KABANATA 43

Nagbihis siya at dinampot ang car key sa ibabaw ng bedside table bago lumabas ng bahay. He went to his other house, which was smaller and cozier. That was where he lived when he returned to the Philippines when he was twenty-four. And for the past three years, he often came there. 

Iyon din ang bahay na tinirhan ni Malcolm kasama si Tessa. They lived together for over a year and she had a lot of memories in that house, but it can't compare to Magenta's. Ni hindi niya gaanong naiisip ang dating fiancée, he had buried the memories he had with her. 

He first bumped into Tessa inside a restaurant. Unexpectedly, they met again inside a bar that night. Mag-isa siyang umiinom noon at nag-iisip kung ano ang gagawin niya ngayong nakabalik na sa bansang sinilangan nang lapitan siya ni Tessa nang makilala siya nito. Tessa was older than him but she was young despite her age, she was beautiful and he knew how to make a man wrapped around her fingers.