Willingly Complicit

CHAPTER 4

Paggising ni Prim, alas-tres na ng hapon. Mabilis na siyang nag-ready. Nagsuot siya ng white maxi dress at beige na backless designer loafers, dahil garden ang theme ng party ng Mom niya. Kinuha na rin niya ang ratan sling bag niya atsaka inilagay don ang iilang pang-retouch niya sa light makeup niya.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, a smile crept onto her face. White clothes suited her perfectly, making her skin glow even more. It felt like a new radiance on her face.   

She drove herself to her parents' house anddecided to give Abi the day off, knowing they had a taping later. She sent Abi a quick text about her whereabouts, just in case of an emergency. Bago pa siya umalis ay tumawag pa itong si Abi at inaasar siya kay Ian Arriving at her parents' home, she felt an unusual happiness within.

Pagka-park niya sa garahe ng bahay ng parents niya, malayo pa siya ay rinig niya na ang mga bisita ng Mom niya. Mga ka-mahjong nito at kasamang mag-golf ng Dad niya.

“Primrose!” everyone turned their head in her direction nang sumigaw ang Mommy niya.

“You made it!” Primrose nodded and smiled. Of course, she will make it— she must make it to the party, kasi kung hindi, isang taon na naman siyang hindi kauusapin ng pamilya niya habang hinuhuthutan siya ng mga ito.

“Yeah. Happy birthday. Where’s Lola?” hindi sinagot ng Mom niya ang tanong niya at sumagot ng isa pang tanong.

“Who are you with?” tumingin ang Mom nito sa likuran, checking if her daughter is accompanied by someone.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but no, he’s not here.”

Of course, she's lying to her family na may boyfriend na siya, para hindi na siya guluhin ng mga ito sa pagpapakilala sa kung sino-sinong anak ng pamilyang kakilala nila.

“Kailan mo ba siya ipakikilala sa amin, Primrose? You’ve been dating this guy for a while now." sabi ng Mom niya na napakatigas ng English, dahil bago-bago lang ito sa pagkakaroon ng personal English tutor.

At the age of 26, Primrose never had ever thought she would ever find a man to love. She hates the idea of commitment– committing to a single relationship and being faithful only to one man alone.

However, her world somehow stopped when he saw a familiar man golfing with her father.

Hindi niya alam kung namamalikmata ba siya, kaya lumapit siya sa mga ito at nang makita na niya ang matamis ng lalaking kanina pa nasa isip niya, tumingin ito pabalik sa kaniya at bakas ang gulat sa mga mata nito.

With his unusual look, wearing a thick pair of eyeglasses, a much more shorter hair, a plaid polo na may tshirt sa loob--- ibang iba sa Ian na nakatabi niyang matulog sa condo nito nung umagang magising siya.

"Ian, why are you... here?"

"I---" hindi pa nakakasagot si Ian, sumabat na ang Mom nito.

"Do you know my daughter, Professor Gian?" her Mom asked. Saglit na natulala si Primrose sa mga mata ng lalaki.

“Professor Gian?” Primrose gave Ian a confused look.

“I’m a teacher…”

“So you’re working...”

“My amiga recommend Prof. Gian para sa language learning session ko, anak.” Tumango-tango naman si Prim.

Hindi niya alam kung bakit, paano, kelan, pero basta na lang siya nangulila sa presensya ng lalaki. Isa pa, it was a first na hindi siya mag-hesitate sa isang tao. Kaya hindi na nag-isip pa si Primrose at napangiti sa naisip niyang plano.

"Actually... he’s my boyfriend, Ma." nilapitan nito si Ian at sinalukbit ang kamay niya sa braso nito. Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Ian na napatingin kay Prim.

“Woah. Is this true, Prof?!” tuwang-tuwa ang Mommy ni Prim, dahil

“Uh… yes.”

In just a snap, nasa harap na sila ng hapag kainan habang kung ano-ano ang ikinukwento ng Mommy ni Prim kay Ian.

She hates this.

Her Mom acting like she had been there noong bata pa siya, when in fact, mag-isa lang siya.

Ngayon lang sila umaastang mahal na mahal nila ang nag-iisang anak nila, ngayong kaya na niyang mabuhay mag-isa.

After dinner—enduring an hour of patiently listening to her parents' conversations—Prim managed to bid them farewell for some alone time.

She had been itching to unravel the mystery behind Gian's name choice instead of Ian's. 

"Hey…" Prim called out habang naglalakad sila sa damuhan ng mini-golf range sa bahay ng kaniyang mga magulang.

"What’s with the Gian and Ian identity?" she asked, cutting straight to the chase, her curiosity piqued. 

"Uh, unfortunately, your boyfriend is Gian and not Ian. Do you want me to answer as Gian or Ian Letran?" Gian replied, prompting a chuckle from Primrose. 

"Are you serious?" Gian shrugged in response and laughed. 

"Ian is my twin. I don’t live with them," he revealed, leaving Primrose gaping in surprise.

 "No way!" 

"Yeah. Kilala mo naman si Ian. Hindi niya susuotin ang mga damit na sinusuot ko. Ayaw niya ng style ko," Gian explained, leaving Primrose speechless. 

"I'm sorry…" 

"No worries. I had a great time chatting with your family." 

"Well, I didn't," Prim admitted with a hint of remorse. 

"You're lucky to still have them around," Gian remarked seriously, taking a sip from the juice he was carrying. 

"Is it okay if I ask why you don't live with them?" Primrose asked. 

"Well, since my girlfriend asked," Gian quipped, eliciting laughter from both of them, "As much as I don't want to hate them, I do." 

Umupo sila sa bench

"I won't pry," Primrose assured. 

"Good, because I won't delve into that." Their conversation paused, a silent understanding settling between them.

Maya maya, biglang umilaw ang phone ni Prim, popping out Ian’s message in her notification.

“Are you close with Ian?” Gian asked nang makita niya ang pangalan ng kakambal niya sa phone ni Prim.

“We just happened to meet.” Sumandal si Prim sa bench at tinitigan ang message ni Ian.

Ian Letran: Everything’s okay now. I’m with Ms. Abi your friend and she’s taking me to your parents’ house.

“Do you like him? I heard from your Mom you never liked someone before.” He asked.

“Maybe… maybe I’m starting to like him…”

"You have no idea, huh?" Prim was left with a curious expression. 

"About?" Prim replied, raising an eyebrow in response. 

"About my twin," Gian added, Gian intrigue evident in his tone. 

"What about him?" Prim asked, feigning ignorance but with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

Maya maya pa, nakita na niya ang isang hindi pamilyar na sasakyan na papasok na ng garahe nila. Tumayo sila at akmang lalapitan n ani Prim nang bigla namang parang natataeng nagpumigil si Gian.

“Be careful, Prim. He’ll ruin you.”

That was the last thing Gian said before disappearing that one night in July 2022. Ni-hindi na rin siya sumipot sa tutoring session at nagrecommend ng bagong magtuturo sa Mom niya.

Prim looked at her phone’s lockscreen. It was her and Ian’s silhouette picture by the beach. It’s already March at magi-isang buwan na nang mabasa niya ang message ng kaibigan ni Ian na si Tristan ang message nito sa nobyo niya.

“You look gorgeous as always…” a man in gray tuxedo said.

Nasa harapan si Prim nang walang iba kung hindi si Miguel Eros Bueno, ang lalaking hanggang ngayon patay na patay parin sa kaniya and Miguel is willing to help Prim no matter what, when, and how.