Alden Richard Faulkerson is a successful architect, the quintessential office hunk who breaks women's hearts because............. Surprise! He's gay. Nicomaine Dei Mendoza is the corporate IT Girl with a bad reputation but a good heart. The two ar...
The walked inside, hand in hand. Niko was on the couch, talking to someone on the phone. He looked at Alden and seemed taken aback to see him. Alden draped an arm around Maine's neck, kissing her on top of her head. She looked up at him and smiled, then pulled him to meet her brother.
"Kuya, this is Alden. Alden, meet my Kuya Nico."
"Bro....."
"Hi Nico..."
They shook hands, sizing up each other. Nico was tall and slim, with bushy eyebrows,a straight nose and thin lips. He had an easy smile and broad shoulders, a casual manner about him. He was a software engineer based in Australia, about to get married in a few months.
They talked about scale models, since both were into assembly and collection of such. Nico was into aircraft while Alden was into cars. Maine was pleased to see them getting along, while she was setting the table for their dinner.
At the table, Nico noticed how attentive Alden was to Maine. He saw that Alden was so attuned to her, even reminding her to take her asthma maintenance meds.
"Grabe sa alaga, bro."
"Your sister is worth it Nico. Ang swerte ko naman sa kanya."
"Actually ako ang swerte sayo," Maine said, caressing his jaw.
The way they acted towards each other made Nico a little envious. Who would have thought that this little squirt of a sister, the proverbial ugly duckling, would find herself a guy who seemed genuinely in love with her.
"Mabuti naman at nakatagpo ka ng tulad ni Alden. Swerte mo, bukod sa mukhang mabait si Alden, guwapo pa. May chance ka na magkaroon ng babies na magaganda."
:Hay naku eto na naman po kami. Kuya don't start."
"Anong kuya don't start?"
Nico started laughing and warmed up to setting the mood for his bullying.
"Napakita na ba sayo ni Maine ang pictures niya nung bata pa? Wait, may photo album dito eh."
He pulled out an album from one of the cabinets and sat down beside Alden, not noticing that Alden was not amused. He scanned through the album and showed a photo.
"Heto bro, baby pa lang nakakatakot na siya. Ang layo niya sa kaatid pa naming isa, si Nicole."
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"Ha? Ang cute kaya. Baby ka pa lang Maine maganda na mata mo."
"Eh tignan mo siya dito."
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"What's wrong with it? She looks adorable. She has a wonderful smile."
"Kuya tigilan mo na nga yan."
"Last na, last na. Heto bro, mas guwapo kapatid ko dito kaysa sayo."
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"See? May game kami nito eh, naalala mo yun Maine? Yung bright saka dim?"
"Kuya......tsk."
Alden was looking at Maine, observing her discomfort over her brother's jokes. As he was figuring a way to cut the joking, her brother went for the kill.
"Alam mo nung time na yan, patay na patay si Maine sa isang kabarkada ko. Eh pano naman siya papansinin, tignan mo nga siya? Mukhang nagbibinata hahahaha.......badingin ampota."
"That's enough."
He couldn't stand it anymore. He wondered if there was a reason for this cruelty, and he knew that there were wounds that cut deep through what seemed like harmless ribbing between siblings. Unsmiling, he looked at Nico with a steely gaze, challenging him to continue.
"Baby, bihis ka. Alis tayo."
"San tayo pupunta?"
He looked at her and smiled gently, kissing her on the forehead. He whispered to her.
"Sa bahay ka na matulog, miss kita eh."
As Maine went to her room to change, he took the photo album from Nico.
"Kung pwede, akin na lang ito. I want to keep Maine's photos, para kapag nagkaanak na kami, papakita ko sa mga anak namin kung gaano kaganda mommy nila nung bata pa."
"You're just saying that pero iiwan mo rin siya later on."
"Nico, you have a wonderful sister. Despite your bullying, she turned out to be sweet and loving. But she has low self-esteem and your bullying from way back until now is making it worse. But it has to stop, ok? Tama na. Please don't force me to intervene because ayokong magkagalit tayo."
Maine was finally dressed, she skipped happily to Alden's side. She was wearing a yellow spaghetti-strap dress, light make-up and her signature red lipstick. Alden whistled at her.
"Ganda naman."
She smiled at Nico and gave him her phone. "Kuya, kunan mo nga kami, please. Gusto ko palitan screen ng phone ko."
Wordlessly, Nico took their photo. He checked the photo he took and his breath caught. Indeed, he had a beautiful sister.
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They walked away from him, Alden's hand on Maine's waist, stealing a kiss on her cheek. Maine laughed and pinched his middle, and for some reason, Nico felt pain in his chest.
He knew his little sister had a new hero, and he just wasted his chance all these years to be that to her.
