Five years earlier…“Have you found her yet?” kalmado kahit iritable nang tanong ni Ali kay Oliver na kanyang right hand man. “Not yet, Sir. All the CCTV footage didn’t catch a good recording of her.”“That’s impossible. That place has a lot of CCTVs!” “She purposely blocked her face from the cameras, Sir.”“Not even one clear shot?” Umaasa pa ring tanong niya.“I’m afraid there’s none, Sir. We searched thoroughly but she disappeared by the next block where there were no longer cameras installed.”“How about the taxis that came by that area?” “We investigated every car that we got a clear plate number in the CCTVs. But we didn’t find the girl.”Napabuntong hininga na lang si Ali. It seemed that the woman did not want to be found. At wala siyang magagawa ro’n. If only his eyesight didn’t betray him, he could at least remember her face. Pero tuluyan na ngang bumigay ang kanyang paningin. In fact he was slowly losing it even before she saw the woman being harassed by a bar regular. W
Arianna couldn’t believe what Alistair told her.Why must fate play with her this way? How did the man she spent a night of mistake with five years ago be the same as the only man who could help her reclaim AL Jewels now? “Are you crying, mommy?” Mabilis niyang tinuyo ang kanyang mga luha sabay umiling nang nakangiti sa anak. “No, anak. Parang sisipunin lang si mommy.” Tiningnan lang siya ni Maliah nang nagdududa kaya mabilis niya ring dinugtungan ang sinabi. “Did I wake you up?” Tulog na kasi ito kanina nang tabihan niya ito.Maliah shook her head bago sumiksik sa kanya. “I dreamed of daddy,” sabi nito.Parang kinurot ang puso ni Arianna. Hindi mapaghanap ng ama ang anak niya. But since she saw Alistair at the airport, lagi na nitong bukambibig ang salitang daddy. And to think nagkawayan lang ang mga ito noon.Did she somehow feel they were connected? But wait… If Alistar knew about Maliah all along, then did that mean he was really waiting for them at the airport? He knew they
‘Darling,Our little Rian is growing up so fast. Wish you were here and share this joy with us…’Arianna wasn’t successful in holding back her tears. Dahil isang oras na niyang iniiyakan ang sulat ng kanyang ama sa likod ng larawan ni Maliah. He wrote it for her mother, Celeste, who had gone ahead of them for almost two decades already. Celeste was the only one who called her Rian. Kahit ang kanyang ama ay bihira siyang tawagin sa nickname na iyon. Samuel preferred calling her by her full name instead. Kaya naman sobrang precious kay Arianna ang nickname niyang tanging ang namayapa niyang ina lang ang tumatawag sa kanya. It was the reason why she hated it when Ali called her Rian. For her, the man had no right… However he came up with that name to call her, was beyond her. Although she used that nickname when she was young, not even Bianca called her that way. Eh si Alistair, nakilala niya lang recently when ‘Rian’ was already a memory. ‘Five years is not recent, Arianna… ‘ her
Nanginginig ang buong katawan ni Arianna habang nakasilip sa bahagyang nakaawang na pinto ng silid ng fiance niyang si Dominic. Mariing nakatakip ang kanyang mga kamay sa kanyang bibig habang tahimik siyang tumatangis sanhi ng tanawin sa loob ng silid. Si Dominic ay may kaniig na babae sa ibabaw ng kama nito. And the woman with him was not just some random girl. It was Bianca… Arianna’s best friend!She never once thought that two important people in her life would betray her. But nonetheless, kinalma niya ang sarili. She was taught not to react in the height of her emotion. Kaya sa halip na sugurin at komprontahin ang dalawa, pinili niyang tumalikod at maglakad palayo.Arianna had come in the middle of the night to surprise him because it was their third year anniversary of being in a relationship. Ayaw niyang maunahan siya nitong bumati kaya bago pa lang sumapit ang alas dose ng gabi, lumabas na siya ng silid para puntahan sa silid nito si Dominic. At siya ang nasorpresa sa dinat
“Can you believe it? I was dumped! That bastard! Who did he think he is?! And Bi? Such a thick face!” Arianna blabbered. “How could they take me for a fool?!”“Wait, I’m really a fool, right? I did not notice until I saw the worst… I’m so pathetic.”Nagagawa niyang maglitanya kahit na alam niyang buhat-buhat siya sa likod nang kung sinong sumagip sa kanya kanina. She was a total mess now. But she didn’t care. Wala nga rin siyang pakialam na tila hindi mabalanse ng may buhat sa kanya ang lakad nito. She trusted him already that she thought even if she fell on the floor, he would tend to her. “I can’t believe it myself! Akala ko napakaswerte ko kasi may boyfriend ako at may best friend ako na lagi kong kasama… I made them live in my house! All this while, I’m keeping snakes unaware!” Arianna didn’t know what else she blabbered about. But the man was being patient with her. Kahit nang makarating sila sa isang silid, inalalayan siya nito nang magsuka siya ng wala naman. He tended to he
Five years later…“It is lolo’s wake, why am I not allowed to see him for the last time?” Pwedeng pagsabitan ng kaldero sa haba ng nguso na maktol ng anak niya kay Arianna.“Because you are Mommy and Lolo’s secret. Did you already forget that?” malumanay na niyuko niya ito dahil tumigil na ito sa paglalakad. Naka-cross arms ito at naka-pout. “Maliah, listen to me. You promised to be a good girl if I take you home with me.”“But Mommy…” hindi umubra ang pagmamaldita kaya luha naman yata ang susubukan nito sa biglang pamamasa ng mga mata nito. “He’s my Lolo. I want to see him…”“I understand how you feel, anak. But right now is not the right time for everyone to see you.”Maliah smiled sadly.“How about we video call and I’ll let you see him?” Arianna offered, hoping it would work. “Then you will do it secretly too?” She nodded. Wala siyang pagpipilian sa ngayon. She cannot reveal Maliah’s existence yet. “Would you want that?”“I guess…” Natawa siya nang mahina. Tumayo siya at inaya
“Arianna, why don’t you rest first?” Si Bianca naman ang sunod na lumapit sa kanya makalipas ang ilang sandali. She even said exactly the same words as Dominic. “Hindi ako pagod,” sagot niya. Hindi naman talaga. Pero ang alam kasi ng mga ito, dumiretso siya ro’n galing airport. She did give them a wrong schedule of her arrival. Kaya hindi alam ng mga ito na dumating na siya kahapon pa. “I’m so sorry for what happened to Tito, Arianna,” sabi pa ni Bianca na ginagap ang mga palad niya. “We did our best. Pero hindi siya umabot sa ospital.” Anong sasabihin niya ro’n? Na hindi siya naniniwala na biglaan ang lahat? In any case, Arianna did not want to raise their suspicion.Sasagot sana siya kay Bianca, pero naagaw ng bagong dating ang atensyon nilang dalawa. If her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, the man who arrived was the man from the airport yesterday. He was wearing white long sleeves and black slacks, and of course, sunglasses. Even so, his simple attire did not hide his obviou
“Atty., are you sure you read that right? Is there any chance you’re mistaken?”Dominic appeared to be so surprised upon hearing that Samuel Lucero left the company's thirty percent of shares to him. "There's no way Tito would give that much shares to me. It's bigger than Arianna's! Atty, you must have read it wrong!" "I only read what's in the will," sagot naman ng matandang abogado.Arianna remained silent. One way or another, in-expect niyang may maririnig siyang hindi niya magugustuhan. Kaya kahit nagulat siya sa nilalaman ng will ng ama ay kaagad niyang nakolekta ang sarili niya. Her face remained calm kahit pa magdrama sina Dominic at Bianca na hindi makapaniwalang pinamanahan ni Samuel. Yes, including Bianca who got the house and the cars. "Arianna, I'm sorry. Can we do anything to give it back to her, Atty.?" hirit pa ni Dominic."Yes, Atty., kahit ako ay hindi komportable na maiiwan sa akin ang malaking bahay na ito. I mean, who am I? I'm not family! Ang pagpapatira pa l