Nanatiling tahimik na nakatingin sa akin si Klaus. Hindi ko na mahinuha ngayon kung ano ang iniisip niya.
But what I said is the truth. Between the two of us, mas marami siyang tinatago sa akin. I know I keep things from him, too. But those aren’t even important to our investigation. Mas marami pang importanteng bagay tungkol sa kaso na kailangan namang pagtuunan ng pansin.
The things I know are just minor details and I’m not even sure yet if these things might really help. Dahil sa ngayon, sinisigurado ko pang may halaga iyon sa mga plano namin o wala. At malakas ang kutob ko na wala naman. Kaya hindi ko sinasabi sa kaniya ang mga ‘yon.
And I know for sure that the things he’s keeping from me are way more important what I’m keeping to myself.
Suminghap ako bago muling nagsalita dahil mukhang wala siyang balak umamin. “You are my cousin’s friend, Klaus. Right now, I cannot trust my cousin. I can’t even trust my uncle. How sure am I that you aren’t con
I was confident that I will never fall in love with him. Maybe because I had everything I needed, except of course, for my parents. I just did what they wanted me to do. My parents wanted me to marry Dr. Ricaforte. And I did.It was not my intention to fall in love with him. It wasn’t in my plan to be this madly in love with him. But I am. And I can’t hate myself for it now despite the pain I always face because of my love for him.I am not asking for more. Loving him is already more than enough for me. Pero hindi ko pa rin maiwasan ang masaktan sa katotohanang hinding hindi niya ako titignan. His eyes are fixated on someone else. And I am fine with that. But it is still hurting me.Weeks have passed and we are indeed taking a break from our relationship. Zachary never visits again kahit madalas siyang tanungin sa akin ni Manang. Dinadahilan ko na lang na busy sa trabaho at hindi makauwi o dalaw rito.I miss him, though. Ako naman ang may kagu
[ Flashback ] “Are you sure you want to remove your hearing aids, my love?” tanong sa akin ni Mommy pagkababa ko ng sasakyan namin. We just arrived at the party’s venue. We are in Cambridge right now. I’m staying here in Massachusetts because I’m studying business at Harvard and am running my own business here in the States, while my parents just decided to visit because of the party their business partner is hosting. Pumasok kami sa Doubletree Suites by Hilton Hotel. Nasa likod ako ng mga magulang habang nasa unahan naman nila ang isa pa nilang business partner from the Philippines. I heard that he’s also a very close friend of my parents. He seems very familiar but I don’t remember when and where exactly I met him. Not that it matters anyway. I just hope that my parents won’t introduce me to anyone. Ang ingay pa lang dito ay nagpapasakit na ng ulo ko. There are a lot of cameras as we walked on the red carpet outside the hotel a while ago. I
[ Flashback continues ] Sumakay ako sa sasakyan ko at pinaharurot iyon para lang mabilis na makalayo sa kanila. I don’t want to talk them. I just want them to go home to the Philippines and leave me alone. I don’t need them here. Not when all they do in a span of hours is disappoint me big time! I want to talk to Varez but he’s already in the Philippines. He’s already in his post-graduate internship and he decided to do it back home. Kaya hindi ko siya p’wede abalahin. Should I just go back home like what my parents wanted? But my life is in here... in this place! I grew up here! I created my business here. And yet it also ended here. Halos dalawang araw akong nagkulong sa unit ko. Hindi ko hinayaang makapasok sina Mommy at Daddy sa loob kahit ilang beses ko silang naririnig na nagpapabalik-balik para lang i-check ko. I refuse to see them still. I am still mad at them for deciding things on their own and for easily setting aside my opinions. N
“How are you feeling?” Dr. Ricaforte asks me the moment I calm down. “Much better than a while ago,” I answer. He nods at my answer. “You could have just called my number, you know?” he whispers but I hear it. “You were probably busy and Varez just happened to be the one that came in my mind. I was panicking, Zac...” I reason out. “I know. I’m sorry,” aniya. “I just... wanted to at least be the same person again who’d find you in that state. Not that I want you to be in such a state, MJ...” Humalakhak ako nang mahina kaya napaangat ang tingin niya sa akin. He’s trying so hard to explain that I find it a bit funny. “I get what you mean, Zachary,” sabi ko habang tumatawa pa rin nang mahina. “This isn’t a laughing matter, MJ,” seryoso niyang tugon sa akin. Tinikom ko ang bibig ko at pinigilan ang pagtawa. Tumango ako. “I’m sorry,” I say. Umiling siya at muli akong hinigit nang marahan palapit sa kaniya. “I’m sorry I wasn’t
“Jade, this is Lucian Smith. My twin brother. Lucian, you know her, right? She’s Zachary’s wife... Marthania Jade Louise,” pagpapakilala ni Lucius sa amin ng kambal niya. I thought I was just having a panic attack. Akala ko namamalik-mata lang ako na may dalawa akong Lucius na nakikita pero a pair of twins pala ang dalawa. Ngayon ko lang din napansin na may pagkakaiba ang hugis ng mukha niya at sa istilo ng kanilang buhok. Lucius has more of an angelic face, while Lucian—his twin—has a feature in his face that is more defined. Lucian looks mature while Lucius looks innocent. That’s probably why I also saw a bit of a resemblance between Zachary and Lucius. They both have angelic faces. They both look innocent. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jade...” marahan pero may riing sambit ni Lucian. I uneasily smile at him. “Likewise,” tugon ko. “They just decided to visit me here, Jade,” si Varez. “Sila ang tinutukoy kong imi-meet ko rin. Kakarating la
Tulala akong sa living room. Zachary is busy washing the dishes. Kakatapos lang namin kumain. I can’t stop thinking about the twins. Lucian and Lucius’s parents died. Zachary continued telling me that their parents also died from a plane crash. It’s almost the same as my parents’ death. The only difference was that... their bodies were never found. Nag-crash ang plane sa karagatan at never nang nahanap ang katawan ng mga magulang nila. Of course, they don’t know if it’s an actual accident or someone was behind it as well just like in my case. Walang ibang ebidensya na may tao sa likod noon dahil hindi na-retrieve ang katawan ng mga magulang nila. I feel bad for them. I see myself in them. Maybe that’s why they were both so nice to me. They probably heard what happened to my parents and also feel bad for me. I just hope that they are no longer having a hard time because of what happened... unlike me. Because they don’t deserve the pain. I just don’t kn
“Someone is stalking me for the past weeks or months or I don’t know where it started! He has a number of stolen shots of me, my Tita Cecil, and my cousin, inside our houses. Now he has Manang Cinda! Klaus, please...” pagmamakaawa ko kay Klaus nang magkita kami. “Ms. Salazar, please calm down for now. I’ll help you. I’ll help you again, just... calm down, alright?” “I can’t calm down. I’m scared. I can’t do this alone. I don’t know who to trust anymore. So, please. Do something, Klaus...” I fall on my knees as I start crying. Hindi ako tumuloy sa condo dahil agad akong nakipagkita kay Klaus after ng tawag ko sa kaniya. I had no choice. I need his help again. I still don’t know if I can fully trust him again, but I will take the risk one more time. I am just this desperate for help. “I am continuing the investigation, Ms. Salazar. Even after our partnership ended, I still swore that I will continue helping you until I cover the truth. I promised Gillia
I remain standing near the door where Dr. Ricaforte went out. He was cold and emotionless. Hindi ako makagalaw dahil sa takot at sakit na nararamdaman ko dala ng kung paano niya na lang ako tignan kanina. It’s as if he really had had enough. Sinubukan ko iyong tanggalin sa isipan ko hanggang sa makarating ako sa meeting place namin ni Klaus. Instead of hurting myself by thinking about Zachary’s anger towards me, I just tried to focus on our plans. Sa ngayon, kailangan ko munang malaman kung ano ang kalagayan ni Manang Cinda. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin ako tinatawagan ulit ng stalker na ‘yon. While Klaus is doing his best to keep an eye on Tita Cecil and Aeliares with his men. I also asked him to tell Gil some minor details about their security cameras in their house. That they should replace the cameras or perhaps remove them for now. I just hope that Gil won’t get suspicious about it. But it’s also possible given that he already had his suspicions befor