“WHERE the hell have you been, Katherine?” Jan grasped her arm the moment he saw her inside the elevator. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere—” He seemed to notice her hand was hiding something on her chest, so he pulled her hand away. His eyes widened when he saw the cigarette burn at the top of her breast. “What happened?” Jan’s tone changed; it was gentler with a hint of worry.
“I… I—”
“Who did this to you?” he said through greeted teeth. He fixed his coat around her shoulder and ushered her out of the elevator.
“Jan, w-where are we going?” she asked when she noticed that they were already heading out of the hotel.
“Where do you think? Of course, I’ll get you to the hospital to get you treated.”
He threw his key to the valet when they finally got out. After a few moments, the car arrived.
“Hop in,” he orde
WITH her eyes still closed, Kate’s hands searched the other side of the bed and found out that her husband was not there anymore. She heaved a deep sigh and sat up. It was always like that; she would wake up without him beside her and sleep first at night because he was always busy with paperwork and business calls. She wondered if he was able to get a decent sleep, or if he ever ate on time… or when could he have time to perform that marital duty that they should have done a long time ago. It was kind of disappointing that they did not even have this thing called honeymoon. Kate shook her head when that thought crossed her mind. What was she thinking? Her fantasies would not come to life if their marriage was just nothing but a piece of paper. Could it be that he has a problem with…? But no… Jan touched her one night, and his mother said he had slept with lots of women. Then why would he not do the same thing with her? She was his lawfully wedded wife, after
JAN did not let go of her until they reached the administrator’s office. It was as if it was his way of marking his territory. That could have been so sweet if only their marriage was normal.A middle-aged woman greeted them when they got in.“Jan, I’m so happy to see you,” the woman said and smiled. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. When was it again?”“Oh, it was three years ago when I was the speaker.”“Oh, right! The graduation.” The woman turned in Kate’s direction afterwards. “So… I presume this beautiful lady here with you is the one you’re talking about.”“Yes. This is my wife, Katherine,” Jan introduced her.“Hi,” she nodded shyly.“Katherine, this is Mrs. De Luna. She is the university administrator and my aunt to my mother’s side of the family.”“Oh&hellip
NANA Talia, standing in the foyer, rushed to her as soon as she got out of the car. She hugged her tightly and cried. “I was so worried about you. Thank God, you’re home now.” Her nanny sniffled as she caressed her back. Kate heaved a sigh and hugged her nanny back. Now she really felt bad about what happened, and she promised herself not to make the same mistake… ever again. “I-I’m so sorry, Nana.” Her nanny moved away a bit and cupped her face. “This isn’t you, Kate. Tell me, what happened?” She scratched the side of her neck and glanced at Jan, who was just standing a few steps away from them, silent. “Remember my friend Natalie?” she said afterward. “I met her again… at my new school. She happened to transfer there as well. And you know her, right? She’s a party girl, and… uhm… she brought me to this resto-bar to celebrate our mini-reunion,” Kate explained a little louder so Jan could hear what she said. Nana Talia
“DID you apologize to him?” Nana Talia asked when she brought the tray back to the kitchen.Kate knew her nanny was not being nosy; she was just concerned about her. Ever since she was a kid, Nana Talia and her mother always reminded her to apologize whenever she was wrong. Yes, she was wrong last night. It was just that… well… it was a little complicated when it involved Jan.“Hm. We’re good now,” she said, beaming.Nana Talia grasped her arms and caressed them up and down.“Maybe this relationship of yours isn’t as normal as others, but you could at least treat each other as friends. What do you think?”Being friends isn’t bad, but Kate was hoping that it could be something more.“Excuse me, Madam,” said Luisa when she arrived at the kitchen.“Yes?” She turned to face her.“Sir Fernan is here, Madam,” Luisa informed her and
KATE raised her head when she saw her friend Natalie sitting across her chair. She was inside the library, finishing her activities so she could catch up for the prelims.“So. Rob wants to recruit you to be their—”“Natalie…” She heaved a sigh. “I told you I’m not in for a gig right now.”She wanted to focus on her studies, and as much as possible, she did not want to upset Jan.“What is wrong with that? It’s during the night, and it’s not even every night so—”“Jan would not allow me,” she told her friend.“Did you tell him? Did he say no?” Natalie arched a brow. “Come on, Katie! I bet you haven’t even tried asking him.”“Fine. I’m not… interested. I just came with you last time because I want us to bond after years of not seeing each other.” Kate ran her fingers through her hair and
“JONA, can you send me a copy of your notes?” Kate asked her friend as they walked through the hallway. They just got out of the faculty office. “I just remember that I have no notes for this coming prelim exam.”“Oh, sure. Just text me your email address, and I will send it to you right away.” She beamed at her. “Anyway, I have to leave first.” Jona kissed her on the cheek. “`Bye, lovely. See you tomorrow.”“What? Where are you going? I thought you would come with me to the library to return the books?”“I’m meeting someone. He texted me just now,” her friend said, waving her phone in front of her face.“Traitor,” she said, laughing.Kate headed to the library and returned the books. After that, she went straight home. She had been doing that school-home routine since she and Jan had a fight that day she went out with Natalie. It was her fault, an
KATE sipped her tea a few consecutive times because she let go of the cup. She joined her mother-in-law in the veranda as she waited for her husband to come home from the hospital. He was gone for almost an hour now and still has not returned. She could not help but think that something happened like Jan brought Winona home and the latter would not let him leave and then they would end up in bed and there goes a one steamy night…She shook her head hard to erase such thought. There she goes again… paranoid. But she just could not help overthinking. There was not even a single phone call from him to update them on what had happened and why he was running late to return home. Kate checked her phone again and sighed when she saw no updates from Jan.Maybe this is how it feels to wait for nothing… said the voice at the back of her head.“A penny for your thoughts?” She turned her gaze in the direction of Jan’s mother,
JAN opened his mouth but decided to close it again and turned around. He sauntered towards the walk-in closet, but after a few moments, he felt something hard hit his back.“Don’t you turn your fucking back at me when I’m not done talking to you!” Katherine snarled at him.“I don’t want to fuck you, Katherine.” He turned to face her again, gritting his teeth.Her mouth dropped open. “Fuck you… Jan!”“I want to make love with you….” His voice trailed off.He meant what he said, but it was his fear that kept holding him back. He was scared Katherine would disappear once he set his feelings free.“J-Jan…” He saw tears welled from her eyes. Katherine sauntered towards him and grasped his arms. “What are you so afraid of when you’re feeling the same way for me too?”Jan brought his hands to her cheeks and met her gaze.