Play Pretend

Chapter 57

"He would drive recklessly on pur—"

"Knoa." Pigil ko sa kanya. Hindi ko kayang tapusin kung ano man ang sasabihin niya. Hindi ko pala kayang malaman. Just the prelude of Xaiver's frenzied actions made me tremble. Nanuyo rin ang lalamunan ko. I couldn't imagine him risking his life just to remember.

At bukod pa roon, sa ginagawa niya, hindi lang siya ang pwedeng masaktan. Madaming tao ang pwedeng madamay. Kaya naman sa kabila ng takot, nakaramdam din ako ng galit.

I was mad at him for being so indifferent to his life. I was so angry that he didn't make his safety his priority. Is the truth more important than his life?

I shouldn't have asked.

"Sorry..." Knoa breathed. "But that's one of the reasons why I can't tell him about your pregnancy—about Cami. I don't think he's emotionally and mentally stable for that while working on the case and suffering from his trauma."

"Hindi siya nag-te-therapy?"

Bigong umiling si Knoa. "I tried convincing him, but he said he has no time for that. Ang tanging inaalala niya lang ay ang imbestigasyon at ang paghingi ng updates tungkol sa 'yo sa mga bodyguard mo," kwento niya. "I gave him that. Hindi ko siya pinilit na. But after Tita Mira was put behind bars, I asked him again if he was finally ready to get some help and heal, but..."

Muli siyang umiling at bumuntonghininga.

"Ayaw niya pa rin?"

"He's stubborn." Knoa showed a helpless smile. "Ang DVH naman daw ngayon ang may kailangan sa kanya."

My shoulders fell. Oo nga pala... The stocks of DVH plummeted after Mrs. Dela Vega's press conference. Nawalan ng tiwala sa kanila ang mga tao. Most investors almost pulled out. Balita ko rin ay may ilang ongoing projects na na-postpone.

Malaking kompanya man ang DVH, I'm sure it's still a huge blow that they had to take. And being the head of DVH, Xaiver seriously has to work twice as hard to recover losses and put the company back on track.

"That was why when Macy came into the picture, it was a huge relief. She took care of you a lot, noong pinagbubuntis mo si Cami. She was on your side," tuloy niya.

"Ganoon pa rin ngayon..." dagdag ko kahit na hindi pa rin mawala sa isipan ko ang tungkol sa pinagdaanan ni Xaiver. "Hanggang ngayon, kasama pa rin namin siya ni Cami. She's always been there for us. She never left."

Knoa nodded. "Kaya mas lalo akong nakampante na magiging maayos ang lahat para sa 'yo. I didn't think much of telling Xavi about Cami after that... Konti na lang. Paminsan-minsan. Like during her birth... her christening... her first birthday... or when you rushed her to the hospital because of an allergy and a high fever," he pointed out, then chuckled. "I made sure to note all them down in case you'd tell him about her. I have to pass a detailed report about Cami's life that he missed or he might kill me for keeping this a secret."

The way he mentioned those significant events in my daughter's life made me realize how serious he was about keeping an eye on us. For some reason, I felt reassured. Kahit na ayaw kong malaman nila ang paghihirap na pinagdaanan ko, masaya ako na bukod kay Macy, may iba pang nandyan para sa amin ng anak ko... that even if things came to worst that time, we wouldn't get abandoned. Hindi niya kami papabayaan.

And knowing that Xaiver wanted us safe even after everything, I was confident that things would go positively once I introduced our daughter to him. He wanted me safe at sa tingin ko ay ganoon din ang gusto niya sa anak namin.

Keeping me safe is also keeping our daughter safe. I was happy at that thought, pero hindi nga lang ako lubos-lubusang natutuwa. Madaming bumabagabag sa loob ko. Because while keeping us safe, he was risking his life over and over again.