras ng kaarawan ng mga anak ko. I only invited the closest ones to me— Altro, Sever, Alshiro, Caiusent, and Ervo. And yes, it was only six of us in the party together with our twins who slept immediately after blowing their cakes. Galing pa sila sa iba’t ibang bansa at lumipad lang talaga sila para dumalo sa kaarawan ng mga anak ko. They all looked stupid in their tuxedoes, nauwi rin lang naman sa inuman ang party. I'm pretty sure that this wouldn't happen if Zalaria waa here. Surely it would be a whole different party but Seve