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Napapikit ako nang matigil si Mommy at humagulhol, nabitawan ko siya at sinuklay ang sarili kong buhok gamit ang aking nanginginig na mga kamay."Mom... Get to the point of it!"Ngayon ko lang napagtanto na nanginginig na ang buong katawan ni Mommy. Doon ako naawa, pero naghalo-halo na ang emosyon ko at hindi ko na alam kung sino ang una kong aalahanin."I-It exploded. Th-they made it to the water, but they're barely... living," she said.CHAPTER 35Napapikit ako nang matigil si Mommy at humagulhol, nabitawan ko siya at sinuklay ang sarili kong buhok gamit ang aking nanginginig na mga kamay."Mom... Get to the point of it!"Ngayon ko lang napagtanto na nanginginig na ang buong katawan ni Mommy. Doon ako naawa, pero naghalo-halo na ang emosyon ko at hindi ko na alam kung sino ang una kong aalahanin."I-It exploded. Th-they made it to the water, but they're barely... living," she said.It's obvious that they're in critical condition, but hearing it from my Mom's mouth made my heart shattered already."What?""P-Pati si Leyla, n-nadamay... Kritikal ang lagay ng tatlo, T-Treve..."Halos ngayon ko lang naranasan ang mamanhid ang sariling katawan. Napaupo ako sa sahig at nanlabo na ang aking mata dahil sa luha. Mom dropped down beside me and wrapped her arms around me, still crying, still shaking."T-Treve... W-What do we do?"Th
CHAPTER 34TREVE RONALD NIEVRESHaving an imperfect family is something I learned to accept a long time ago. At some point, I stopped waiting for things to fix themselves on their own. I figured that if nobody was going to carve out happiness for me, then I might as well do it myself, by loving someone with everything I had, and fighting for it every single day.Walang mangyayari kung hihintayin ko ang taong hindi na ako nakikita na magmamahal sa akin."Don't tell me you didn't cheat on me!"Boses agad ng aking ina ang aking naririnig. Nakita ko ang mga kasambahay na nakayuko at nakaraya lamang sa sala. I stayed beside the doorframe and listened to the sharp, ugly exchange happening just a few feet away."Don't try to flip off the table, Meralda!""You don't have time for me, Gilbert!" Mom's voice cracked like glass. "You're always buried in your work, and I know that old fire of yours never went away! Akala mo hindi ko
CHAPTER 33The fuck that I care... Nagalit lang ako kasi akala ko buhay pa si Ma'am Solene, tapos inaakit ko si Sir Eve. We've fucked so many times, and I thought it's just so right that he's really a loner here.I had sex with a man who was still grieving someone. I hadn't known that going in. But I know it now. And what I thought of as a decision made on my own terms, for my own reasons, was starting to look less clean. Mas lalo kong pinuputikan ang sarili ko sa tuwing naiisip ko ang nangyari sa aming dalawa at sa nalaman ko ngayon.But maybe I had just been in another version of Lyla. Inakit ko naman talaga si Sir Eve. Para sa pera. I was blinded without knowing how that space had been shaped or who had been in it before.I closed my eyes.I had already made up my mind, though.But I think... Ma'am Leyla has feelings toward him, and Sir Eve doesn't. Ayaw kong masira iyon nang dahil lang sa akin.Kaya napagdesisyunan k
CHAPTER 32Sir Eve was going to get married. He had a fiancee, and she has a name. Solene. and in that picture he looked like a completely different version of himself... He looks happy in that picture. Hindi ko pa nakikita na ganoon siya ngumiti sa loob ng ilang buwan kong pamamalagi rito."I rented a yacht from Treve's father," Ma'am Leyla continued. "Both me and Solene were on it. Treve's father was the one driving."Sir Eve has a fiancee, and now I realized what I did wrong... I let my guard off and made some mistakes of fucking him... But why didn't he say it back then?"We were celebrating Treve's proposal when the yacht malfunctioned," she said. "We ended up in the water. And then it exploded."Nalaglag ang panga ko at nilingon si Ma'am Leyla"Ma'am Leyla..."Exploded? Where's Solene, then? Why don't the maids here know about her?natawa si Ma'am Solene at tumayo. Hinawi na niya ang kurtina ang tinakpan a
CHAPTER 31Why should I listen to him anyway?Okay, yes, he's my employer and I'm his employee. I understood that from the very beginning. But I still have my own sense of decency, and I know where to put it. It isn't a dillema for me, mas papanigan ko pa rin si Ma'am Leyla kung sakali! Kinakawawa siya kanina ni Sir Eve!He's so unreasonable!"Sasama ako sa inyo, Kuya Ken."Nagulat si Kuya Ken habang tinutulungan ko siyang ilagay sa likod ng van ang mga bagahe namin."Michelle, sabi ni Sir ay maiwan ka rito! Baka pagalitan niya ako kung sakali!"I scoffed. Nilingon ko si Ma'am Leyla na ngayon ay nakaupo sa wooden chair habang may katabing tissue. Kanina pa siya malungkot at hindi kumikibo. The energy around her was heavy. I exhaled."Bakit ka naman niya papagalitan? Desisyon ko naman ito!" pagalit ko pang sinabi.Umiiling si Kuya Ken at nilagay muna ang malaking box sa van bago nakapamaywang na harapin
CHAPTER 30Nasa al fresco dining area na kami nang maabutan ko na naghahanda na rin ang iba sa paglalagay ng pagkain, pinggan at iba pang gagamitin sa almusal.They saw me and some of them ran over to me."Hindi namin alam na graduate ka pala sa college, Michelle!" si Ate Hilda!"Sorry, Michelle," si Manang Flory. "Pinagbawalan pa kita no'n na painumin si Sir Eve no'ng nagkasakit siya.""Nagkasakit ka, Treve?!" eksaheradang sinabi ni Ma'am Leyla. "Nagpatingin ka ba sa doctor?! Why does the maid make you--""It's just a fever, Leyla. Don't overact and eat your food," si Sir Eve na hindi ko man lang napansin na nakasunod pala sa akin.Ma'am Leyla went quiet, but her jaw tightened.I put the fried rice and scratched my forehead."Naku!" I laughed. "Ang mabuti pa, mag-exchange gift na tayong lahat habang kumakain! Huwag na ninyong isipin ang pagiging nursing at puwede naman iyong ipagpaliban..."Ni







