Chapter 3

"No, I want Lillianna and only Lillianna. Hindi, hindi siya magiging si Lillianna, at hindi, hindi ka magiging si Lillianna. I want her to be my wife, not you, and mostly not your daughter."

Paulit-ulit kong naririnig ang mga katagang binitawan ni Alejandro. He had a choice. Bakit ako? Is it because of guilt? Do I need to remind him that he shouldn't feel any guilt because it's just a one-night stand?

After that day, I couldn't reach Tita Janet's cell. I want to ask her if there's something wrong between her and Alejandro. Base sa sagutan nila kahapon ay may naamoy akong kakaiba. Alejandro's words are so firm na tila may ipinapahiwatig.

"Did Tita Janet mention anything to you? Like, where is she? " Narinig ko ang boses ng batang babae sa linya ni Janelle. Itinikom ko ang bibig ko.

"Why? Hindi nagtetext or chat si Mommy sa akin. Is something wrong?" I sigh, their conversation is really bothering me.

"No, I just want to ask her something." Iba-baba ko na sana ang linya nang muli kong marinig ang boses ng batang babae.

"Mommy!" Pag tawag nito kay Janelle. Narinig ko ang pagtawa ni Janelle.

"I hope you two are doing okay." Hindi ko na siya hinintay pa na magsalita at agad ko nang ibinaba ang linya.

Sinipat ko ang mga papeles na nakatambak sa lamesa ko, heto na naman tayo. Malamang ay patuloy pa akong may matatanggap na papeles hanggat hindi ako nakapagdesisyon sa iniaalok ni Alejandro.

I decided to ditch work for a day, and I invited Yukia na lumabas para magkape. I need to do some refreshing.

"What do you think?" Hingi ko sa opinyon ni Yukia tungkol sa inaalok ni Alejandro.

"No, you don't get to ask my opinion. You, what do you think? Buhay mo at ng kumpanya niyo ang nakasalalay sa magiging desisyon mo. I know how hard it is for you to decide, but think thoroughly." The clouds in my mind got swayed.

Tama naman si Yukia, buhay ko at ng kumpanya ang nakasalalay sa magiging desisyon ko. I think being about me is enough, I have to be selfless now if I want our company to survive and if I don't want Dad's sacrifices to go to waste.

"You already made a mistake once. Don't do it again." I touched my silver bracelet that has a name engraved on it.

We finished our coffee and decided to just stroll in the mall for a while. While we were walking, a bunch of men were surrounding one of the mall's expensive clothing brands.

That's our brand. Kahit dito sa mall na ito ay may branch kami. Kalat ang branch namin kaya labis na nakakapagtaka kung saan napupunta ang kita ng mga naibebenta.

Nagtinginan kami ni Yukia at nagpasyang sumilip sa loob. It's then that I realize that that's not just a bunch of men. Those are Alejandro's bodyguards surrounding our shop.

Nilibot ko ang loob ng shop at kapansin-pansin na walang tao sa loob, natatanging mga staff lang. Kung ganon, asan ang hari ng mga ito?

The fitting room's curtain swung open and revealed Alejandro's fine figure.

Agad akong nag-iwas ng tingin bago pa magtama ang paningin namin.

"You're here." Napaatras ako nang magsimula siyang maglakad patungo sa direksyon ko.

"I'm with Yukia. I-I didn't know that you're here." He chuckled like I said something funny.

"I'm glad I saw you today. " I heard Yukia faked a cough. Sumenyas siya sa akin na lalabas siya ng shop, para siguro ay bigyan kami ng pagkakataon ni Alejandro na mag-usap.

Sumagi sa isip ko ang pinag-usapan namin ni Yukia. Gusto ko sana ay makausap siya sa mismong opisina niya, but I think this will do.

"Hmm?" Tila napansin niya na may gusto akong sabihin, dahilan para mas lalo siyang lumapit sa akin. I can smell his manly perfume.

"About the deal, Puma-payag na ako." I think I caught him off guard, I saw how he became stiff. He's not even breathing.

"Huy." I poke his chest, checking if he's still okay. Napa-atras naman ako nang bigla siyang gumalaw. He bit his lower lip and tilted his head while his eyes were quenching.

Para bang pinag-aaralan niya ang mukha ko. Is he thinking if I'm kidding?

"You're a--"

"I'm not kidding, I'm not joking around telling people that I'll agree to marry them. This isn't just about me. This is about my father's sacrifices and for our company. Hindi ko kakayanin na mawalan ng trabaho at mahirapan ang mga trabahador namin," sunod-sunod na saad ko na hindi siya binigyan ng pagkakataon para makapagsalita.

I can feel my throat tightening as my vision starts to blur because of the tears that I've been holding out.

"I know that it's easy for you to play this kind of game because of your wealth, but for me it's not easy. I'm stuck in the middle where I want to continue what my father has started and, at the same time, keep my dignity as a woman!" This time my tears poured like rain rushing down through my cheeks.

"This isn't easy for me." Patuloy ang pagpiling ko sa ulo sinusubukan na pakalmahin ang sarili. I'm not supposed to cry in front of him, he'll think that I am weak, and he'll just take that for granted!.

"I'm sorry, I'll promise you wont regret your decision. I'll do everything for you, Even if it means destroying the world." Tuluyan akong napahikbi sa mga salitang binitawan niya.

Siraulo.

Sa kabila ng pag-iyak ko ay naalala ko na ngayon magiging asawa na niya ako. Papaano ang magiging set-up ng honeymoon namin?

Wala ako sa sariling napatigil sa pag-iyak at iniangat ang tingin kay Alejandro na ngayon ay sobrang lapit na sa akin.

Dumako ang tingin ko sa kanyang mga mata na tila may gustong sabihin. Isang memorya nanaman ang dumaan sa isip ko.

Isang memorya ng gabi na kung saan ang mga mata niya ay hindi tulad nito, kundi kumikinang at nagsusumamo.