Love Me Like You Hate Me

Chapter 15

"Me and your grandpa met in England." I heard her say.

Hindi ko maalis ang tingin kay Miss Carter at kahit ayaw ko na itong tingnan ay hindi ko naman maiwas ang mga mata ko. Damn.

"There's this cozy restaurant in England that I tried for the first time. I instantly fell in love with the food so I asked the waiter about the chef and turns out it was her who also owns the place. She's amazing, isn't she?" Daddy lolo added.

"She is, Daddy lo. I really wanna learn how to cook too." Sabi naman ni Tam.

"I can teach you, honey."

"Thanks! I'm excited. Can we call you Mommy la, ma'am?"

Miss Carter smiled and when I noticed that she's about to turn on my direction ay mabilis pa sa alas kwatro kong inalis ang tingin sa kanya.

"Aia, are you okay?" Daddy Lolo called me.

I managed not to look surprised and even smiled at him.

"Yes po, Daddy lo. I'm sorry." Sagot ko at pasimpleng tiningnan ang katabi niya.

"I hope your Mommy Tami will be ready to meet my Olivia soon." He said again.

"Tobias, my name is Ofelia and not Olivia. Why do you love to call me by that name?" Ma'am Ofelia corrected him.

Dad Lolo laughed and gently caressed Tita Ofelia's shoulder. "It's just when I saw your younger photos, I noticed that you have resemblance to Olivia Hussey, the famous actress during our time. I remember I have a huge crush on her when I was young."

Ma'am Ofelia shook her head in response. Pumayag naman ito sa request ni Tam na tawagin namin siyang Mommy la but since kakakilala lang namin, I still need to adjust before akong masanay na tawagin siya no'n unlike sa magaling kong kapatid.

Ibinalik ko ang tingin kay Miss Carter na nasa kabilang table. Medyo malayo sila sa amin at hindi kami nito napansin kanina no'ng dumating siya. She's with a man now na medyo familiar din sa 'kin. I think I saw him somewhere pero hindi ko maalala kung saan.

Akala ko talaga ay siya 'yong Olivia na ipapakilala sa amin ni Daddy Lolo but dahil nasa kanya ang atensyon ko kanina, hindi ko napansin na dumating na pala ang hinihintay namin.

Ma'am Ofelia looks younger than Daddy lo but she told us na hindi naman daw nagkakalayo ang age nila. She looks beautiful and elegant too. Halata ring mabait ito kaya sure akong magkakasundo rin sila agad ni Mommy Tami.

...

Hindi ko alam kung gaano katagal na akong nakababad sa jacuzzi pero hindi pa rin ako dinadalaw ng antok. Bigla ko lang naisipang umuwi rito sa penthouse ko kaya after naming mag-dinner ay dito na ako nagpahatid at ang gaya-gaya namang si Tam-Tam ay umuwi rin sa penthouse niya sa kabilang building.

As expected ay hindi naman pumunta rito si Miss Carter kahit ibinigay ko ang key card nito sa kanya. I checked the place earlier pero walang kahit anong bakas sa kwarto or sa kahit saan kaya sure akong hindi siya pumunta rito and of course I don't mind. So what if she don't like here?

"Wanna drink some wine, sweetheart?"

My soul almost left my body when someone spoke. Napabalikwas pa ako dahil sa matinding gulat habang nakahawak ang isang kamay sa dibdib ko. Oh ghad. I almost had a heart attack!

Nagulat pa rin ako sa babaeng hindi ko inaasahang makikita ngayon. She's standing beside the jacuzzi with an annoying smile on her lips.

"What are you doing here?" Inis na tanong ko.

Mabilis pa ang paghinga ko habang kunot-noong tinitingnan si Miss Carter. She's still on her champagne colored satin dress na suot niya kanina sa restaurant.