Desired by the Billionaire 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 71 - 챕터 80

Cassandra Louise's point of viewPagdating namin sa pinakailalim ng hagdan, saka lang ako tuluyang huminto.Hindi dahil may nangyari.Wala naman.At least, iyon ang gusto kong paniwalaan.I simply needed a second.One fucking second.Huminga ako nang malalim at inayos ang hawak ko sa bag na kanina ko pa mahigpit na dala. Hindi ko alam kung bakit bigla akong naging ganito ka-conscious. It was literally just a slip.Madulas.Nasalo.Natapos.That should have been the end of it.Pero sa kasamaang-palad, nasa tabi ko pa rin si Vicente.At mas nakakainis, parang wala man lang epekto sa kanya ang nangyari.Ako lang yata ang mukhang may internal crisis.“You good?”Napalingon ako sa kanya.“Yes.”“Sure?”“Yes.”“Because you look—”“Don't.”Bahagya siyang natawa.“Don't what?”“Whatever you're about to say.”He crossed his arms and leaned slightly against the wall.“I wasn't going to say anything.”“That's a lie.”His lips twitched.“Okay, maybe.”“Exactly.”I started walking away from the st

Cassandra Louise’s point of view Pagkalabas ko ng meeting room, hindi ako agad dumiretso sa parking area. Dumaan muna ako sa maliit na receiving area para kunin ang ilan sa mga documents na kailangan kong iuwi at basahin bago ang susunod naming outreach program. May ilang details pa kasing kailangang i-confirm tungkol sa schedule, at kahit technically puwede ko naman iyong gawin kinabukasan, mas gusto kong matapos agad ang mga bagay na nasa responsibility ko.Mas madaling magpahinga kapag alam mong wala kang iniwang pending.I was arranging the folders inside my bag when I heard footsteps approaching from behind.Hindi ko na kailangang lumingon para malaman kung sino iyon.“Ang bilis mo naman,” sabi ko habang patuloy na inaayos ang mga gamit ko.Huminto ang mga yabag sa tabi ko.“You said you'd wait.”“I'm waiting.”“You were literally walking away.”“Hindi pa naman ako nakakalabas ng building.”“Details.”I glanced at him before closing my bag. “Important details.”Vicente was holdi

Cassandra Louise’s point of viewBy the time the program ended, parehong pagod na kami.The afternoon heat had slowly become less intense, but the exhaustion from moving around for hours was still there. Some volunteers were still carrying the remaining boxes while others were cleaning the tables and making sure nothing had been left behind.Umupo ako sa gilid ng covered court at hinilot ang batok ko.“Pagod?”Napalingon ako.Vicente was standing beside me with two bottles of water in his hands.“Hindi,” sagot ko. “I just like sitting here and questioning my life choices.”He handed me one of the bottles.“Dramatic.”“Pagod ako.”“So am I.”“Then why are you standing?”“Because I'm stronger.”I slowly looked up at him.“Sit down.”“Command?”“Yes.”He sat beside me.I opened the bottle and took a long drink before leaning back slightly.For a while, wala muna kaming sinabi.Pagod na talaga ako para makipag-away.At mukhang ganoon din siya.The venue was slowly becoming quieter. One by

Cassandra Louise’s point of viewSaturday came faster than I wanted.Hindi dahil ayaw kong pumunta sa outreach program. In fact, mas gusto ko ang mga araw na nasa actual community kami kaysa sa mga araw na puro meetings at documents ang nasa harapan ko. Mas ramdam ko kasi ang dahilan kung bakit ginagawa namin ang lahat ng preparations kapag nakikita ko mismo ang mga taong natutulungan ng programa.Pero I was tired.The entire week had been busy, at kahit may mga oras naman akong nakakapagpahinga, parang hindi talaga nawawala ang pagod.Kaya nang makarating ako sa venue at makita kong marami nang tao, napabuntong-hininga ako.“Good morning.”Napalingon ako.Si Vicente.“Morning.”Huminto siya sa harapan ko at tiningnan ako nang mabuti.“Pagod ka.”I frowned. “Good morning din.”“That's not a denial.”“Ang aga aga, nang-iinis ka na.”“Observation.”“Annoying observation.”He smiled slightly.“You should've stayed home.”Napatingin ako sa kanya.“Excuse me?”“You look tired.”“So?”“So y

Cassandra Louise’s Point of ViewLater that afternoon, I found myself sitting outside one of the smaller buildings near the venue, going through the final reports from the program. Hindi pa naman kami tuluyang tapos for the day, pero natapos na rin sa wakas ang pinakamabigat na bahagi ng trabaho. Most of the equipment had already been packed away, some of the volunteers were cleaning the remaining tables, while others were simply waiting for the final instructions before they could finally go home.After hours of moving around, talking to people, checking supplies, and making sure everything was running according to schedule, the sudden quiet felt almost unfamiliar. The afternoon heat had also started to fade, replaced by a gentler breeze that made it easier to breathe.For the first time that day, I could finally slow down.I lowered my gaze back to the papers in my lap and continued checking the figures, making sure there were no discrepancies before submitting the final report.“Yo