Below The Tide (Charity Series #1)

• Fourty One •

Betina Tiara

~

Sinama ako ngayong araw ni Claudius sa kan'yang bahay dahil mayro'n na naman itong concern tungkol kay Elizabeth-- naglalagas daw ang balahibo ng pusa at bilang tatay nito, sagad na naman ang pag-aalala niya.

Hawak ko si Elizabeth ngayon sa mga hita ko at kasalukuyang ine-eksamin ito. Samantala, si Claudius naman ay mabilis na nawala sa paningin ko para magpunta sa kwarto niya. Sa tingin ko'y may hinahanap siyang bagay.

"Strange," bulong niya habang nakapamewang at nag-iisip, "I can’t see my ballpen."

"Umuwi ka pa para lang hanapin ang ballpen mo?" hindi makapaniwalang tanong ko.

"It’s not an ordinary HBW ballpen or whatever, Betina. It’s a Caran d‘Ache 1010 fountain pen, There’s a diamond on top of it."

I almost choked at his statement. Diamond? Caran d'Ache?

I remember when I was in college, I had this richkid girl classmate who's flaunting her fountain pen that costs 155,950 euro or in philippine peso-- 8,794,332 pesos. Yes, same brand with Claudius’s ballpen. Can you imagine how rich they are?

"My father gave it to me as a special gift," he added.

"W-Wow..."

"It’s a bit overpriced for a pen, I agree."

Nagsimula na naman siyang maghanap sa malaki niyang bahay. Sa ilalim ng sofa, sa ilalim ng carpet, tinaob niya na rin ang higaan ni Elizabeth at hinubad na niya ang suot niyang blazer pero bigo siyang mahanap 'yun.

Kanina no'ng nagkita kami sa office, sinabihan na niya 'ko na nawawalan siya ng ballpen at doon niya na ako hinila para na rin mapatignan sa akin si Elizabeth.

Syempre, wala naman akong magagawa. Technically, he's my boss. He's the one paying me as their event coordinator and Elizabeth's doctor.

After a moment, he let out sigh and looked at me.

"Right, there was a woman who came by earlier at my office and screamed something about revenge... and apparently it was Alexandria Rudio," he spoke seriously, "Did your boyfriend do something wrong to her?"

That caught me off guard but then I shook my head lightly, "Probably... she would have something against him."

"So something did happened?"

That brings me back the night Zen called at me...

"Alexandria went here to see me... I don’t know what she’s up to but I can tell that she’s trying to get me and I don’t like what she’s doing," Zen blurted out on the line.

"Get you...?"

"B-Babe, ‘wag mo sanang lagyan ng ibang meaning pero... sinubukan niya akong akitin at..."

"Don’t worry I’ll try to understand," sagot ko, "Sinubukan ka niyang akitin at ano?"

"...she grabbed my hand and put it on her b-breast. I quickly pull off, of course. That’s when I got more irritated. But I got more irritated when she begun to insult you."

I bit my lower lip. Para sa isang girlfriend... medyo panget pakinggan ang ganitong balita.

"A-Ah..."

"Babe? I’m sorry, okay? Please don’t think of anything else, please. Sinabi ko ‘to agad sa ‘yo dahil ayoko ‘yung feeling na may tinatago sa ‘yo. I feel like I’m cheating if I do that," he said in a small panicky voice, "I love you, Betina. I would never cheat on you. I told you before I’m not attracted anymore to any woman, right?"