Dagger Series #8: Uncovered

Chapter 8: Question

Uso kasi ang spirit animal sa mga kapatid ko at mga asawa nila. Lucienne and Kuya Thorn are the unicorn couple, Lia and Kuya Gun are the dragon couple, Belaya and Kuya Pierce are the Lion and Kitten couple, bunny is Mireia and Kuya Axel's spirit animal, shark for Circe and Kuya Coal, and a snake and mouse are for Tiara and Kuya Domino.

Nagsalita si Kuya Domino na ngingisi-ngisi. "May spirit animal na siyang ni-ready noon pa."

"Ano?" tanong ni Kuya Trace.

"Bear daw. Specifically, brown bears, since they mate for life."

There was a collective groan and laughter that could be heard in the room. Nalukot ang ilong ko. Hindi ko alam na natatandaan niya pa. I think it was during Lia's case that I mentioned to him what I wanted as my spirit animal.

Kuya Trace snickered. "Bear na laging nasa hybernating season."

Binigyan ko siya ng matalim na tingin. "Dapat talaga ikaw ang huling inanak ni Mama para hanggang ngayon wala ka pa ring love life."

"Bakit? Ikaw nga bunso na pero kasal ka na ngayon."

"Ako 'yon. Kung nagkataon na huli kang ipinanganak ang tahimik siguro ng buhay ni Ember ngayon kasi iba ang napangasawa niya."

Sa pagkakataon na ito ay mukha niya naman ang nalukot ng sa kaniya mapunta ang pang-aasar ng mga kapatid namin sa pangunguna nina Kuya Coal at Kuya Domino.

It was Kuya Thorn who clapped his hand to get everyone's attention again. "Focus, guys." His gaze went to me. He rubbed his chin unconsciously. "May nakakausap ka pa ba sa mga taong nagpakita sa'yo ng interes noon o naging karelasyon mo?"

He must have found this awkward. I'm his little sister. He was basically the one who became a parent to me when we lost our parents. Or one parent.

"Zachary Carter, Daniel Bennett, Weston Donovan, and Brandon Mitchell. I only went out with Zachary twice when we were in our fourth year of high school, but we decided to just stay as friends. I dated Daniel in my second year of college, but he got a wandering eye, so I rather we stop going out and just be friends, kesa naman magkaroon pa kami ng problema. I met West when I was twenty, LDR didn't work out for us, and then there's Brandon, whom I met when I was twenty-two and he became my boyfriend briefly before I called it quits."

"Why did you call it quits with Brandon?" Kuya Pierce probed.

"He's rich." Nang napuno ng pagtataka ang mukha niya ay nagpatuloy ako, "Everything's been handed to him. He doesn't have any plans for the future since he'll inherit their business. He's not passionate about everything except spending the money he has. Sanay siyang makuha ang lahat ng gusto niya ng hindi niya pinagihirapan. He's a good person, but I knew we wouldn't last, so I ended it early. You all know I'm passionate about what I do. I wanted to be with someone who shows the same commitment to what he does."

"But you stayed friends with them?"

"They are all good people. Zachary's an art curator, and he has a gallery. Siya ang contact namin kapag kailangan namin ng artist sa mga photoshoot ng Maven. Karamihan sa mga painting na meron kami sa Maven ay nabili namin sa kaniya at may contact na kami na artist na lagi naming nakakatrabaho dahil sa kaniya. Then there's Daniel and his wife. I'm friends with them since they're both photographers that I happened to work with a couple of times, so I'm on good terms with them as well. Weston is part of an American publishing organization, so I often talk to him, and Brandon's business is all about paper products, and they are our main supplier."

"Have you met any of them recently?" Kuya Gun asked.

"Not really. Si Alex siguro, oo. But I'm going to meet Brandon later today, next Monday makikipagkita ako kay Daniel at sa asawa niya, and the following week I'll be attending Zachary's event."