"Wear this and take some bath."
Inabot saakin ni Zach iyong white t-shirt at jogging pants na itim. May mga gamit din siya dito. I was still amazed how beautiful this place was. All wooden, there few furnitures and the only big was the white king size bed on the floor.
"At ikaw? Hindi kapaba maliligo? Basa karin naman," sabi ko. Nakapatong lang kasi iyong towel sa balikat niya.
"I'll cook first, you said you'te hungry."
I was caught off guard. Lulutuan niya ako? Bigla akong nahiya tuloy! Ako dapat ang nagsisilbi sakanya, hindi siya.
"H-hindi na ako gutom."
Pagkasabi ko niyan, malakas na tumunog ang tiyan ko. I bit my lip.
"Hi Romeo!" He eyed me suspiciously. Why wouldn't he? I was smiling from ear to ear nang makapasok ako sa office. Sabay kaming pumasok ni Zach pero sa iba kami dumaan para walang tao ang makakita saamin. It was nice, really... To got to know him like that. "Ang aga-aga ang saya mo ha! Iba iyomg energy! Nangangamoy nadiligan! Am I right, Rose?" Nakiupo pa ito sa mesa ko. "Tama! Tuesday palang, ang ganda ng ngiti eh. Make kwento!" Pagsang-ayon ni Rose dito. Sino ba naman kasi hindi sasaya ang umaga kapag pagbangon mo, mukha ni Zach ang sasalubong saiyo? Yes, puyat ako. Pero nawala ang lahat ng iyon nang idilat niya ang mata niya kaninang umaga habang nakatingin saakin. Parang nasa alapaap padin ako hanggang ngayon. Meeting his family, the contract, the court and his little ho
Miggy sat on his swivel chair. Why wa she acting so rude? Sabagay, malalaman mo naman ang ugali ng isang tao kapag wala na siyang benepisyo na nakukuha sa buhay mo. May inabot siya sa akin na papel. "I need this for my first meeting with Mr. Esqueza." I looked at it, puro snacks na pwedeng bilin sa grocery. Napakunot ang noo ko. "B-bakit ako pa ang kailangan bumili?" I suddenly felt nervous dahil baka malaman niya ang mayroon saamin ni Zach. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, I just felt uncomfortable. "You're doing nothing, Marie. Mabuti nang mapakinabangan ka." Naalala ko nanaman ang pagcha-char namin ni Zach kanina. Nabasa niya ba? Mukha naman hindi dahil magtatanong naman ito agad kung nabasa niya iyon. "At nakikipag-chat ka lang sa boyfriend mo?" Shit. Nabasa niya n
He was the one who suggested this grocery store. He handed me a cap to hid my face. Ganoon din naman ang ginawa niya eventhough I doubted it. Mukha parin siyang boss kahit nakasumbrero. Napatingin ako sa kamay namin nang hawakan niya ito pagkapasok namin ng supermarket. Sabi na eh, hanggang dito pagtitinginan padin siya kahit nakasumbrero. Almost everyone would stop what they were doing and stared at us. I did my best to hid my face baka ma-chismis pa ako! Iyong mga babae naman bumababa ang tingin nila sa kamay namin na magkahawak, sabay taas ng kilay. I wanted to laugh dahil ako mismo tataasan ko rin ng kilay ang sarili ko kapag nakita ko ang sarili sa salamin. Ipinulupot ni Zach ang kamay niya sa bewang ko, as if we didn't argue awhile ago. He was getting used to it. Him, snaking his hand on my waist. Hindi na ako magrereklamo like hello? Lugi paba ako? Bumitiw ako saglit par
Their eyes focused on me. Ang hirap pala talaga galitin nito ni Zach! Ang lakas mang-trip. Oo na, gets ko nanaman ang gusto niya ipahiwatig. He would leave me with no choice but to accept his offer. "Villafuente, tinatanong ka ng CEO. You've to answer him right away!" saway saakin ni Sir. Adrian. "S-sorry po, sir..." "Tatanga-tanga ka nanaman. Kabago-bago mo palang dito," bulong nito. I blinked. I was offended. Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin ko kay Zach at kay Sir. Adrian. They heard it too. Alam ko naman mali ako, all of them respected Zach so much. Ako lang naman ang matigas ang ulo dito. "And that's how you treat a
"Iris, what happened?" Ashley's voice was really concerned. She was holding two dresses and she placed them on the side of the bed bago tuluyan lumapit saakin. "A-ah, wala ito, Ashley. Don't mind me," pagsisinungaling ko at pinahid ang luha sa mga mata ko. "Come on, you're a part of this family so basically, I'm already your sister. You can tell me anything," pang-aalo niya saakin. No. You can't tell her what her brother did to you... Sabi ng isip ko. I breathe heavily. "I-I just miss my family so much." It was somehow the truth. Nami-miss ko rin naman sila kaya naghahalo-halo ang emosyon ko ngayon. I wouldn't be in a situation like this kung hindi para sakanila, kung hindi lang para kay daddy, I'd walked out and never show up again. I didn't deserve this. Wala akong id
"Iha, may isusuot kanaba mamaya?" Napatigil ako sa tanong ni Lola Belle. I looked at Zach na wala rin ideya sa mangyayari. Ano bang mayroon? Ashley walked in, holding dresses and shoes. "I'm sorry, granny! I forgot to tell them. So Mr. and Mrs. Zach Esqueza, we have a party tonight. Make sure na makakauwi kayo just in time." "Party?" tanong ni Zach na nakapameywang. "You didn't tell us last night." "Because I forgot nga, Zach." Irap nito sa kapatid. "I need to collect some funds for my outreach program. We will give it to my selective foundation since ang daming binagyo na lugar nitong nakaraan," pagpapaliwanag ni Ashley. "This will be fun! I swear!" Napangiti na lang ako. Ito pala iyong party na kinekwento niya saakin. Wala akong ideya kung anong isusuot mam
"Kailangan mo paba bumalik sa stage?" Nag-aalalang tanong ko kay Zach pagkatapos namin kumain. He was playing with my hands. I was getting nervous. Hindi ko alam kung mananalo ba ako mamaya. The woman in black seemed to be eager to date him. Bigla nalang itong nawala na parang bula nang mag-alis ako ng tingin sakanya. His mouth twitched. "You want to go home? And steal your date?" Tumawa ako. "Last day nanaman natin ito, bakit hindi? I don't know if I will win tonight." Hinawakan niya ang ibabang labi ko. "Your wish, my always command." Hinila ako patayo ni Zach. I got excited when we were about to exit this party. It meant I didn't have to compete with other women. I was smiling from ear to ear, following him. Nang bigla akong nauntog sa likod ni Zach. "Where. Are. You. Going?"
I was half asleep when someone removed my seatbelt and lifted me up. Kahit pakiramdam ko panaginip lang ito, I knew who it was without even looking. I still closed my eyes, ayokong masira ang pakiramdam na nararamdaman ko. This was the first time he did it to me. He was changing. Though it wasn't too drastic but his hard heart was becoming soft a little, and that for me, was enough. Ilan araw na kaming nakakapag-usap ng maayos. Parang kailan lang takot na takot pa ako sakanya. I didn't know how he did it. Nakapasok siya ng bahay habang buhat-buhat ako. Inihiga niya ako sa malamabot na kama. It wasn't my bed. I opened my eyes a little and saw Zach's room. Ipinikit ko agad nang kumutan niya ako. Lumalim ang kama sa gilid ko sabay may humaplos na kamay sa buhok ko. Kahit nakapikit, alam kong tinititigan niya ako ngayon. "You got me the first time I saw at the bar..." he started. T