To break her reality bound by rules, Letizia impulsively participates in a project communicating with a stranger and shares the life she desires behind the name "Juliette". Can she keep up with the lies about her perfect story and not fall for the m...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
***
ILANG beses akong napalunok habang nakaupo sa harap ng laptop ni David. I had put a bit of makeup on to hide my swollen eyes. I just hoped that it wouldn't be seen from the video call.
"Hey." Nag-angat ako ng tingin at kasabay naman niyon ang pag-upo ni David sa aking tabi. Nilapag niya ang dalawang tasa ng tsaa sa mesa katabi ang laptop na naghihintay komonekta sa tawag.
"Are you okay?"
Hindi ko na alam kung ilang beses niya ako tinanong kung ayos lang ba 'ko. If it weren't for David, I might still be sobbing like a toddler.
Sa halip na sumagot, sumandal ako sa balikat ni David at pinikit ang aking mga mata. Hinayaan niya lang ako. I felt so tired.
Hindi ko na nasagot pa ang emails ni Rome kagabi dahil sa sobrang pagod ko. Kanina ko na siya nasagot nang magising ako at abala pa si David sa pag-aayos ng laptop niya para sa video call. Mukhang abala rin si Rome dahil hindi niya rin ako nasagot kaagad.
Parang walang saysay ang pagtulog ko. Crying sucked the life off me.
"Mi hija . . . "
Halos mapatalon ako sa aking pagkauupo nang marinig ang pamilyar na boses na iyon. Masyado akong nilamon ng aking sariling isipan na hindi ko na namalayan pa na komonekta na pala ang tawag.
"Papá." My voice cracked as I saw my father in bed.
I wasn't sure if it was me or my imagination that thought there was a spark of relief from my father's eyes. May katagalan na rin magmula noong huli ko siyang makausap at makita. But at the same time, he looked older and weaker. It was worse than what they announced to the public.
It was expected. They couldn't tell the media that the country's king was very ill. If they did, that would indeed cause a commotion.
"Did you meet your mother?"
Of course, he would ask that as if he wasn't monitoring my every move. Hindi na nakapagtataka. At dahil hindi naman kami ganoon kalapit ni Papá, mas madalas ay Ingles niya ako kinakausap sa halip na Espanyol. It was the same for Eugenio. But his reason for the Crown Prince was so he would be fluent and confident in English just like how he speaks Spanish.
Tumango ako. "Sí, Papá,"
"Como es ella?" tanong ni Papá tungkol kay Mamá.
"She's fine, Papá . . . She's better than fine. She's married and successful."
Nakita kung paano lumambot ang mga mata ni Papá sa sinabi kong iyon. Base sa kuwento ni Mamá, there was once a time that they were madly in love with each other. It almost reached to a point that Papá was willing to abdicate his role to stop his own engagement.
Pero dahil mahal na mahal ni Mamá si Papá, at alam niya na wala rin kapantay ang pagmamahal ni Papá sa kaniyang bansa, siya na ang nagdesisyon para sa kanilang dalawa . . . kapalit ang pagtanggap sa akin bilang anak.
