Alden tried to make himself calm down but he felt suffocated by the sudden surge of anger from within him. He punched his wooden desk with his bare fist. The sound of his knuckles colliding with the surface made Valeen flinch.
"Is Maine okay?" He asked when his rage finally eased down a little as he allowed himself to collapse on his chair.
"Their camp hasn't issued an official statement yet. It's only been a couple of hours since the photos were posted. Pero anong sasabihin natin sa media, Gov?"
"I need to talk to Maine," he stated as he took his phone out to dial her number.
Three calls later and she still wouldn't pick up.
Maine, please talk to me. I need to know if you're okay. Please. Kausapin mo lang ako.
Alden bolted out of his office in frustration and headed for the bathroom, taking the urinal at the farthest end opposite the door. As he was finishing up, the two guys who just came in to take a piss continued their conversation, unaware that their topic was just a few feet away beside them.
"Jackpot si Gov, 'tol. Tangina. Maine Mendoza. Hot as fuck!"
"Sobrang sexy, pare. Imagine screwing that ass. Kainggit si Gov, puta,"
"She has a playgirl rep, though, right? Baka naman friends with benefits lang, pre."
"Baka nga. Andaming nalilink sa kanya, di ba? Wild girl. Must be wild in bed. Damn,"
It took every inch of Alden's self-control not to smash his fists on the two guys' faces. When the two men finally stepped out, he released his pent-up rage with yet another punch, this time on the bathroom wall. He watched his knuckles bleed and thought: I deserve this.
When he returned to his office, the first thing he did was to instruct Valeen on their next course of action.
"Call for a press conference this afternoon, Val."
***
Maine was halfway through a magazine pictorial when she found out about the scandal. Her handler Jerald whisked her away from the shoot when lunch break was announced.
"Meng, sabihin mo na sakin please,"
"Ang alin?"
"Kahit kailan di naman kita pinilit magkwento sa akin ng ayaw mo ikwento, di ba? And I know you want your privacy all the time, pero di na pwede. It's out, Meng."
"Je, tell me what's going on. Anong-"
"No, YOU tell me what's going on because I don't know how to fix this," Jerald replied sternly as he showed her the pictures.
Maine had to lean against the wall for support, her knees threatening to give way to the ground as she scanned the article and the scathing comments by people online.
Ginagamit lang siya ng pulitikong yan. Tatakbo kasi for Senator this coming elections. Use your brain, Maine Mendoza!
May bago na naman siyang boylet? Jowa of the month lol playgirl much???
Di ba bakla yang si Gov Faulkerson? Shala ng pang-cover up, Miss Universe pa!
Sayang naman si Gov Faulkerson, kala ko pa naman mataas standards niya sa girls. Maganda at sexy lang din pala ang hanap. Hay, how typical of guys! #LibogWins
FLIRT ALERT! Miss Universe more like girlfriend ng buong universe hahahahahaha
Magbbreak din yan. #WalangForever
"Just...just give me time, Jerald. Sorry sa sakit ng ulo pero, I need to think about this," she apologized to her handler.
"Sorry napagtaasan kita ng boses, Meng. Okay ka lang ba? Hanggang ngayon ba di mo pa rin kinakausap si Gov?"
This was precisely what Maine was trying to prevent from happening but it still did. She glanced at her phone and saw that Alden called her twenty-five times today. She did a quick math inside her mind.
141 missed calls since she cut off their contact from that Friday morning.
"Maine, you have to go back for make-up and styling for the next half of the shoot. Can you manage?"
"Huh? Uh...oo, kaya ko 'to. I will talk to Gov later," she promised.
The atmosphere visibly changed when she stepped back inside the studio for her second makeup. Everyone tried to act nonchalant around her but she could still see and hear the hushed whispers and the stolen glances thrown her way.
Maine wanted to vanish.
Thankfully, all she had to do was close her eyes as her stylist began removing her makeup in order to apply the new one.
A few minutes later, the comfortable hum of the TV playing in the background was replaced by the flash report prompt that signalled breaking news: Governor Faulkerson was making an important announcement through the press.
"Uh, would you like me to turn off the TV, Maine?" Her stylist kindly asked.
"No, that's fine. I'm okay," she answered weakly while looking at Alden's still handsome face in the TV screen.
I missed you so much. I'm so sorry I dragged you into this mess.
"Sorry for bothering you all today, but thanks for coming over. I'm here to make two formal announcements," Alden stated matter-of-factly, wasting no time in getting to his point.
"First, I have declined all invitations by three different parties to run under their banner for the senatorial race later this year. I am also officially announcing that I will not run for re-election for Governor of Laguna nor any other positions in this upcoming elections."
There was an audible gasp from the media people present in the conference. Maine's heart started beating swiftly in anticipation of his next announcement, which obviously had something to do with her.
"I would just also like to make it clear, in reference to the circulating photos in the internet at this moment, that Miss Maine Mendoza is not my girlfriend."
A tear escaped Maine's waterproof-mascara eyes.
Alden looked directly in front of the camera, as if he knew that somewhere, Maine was watching him at that exact time.
"Miss Nicomaine Dei Mendoza is my fiancee."
Sober
Start from the beginning
