Marriage of Convenience

"So what are you trying to say?" He asked as he stared down at me, trying to read what's running in my head.I can't blame him. Kung ako man ang nasa posisyon niya ay paniguradong maguguluhan din ako. Who would expect a woman would suddenly approach to man and tries to make an unexpected deal. Even I surprised myself. "I'm saying to make a ruse," I paused. "Isipin mo. If we pretend that we are in love and get married, I could finally be free from my aunt, and you will not disappoint your Mom before she... you know what I mean.""That's absurd. We couldn't pretend to love," He argued."We can! If we just fake everything then it wouldn't be so hard. No feelings attached.""Paano natin 'yan masasabi? How can we say that feelings would never be involved?" He asked."Pagkatapos nating magpakasal, we'll still do the charades. We'll just wait for a few months or years and then we'll get divorce," I replied."Ayoko," He said firmly.I rolled my eyes. Akala ko madali lang kumbinsihin ang isan

"It depends. Are you here for it?" He asked back.I squinted my eyes. That's a bit rude, answering my question with another question. Napangiti naLang ako at yumuko saglit. I'm not sure if he's hitting on me or just beating the bush. "Bakit, Mr. Laurier? Are you interested in me?" I asked before meeting his eyes.He chuckled. "I'm not the type who falls in love at first sight.""That's a rude way of saying I'm unattractive," Taas-kilay kong sabi sa kanya."I didn't say that!" He defended himself. "Ikaw? Unattractive? Hindi mo ba nakita ang mga lalakeng nakapila sa'yo?"Nilingon niya yung mga lalaki sa party. Sinundan ko yung tingin niya at doon ko nakita na sa akin pala nakatingin ang karamahiman. May it be men or the women, I'm not really sure if they are looking at me or Lev. Basta nasa amin yung mga mata nila."I would say the same to you. Looks like every girl is interested in asking you for a dance," Turo ko sa mga babae."Girls wouldn't ask me. That would look improper and unla

I parked the car outside the house. Napabuntong-hininga ako. Alam kong komplikado ang gagawin namin pero we don't have a choice. Sumang-ayon na si Lev sa plano ko. He and I will start to act as if we are each other's type. We will take it slow kasi baka magtaka sila na ang bilis naman naming mahulog sa isa't-isa. That's not really convincing.Hindi ko din mapigilan ang makaramdam ng ease. Kasi nga okay na si Lev tungkol dito. Although alam ko naman na labag sa kalooban niya. But he sees it as an opportunity knocking on his door so he grabbed it but with hesitations. Hindi ko siya masisisi. Kahit nga ako ay nakakaramdam ng kaba. Lumabas na ako ng sasakyan at naglakad papasok sa bahay. Napatingin ako sa kabuuan nito. Konting kembot nalang ay makakaalis na din ako dito. I smiled at the thought. Inabot ko yung siradora para pagbuksan ang sarili."Surprise!" May biglang sumigaw.Bumilog ang aking mga mata nang makita kung sino ito. Her hair is brown and curly. Mamahalin din yung suot niya

KALI'S POV"Bakit ang bait mo?" He asked me as I assist him going up to his condo unit."Do I need a reason to be kind?" Iling ko. Konti nalang mararating na namin yung unit niya. I knew that I wouldn't let him be in that party, drunk. Baka ano pa ang gagawin niya. Let's just say I'm a little interested in him. He told me kasi tungkol sa mom niya and I felt sympathy towards him. It must have been so hard for him. Nagtataka nga ako kung bakit nasa party siya at hindi niya kasama Mommy niya. But then again, maybe he wants to divert his attention to something else. However, he ended up drunk, thinking the same problem over and over again."I just didn't expect this from you," He chuckled. "Girls like me still exists," I replied and we both stopped in front of his door. "Ano yung pin?"Kumalas siya sa hawak ko at pagewang-gewang na lumapit sa pintuan. He started pressing the numbers which I quickly looked away. I know privacy and I don't want to take advantage of him being drunk. I have

It's been ten minutes past one and Lev is not here yet. Sa aming dalawa, siya talaga ang palaging hinihintay. I should be mad about his frequent tardiness but it would always remind me that he have other problems to face as well. Gaya nung nakaraan, I took consideration of the fact that he may be taking care of his mother."Wala pa ba ang batang Laurier?" My Aunt asked.May picnic nga talaga at kadalasang nandito ay yung mga kasali sa Marriage Season. May tent ang Dorchner kung saan may mesa at upuan sa ilalim nito. We also brought our van para sa ibang kakailanganin. We brought our cook para magluto sa aming kakainin. Gusto ko sanang simple lang. Okay lang naman din sa akin na ako ang magluluto. But our Aunt insisted to be grand. Ano na lang daw sasabihin ng iba kapag nakita nilang simple lang yung picnic namin. They would think that we couldn't afford such luxury. Na namumulubi na kami."Wala pa, Auntie. He must be attending his Mom," Sagot ko.Napailing siya. "Poor boy. It must hav