Namangha ako dahil sobrang natural niyang magsalita. Nagmukhang maliit na bagay ang pinagdaanan namin kahit ang totoo ay hindi. Napangiti tuloy ako nang hindi ko namamalayan at nakatitig pa sa kaniya.
"Congratulations then. Grabe naman kayo. Seven years pero naghintay pa rin," komento ni Kimmy. "How did you two meet again, though? Vlogger and architect? Hindi ba parang ang layo?"
Mahina akong natawa bago sumagot, "I actually have a friend from Japan and I fetched him at the airport. Tapos nakita ko roon si Cali pero nilampasan niya lang ako. Snob siya, right? Then that Japanese friend of mine wants a condo and my brother set me up with Cali, who is an architect."
"Tuwa ka naman?" Cali interrupted my story that caused the audiences to laugh. Sinamaan ko tuloy siya ng tingin pero nabawi rin nang nagpa-cute siya sa harap ko.
"Then after that, I made my move talaga. Sinabi ko pa noon sa sarili ko na huwag bibigay. Kaso sino ba namang tatanggi rito sa pagmumukhang 'yan? Tapos ang sweet pa. So, I manipulated things, like, hinihiram ko 'yong mga coat niya para may dahilan akong i-meet siya," I pinched Cali's cheek.
Alam kong hindi pa 'yon alam ni Cali kaya nagulat rin siya. "Marupok," Cali whispered.
"Lovebirds," the host looked at us in awe. "Any message to your fans?"
Nag-iisip pa lang ako ng isasagot pero hinawakan ni Cali ang kamay kong nakahawak sa microphone. Siya ang nagsalita para sagutin ang tanong na iyon.
"As usual, Jaide would be very thankful for her supporters and of course, her friends. But this time, I want to give a message to all of you who supported my love," huminga siya nang malalim bago ipinagpatuloy ang sinasabi. "I know some of you are disappointed, angry, or whatever. But I want to say na, you don't know the whole story. We have our own reasons why we ended up like that and those are personal to share to you so kindly respect privacies."
Nakatingin lang ako sa mukha niya habang nagsasalita. I can't contain my happiness as I look at the face of the man I am in love with. I am so proud of what he had become. Still respectful as ever, but he did become more mature.
"Please continue to support her, or us." Tumikhim siya, "Also, look forward for a wedding."
Doon bumagsak ang panga ko. Loud cheers around us, but all I could hear is the fast beating of my heart. Cali looked in the eyes. He mouthed an "I love you" before returning on talking with the host.
Natapos ang programa na tuliro ako. Sumasagot naman ako sa mga basic na tanong at siyempre, nagpaalam din para sa closing.
"What the heck was that, Caius Limuel?!" I asked him the first thing when we entered his car. I was mad but mostly shocked. He opened the engine first so the air conditioner would work.
"Woah kalma," he tried to reach for my hand. "I don't want to waste time. I've waited enough."
"'Yon lang ang explanation mo?" I looked at him in disbelief.
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Downfall of the Ace (Series of Epitome 1) : COMPLETED
Teen FictionSERIES OF EPITOME #1. Cali Najarro, the editorial cartoonist of Science High, has his goals straight. He wants to pursue architecture in the University of the Philippines and work at the leading real estate company in the country. Until, he was inte...
