CHAPTER 6- PROPOSAL
MARIA
"Maria, kindly give me the papers that I needed to sign. Also, bring my schedule for today."
Isang baritonong tinig ang nagpabalik saakin sa realidad. I was just staring blankly infront of my computer. I tried to work my a*s off but I just can't because there is so many things running inside my head. There is so many what ifs that didn't help me to calm down.
I am really nervous right now. I tried to divert my attention, but I still keep on drowning in my thoughts. I want to be calm as possible, but I don't know how to. Being relaxed was out of my vocabulary right now.
I was wondering what would be his reaction. Will he be mad at me? Magagalit kaya sya at pipilitin na ipalaglag ang bata o papanagutan ako nito? Those question keeps on repeating inside my head that will make me end up drowning.
"Maria! Are you listening?" Rinig kong sigaw sa intercom kaya agad akong napabalik sa realidad. Napatayo ako at nanginginig na naglakad papuntang pintuan nya. Muntik na akong matumba at mabuti na nga lang ay nakahawak ako sa mesa ko dahil kung hindi ay baka nakaupo na ako sa sahig.
I sighed deeply and swallowed the lump in my throat. After that I knock on his door before I opened it.
Kagat labi akong pumasok habang nakayuko. I tried to calm my self. Pumikit ako ng mariin bago ako nag angat ng tingin. Napalunok ako ng magtama ang paningin namin. Hindi ko din maiwasan na sawayin ang sarili dahil sa isang emosyon na pilit na lumulukob sakin. Maria! Get rid of that thought! Buntis ka na't lahat lahat ang halay mo pa din!
Maybe that was my hormone. I am pregnant and I am craving for something and that is--him.
"What?! Tatayo ka nalang dyan at tutunganga?! Sabi ko give me the papers! Maria!"
Who would not right? I just can't help but fantasizing him. Habang nakatingin sa kanya ay mas lalo lamang itong gumagwapo sa paningin ko. He looks so hot and sexy that I want to devour him.
It may be the hormones that made me feel this but we can't get rid the fact that he is really hot and gorgeous. Gorgeous is his middle name and Hot is his extension name.
"Maria! Are you listening?!" Napaigtad naman ako ng hampasin nito ang mesa at nanlilisik akong tignan. Napalunok ako at nanginginig ang mga tuhod na lumapit sa kanya at binigay ang papel na kakailanganin nito.
I am so lost with my own thoughts that I didn't notice I was spacing out in front of him. I was used to his shoutings but today I am not just feeling well that I want to cry.
Before I will lost to my emotions I immediately stop my self and tried to regain my composure. I don't want to break down in front of him because that would be embarrassing. Baka mas lalo lamang itong magalit sa akin. Yung mukha nya ngayon ay parang inis na inis na. I don't know if that was because of me or something.
I cleared my throat before I speak. "Sir, may meeting kayo kay Mr. lamayo, One o'clock. Mr. Mendez 2 o'clock at Ms. Gallancia 4 o'clock." I informed him and tried my best not to stutter. I am very thankful that I didn't because it will just add to the frustration that he is feeling. I may not feeling well but I can see that he is frustrated right now. Alam ko na kahit konting pagkakamali ko lang ay mapupuna nito kapag naiinis ito o frustrated.
Tumango naman ito at bago yumuko at kinalikot ang file na binigay ko sa kanya. I was just looking at him and when he noticed that he lift his head to look at me. I cleared my throat but didn't dare to look away. It is not that I don't want to but because I can't. Para bang may magnet ang mga mata nito at ayaw putulin ang titig sa akin.
Earlier I was drowned in my thoughts but now I was drowned in his grey eyes. Sa dalawang taon ko dito ay hindi ko pa rin maiwasan ang maamaze sa mga mata nito. There is so much intensity in his eyes right now.
I tried to look away and blink repeatedly to come back to my senses.
"A-ah may kailangan pa po kayo sir?" Kinakabahang tanong ko sa kanya dahil nakatitig lang ito sakin.It looks like he tried to read me. Para bang may malalim itong iniisip o di kaya ay tinitimbang nito ang reaksyon ko and that makes me confused. Why?
That stares. It didn't help me to relaxed because his stares is like burning me. So I cannot only be burn by his words and actions but also his stares. And that is the reason why I called him a dragon. Dragon is somewhat associated with fire, and his everyday living is like a fire.
Kumunot ang noo ko dahil parang wala itong narinig at nakatitig pa rin sa akin. I decided to remain from my place for one minute and when he didn't said any words I decided to speak up again.
"Kung wala na po kayong kailangan ay aalis na ako." Sabi ko at tatalikod na sana pero tinawag ako nito.
I stopped on my track. Kumunot ang noo ko dahil sa biglaang pagpigil nito sa akin. Earlier, I stayed here for almost 2 minutes but he didn't utter a single word but now that I decided to leave, he called me to stay?
Sometimes, I can't really believe my boss. I know him as a person who values his time. He wants every second of his time to be spent properly. And now I can't believe that he wasted his time by just staring at me. Why? Am I that beautiful?
I wanted to smile but I refrain my self. I cleared my throat and waited for his next statement.
"Maria. Please sit down, and I have a proposal for you." Turan nito kaya kumunot ang noo ko at dahan-dahang umupo sa harap nito. Kahit nagtataka ay wala na akong nagawa kundi ang sumunod sa sasabihin nito.
He get something from his drawer and I was just staring at him. Sobrang tahimik ko na alam ko na isa din sa pinagtataka nya. Yes, I am very serious in my work, but not this serious that I am right now. Maybe because of so many thoughts in my mind and also because of my nervousness.
Mataman na naman itong nakatitig saakin na para bang isa akong magandang painting na nakita nya. Just kidding.
I cleared my throat that made him back to his reverie. Napakurap ito ng isang beses at tinignan ako ng seryoso--like kailan pa ba ito hindi nag seryoso?
I cleared my throat again and decided to asked what he meant by saying 'proposal' "Ahm.. ano po ang ibig mong sabihin boss?" Tanong ko kaya bumuntong hininga ito at nilahad saakin ang isang papel. Kumunot ang noo ko at nagtaka. What was this all about?
Nagtataka man ay kinuha ko ito at nakabuntong hiningang binuksan ang folder. I am very confused right now. Ano ang proposal na gusto nitong iparating?
I started to read the 'proposal' that he is saying and I can't help but raise my brow while reading every sentence. But along the way, I can feel my heartbeat slowly changing its pace. It was starting to beat faster while trying to sink in all of the information written in the paper.
Kumunot ang noo ko at lumalim ang hininga ko. What is he talking about? I mean w-why? H-how? I don't know how to form a sentence anymore. I was so shocked that I can't still process everything. Right now I am not a coward who is trying not to understand everything. Now, I am just plainly a stupid person who can't comprehend everything that I have read on the paper.
Seriously?! Is he really serious about this?
**WRITTEN BY STRINGLILY**
CHAPTER 7- ONE AND ONLY MARIA DENRICK Oh sh1t! Fvck it! Even now, I can't still believe that I will follow orders from someone who is under than me. Don't get me wrong. I am not conceited, I just find their suggestion as a plain stupid. How lucky my father when he found my mom. They are also a product of arrange marriage but later on they develop a feelings for each other. I know that is why Dad agree to their suggestion because he believe that what happened to their love story will also happen to me. But they are completely wrong. Arrange marriage is completely not my thing. I don't want to marry someone I don't love---and that means eternity. Eternity because I will never love someone aside from her. And now that she is gone, the vision of having a happy also vanished. My parents want to arrange me because they said I am a very workaholic person. They said that I need
CHAPTER 8- HER PLAN MARIA I don't know if I should be thankful to his offer or what. I am shocked, yes. Who would not right? I was very nervous because of the thought that I am pregnant with his baby. I don't know how to tell him my condition and that is the reason why I am not in my self awhile ago. My thoughts drowned me earlier and I was able to pull my self out of it because of his sudden proposal. His proposal pull me back to my reverie but it manage to take all of the air that I was breathing. I was breathing so hard and I don't know if I should be thankful to him. I don't know if fate was with me. Nakisama ba sakin ang tadhana? Kung ganoon nga ang swerte ko naman. I want to smile. Maswerte ba talaga ako? Maybe I really am. My baby is so lucky and I am so happy for that. Marrying him doesn't mean I am lucky. Or am I? Diba nga pag nagpakasal kami ay matatali na ito sa akin? Pero bakit parang hindi masaya ang kalahati ng
CHAPTER 9- BITTER REALITY MARIA "MAYANG dalian mo na dyan! Nandiyan na ang fafy mo! Wag mo na syang paghintayin!" Rinig kong sigaw ng bakla sa labas ng kwarto ko kaya mas binilisan ko naman ang pagsuklay ng buhok ko. I look at my self in the mirror and smiled sweetly.What a gorgeous creation.I laugh and tried to act cute infront of my reflection. Ang ganda mo talaga Mayang! "Mayang!" I took a last glance at my reflection before I hurriedly got out. Pagkalabas ko ay sya naman hila nito ng buhok ko. Tinignan ko ito ng masama pero umirap lang ito bago bumaba. Sumunod na din akong bumaba sa kanya at naabutan ko ang boss ko na nakaupo sa luma naming sofa. With his simple t-shirt and a denim pants, he looks like a model. He looks like model without even trying hard. Yung kahit simpleng t-shirt lang ang suot mo ay nagmumukha ka pa ring dyamante. How can he do it? And why
CHAPTER 10- MARIA "Hey are you okay? Kanina ka pa parang wala sa sarili." He keeps on questioning about that and I always said that I am okay. We are now on our way to my apartment and just got done with my check up. Hindi ko sinabi na narinig ko kanina ang pinag uusapan nila ng pinsan nya. Para ano pa diba? I know now my role in his life. That is important so that I know my place and my limits. Hindi na ako aasang mamahalin nya ako dahil hinding hindi nya gagawin yun. Tipid nalang akong ngumiti sa kanya. "Okay lang po ako. Napagod lang siguro ako ngayong araw." Rason ko kaya napabuntong hininga ito. I know he is wondering why I suddenly acted like this. I just let him because I don't have the energy anymore. I feel like his word
CHAPTER 11- WHAT?? Denrick "So how's your work? Kamusta na ang mga stock holder ng kompanya nyo? Did they still making a way to remove you from your position?" A man asked me. He is not just a man but a friend of mine. Terrence Montero is looking at me intently while waiting for my response. We're here at the bar. We are in a VIP room to be exact. We don't want to be interupted by the noise so we decided to rent a room. We just want to have some quality time together after our stressful days. "Oo nga. By the way, did you find someone who can be your wife and the mother of your child?" Dark mijares asked me while maintaining his stoic face. I am really amazed with this man. He still remain emotionless even with us. He never shows his emotions and only us knows why. It is a secret of our group. And who
CHAPTER 12- DREAM MARIA "Hoy bruha kanina ka pa dyan tulala! May nangyari ba? Parang kagabi ko pa napapansin na parang wala ka sa sarili. Bakit biglang nadrained yang energy mo?" Puna sakin ni Macey. Napabuntong hininga naman ako bago sinubo ang pagkain at hindi sya sinagot. I don't want him to know the plan of denrick to me. Alam ko naman na mamahalin nito ang magiging anak namin. Based on his expression yesterday when he attentively listening to the doctor about my pregnancy. I know my bestfriend. If he knows the plan of my boss, he would go berserk. He is so protective of me that is why I am afraid of what he would do if he will know. Oo, babakla bakla lang sya but once he knew na inaapi ako ay baka lalaki pa ito sa lalaki. He once did that when I was being bullied in our school and I can't imagine him getting more angrier if he knows m
CHAPTER 13- IS SHE THE ONE? MARIA Sa durasyon ng byahe papuntang opisina ay katahimikan ang namayani sa amin. We are both drowned with our own thoughts to even talk. Nag usap lang kami nung papasok kami ng opisina kung saan lahat ng mga empleyado ay pinagtitinginan kami. Who would not right? He is holding my hand. Hindi mo talaga maiiwasan na may mga usasero at usasera pag may chismis. Paano ba kasi e ang alam nila ay secretary lang ako nito and nothing else. Yes may mga times nga din na siniship nila ako sa boss ko which I also like to be honest. Pero bakit ko naman sasabihin sa kanila right?So I acted like I am irritated but deep inside I like it. They even gave us a name, DenRia which at first I found so beautiful but now I think it is so corny. Wala na bang iba? I don't know their reaction
CHAPTER 14- IRRITATED MARIA I keep on sighing while waiting for the woman to go out from his office. It is been an hour since she entered that room at hindi pa rin ito lumalabas hanggang ngayon. Awhile ago I don't really have the choice but to call my boss. Mabuti na lamang ay kakatapos lang ng meeting nito kaya pinapasok ko na ang babae. Wala naman itong ibang sinabi kundi ang 'okay' ng sabihin ko na may babaeng naghihintay sa kanya sa labas. Kilala ko na ito na maikli talagang mag salita kaya naman I took his words as a sign of letting that woman in. And I didn't get any complain from him. Isang oras na ang babae doon at hindi ko gusto ang pumapasok sa utak ko. What are they doing inside that room? It's been an hour and still no sign of them going out of that office. I know that the woman's agenda is not about business. I know it. She wants to