Chapter 4: The Vow

Amanda’s POV 

Nakaupo ako sa balcony ng mansion overlooking at the  wide garden below. And for some reason, my mind went back. Back to  four years ago. Back to the day my life stopped being mine.

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I was eighteen.  Fresh graduate ng senior high. May acceptance letter na ako sa UP for Business Administration. Pangarap ko magtrabaho, mag-ipon, tumulong kay Lolo at makatulong sa kaniyang negosyo 

Pero that night, pinatawag ako ni Lolo Reynaldo sa kwarto niya sa hospital.

Payat na siya. Maputla. Bagamat hindi naka-oxygen. Iyung mga mata niya, matalas pa rin.

"Apo," sabi niya. Mahina ang boses. "Upo ka."

Lumapit ako. Hinawakan niya ang kamay ko. Malamig.

"Amanda, may kailangan akong sabihin sa’yo. Last wish ko ito."

Kinabahan ako. "Lolo..."

"Pakakasalan mo ang apo ni  Rosa Montenegro." deretsong pahayag niya, walang pause, walang comma. 

Natigilan ako. "What?"

"I know it’s sudden," he said. "But this is how it works in the business world, iha. To strengthen companies. To protect businesses. It's called an alliance. Our families have known each other for 40 years. Lola Rosa and I... we made a promise a long time ago. Na pagdating ng araw, pagsasamahin natin ang mga apo."

I shook my head. "But Lolo, I don’t want to get married yet. I’m just 18..."

"And that is the perfect age to get married, actually," he said, and even smiled a little. "You’re young. You’re smart. You’ll grow into it. Besides, anak, hindi naman kailangan ng pag-ibig agad. Ma-de-develop din kayo sa isa’t isa habang magkasama kayo sa isang bubong."

"Lolo, that’s not how it works," I argued, tears already falling. "Marriage isn’t a business deal. It’s supposed to be about love."

He squeezed my hand tighter. "In our world, iha, love comes later. Or sometimes it doesn’t. But duty... duty always comes first. You know how much I built for you. For our family. If we don’t do this, the Montenegro Group will pull out of all our contracts. We’ll lose everything. The company. The house. Everything I worked for."

I cried that night. Hard. 

"Lolo, please. Don’t make me."

"Amanda," his voice broke. "This is my last wish. Please. For me. For our family name."

What could I say? 

He was sicked.

In the end, Lolo won. 

Two months later, I was standing at the altar in a white dress that felt two sizes too big. 

Tyrone Montenegro was beside me. 24 years old. Tall. Cold eyes. The kind of handsome that doesn’t smile. Parang seryoso, pero that was I thought back then. 

During the vows, he leaned in and whispered, "I promise to take care of you. I promise to love you."

I wanted to believe him. 

We got married. 

And then I went back to school. 

For the first two years, it was bearable. We lived in separate rooms in the Montenegro mansion. He was busy with the company. I was busy with college. We’d see each other at dinner with Lola Rosa. That was it. 

Lola Rosa loved me. She’d call me "apo" and feed me too much. She’d say, "Magkakaanak din kayo soon. You’ll learn to love each other."

I nodded. I smiled. I was quie, hindi kasi alam ng Lola Rosa na hindi kami nagsisiping ni Tyrone. That was me then. The quiet wife. The dutiful granddaughter.

After I graduated, I didn’t get a job. "Stay home," sabi ni Tyrone. "Help manage the foundation. Represent the family." 

So I did. 

I thought maybe... maybe he was right. Maybe love would develop. Maybe if I was good enough, quiet enough, patient enough, he’d look at me the way husbands look at their wives.

But he didn’t. 

He came home late. He traveled a lot. He stopped saying goodnight. 

And I told myself it was normal. That this was what marriage in our world looked like. 

Until yesterday. 

Until I saw him with Issa on his desk. 

Until I heard him say, "I don’t love her."

The memory hit me so hard  because I thought I would give us a chance. Hindi naman kasi mahirap mahalin ang isang Tyrone Montenegro, not to mention the way I thought he cares for me. 

"Ma-de-develop din kayo," Lolo had said. 

Four years. Four years of sharing a last name and nothing else. 

And where did it get me? Cheated on. Lied to. Trapped by a vow I made when I was still a kid.

I looked down at my hands. There was still a faint mark on my wrist. From that night. From him. 

From the stranger of last night. It's so funny and dangerous to think that I lost my V-card to a total stranger. 

God, Amanda. Stop. Ni hindi mo nga alam kung iniiisip ka pa ng lalaking iyon. 

My phone buzzed. 

Lola Rosa:  Apo, don’t forget the gala tomorrow. Wear the blue gown. The Montenegros and Evangelistas will be there. Very important for business.  Right, nakalimutan ko ang gala night or charity night. That was it, for the rich and filthy rich. 

Business. Always business.

I laughed. No sound came out.

Lolo, did you know? Did you know that the man you wanted me to marry would break my heart? That the alliance you forced would turn into a cage? Kung naririnig lang ng Lolo Reynaldo ko ang aking daing. 

I stood up and walked back inside. The mansion was too quiet. Too big. 

In my room, I opened my closet. The blue gown Lola mentioned was there. Expensive. Elegant. Empty.

I touched the fabric. 

Tomorrow I’d wear it. Tomorrow I’d smile. Tomorrow I’d stand beside Tyrone and pretend I didn’t know what he did. Pretend I wasn’t breaking inside. 

But a small, reckless part of me wondered... paano kaya pag malaman ni Tyrone ang nangyaring one night stand? Hiwalayan na kaya agad niya ako kahit  walang basbas ni Lola Rosa?