CHAPTER 5

Amelia Sinclair

"Time's up ka na?" tanong ko sa lalaking nakatayo sa tabi ko nang mapansin ang pagsulyap niya sa kanyang orasan.

"Yeah."

Bahagyang bumagsak ang balikat ko sa narinig. Which is weird because I don't even know this man. Dapat nga ay matuwa ako na aalis na siya para maiwan na ako dito mag-isa.

"But I kind of don't want to leave yet."

I watched him lick his lower lip as though he were thinking about something. My eyes betrayed me, following the movement for half a second before I quickly looked away.

"If I go back there and tell them it didn't work out, they're just going to drag me around to find me another woman."

He glanced toward the other side of the club. Sinundan ko ang direksiyon ng tingin niya at nakita ko ang mga kaibigan niya na tila dalawang uwak na nakamasid sa amin mula sa malayo.

I almost laughed.

"They really are watching us."

He gave a small nod.

"Would you mind if I bother you some more? In return, I'm sure walang mangungulit sa'yo na ibang lalaki dahil may kasama ka na."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Mukhang hindi ka naman pala ganoon ka-desperado humanap ng asawa, eh."

I was teasing him, but he didn't seem offended. Instead, he simply looked at me with that unreadable expression of his.

Wow. He was really, ridiculously handsome.

Tila inukit siya mula sa bato dahil sa kanyang matalas na panga, tuwid na ilong, at sa medyo magulo-gulong niyang buhok. Mukhang malapad din ang katawan niya sa ilalim ng suot niyang damit. He was also really tall. Kung nakatayo lang din ako katulad niya, baka hanggang baba niya lang ang abot ko. There was something intimidating about him, too. Something cold and distant in the way he carried himself that somehow only made him more attractive.

Hindi ako mahilig humanga sa mga lalaki. Para saan pa? Hindi rin naman ako papasok sa isang relasyon. I had more important things to worry about than getting distracted by men. Pero ang lalaking tulad niya ay imposibleng hindi pansinin at hangaan.

His lips twitched when he noticed that I was staring again.

Oh, shit.

I quickly looked away and took another sip of my drink, letting the sweet, fruity taste linger on my tongue.

"Grabe," patay malisya kong saad habang nakatingin sa inumin. "Ang sarap pala nito? Parang juice lang."

"I'm desperate," I heard him say. "But I don't think this club thing is going to work."

He watched me for a moment before finally sitting beside me. Mukhang nangalay na rin kakakatayo.

Buti naman. Sumasakit na rin ang leeg ko kakatingala sa kanya, eh.

"Is this your first time drinking that?"

Marahan akong tumango. "Wala kasi akong pera. Sayang lang kung papambili ng alak. Pero nakatikim na ako ng Emperador at Red Horse."

Bahagyang kumunot ang noo niya.

Mukhang hindi siya pamilyar sa mga alak na binanggit ko. Gets naman. Mukha kasing mamahalin ang taste niya. Relos pa lang niya, parang sapat na para ipambayad sa utang namin nang ilang buwan.

"I can buy you another one if you want," he offered.

Biglang nagliwanag ang mga mata ko. Sino bang hindi matutuwa sa libre?

"Talaga?" I asked, unable to hide my excitement. "Libre 'yan, ha. Walang kapalit?"

He let out a quiet laugh and nodded.

"Yeah. Sure. My thanks for letting me stay."

Tinawag niya ang bartender at umorder ng panibagong baso para sa akin.

"But be careful, though. It might taste like nothing, pero nakakalasing din 'yan."

He reached for his glass and took another small sip of his whiskey as he leaned back against the counter. Umabot sa ilong ko ang mamahaling pabango niya.

I stared at him for a second. Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong nakaramdam ng kakaibang kaba sa dibdib ko. Maybe it was the alcohol.

It was definitely the alcohol.

"Thank you," I said when my new drink arrived. "Amelia pala..."

I took a sip, then glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Hindi ko alam kung bakit sinabi ko sa kanya ang totoong pangalan ko kung pwede namang hindi.

"Pangalan ko... Amelia."

I repeated when he didn't move. He gave me a small nod, a small smirk forming on his lips.

"Amelia..."

Hearing my name in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

"What about you? Why are you here?"

Bumaba ang tingin ko sa aking hita, kung saan nakapatong ang envelope na dala-dala ko. Nakaramdam ako ng pagbabara sa lalamunan. Biglang bumalik sa alaala ko kung bakit nga ba ako nandito.

"Mag-apply sana ako dito. Kailangan ko ng trabaho, eh," nagkibit ako ng balikat. "Actually, dito nagtatrabaho ang kaibigan ko. Ang sabi niya ay hintayin ko raw siya dito at kakausapin muna niya ang manager."

"How long are you planning to wait here?"

"Hindi ko alam... Pag hindi naman agad bumalik ang kaibigan ko, pwede naman akong mauna na."

Napatingin ako sa kanya. He was also looking at me, his expression unreadable. I'm glad to see that there was no judgment in his eyes.

"Do you not have a job?"

"Mayroon naman. Kaso kulang pa rin."

"Why?"

Saglit akong napaisip kung dapat ko bang sagutin ang tanong niya o hindi. May malaking chance na hindi niya maintindihan ang pinagdadaanan ko dahil mayaman siya. But well, he already shared something about himself. Maybe there's no harm in sharing mine.

Inubos ko ang natitirang alak sa baso ko at inilapag iyon sa counter sa pagitan namin. Tinitigan ko siya sa mata. He simply nodded and ordered another one for me.

"Patay na rin tatay ko," saad ko.

Walang nagbago sa ekspresyon niya. Tinitigan niya lang ako pabalik, waiting for me to continue.

"After he died, I found out he left us with a lot of debt. Malaki. Sobrang laki." I gave a humorless laugh. "Hindi ko alam kung paano namin babayaran. Wala kaming ipon. Wala ring ibang tutulong sa amin. Sabihin mo nang mataas pride ko, pero ayaw ko rin mangutang. Doon na nga kami nalubog, eh."

Agad kong kinuha ang bagong baso na kalalapag lang ng bartender sa counter at s******p doon.

"Looks like we have something in common. Our fathers are both dead. And, apparently, they both sucked," he said with a straight face.

Napatawa ako. Hindi ko alam kung dapat ba akong ma-offend o matawa sa sinabi niya, pero somehow, nakakatawa talaga.

Kinuha niya ang baso niya at inilapit sa akin. Inilapit ko rin ang baso ko at pinagbangga iyon. Sabay kaming uminom pagkatapos.

"That's why I need a job. Any job. Basta malaki ang sahod. Basta may mapagkukunan kami ng pambayad."

Habang umiinom siya, bigla siyang natigilan. He was staring at me, his eyes widening slightly.

Tila may tornilyo na biglang gumalaw sa loob ng ulo niya. Parang may ideyang unti-unting nabuo sa utak niya at ngayon lang niya napagtanto.

Nangunot ang noo ko nang bigla siyang umayos ng upo. Ang buong katawan niya ay nakaharap na sa akin.

"Are you single? Like, no boyfriend or husband?"

I slowly nodded.

"You don't know who I am, right?" he asked.

Muli akong tumango.

"You don't have any connection with my family?"

Again, I nodded. Kasi malamang, siya nga hindi ko kilala, pamilya niya pa kaya.

"You have debts to pay. I have money." Tinuro niya ako, bago tinuro ang sarili niya. "And I need a wife to claim my company. You're a woman."

Malapad siyang napangisi, as if he had just figured out the perfect solution to both our problems. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me.

"This is perfect."

Umawang ang labi ko. Unti-unti kong naiintindihan kung saan ito patungo.

Oh, no.

Surely, he wasn't thinking what I thought he was thinking.

He leaned closer, his eyes fixed on mine.

"Marry me."

"Gago?"

Agad na nanlaki ang mga mata ko at umatras ako palayo sa mukha niya.

"Pakasalan mo ako. Be my wife," he repeated, leaning even closer. "I'm rich as fuck. Lalo na kapag opisyal na napunta sa akin ang kumpanya. I can pay off your father's debt."

Tinulak ko siya paatras para makaupo ako nang maayos.

"Teka nga! Seryoso ka ba? Hindi ka ba lasing lang?"

"I'm serious as fuck." He took a deep breath, his hands thread on his hair. "Just name your price."

"5 million," sagot ko, sinusubukan kung papayag siya.

"Done." He nodded without hesitation.

Halos malaglag ang panga ko. Agad kong pinunasan ang gilid ng labi ko, baka may laway na tumulo nang hindi ko namamalayan.

"Hala, joke lang!" tinaas ko ang dalawang kamay sa harap niya.

Tinaasan niya ako ng kilay. Pinanlakihan ko naman siya ng mata.

"You do realize how fucking crazy this sounds, right?"

His lips curved into the faintest smile.

"I don't care if it's crazy, Amelia. I need a wife, and you need money. We can solve both our problems."

He held my gaze, completely unbothered by the absurdity of his own proposal.

"So, do we have a deal?"