Nanigas ako sa kinatatayuan ko. Pakiramdam ko ay umakyat lahat ng dugo sa ulo ko. How dare him to call me Mrs. Gray?“I'm not Mrs. Gray.”“You are,” he said coldly. “My name is Tianna Sloane Zacharias David. Saang parte roon ang Gray?” “Pagbaliktarin mo man ang mundo, mag-asawa pa rin tayo.”Umirap ako sa hangin. “Sa papel.”Nang bumukas ang elevator ay nagmamadali akong lumabas at ni hindi ko man lang siya nilingon. “Good morning, Mrs. Gray,” Aurora greeted me.I smiled. “Hi! Nice to see you again.”I'm glad to see familiar faces here. Grabe, sobrang nakaka-nostalgic sa feeling.Her gaze shifted on my back. “Good morning, Sir.”Nang lingunin ko ito ay si Lev na naman pala.He nodded. “Mrs. Gray, may appointment po pala kayo kay sir ngayon, ‘no? Pwede na po kayong pumasok.”“Thanks.”Pagkapasok ko pa lang ng opisina ni Lev ay parang gusto ko na agad lumabas. Sobrang lamig nang tingin niya sa akin. “Wala ka bang planong umupo, Mrs. Gray?”Umirap ako. “Ms. David,” mariin kong sabi.
“Mimi, hungry,” my son said.“Wait, baby. Your Ninang Heidi is coming to pick us up.”“Ninang?” His eyes widened.I smiled. “Yes.”“Yehey! I'm gonna meet Ninang Heidi in person now?”Tumango ako.He was rarely see anyone, aside me, his yaya and Vencio kaya sobrang excited niya. Makilala ng bago. He knew Heidi but he only met her through video calls.It's my fault. Itinago ko ang anak ko sa lahat at sobrang nakokonsensya ako ngunit wala akong choice. Gusto kong protektahan ang anak ko.He's smiling from ear to ear when he sees Heidi get out of her car.“Ninang!” He ran towards her.“Nigel!”I smiled when Heidi carried him.Heidi and I reconnected 2 years ago when we accidentally saw each other in the market. Before she left, we exchanged contacts.I'm so happy that I did. May naging kasama ako sa mga oras na kailangan ko ng kaibigan. Oo, nandyan sa tabi ko si Vencio pero ramdam ko pa rin ang pagkailang sa kanya dahil sa naging pag-amin niya.Nagkaayos na kami ngunit ang palagi niya lan
“Good morning, everyone,” Zenia greeted us, the COO of the company. “As you all know, our company was building a hotel in the other country” “There are some issues in the construction of our hotel. It was minor issue at first due to delay of materials but our supplier suddenly declared bankruptcy which resulted to totally delay in the construction,” pagpapatuloy ni Vencio.Umugong ang bulong-bulungan ngunit agad rin iyong naputol nang magsalitang muli si Vencio.“So, we decided to send a representative to coordinate with the new supplier that we’ve eyeing for. They are influential and famous in the whole world so it will be beneficial if we're gonna be business partners.”“To be fair to everyone. We will choose the representative by voting.”“But, sir. All of us here are head in our respective department. Who would replace the representative?” the HR manager asked.“We already thought that. The person who will temporary handle the task that the head left will be the assistant of the
Shemay! Bakit may paganito? I only see him as my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less.Para akong napipi. Marami akong gustong sabihin ngunit hindi ko magawang makabuo ng mga salita. Hindi ko alam kung paano ko maipapaliwanag sa kanya sa paraang hindi siya masasaktan….“Tia, please. Don't reject me, immediately. Give me a chance to prove my love for you.”Umiling ako. “Hindi–”“Dahil ba sa ginawa ni mama sa pamilya niyo? Nanantiyang tanong ni Vencio.“Of course not! Hindi mo kasalanan ang kasalanan ng ina mo. Everything that happened back then was purely their fault. Baka hindi pagmamahal ang nararamdaman mo sa akin, Vencio. Baka nga ay gusto mo lang bumawi sa akin.”“No… I really liked you even before my mom and your dad had an affair which I admit contributed to my eagerness to help you but a big part of it is because I love you.”“Hindi mo kailangan gawin iyon, Vencio. Sana’y huwag mong sisihin ang sarili mo sa mga nangyari noon. Just save your love for the right woman for you.”
W-what? Tama ba ang narinig ko? Buntis ako?Nagkatinginan kami ni Vencio, habang nakaawang bibig niya, tila hindi makapaniwala sa narinig.Buntis ako?“A-are you sure?” Vencio unbelievably asked.Tumango ang doctor.“We run a blood test so the result was 100% sure.” Wala sa sariling napahaplos ako sa tiyan ko. May baby na kami ni Lev. Magiging mommy na ako…. It's so overwhelming feeling. I don't know if I should be happy or sad… ngayon na hiwalay na kami ng ama ng anak ko.Halo-halong emosyon ang naghahari sa puso ko nang marinig ko ang paulit-ulit na pagtawag sa akin ni Vencio.“Bakit?”“The doctor is talking to you.”Tumingin ako sa doctor. “Sorry, what it is?”“Mrs. Gray. You must be check by OB-GYNE as soon as possible. By looking at your belly, it looks like your in your 2nd trimester.”Napakurap ako. “Oh my goodness! I faced extreme emotional challenges lately and I even flew here. Will it affect my baby?” “It might be so I suggest that you must visit an OB-GYNE.”“Thank you.
Halos wala ng matira sa iniinom kong tubig sa labis na pagkauhaw. “Careful, Tia.”Lumingon ako kay Vencio. “Sorry, napagod lang ako sa pagtakbo,” hinihingal na sabi ko.“Ano ba kasing nangyari? Akala ko ba pupunta ka ng school para mag-apply ng trabaho?”“Uhm—” Naging malikot ang mga mata ko, hindi matukoy kung ano ang sasabihin.“Tia, c’mon. Tell me. Did something happened? How can I help you if I don't even know what's wrong?” Tumayo si Vencio mula sa pagkakaupo niya sa dining chair at lumapit sa akin.“Nakita ko s-siya,” garalgal ang tinig ko at nag-iwas ako ng tingin.“Who?” Nakakunot ang noo na tanong ni Vencio. “My husband.”“What? Kasal ka na?”Tumango ako. “Oo,” mahinahg sagot ko.Tila nahulog ang balikat ni Vencio. Mahabang katahimikan ang naghari bago siya muling nagsalita. “What happened to the both of you then? Why are you avoiding him?”I can feel his confusion and…sadness?“You know, Tia. Halos ilang linggo na tayong magkasama pero wala pa rin akong ideya kung ano ba