Wala ako sa sariling umuwi sa condo. I didn’t even bother to wash my face. I went straight to my room and started crying.
Why is life so hard? Maayos naman ako noong hindi ko pa s’ya nakikilala pero bakit? Bakit ganito?!
I was so frustrated that I threw my phone across the room.
How dare he walk into my life and mess me up so bad?! I was already over my insecurities about liberty. I already accepted my faith as a daughter of a well-known attorney but because of him, everything fell apart.
I'm falling down the same hole I was in before and this time I don't know how to get out of it.
Lord, What did I do wrong in my past life
I had a great dinner because of Kuya. He was not in the operating room, so, while I was reheating the food, we were chatting. Dahan-dahan na akong sinasanay ni Kuya sa magiging bagong trabaho ni Dad."Dad will file his candidacy tomorrow. You and Mom will accompany him," he said while I was busy transferring the chicken to the pan.I sighed. There's really no turning back."May idea ka ba Kuya sa sched ni Dad?" I asked because it seems like he knows our father better."Kung tama ang pagkakatanda ko, He will visit another province. Ikaw yata ang isasama n'ya doon."That trip will surely be awkward. Just me and Dad in the same vehicle is unbearable.
I thought my work here was done when we took the picture, but I was wrong. The politicians decided to host a lunch. We were in a restaurant with Dad's running mates. They were all talking about their achievement. In short, nagpapayabangan.I was busy slicing my steak into smaller pieces when Lyle stood up. Tumingin lahat sa kanya."Please excuse us. Me and Atty. Abad's daughter have some urgent matter to attend," paalam nito. Hindi na ako nag-abala pang tignan s'ya dahil alam kong hindi rin naman sya papayagan ng mga matatanda."Sen. Ramos, your son is so bold to flaunt his intentions," sita ng isang matandang may bigote."Why? Is there something wrong about that?"
Hindi ko na magawang tignan si Lyle. How can he be a mole? Kanino naman s'ya nag rereport kung ganun? Napakaraming tanong da isip ko. "Are you okay? You look pale," sita ni Lyle. Binitawan nito ang kanyang pagkain at inabot ang kamay ko. Agad kong inilayo ang kamay ko at nag iwas ng tingin. "I'm fine. Let's just go back to the hotel." Nagtipa ako sa aking telepono ng mensahe para kay Kuya. To: Kuya ♡ We're staying at Escala Tagaytay. I'm sure you can get your way around the management. I thought Lyle will insist on staying but to
Pagdating namin sa Cebu ay sinalubong kami ng gobernador ng lalawigan. Nakipagkamay ito kay Dad at sumunod naman sakin. Sandamakmak ang media sa labas ng paliparan kaya dali-dali kaming sumakay sa sasakyan. Dad rode with the Governor while I rode a separate car. Cebu is still refreshing to me even though I’ve been here a couple of times. Good thing there’s no traffic so I had spare time to relax in my hotel room. We’re staying at Shangri-la in Mactan. Dad’s secretary booked four rooms in total. One for me, one for Dad, and two for Dad’s security personnel and office staff. We were all staying in the Mactan Suite. Hinubad ko ang aking sapatos at agad na nagtungo sa banyo para maghugas ng kamay. Pagkalabas ko ay inasikaso ko na ang aking mga bagahe. I prepared my outfits for the following days. I hang them in pairs in the closet. I was about to fill the tub when I heard a doorbell. Pag-bukas ko ng pinto ay nakita ko ang secretary ni Dad. He was holding a folder. “This will be our
I woke up in a different environment. Wala na ako sa sasakyan kundi ay nasa isa akong silid. I tried sitting up but I failed. May mga nakakabit sa aking makenarya. Anong nangyari? Where am I? Are we still in Cebu?Aalis na sana ako sa kama nang biglang bumukas ang pinto. My frantic mom entered and quickly attended me. What is she doing here? Lumipad s’ya papuntang Cebu?“How are you feeling, Hija? May masakit ba sa’yo?” tanong ni mom. She was checking every part of me.“I’m fine, Mom. I just can’t sit-up,” panimula ko. She let out a deep breath. Seeing mom this frantic shocked something inside me. My mom is always a prim and calm woman. For her to react this way only means one thing. Some
“Who is it, Er-” I didn’t get to finish my sentence because I’m too surprised to see him. He was carrying a basket and a bouquet of flowers. He smiled awkwardly. This is really bad timing since Erica is here. “Eli, napadalaw ka.” I opened the door widely to let him in. Erica was frozen in place. This is the first time Erica sees Elias sober. I bet she remembers him. Elias was all smiles when he entered the hospital room. He placed the fruit basket beside the bed. Ibinalik ko ang tingin kay Erica na ngayon ay parang pagong kung maglakad papalapit sa akin. Yup, it’s confirmed. She was too stunned to speak. Wala sa sarili itong naupo sa single-seater sofa habang nakamasid kay Elias na ngayon ay abala sa pag aayos ng mga pagkaing dala. “I hope you don’t mind, Ate. Sorry kung wala akong pasabi na pupunta ako,”panimula ni Elias. Mahina akong napamura. Paano ko ipapaliwanag kay Erica na kapatid ni Dwight si Elias at paano kami nagkakilala ni Dwight?! Bigla akong nanlamig nang tapikin ako
“Don’t worry, I’m at the lobby na. Let’s just say that I got here late because a douchebag decided to start a fist fight,” he said from the other line. Agad akong kinabahan. He got into a fight, siguradong may pasa or sugat s’ya.“You got into a fight at the club?” tanong ko. Nakarinig na lang ako ng mahina tawa. He didn’t speak but I heard a ding. Looks like he’s already coming up. Shortly after the ding the call ended.In my hospital gown, I stepped out of my room to fetch Elias. Nurses were looking at me. Wala na akong pakialam sa kanila at pumunta na ako sa may elevator. Saktong pagdating ko sa tapat ng elevator ay bumukas ito. A drunk Elias with a bruise on the lips greeted me. He spazzed out from the elevator. He looks like
I finally gave up arguing with kuya since there’s no point. We stopped by a coffee shop to pick-up coffee and pastries for Mom. Hindi ko alam kung anong itsura ng bagong bahay namin. The worst is I don’t even know what my room looks like and how they arranged my things!“Kuya, who moved my things?” tanong ko kay Kuya nang makasakay na ulit kami sa kotse. He placed our coffee in between us and the pastries at the back with my things.“Isla was the one who moved and arranged your stuff,” sabi nito matapos ikabit ang seatbelt. Hindi na ako umimik pa. I just hope that my new room is not that different from my old one. I opened the window to let the wind blow my hair.I guess I’m part of the c