Anino My mind completely went blank after what I heard. My mother continued sobbing frantically which made me shake in panic even more. Hindi ko na nagawang pumasok nang tuluyan sa resort at nagmadaling umalis pauwi. “M-Ma, please c-calm down. Tell me what happened,” nanginginig ang mga kamay kong tanong. I roamed my eyes around to look for a cab. At kapag minamalas ka nga naman, sobrang tahimik ng highway at ni isang taxi wala man lang dumaan. “He d-dealt with a problem in the office. He was stressed out by it. At naabutan ko nalang siyang walang malay sa kanyang opisina. It was a good thing the ambulance came h-here quickly. H-Hindi ko alam ang gagawin, anak...” Sapo ko ang noo habang nakikinig kay mama sa nanginginig na boses. Oh God! I hope my father’s fine! Dahil hindi ko mapapatawad ang sarili ko pag nagkataon. He was always desperate in telling me to go home and help with the company. And here I am being selfish at h

UsIf only I could disappear this instant, matagal ko nang ginawa. All I wanted that moment was to disappear without him knowing and seeing me. But I know that's far from reality. At kahit sa loob-loob ko alam kong darating at darating ang pagkakataong ito.Tahimik kong kinalma ang sarili at nag focus nalang sa ginagawa. I was relieved when it was almost done. All I wanted was to get out of there as soon as possible. I can still hear Santi's voice from afar at kahit gaano ko pigilan ang sariling huwag pakinggan ang boses niya, hindi ko magawa.Heavy footsteps from behind awakened me from my reverie. And before I knew it, he was right in front of me. Iniwas niya ang tingin sa akin at nakipagkamay sa mga katabi kong judges din. I cleared my throat with the indifference he's giving me. Or was I just imagining things?He's totally different from the last time I saw him. His physique let out a strong authority aura. No wonder all the staff went in chao

DadIt took me a while to calm and compose myself. I can just pretend we're strangers, right? Tutal ay iyon din naman ang ginawa niya noong una kaming magkita. Besides, I bet it's about work. Ang kaalamang iyon ang nakapagpanatag sa akin. Even though I am still so embarrassed with what happened awhile ago. I should still be given the benefit of the doubt dahil kakaumpisa ko pa lang naman. But now that I am in the position, I have to take responsibility of everything. Had I known that something is wrong sana nagawan ko agad ng paraan. Maybe I was too confident with the idea that the deal has been closed months ago."If this is about the report, I will take care of it and proceed with the initial plan.""And your team? What are you gonna do about them?" He scoffed."I still have to sort things out, Mr. Lopez kaya ako magpapatawag ng meeting ngayon. Rest assured hindi maaapektuhan ang project."I looked at him straight in the eyes. I must say I would have

MineEverything happened so quickly that I wasn't able to react that fast. Pilit pa rin pinoproseso ng utak ko ang narinig kani-kanina lang. Most of the guests are shocked too. Sino ba naman ang hindi? Gayong ibang babae ang kasama ni Xander nang bigla nalang iyong inanunsyo ng matandang Del Rio.Sinapo ko ang ulo ko sa matinding hilo. I can't think of anything else but to go home and forget what I just heard. I just want to go home to my son.Naalimpungatan lang ako nang mapansin ang mahinang komusyon sa table nina Xander. He was trying to get away from his parents. Wala na rin sa table nila si Aurora. I didn't even notice her disappearance."Did you both know it was going to happen?"Iyon agad ang ibinungad ko nina Mama at Papa nang makauwi kami ng mansyon. It was a relief the party ended peacefully despite of the announcement of Donya Esmeralda. Kung may nakapansin man sa tensyon ng pamilya ni Xander ay iilan lang. Ni hindi man lang nga pinansin ng Donya ang apo niyang kating-kati n

So BadIlang sandali pa bago ko nahamig ang sarili. Tuluyan kaming nakalabas ng mansyon nang bawiin ko ang kamay mula sa pagkakahawak niya."What was that all about?" I spat.He breathe hard at ilang sandali pa bago tuluyan akong hinarap."What do you mean?" Maang-maangan niya."Pwede ba, Santi? If this seems like a joke to you then it's not funny at all!" Galit ko nang sambit."I am not kidding around," he said grimly."What are you even doing here in the first place? At ano'ng girlfriend pinagsasabi mo?"He was obviously taken aback with my remark. Ngunit agad din siyang bumalik sa pagiging seryoso. I know he's provoked. At hindi ko rin naman intensyong gawin iyon. I'm just being realistic here."Damn, may nangyari na't lahat hindi pa rin girlfriend?" Angil niya.I felt my cheeks burned up with what he said! How dare he say that to my face! After all the efforts I exerted to forget my foolishness last night!"I-It was just-""And don't give me the one-night-stand-mistake bullshit ev