Chapter 29
"So you've been working here for months na? And I didn't even find out?" Hindi makapaniwala niyang tanong matapos kong sabihin na matagal na rin simula nang nag-part time job ako dito sa coffeeshop.
Tumango ako at tumingin kay Shaun na nangingiti habang pinapanood ang gulat na ekspresyon niya.
Nilingon siya ni Casidy. "And you knew from the very start?"
"Casi, ayaw kong malaman mo kasi alam kong pipigilan mo ako."
"Ofcourse! We're giving you everything you need, you didn't have to work."
"That's exactly why she didn't want to tell you," sagot naman ni Shaun.
Huminga siya nang malalim at tinignan ang buong coffeeshop. "No.. You probably worked here because you knew that you will have to leave our house." Malungkot siyang tumingin sa akin. "If I were you, I would have done the same. Mommy will control you using all the help she gave to you and the orphanage." Inabot niya ang kamay ko at pinisil iyon. "You did a good job in taking care of things on your own, A."
Ngumiti ako at umiling. "Hindi naman iyon ang dahilan ko, Casi. Gusto kong maging independent kaya ako nagtrabaho dito. Tama ka, alam kong darating ang araw na aalis ako sa bahay niyo at titigil sa pagtanggap ng tulong, pero hindi dahil ayaw kong magkaroon ng utang na loob, kundi dahil gusto kong tumayo sa sarili kong mga paa."
She pouted. "But you should have just explained to me, maiintindihan ko naman."
Natawa ako nang binitiwan niya ang kamay ko at uminom sa frappe na inorder ni Shaun para sa kaniya.
"How about Rivers? Does he know about this too?" tanong niya ulit.
Nagkatinginan kami ni Shaun bago ako tumango.
"And he's okay with it?"
Dahan-dahan akong tumango ulit. "He supports my decisions."
She sighed. "If that's not love, I don't know what else you can call it."
Kumunot ang noo ko. Love? Have we gone that far to call it love?
Gusto ko siya, gustong-gusto, at alam kong ganoon din siya sa akin, o baka nga higit pa. Pero hindi ko alam kung kailan mo matatawag na pag-ibig ang nararamdaman mo, hindi ko alam kung anong kaibahan ng pagmamahal sa pagkakagusto.
"If you only know how he got mad at our family. His wrath is unbelievable.."
"Anong ibig mong sabihin?"
She sighed. "The day he got back from Mindoro, the day he found out na pinalayas ka namin at nagbyahe ka mag-isa nang ganoong oras, he pulled out the Altamirano shares from our museum. He's the owner of all those shares and he pulled out everything, making the stocks drop drastically."
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "W-What?"
"If we let that be for even just a week, our museum and art galleries would have been already closed by now. Mom had to beg him for forgiveness, but he declined. At kung hindi lang kami tinulungan ni Tita Glacier, baka nga naghihirap na rin kami, A."
"I-I'm sorry.. Hindi ko alam.." Hindi makapaniwala ko siyang tinignan, hindi alam ang sasabihin.
Alam kong mayaman ang pamilya nila Rivers, pero hindi ko alam na ganoon kalaki ang impluwensiya niya sa business ng mga Palma. At hindi ako makapaniwala na nagawa niya iyon dahil sa galit sa nagawa nila sa akin.
"Ano nang nangyari? Maayos naba? I heard nagkaayos na kayo.."
She shrugged. "Well..okay kami ng pamilya niya. We were invited to his party just for show. Pero hindi niya pa binabalik ang shares niya. And I heard that he's planning to open his own studio using that."
