I'M MARRIED TO A STRANGER (UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20
Shocked

Arianne Shawna's POV:

Totoo nga ang sinasabi ni Lolo pagkalabas ko ng hotel natanawan ko na agad si Manong Roger, matagal na siyang nagtratrabaho bilang driver sa pamilya namin. Bata pa lang ako driver na siya. Siya din ang kasa kasama palagi ng Lolo ko.

Agad niya akong binati na sinuklian ko naman ng ngiti. Wala ako sa mood ngayon. Lumilipad ang isip ko sa sinabi kanina ni Dana at sa biglaang pag proxy ko sa Lolo ko sa dinner nila ni Doc Zyren.

Pinagbuksan ang ni Mang Roger at agad naman akong pumasok sa loob ng sasakyan. Hinintay ko lang din na pumasok siya at agad din naman kaming umalis. Sabi kasi ni Lolo nandoon na daw si Zyren sa restaurant. Kailangan ko na daw pumunta agad kasi nakakahiya naman at naghihintay si Zyren. Gosh! Mukha ba kong entertainer?

Kung hindi ko lang mahal ang Lolo ko at hindi ako makokonsensya na makita ang nadidismaya niyang mukha ay di naman ako pupunta. Hindi naman kasi kami close talaga ni Doc Zyren. We were just plain acquaintances at kadalasan namin usapan ay may kinalaman lang sa Lolo ko.

Habang nasa byahe nilibang ko na lang ang sarili ko sa pagtanaw sa labas ng bintana. Nilalaro ko din ang wedding ring namin ni Brett.

Almost half an hour ang naging byahe namin patungo sa Italian Restaurant. Agad naman huminto ang sasakyan namin sa tapat mismo at pinagbuksan ako ni Manong Roger para makababa.

Agad akong dumiretso sa loob ng restaurant at sinalubong naman ako ng isang receptionist. Ayon sa nameplate niya Grace ang pangalan niya. Maayos pagkaka pusod ng buhok niya at ni isang takas na buhok ay wala. She looks neat at nagcomplement sa balat niya ang uniform niya, it was dark green in color with gold accents and may scarf din. She was slim and has warm smile plastered on her face. Agad niya akong binati ng makita niya ako.

"Good evening ma'am. Do you have a reservation?" She asked.

"Yes, it was under the name of Albert Dominguez Sr." I told her and gave her a small smile.

"Wait for a moment ma'am." She politely said and rummaged on the files to check for my reservation.

"Your company is already here ma'am." She informed me.

Then she ushered me to the private rooms.

Sumakay kami sa lift because their private rooms are located on the upper floor of the restaurant. In no time we reached the room that was reserved by my Lolo.

"Enjoy your night ma'am." Makahulugan naman ang ngiting ibinigay sa akin ng receptionist. Well that was odd? Tinanguan ko na lang siya and didn't mind her mischievous smile.

Pinagbuksan niya naman ako ng pinto. And I just thought it was going to be a simple dinner! Halos mapanganga ako ng makita ko ang lugar.

My Lolo just set me up on a romantic dinner date with his favorite pet. Napakuyom ako ng kamay ko. I feel lost. Gusto ko magalit but I can't. Maybe what Dana heard was right.

The room has floor to ceiling windows there which overlooks the city and the night sky. There were rose petals all over the place and a table for two was placed at the center of the room. It was dimmed light and only the lanterns that was also scattered on the wooden floor gave light on the room.

Agad namang napatayo si Doc Zyren when he saw entered the room. Sinalubong agad niya ko he looks so tensed.

"Arisha." He called out my name as an acknowledgement to my presence and gave me an awkward smile he even scratched his face like he does not know what to say to me.

"Doc Zyren." I greeted him with a tight smile.

"So..." He said running out of words. I too do not know what to say. Nagkatinginan lang kame, talk about awkward. There were silence between us and only the instrumental music can be heard. Tapos bigla na lang kami parehong natawa.

"I think we should sit down." He offered me. And being the gentleman that he is he guided me to sit. Pinaghila niya ko ng upuan and I mumbled my thanks as I settled down. Umupo naman siya sa tapat ko. 

Agad naman dumating ang server to fill our glasses with red wine.

"I'm sorry. This is so awkward. I didn't know about this." Sabi ko sakanya as soon na umalis ang server.

"That's okay. I felt relieved to see you kasi nabigla din ako nung makita ang set up ng place knowing I will be having dinner with your Lolo. I didn't know what to think." Tila nahihintakutan niyang sabi. Natawa naman ako sa iniisip niya.

"We can ditch this naman if you are not comfortable." I told him and I sipped on the my glass of red wine.

"It's fine with me. No biggie. Sayang naman binayad ng Lolo mo might as well we take advantage of the situation." He said and warmly smiled at me.

"I'm sorry again because I think  my Lolo is playing cupid for us. I do not know what got on to his mind." I sincerely told him. Natawa naman itong si Zyren.

So ayun nga kumaen na lang kami ng dinner and we talked everything under the sun. Masaya naman kasama si Zyren di ka mabobore. He has a lot to share, makwento siya.

I know that after this night we could be friends. I do not feel anything talaga for him I only see him as a friend. And I think that is the relationship I could give him. Loyal ata yung mga hayop sa tyan ko kay Brett. Hay! Naalala ko na naman ang bwiset na 'yun. Somehow I am missing his presence.

We were having our dessert when my message alert tone chimed in. I excused myself so I won't seem to be rude to Zyren. I opened it to see it was a message from my Lolo.

"Is there a problem?" Zyren asked nakita siguro niya ang paglukot ng mukha ko.

"No nothing serious. Are you finished? Manong Roger can't pick me up. Lolo said na nagka minor problem yung sasakyan." I told Zyren.

" I could drive you home." He offered.

"Nako, nakakahiya. You don't need to. Masyado na kaming istorbo sa'yo. I know naman how hard your work is." I declined.

"I insist Arisha. No big deal. I somewhat feel responsible to you kasi ako ang kasama mo. Your safer with me." He said.

In the end, Zyren won and he drove me home.

"Thank you Doc. I enjoyed tonight. I'll also tell my Lolo not to disturb you anymore for his whims." I told him as soon as we reach our house. Nakatayo na kami pareho sa tapat ng bahay namin.

"I also enjoyed tonight Arisha. Thank you. Please drop the Doc. And it's totally fine with me when your Lolo always invites me."  He said and flashed me his boyish smile.

"Nako lagi mo kasi pinagbibigyan si Lolo." I said and playfully rolled my eyes at him. Natawa naman siya.

"Sige na Doc-" he glared at me at natawa naman ako.

"Okay let me rephrase it. Sige na Zyren you can go home now. Thank you again." I told him na natatawa pa.

"It's getting late na din. You should go inside then I'll leave." He said.

"Nako, I'll just watch you leave. Don't worry about me, ito lang bahay namin." I shooed him he raised his arms as sign of surrender.

"Okay, okay, okay. You won. I'll get going. Thank you Arisha I had fun." He said and I was so shocked and did not expect his next move he gave me a kiss on the cheeks!

Mabilis siyang tumakbo sa kanyang sasakayan at ako naiwang tulala. Kinawayan niya pa ko bago niya pina andar ang sasakyan niya paalis. I just watched him left. Natauhan naman ako.

But what even shocked me more was the man who throwing daggers at me right now.

"Brett" i mumbled as I watched his car leave.