CHAPTER 2

● Yazmin

"NANDITO na pala sila..." anunsyo ni Mrs. Montemayor.

Dumapo ang aking tingin sa dalawang lalaking papalapit sa akin. Both of them are looking stern and intimidating. Kasing tangkad lang ang dalawa. Hindi pa siguro dumating ang lalaking sinasabi nila.

"Good evening," bati noong lalaking nauna.

"This is him, Elias?" gulat na sabi ni Dad.

Umiling si Mr. Montemayor. "This is my eldest son, Evan. And this is Evron, the one I told you about."

I frowned a bit. So meaning, hindi pa dumating ang mapapangasawa ko? Kailan ba siya darating?

"Hija," it was Mrs. Montemayor at tumayo na patungo sa akin. "Come here,"

Napatayo na rin ako. My eyes drifted to the man and he nodded shortly at me before sitting on the seat beside Mrs. Montemayor's. Umawang ang aking labi nang pinaharap ako ni Mrs. Montemayor sa isa niyang anak na kalmadong nakatingin sa akin.

"Anak, she's the girl..." natutuwa niyang sabi.

I heard Darcy dramatically gasped. Agad siyang sinita ni Daddy. Hindi napawi ang aking tingin sa matangkad na lalaking kaharap ko ngayon.

"Uh, Ma'am... He is the man I'm meeting?" paninigurado ko.

Tumango siya. "You can both talk over there privately. If you like him even a bit, hija. We will register your marriage,"

Umawang ang aking labi.

Kumakalabog ang aking puso. Nasa momentum na ako ngunit wala akong masabi. I cleared my throat briefly. He is not speaking at all.

I motioned the separated two-seater table beside the railings.

Mabuti naman at naka-coat ako dahil maginaw na ang parteng iyon dahil sa may balkonahe na.

"We should..." I trailed off and started walking out towards the table.

Hindi ako umupo at bumaling lamang sa kanya na huminto na rin. Nakatitig ako sa lalaking nasa aking harapan. How can this man be dumb? He is well-made! I mean well-toned body, handsome, thick brows. My skin is lighter than his. How can he be a dummy when he is looking perfectly fine. Nakahoodies siya na kulay dark brown at white pajama pants.

Inabot niya sa akin ang kanyang kamay. "You're Yazmin?"

Tumango ako at binigay ang kamay sa kanya. "You are?"

"Evron,"

I nodded shortly. I am not convinced that he is a dummy until he started pouting at me.

"You want to sit?"

Umiling siya kaya tumango ulit ako at humakbang palikod hanggang naramdaman ko ang railing sa likod ko. Nananatili ang kanyang mga mata sa akin.

"You can speak freely to me," marahan kong sabi.

"I want to marry you."

Namilog ang mata ko sa narinig. Hindi ko iyon inaasahan na sasabihin niya. I mean he is a dummy, right? So he must not be that serious about this arrangement.

"Really? Do you know what that means?" kunot noo kong tanong. "My family wants me to marry you so your family business could help mine. I'm sure your family is rich and doesn't need help from ours,"

Dahan dahan siyang ngumiti at marahan akong hinila papalapit sa kanya. He pursed his plum lips. Kung ibang lalaki pa ito, naitulak ko na pero hindi ko magawa sa kanya. I feel so ease with him and something inside me wants to take the risk.

"I'll be your husband. I'll take care of you for eternity." inosente niyang sabi.

"Talaga?" I asked in amusement.

He smiled warmly and tilted his head a bit to the right. "I like you, Yazmin."

The jump of my heart made me chuckle. "Already?"

He nodded fast. Napahalakhak ako at umiiling. "There's more beautiful girls around here, Evron. You can chose any of them,"

"Ikaw ang gusto ko." agap niya.

How that reply made me giggle inwardly is a confusing matter. I don't know how he did it or what's wrong with me but I got butterflies upon hearing this dummy's words.

"Are you sure you're a dummy?"

Nagulat ako nang bigla niya akong niyakap ng mahigpit. Pumasa-ere ang kamay ko. He renewed the hug and crouched more.

"Evron..." I called.

Umangat ang tingin niya sa akin. He gave me that puppy look that almost made me gone nosebleed.

"You don't want to marry me?"

Oh God. Is he really a dummy? He is so hot and handsome for God's sake! But his actions says that he is one clingy childish man. Nagbuntonghininga ako at ngumuso ng bahagya. Marry him? It kinda feels like I am adopting a cute child.

"Fine," I mumbled.

Lumapad ang ngiti niya. "Will you marry me?"

Humalakhak ako. My heart just melted by this grown-up kid.

"Yes,"

Niyakap niya ulit ako ng mahigpit. I didn't expect our first encounter would be this warm. Umangat ang aking kamay sa kanyang likod. His body totally covered me from the restaurant view.

"You're small..." he muttered softly.

Hindi ko maalala kung kailan ko huling naramdaman ang mainit na yakap. Other than Tatay and Nanay, Evron's warm.

Nakita ko ang tingin nila sa amin mula roon sa loob. Ngumuso ako nang uminit ang aking pisngi at unti unting bumitaw kay Evron. He stared at me confused, not wanting to break the hug but I nudge my head to our family over there.

"Let's go..." mahina kong sabi.

Nauna akong naglakad pabalik sa aming lamesa. Evron followed me closely.

The main courses are already served in our table. Now I'm getting hungry. Hindi ko naubos ang pagkain kaninang tanghali, chicken lang ang kinain ko kaya siguro kumakatok na ang aking tiyan.

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●To be continue