Lahat ng Kabanata ng THE CEO WHO LEFT ME PREGNANT: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

Tahimik na ang buong opisina. Past 3 a.m. na, pero si Gabriel, gising pa rin — mata sa laptop, kamay sa kape.Paglingon niya, may ilaw pa sa cubicle ni Elise. “Hindi pa rin umuuwi ‘tong babae na ‘to?” bulong niya.Lumapit siya, and there she was — tulog na tulog, may hawak pang ballpen, cheek pressed against a pile of papers.He sighed, soft smile forming. “You really don’t know when to stop, huh?”Tinanggal niya ang jacket niya at marahang tinakip sa balikat ni Elise. Habang ginagawa niya ‘yon, bigla siyang napahinto. Her hair fell across her face, and for some reason, his hand moved on its own — hinawi niya ‘yung isang hibla, careful na parang bawal magising ang mundo.“Anong ginawa mo sa’kin?” he whispered. Parang inlove si Gabriel kahit hindi pa sya sigurado na sya bayung babae sa Bagiuo----------Pagpasok sa opisina kinabukasan, sinalubong si Gabriel ng kanyang ever-loyal assistant — Lucas, 28, sarcastic but lovable.“Sir, mukhang late ka po yata. Nag-overtime na naman si Mis

Last day of camp. The forest was quiet except for the soft rustle of the wind through the trees.Everyone was packing up, laughing, snapping photos. Lucas was multitasking — nag-aasikaso ng gear habang pinipigilan si Gabriel na masyadong obvious kay Elise.“Sir, please lang,” bulong ni Lucas, “kahit ngayong last day, magpaka-neutral kayo.”“I am neutral,” sagot ni Gabriel, folding a tarp like it personally offended him.“Sir, you just glared at Adrian for handing Elise a bottle of water.”“Hydration is not flirting.”Lucas deadpanned. “Sa pagkakatingin niyo, parang cardinal sin.”Gabriel exhaled. “Focus, Lucas.”Lucas smirked. “I am. On your emotional instability.”“Attention everyone!” sigaw ng HR. “Looks like may paparating na ulan! Pack up within the hour!”Elise looked up at the dark clouds forming over the hills. “Great. Just when I thought tapos na ang adventure.”Adrian laughed beside her. “At least masaya. Ang dami kong memories from this trip.”“Same,” she smiled. “Though…

Sa opisina ng Navarro Holdings, tahimik ang buong floor — hanggang sa biglang bumukas ang elevator at may maliit na boses na sumigaw ng…“Mamaaaa!”Napalingon halos lahat.At sa gitna ng mga empleyadong nakapolo at high heels, tumatakbo si Sofia — may bitbit na maliit na pink backpack, may buhok na medyo magulo, at may luha pa sa pisngi.“Ma’am, may batang—”“SOFIA?!”Tumayo si Elise, halatang nagulat, sabay takbo papunta sa anak.“Anak! Bakit ka nandito?!”“Mama…” hikbi ni Sofia, “sabi sa school may Family Day, pero wala akong daddy… tapos tinawanan nila ako.”Biglang natahimik ang buong office.May kumurot sa dibdib ni Elise.At bago pa siya makasagot, may dalawang lalaking sabay-sabay na lumapit — parang eksena sa teleserye.“I’ll go with her,” sabi ni Gabriel, malalim at seryoso ang boses.Sabay, “Ako na lang,” sabi ni Adrian, may halong lambing at kumpiyansa.Nagkatinginan silang dalawa.At halatang may bagyong paparating.“Sir,” singit ni Lucas, na halatang kinikilig, “baka po g

Tahimik ang buong paligid sa loob ng ospital, bawat tibok ng orasan, parang martilyong tumatama sa dibdib ni Elise.Hindi niya alam kung paano siya nakarating doon. Basta ang alam niya — sumakay siya ng kotse, halos hindi makahinga, habang paulit-ulit ang boses ng nurse sa phone:“She’s safe now, but we need you here, ma’am.”Pagdating niya sa emergency entrance, halos bumagsak ang mga tuhod niya. Doon niya nakita si Tita Minda, umiiyak, nanginginig ang kamay.“Tita! Si Sofia?!” halos pasigaw niyang tanong.Ang matanda, umiiyak, humawak sa kanya. “Elise… anak, I’m so sorry. Sinundan ko siya lang saglit—tapos bigla siyang tumakbo sa kalsada—” “Bakit?!” “May nakita siyang lalaki…. Nakita niyang may kasamang babae. Nagyakap… naghalikan…”Para siyang binuhusan ng yelo. “Hindi…” mahina niyang sabi, pero nanginginig na ang labi niya. “Hindi totoo ‘yan…”Pero sa loob ng ER, nakita niya si Sofia — maliit, maputla, may benda sa noo. At doon, tuluyang gumuho si Elise.Lumipas ang ilang

The entire floor was buzzing that Monday morning — pero hindi sa magandang reason.Reports missing, presentation slides scrambled, and one of the biggest client decks Elise had prepared was suddenly corrupted.“Anong nangyari dito?” Elise whispered, staring at her laptop. “Wala ‘to kagabi—”“Oh no,” Celeste chimed in, her voice dripping fake concern. “Baka hindi mo na-save properly? Or… maybe your system’s just outdated.”Elise forced a polite smile. “Thanks, Celeste. I’ll handle it.”Pero sa loob-loob niya, gusto niyang sumigaw. Alam niyang may nanghimasok. The file names were different. The edits — too clean to be an accident.From across the room, Lucas watched nervously, habang si Gabriel, with his usual stoic expression, approached.“Elise,” he said. “What’s going on?”Before she could explain, Celeste stepped in, mabilis pa sa kidlat.“Sir, I think Miss Santos forgot to back up her files last night. I told her to send it to the cloud but she said she didn’t need to.”Elise froze