Love Me or Hate Me

EPISODE 03

“Got you. Don’t even think about running away from me.”
 
Javi’s gravelly voice surprised even himself. He took deep breaths to calm himself as Harold looked genuinely terrified of him. Hinayaan niya rin munang makapagpahinga si Harold dahil putlang-putla na ito at tagaktak pa sa pawis dahil sa katatakbo.
 
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Javi said when both of them finally calmed down.
 
“Alam ko na kung ano ang gagawin mo. I can’t let you know where Sir Asa is. He’ll literally kill me. He made us promise na kahit ano’ng mangyari, hinding-hindi namin sasabihin kahit kanino kung nasaan siya,” sagot ni Harold.
 
The words brought hope back into Javi. Asa’s still here. He hasn’t left the country.
 
“You should’ve at least allowed me to see the baby. I know that you’re loyal to your boss, pero naisip niyo man lang ba kung ano ang naramdaman ko noong makita kong wala na kayo sa condo? Do you have any idea kung gaano ako nagpuyat at nagpagod sa kahahanap sa inyo? I didn’t ask for too much from you. I just wanted to see our baby. Mahirap bang ibigay sa ‘kin ‘yun?” sabad naman ni Javi.
 
“I’m really sorry. Sinubukan ko naman pong kumbinsihin si Sir Asa na ipakita man lang sa ‘yo ang anak ninyo, pero gusto na po talaga niyang putulin ang lahat ng koneksyon niya sa ‘yo,” paliwanag ni Harold.
 
“Why?”
 
“Sir Asa has. . . reasons,” Harold replied, looking uncomfortable now. “May mga bagay pong siya lang ang makapagpapaliwanag sa ‘yo. Trust me, ikabubuti mo po ang inisip ni Sir Asa noong magdesisyon siyang hindi na magpakita pa sa inyo. He has his reasons, and unfortunately, I don’t think I have the authority to enlighten you about those.”
 
“Then bring me to him.”
 
Harold slapped his forehead, looking helpless and desperate. “Hindi nga po pwede. Sir Asa and the baby are safe. They’re both healthy. Wala pong naging problema sa panganganak ni sir. Wala rin po kayong dapat na ipag-alala pa,” sagot niya.
 
“Hindi ako matatahimik hangga’t hindi ko nakikita nang personal ang anak namin ni Asa. I want to hear his reason why he left without a word. Kailangan kong malaman kung ano ang buong kuwento para hindi ko na kayo guluhin pa. It’s that simple. You guys left me hanging, and you’re expecting me to just shrug it all off and act like nothing happened? After everything I’ve done for your boss, I deserve to know what’s going on,” Javi replied firmly.
 
Fortunately, Harold is a beta. The alphas and omegas passing near the two gave them a wide berth as Javi’s powerful pheromones spread around them.
 
“Sir Asa’s going to kill me. . .” Harold whimpered, his eyes glistening with tears.
 
“I’m sorry if I frightened you. I didn’t mean to pressure you,” said Javi as he softened his voice. “I just really want to see the baby. Kahit hindi ko na makausap si Asa, basta makita ko lang ang anak namin. Hindi na ako magpapakita pa sa inyo kahit kailan. I just really want to at least carry my child in my arms.”
 
Harold buried his face on his hand for one full minute. Maya-maya pa ay binunot na niya ang phone niya at may tinawagan. Javi waited patiently.
 
“I called Amanda. Wala ngayon sa tinutuluyan niya si Sir Asa. May lakad kasi sila ngayon ni Tommy. The baby is in the condo. Tara na po. We don’t have a lot of time,” sabi ni Harold matapos ang tawag.
 
Javi felt his heart leap. Agad naman silang sumakay ng taxi papunta sa destinasyon nila.
 
“Like I said, the baby is healthy po,” Harold said as the taxi headed to the opposite side of the city. “Worth it naman po ang pag-aalaga niyo kay Sir Asa. Madali rin pong naka-recover si sir. Mabilis naman po siyang na-release mula sa ospital.”
 
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Javi.
 
“Inaayos na po ni Sir Asa ang paglilipat niya sa ibang bansa. He’s planning to live in the US. Hindi lang po niya magawang makaalis agad dahil nag-aalangan po siya sa kalusugan ng baby niyo. He was planning to wait for a few more months before finally leaving. In fact, sasama nga po sana kami ni Amanda sa kanya,” Harold added.
 
“Also, pasensya na po talaga kung bigla kaming nawala nang wala man lang pasabi sa ‘yo. All of us tried to convince Sir Asa na makipagkita sa ‘yo kahit isang beses man lang. We all told him the things that you said to me earlier. Unfortunately, kilala niyo naman po si Sir Asa. He was determined to severe all ties with you. I know that it was hard for you, but please don’t get mad at sir. Like I said, may rason po siya kung bakit niya nagawa ‘yun sa ‘yo.”
 
“I’m not really mad at Asa,” replied Javi, letting out a weary sigh. “The frustration is there, of course. Gusto ko lang talagang maliwanagan kung bakit bigla na lang siyang umalis nang wala man lang pasabi.”
 
“Malamang po na hinalughog niyo ang lahat ng mga ospital noong mag-text ako sa ‘yo na nanganak na si Sir Asa,” sabi ni Harold.
 
“Yeah. My friends helped me. Saan ba kayo nagpunta?” tanong ni Javi.
 
“Hindi naman po talaga kami lumayo masyado mula sa condo ni sir. Nanganak po siya sa ospital na pagmamay-ari ng pamilya ng tiyuhin ni Tommy. He made sure na walang magsasabi kahit kanino na nandoon si Sir Asa. Well, alam niyo naman pong mainit pa rin sa media si sir. Aside from you, ayaw rin po naming mahanap ng media. We just wanted to avoid attracting attention. In fact, tita po mismo ni Tommy ang nagpaanak kay Sir Asa,” paliwanag ni Harold.
 
Javi nodded. It seems his mom was right. Kahit gaano sila kalapit sa ‘yo, hindi mo talaga mahahanap ang isang taong ayaw namang magpahanap.
 
After an hour, their taxi finally stopped. Agad namang lumabas si Javi at tumingala sa building na nasa harapan niya. After all this time, hindi naman pala umalis ng city si Asa.
 
“He’s staying in one of his properties. This is pretty private, and it’s Sir Asa’s next best option after his main condo,” Harold said as they headed inside the building.
 
As Harold led Javi into the condo unit, the latter felt a mixture of excitement and sadness welling up inside him. Of course, he’s ecstatic that he’s about to see his child. On the other hand, it also pains him knowing that this is probably the last time that he’s going to see the baby.
 
“Amanda said that it hasn’t been that long since Sir Asa left. You have some time naman po,” sabi pa ni Harold pagkarating nila sa floor kung nasaan ang condo unit ni Asa. “Please control your pheromones. Alam mo naman po kung gaano ka-sensitive si Asa.”
 
Javi nodded, barely hearing anything out of excitement and nervousness.
 
“We’re here po,” Harold said upon reaching a door, knocking twice before opening it.
 
The first thing that Javi saw was the familiar back of Amanda. She seemed to be carrying something in her arms. She turned around upon hearing the door shut close, revealing the baby that she’s currently carrying.
 
“Asa just left minutes ago,” Amanda said as she approached Javi, the latter’s eyes fixed on the baby. “You have some time. It’s a good thing that Harold made it here alive. I was expecting to see you holding him by his neck.”
 
Lumapit si Amanda kay Javi para ibigay sa kanya ang baby. May experience naman si Javi sa pagbubuhat ng sanggol noong bata pa si Jia kaya hindi naman siya nahirapan. Failing to think of any words to say, Javi just stared at the baby in his arms.
 
The baby was awake, its innocent green eyes staring up at Javi. He realized that the baby has Asa’s eyes, but its hair and facial features reminded Javi of his baby photos in the album in their house.
 
“We suspect that he’s an alpha,” Amanda said with a faint smile. “He cries a lot when Tommy’s carrying him. He seems to be doing fine with you, though. I guess he recognizes his daddy.”
 
“He looks a lot like you,” Harold added. “Except he has Sir Asa’s eyes and, well, temper. We felt that Sir Asa wasn’t really thrilled about the baby looking a lot like you. Siguro kasi naaalala ka niya sa tuwing nakikita niya ang baby. Nevertheless, we know he’s thrilled to have a child. Wala po kayong ideya kung gaano kahigpit sa ‘min si Sir Asa pagdating sa baby.”
 
Javi caressed the baby’s hand with his finger, which the latter grabbed gently. At that moment, everything that Javi has done for Asa and their baby came rushing back into his mind. This is their child, he thought. He’s carrying their child in his arms, the child that he had painstakingly taken care of for nearly nine months. After all those tiring days and sleepless night of searching, he finally found his child.
 
It was too much for Javi, and soon tears were already falling from his eyes as he cradled the delicate, seemingly weightless angel in his arms. Kinailangan niyang ibigay kay Harold ang bata dahil hindi na niya napigilan pa ang pag-iyak niya.
 
“I’m really sorry,” Amanda told him as he wiped his tears on his jacket. “We tried to convince Asa to at least let you see the baby. We tried really hard to the point na halos mag-away na kami. Alam namin ang pagod at paghihirap mo para lang masiguradong ligtas si Asa noong buntis pa siya.”
 
“Unfortunately, we also know Asa’s reasons why he had to let you go, so we reluctantly agreed with his plan. He regretted approaching you, actually. He didn’t want to drag you into his mess. Asa considered you in his plans, Javi. He thought about you. Unfortunately, he ran out of options. He had to make the difficult and perhaps only choice,” she added.
 
Javi straightened himself. “That again. Ano po ba kasi ang rason ni Asa kung bakit kailangan niyang gawin ‘yun? This is probably the last time that I’ll be seeing you, so you might as well tell me the truth,” he said.
 
“We can’t,” Amanda replied calmly. “You’ll never leave Asa once you learn the reason why he had to let you go. Your life will never be the same again. Minsan, may mga bagay na mas mabuting hindi mo na lang malaman.”
 
Javi just threw her an expression of disbelief and bewilderment.
 
“There are people who weren’t happy with Asa’s sudden departure from the network,” Amanda replied, seeing the look on Javi’s face. “May mga tao roon na hindi natuwa dahil naisahan sila ni Asa. ‘Yan lang ang masasabi ko sa ‘yo. If there’s anyone who has the right to tell you the truth, it’s Asa.”
 
“That’s right.”
 
The voice that suddenly came from the doorway startled the people in the living area. All the color drained from Harold’s face upon seeing the person standing on the doorway. The newcomer’s eyes flared with anger as he glared at Javi who was also staring back at him.
 
“Care to explain what in the world is happening here?” Asa asked, his voice as sharp as his piercing gaze.