One Summer with the Sinner (Monteverde Series 5)

21

(NOTE: Minsan lang ako mag-note sa mga sinusulat ko, kasi feeling ko nadidisrupt ko kayo sa pagbabasa. But for this chapter, I'd make an exception. I just want to say, thank you very much for being patient with me on my update schedules! <3 Thank you kasi binabasa at hinintay n'yo pa rin sina Asheng at Vane. In return, I try to put as much feelings and thoughts on my updates, to make sure worth it ang bawat hintay n'yo.

I've been really busy lately with my day job, with my business - I make candles hehe - and with hostings sa Wattpad x Kumu. If you have free time, you can catch me every Saturday ng October (2021) at 9 pm on WattpadPH sa Kumu. I would love to engage with you and hear your thoughts. Stay safe, guys! Sana mag-enjoy kayo sa chapter na 'to.)

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Chapter Twenty-One

Restless – that's the proper word to describe what I'm feeling right now. The living room couch is soft, plush, and comfortable yet it can't rid me of the unease brewing inside my chest. I reached for the remote and switched the channels.

"Are you trying to break the television by changing the channels every three minutes, nieto?"

"Abuela!" I straightened and pasted a smile on my face. "You're awake."

"Of course, I'm awake! It's ten in the morning. And you, you look like a scared rat. You look like you've gotten chased by cats all night. Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

"I did."

"You're such a terrible liar. The bags under your eyes are giving you away. What is it that's bothering you? Ever since you returned yesterday, you've been distant. Is Asheng alright?"

I sighed as I let my shoulders fall. "She is."

"Are the two of you alright?"

I could have said yes. I could have woven a stupid lie and told her that Asheng and I were okay, but I guess the guilt in me is heavier than I thought. The sigh I produced was enough to confirm her suspicions.

"What happened? I thought you went to her yesterday."

"I did and I... I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard her say that she doesn't want to face me. She knows, abuela. I think she knows everything. How can I go there and have the audacity to show myself when I didn't even tell her the truth beforehand? What kind of man am I to... to hide something that big to you, to her?"

She sat next to me and put her cane above the coffee table. "So, what do you plan to do?"

"I... I..." I couldn't say I don't have any plans at all. I couldn't say I don't have the slightest clue how to address this concern. "I'm so, so, so stupid, abuela."

"I know that," she agreed. I rolled my eyes. "You're even more stupid if you do nothing."

"But... what do you expect me to do?" My tone was hard, cold. "Ruin the peace she has even more? Disrespect her decision to... to give me the cold shoulder? I'm trying to give her space, abuela. After all she's found out about me, I owe her that."

"You owe her an explanation more than anything else."

"She doesn't want to talk to me."

"That's not an excuse, Vane Jason." Her expression was stern, firm, even. The creases on the sides of her eyes deepened as she shot me daggers. "I'm old. I'll die soon. You can't keep depending on me to knock some sense into your head. If a die, what will happen to your wayward life? Ah, susmaryosep!"

"But..."

"Well, if you really don't want to, then I guess after your so-called vacation is over, you'll fly back to Spain and live your boring life the way it was before you met her. Parties here and there. Drinking on weekends. Flings on every corner. I suppose you do miss that kind of lifestyle, do you not? And Asheng, oh, that precious girl. I hope she finds a suitable young man. Tall, funny, smart... Maverick, perhaps?"