Chapter Six

"What?! You're going to get married?! How come, you don't even have a boyfriend?"

Hindi makapaniwalang tanong ni Quel nang ikuwento ni Gabriella sa kaibigan ang deal na nangyari sa pagitan nila ng kaniyang ina.

Napatayo ito mula sa kinauupuan at halata sa mukhang hindi nito kayang paniwalaan ang mga narinig.

"Bakit? Do I need to have a boyfriend first before getting married?" walang emosyong tanong ni Gabriella pabalik.

"Are you seriously asking me that, Gabriella Pauline? How would you survive a married life if you don't even have any experience in dating?" muli nitong tanong.

May punto naman ito. Ni isang beses ay wala pa syang naging nobyo dahil lahat ng mga nanligaw sakaniya noon ay binusted nya. She doesn't have any interest in dating and being in a relationship before dahil bukod sa wala syang oras para gawin iyon ay wala talaga syang nagugustuhan na lalaki. Merong nagpatuloy na manligaw sakanya kahit pa binusted nya ito, pero sumuko rin ito pagkalipas ng apat na taon at sinabing mas malaki pa ang tsyansang makapangasawa sya ng isang sikat na artista kesa mapasagot nya ang nililigawan.

Gabriella knew that she should at least have an experience in dating before getting married, but...

"Well, that's my personal problem to mind and you're out of it, Quel." saad nya.

"So kailan ka ba ikakasal?" muling tanong ng kaibigan pagkatapos bumuntong hininga. Bumalik ito sa pagkakaupo sa may swivel chair at hinintay syang sumagot.

"Don't have the exact date yet. Maybe next month?"

Quel's forehead crumpled as he looks at her with a wide eyes.

"Next month agad? Ganun kabilis?"

Konti nalang at mapupunit na ang noo nito dahil sa pagkakunot.

"Huwag kang mag-alala. Hindi ka naman invited kaya hindi mo naman kailangan mag-abalang pumunta sa kasal ko." she said in a matter of fact tone. Alam ng lalaki na hindi sya nagbibiro sa sinabi.

This time, Quel rolled his eyes.

"Well, thank you for informing me that I'm not invited on your wedding? Just be sure not to get exposed. You know how risky it is for a secret agent to live with someone." paalala nito.

"Alam ko na yun. At saka hindi nya naman malalaman na isa akong secret agent dahil meron kaming napagkasunduan na hindi namin papakialaman ang trabaho ng isa't-isa kahit pa kasal kami."

"That sounds more suspicious. What if he actually knew that you're agent angel? What are you going to do?" Nakataas ang kilay nitong tanong.

Gabriella shook her head twice.

"No, I don't think that's possible. He's just a painter and even if he know who I really am, he doesn't have any reason to kill me, does he?"

Unless meron itong galit sakanya o kaya ay ito ang magnanakaw na kailangan nyang hulihin.

"Well, yeah, whatever. That's your private life so labas na ako dyan. Just be careful," pag-uulit nito.

"I will. I just told you about this para malaman mo na magiging busy ako sa mga susunod na araw so please only contact me if Silent thief make a move again. And don't tell anyone in the agency that I'm going to get married... Mahirap na, baka kung ano pang itanong nila saakin, wala akong oras para sagutin at ikwento sakanila ang mga naikwento ko na sa'yo."

"Sure, but in exchange, you need to tell me when exactly you're going to get married. So that I won't disturb anything by suddenly contacting you."

"Okay. Sasabihin ko sa'yo kung kailan kapag nakapag desisyon na sila sa exact date ng kasal."

Pagkatapos mag-usap, agad ring umalis si Gabriella dahil meron pa syang ibang pupuntahan at gagawin.

She entered her own car and drive straight to the mall.

She's going to have her 300 million dollars back and she needs to buy new dresses and clothes so the man won't suspect that she isn't a real model. Matalas pa naman ang mata nito kahit na nakasalamin. Kailangan nyang magpanggap na isa syang model kahit pa napagkasunduan nila na huwag makekealam sa trabaho ng isa't-isa.

Gabriella bought fitted dresses that a model would wear. She's thinking twice to buy those clothes that looks revealing, but she bought them anyways.

She also pick her high heels, branded bags and fancy accessories.

After paying all of the things she bought to herself, she brought them all to her apartment.

##

For dinner, Gabriella only eat instant noodles. Hindi kasi sya marunong magluto at tinatamad rin syang magpa deliver at maghintay. Ayaw nyang kumakain sa labas mag-isa kaya ang nag-iisang instant noodles nalang ang pinagtsyagaan nya.

Habang kumakain, she received a message from her mom asking if she can meet her tonight.

She replied yes because she doesn't want to disappoint her knowing that her mom would give her 300 million dollars.

Tinapos nya kaagad ang kinakain at nagsuot ng makapal na jacket bago muling pumasok sa kotse at nagmaneho.

When she arrived at the place her mom told her, her jaw dropped after realizing that her mom is there to look for her wedding dress.

"Mom, why do we need to choose for my wedding dress now, the wedding is next month, right?" Nakakunot ang noo nyang tanong.

Ganun ba talaga kaexcited ang mommy nya sa kasal? Pwede namang next week nila gawin ang pagpili sa kaniyang wedding dress. Bakit ngayon?

"What do you mean next month, honey? Your wedding is tomorrow," Celeste answered.

Nanlalaki ang matang muntik ng matumba mula sa kinatatayuan si Gabriella. She doesn't know if she heard what her mom said right.

"P-Po?! Teka, anong bukas na yung kasal ko, mommy? I just met Ryce 3 days ago and we haven't planned anything yet!"

Ni hindi na nga nya nakausap ang mapapangasawa pagkatapos ng pag-uusap nila sa loob ng kotse tatlong araw palang ang nakakalipas.

"I've been planning your marriage since 3 years ago, honey. I've been waiting for you to find someone that you would marry, at ngayon na pumayag kang magpakasal, better do it tomorrow or else you might change your mind again."

"You're making me change my mind right now, mom." she said seriously.

Humarap sakaniya ang mommy nya at pinagtaasan sya ng kilay.

"Then do you want to get married now, Gabriella Pauline?"

Her mom's voice is so serious. Merong pagbabanta sa tono ng boses nito. She doesn't know how to save herself so she only sighed.

"Does Ryce know about this?"

"Yes, I talked with him earlier. He said that he's busy, but he would make time to marry you tomorrow."

Gabriella almost rolled her eyes.

What really is the word, marriage? What does it mean? Why is her mom treating it like they're just planning for a picnic? Hindi sya makapaniwalang ito na pala ang huling gabing magiging single sya.

Gabriella excused herself for a moment and grabbed her phone out of her jacket's pocket before she started to type for a message.

Nang maisend ito, wala pang tatlong minuto ay agad syang nakatanggap ng reply.

[From: Q.

'What do you mean tomorrow, Gab?']

She's following her mom as she's typing for a reply.

[To: Q.

'I'm going to get married tomorrow, Quel.']

45 seconds later, Gabriella received another reply from her friend.

[From: Q.

'WTF']