“Arise, shine, Star Princess!” anang pamilyar na tinig ng Mommy ni Tala na siyang nagpagising sa kanya. She gently opened her eyes and the warmth of the morning sun coming through the big windows of her bedroom greeted her. Pasimple siyang nag-inat at umayos ng pagkakahiga sa kama. She saw her mother arranging another bouquet of pink Ecuadorian roses on the vase on top of the bureau inside her room. “Another one?” she asked, gently pushing herself to sit on her bed. Her mother smiled. “Yes, princess. Your husband doesn’t miss a day,” anang kanyang ina bago muling ipinagpatuloy ang pag-aayos sa mga bulaklak. Husband. She still can't believe that the arrogant prince made her go through all the tears and heartaches for nothing. Knoxx is still her husband or so her father had told her. These days, her parents are openly discussing about Knoxx, especially her Dad. And she is more than relieved to know that despite his absence, Knoxx is slowly making his way through her parents' hearts.
Tala's heart instantly hitched, turning around as quick as she could. And there she saw him, under the bright morning sun, just a few steps away from her, the prince who’ve swept her off her feet since their crazy wedding night, Prince Knoxx Iossif Stefanos Stavropolous. She quickly gave him a once over and he never disappoints! Her prince is as handsome as ever. He grinned, making her eyes roll in fake annoyance. Agad siyang namaywang. “Why are you here? And where are the people of this house? What did you to my parents, Knoxx? And Atlas, where is my son?!” sunod-sunod niyang tanong sa mataas na tinig. Knoxx gave her a heart-stopping smile, making her want to rush to him for a hug. But she stilled herself. She must not let logic falter now. They must talk. They must. “You don’t have to worry, mi bella. Everyone’s safe. And regarding your question, I came here to explain—“ “I already know everything. Everything,” she said, cutting his words. He paused and stared at her for a whil
Tala slowly gave her reflection on the mirror a once over. On her was a black silk dress; an exquisite diamond necklace Knoxx had given her on their anniversary; and of course her favorite pumps produced by her very own brand, Stella. She tried, but she cannot help herself but smile. Why wouldn’t she, life has been so good to her for the past two years. After that heartfelt reunion she and Knoxx had at her parent’s house in Manila, she officially became Mrs. Stavropolous, again, that very same day. After her parents and the rest of her family came back from their quick tour at Asteri Island, that is. Hindi niya alam na sa buong panahon na asar na asar siya kay Knoxx dahil hindi ito nagpapakita sa kanya, pasimple na pala nitong hinahanda ang kasal nila with the help of her Auntie Sam and her parents. Yes, her parents did a great part on the display of ‘sea-of-roses’ inside their house. Her father proudly admitted that himself right after the wedding. Knoxx then had decided to move h
“Why are you doing this to me, Dad?” puno ng hinanakit na tanong ni Tala sa kanyang ama na noon ay kausap niya sa kanyang cellphone. Kasasabi lang nito sa kanya na kailangan niyang maghanda para sa meeting niya with her potential husband next week. Nasabihan na siya nito noon pang isang linggo tungkol sa plano nitong ipakasal siya sa anak ng mga kakilala nito. But still, hearing her father tell that to her again was only fueling the anger she had been trying to unfeel for the past days. “And why do you keep doing what you are doing, Tala? ‘Di ba nag-usap na tayo bago kita iniwan d’yan sa Paris? You promised that I will never hear another news of you going way overboard again. But here we are all over again, after you got drunk, you almost got arrested for DUI.” His father scoffed. “Not only that, you assaulted a police officer and called him fckin names! What were you thinking? Are you even thinking or have tried thinking straight?” Hindi siya umimik kahit na gusto niya sanang ipa
Gigil na nagmartsa si Tala patungo sa club. Pagkapasok na pagkapasok niya roon, agad siyang sinalubong ng ingay at usok ng lugar. She searched the place for a moment and made a beeline towards the bar where she saw Elle already enjoying her drink. She quickly took the seat beside her friend. “Four shots de téquila, s'il vous plait,” sabi niya agad sa nakaabang na bartender. Ngumiti ito at agad na inayos ang order niya. “Four? Are you that thirsty?” nanlalaki ang mga matang tanong ni Elle sa kanya.“No, I’m stressed and pissed,” aniya bago sinunod sunod tunggain ang apat na shots ng tequila na mabilis na isinilbi ng bartender sa harap niya. The drink burned in her throat, warming her insides but not enough to put off the emotions overtaking her. Nang maubos niya ang apat na shots ng tequila, muli siyang um-order ng apat pa. “Hey, what’s going on, Tala?” Elle asked, her voice filled with worry. She looked at her only trusted friend ever since she moved to Paris. She didn’t want to
“Un scotch avec des glaçons, s'il vous plait (One scotch on the rocks, please),” Knoxx said to the bartender as he settled himself on one of the stools surrounding the bar area of the club he was in.The bartender gave him a little nod and proceeded to get his drink. Two giggling girls passed by him, catching his attention, making his head turn towards their direction. One was clearly checking him out, and the other had her eyes elsewhere.The side of his mouth curved up as he studied the girl who still had her eyes on him. The girl has a nice face and curves in the right places. But she oddly moves a little but too childish for him, teen-ish.He doesn’t date girls anymore. Girls tend to be clingier and demanding—a thing he will never sign up for.He likes experienced women. He ain’t the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am kind of guy though. He just likes to go to bed with women who understand what it meant to have fun— no other strings attached.But he hasn’t had any fun for a long time now.
A persistent buzzing sound from somewhere woke Tala up the next day. With her eyes still closed, she reached for her phone on the bedside table, wanting to make a stop on the annoying sound. Kaya lang hindi niya makapa ang bedside table. Napilitan siya tuloy na iungap nang kaunti ang kanyang mga mata.Darkness greeted her. But the small amount of light seeping through the sides of the heavy curtain was telling her that it was already morning.The buzzing sound continued. Iritable niyang hinanap sa bedside table ang cellphone at in-off iyon.Finally, blessed silence.Muli niya sanang ipipikit ang kanyang mga mata upang bumalik sa pagtulog subalit naramdaman niya ang bahagyang paglundo ng kabilang bahagi ng kama na kinahihigaan niya.Agad siyang napamulat. She was sleeping on her side, like she usually does. Her back was facing the usually empty side of her bed.Empty?She heard a quiet groan. She froze. Now she’s more than sure that the other side of her bed wasn’t empty at all!Agad n
Kabado si Tala habang pinapanood ang pagtipa ng babae na tumatao sa ticket counter ng Star Airlines. She had been waiting in there for a few minutes now, hoping that a seat would open up for her. And the she must admit, the waiting is killing her.Hindi mawala-wala ang tensiyon sa dibdib niya na baka nariyan lang sa tabi-tabi si Knoxx o kung sino man sa mga tauhan nito at bigla na lang siyang dalhin pabalik sa hotel ng lalaki. She doesn’t want to make a scene right now. And she’s more than sure, should what she feared of happens, she’d make the biggest scene she could ever come up to in her lifetime.She huffed, gently massaging her temples. Masakit pa rin ang ulo niya at naguguluhan siya. Idagdag pa ang mapangmatang babae sa kabilang lane na kanina pa panay-panay ang tingin sa kanya!She would’ve ignored the woman who has been taking some mocking glances at her for some time now, kaya lang, bumulong ang babae sa kasama nito. Well, it’s not actually a whisper, she clearly heard that