Chapter 10"So, aasa na ba kaming magkaka-apo kami bago matapos ang taon?"Tita Mel's sudden words made me almost choke upon drinking. Nakakabigla naman ang topic na ino-open ni Tita Mel! Sa dinami-dami, iyan talaga ang sasabihin nya? Shems!"Oo nga," segunda naman ni Mommy sabay tingin sa akin. "Malapit na nga ba mga anak?"My eyes widened at that before smiling awkwardly. "Mommy...Tita..." I called. "You're saying things so early. Wala pa kaming planong magka-anak na dalawa. As of now, we're contented of what we have," I continued before turning my gaze on Markus. "Right?" Pasimpleng tingin ang iginawad ko sa lalaki.I saw how Markus' forehead curled for awhile but then when our parents looked at him, it immediately vanished."Is it true, Markus? I thought you already wanted to have a child right now?" His Mom asked.Wait---what? He said that?Because of what I heard, I am now looking at Markus with confused reaction. Gusto nya ng magka-anak? With this kind of set-up? Oh. A realizat

Chapter 12I HAVE BEEN inside my room for hours. Kakagising ko lamang since I doze to sleep after crying my heart out earlier. This is what's beautiful once you cry, it will be followed by a very wonderful sleep that will help you calm and feel like you're being comforted.But what I didn't expect is that Its already morning right now. Akala ko ay sandali lamang ang naging tulog ko, hindi pala. This is maybe the reason why I'm feeling hungry right now.Marahan 'kong binuksan ang pintuan ng kwarto ko at sinilip kung may tao ba sa labas. Wala. Kahit anino ni Manong ay hindi ko makita. With that, I continued going out. Marahan ang bawat kilos ko, maging ang hakbang ko ay tahimik. Its 7:30 am. Siguro naman kami na lamang ni Manong ang narito sa bahay dahil alam kong may pasok pa si Markus. He's managing their company now. Tiyak abala na ito dahil duon.When I get to the stairs, sinilip ko muna kung may tao ba sa ibaba. Baka mamaya mabigla na lang ako at makita si Markus duon. Because of w

Chapter 14"Markus!"I entered Markus' office while calling his name using my high-pitched voice. Gusto ko siyang agad na makausap tungkol sa sinabi ni Daddy. I want to know what his reasons are!"Markus?!" I once again called but no one answered me, and I found no one inside the office. Nilibot ko pa ng tingin ang apat na sulok ng opisina ngunit wala ang lalaki. I checked my wrist watch and found out that it's already 7pm. 5pm ang out nya sa kumpanya nila, kaya madalas ay 6pm pa lang narito na sya sa bahay.But now...why is he not here? Busy ba sya sa kompanya nila? Then, if that's the reason, mas dumoble pa ang kagustuhan 'kong malaman kung bakit pumayag sya sa gusto ni Daddy. Kung sa kumpanya nga ng pamilya nya ay halos mahirapan na sya, bakit pa nya tinanggap ang sa amin?After several minutes of being convinced that Markus isn't inside ay lumabas na rin ako roon. Tumuloy ako sa kusina, at naabutan ko duon si Manong Guard. The old man smiled at me."Nag-hapunan na 'ho ba kayo, Ma'

Chapter 16THAT STARE actually made me nervous. Its as if I committed a major sin dahil sa uri ng tinging ibinato sa akin ni Markus. I do not know why he looked at me like that---no, there's actually an idea pero alam 'kong malabong iyon 'yon.Malabong-malabo na magse-selos si Markus dahil sa nakita nya.I tried shaking my head a bit to forcefully make that thought out of my head. I focused my attention to Chad, whose also looking at me. With a worried expression. Umayos ako ng tayo dahil duon. "Is there something wrong?" I tried asking. Chad just let off a small smile. "I'm just trying to read your reaction. Kanina ka pa parang may malalim na iniisip," anito. What? Gano'n na ba ka-halata ang pagka-balisa ko? Geez. With that, I forced to release a smile. "Ano ka ba, ayos lang ako. We can now start talking about your plan to invest with us. Oo nga pala, bakit sa amin? I mean, talaga 'bang pumayag ang Daddy m

Chapter 18MARKUS caught me in his broad arms to prevent me from falling. My head is on his neck while his right arm is all over my waist while the other is holding the railings."Are you okay?" I heard him asked, his mouth is not so far away from my ears which made me feel shiver down my spine. His breath slamming on my bare ears and skin is not good for me. It awakens something within me.With that, when I got fully recovered, I pushed myself away from him and stand straight. "I'm sorry. I'm so clumsy today...sorry." I apologized without even trying to look at him. "Its fine. Lets get downstairs," aniya lamang bago kami tuluyang bumaba. Markus and I went directly towards the living room. I sat on the long sofa alone while staring on the half-filled wine bottle above the table. I checked the alcohol content of the bottle and it says 20%. My heart thump. I'm only used to drinking wine's that has 4.5 to 9% alcohol content. I don't know if I could handle this high, but I don't want t