Running Away from the Billionaire (LOB series #4)

Chapter 30

I'm glad that he's the type of person who can sense into someone's mood. May mga klase kasi ng tao na hindi marunong makiramdam. Si Gerard, hindi siya umiimik dahil alam niya na wala ako sa mood. It must've been so obvious because I know that Gerard is not this silent. Mahilig din siyang mag biro at makipag kwentuhan sa mga empleyado... parang yung isa na kilalang-kilala ko.

"I'll play something if it's alright with you." Tumango ako. Kahit yata siya na awkward na sa sobrang tahimik naming dalawa. Nahihiya ako pero wala talaga ako sa mood makipag kwentuhan ngayog gabi.

We're only getting older baby
And I've been thinking about it lately
Does it ever drive you crazy
Just how fast the night changes?

My brows turned into an arch when I heard Night Changes by One Direction started playing on his stereo. Nasa chorus na din ang kanta ibig sabihin naputol pang yung tugtog kanina dahil huminto ang sasakyan at tumuloy nung pinindot niya ang play button.

He side glanced at me as he continues to drive. Sinubukan kong pigilan ang mapangiti dahil sa kanya. He rolled his eyes.

"Oo na. Nakikinig ako sa One Direction. What's the problem with that?" Hindi ko na napigilan pang matawa. He rolled his eyes again. "Can't a man listen to One Direction?"

"Sinong mag aakala na nakikinig ka sa One Direction? Gosh, magiging tampulan ka ng tukso kapag nalaman to ng mga staffs sa hotel!" I laughed again.

"Don't you even dare Ms. Vasquez." Imbes na matakot ay natawa lalo ako sa reaction niya. I wiped the tears from the side of my eyes that I got from laughing way too hard.

"Good to hear you laughing again." Natahimik ako bigla. He quickly glanced at me. He doesn't look annoyed though. He was just... smiling. "I wasn't really a fan of that band. It was my girlf—ex-girlfriend. I just found myself liking those songs that she used to play inside my car."

Hindi ko alam na may girlfriend siya nung pumasok ako sa office? Wala akong nabalitaan but I heard that he was single... O baka naman bago pa ako pumasok ng office?

"Mela used to listen to those songs before she was diagnosed with cancer." I immediately looked at him when I heard what he said.

"I'm sorry." I didn't know I. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako humihingi ng tawad samantalang hindi naman siya mukhang malungkot. He chuckled.

"It's fine. It has been a year already. I know she's alright wherever she is." Nakangiti parin na sabi niya sa akin. Isang taon palang. Hindi pa ganon katagal.

Ang lungkot siguro ng taong to.

Parang biglang nanliit yung sakit na nararamdaman ko... parang biglang nawalan ng saysay yung mga bagay na pinagdadaanan ko.

It hurts to lose someone you love, everyone knows it, because at some point we all lost someone important to us, but it's another thing to lose that person to death because you can't do anything but to surrender.

Lalo na kapag nakikita mo nang nahihirapan yung taong mahal mo.

"Hey don't stare at me like that. I swear I'm fine." He stopped at red light and looked at me. "I've moved on."

"How can you easily move on in that situation?" Alam kong masakit mawalan kaya alam ko din na nagpapanggap lang siyang malakas. It's not that easy because I've felt it when I lost my father. He smiled at me.

"It's not like I have a choice."

Hindi ako nakapagsalita. He's right. Wala naman siyang ibang magagawa kundi ang tanggapin na lamang na nasa mga ala-ala nalang niya yung taong mahal niya.

"The truth is, it was hard... to accept what happened? It was hard for me. We've been together for seven years and just like that... she was gone." Bumuntong hininga siya bago pinaandar ulit ang sasakyan. Sinasabi niya na okay na siya pero alam ko na nasasaktan parin siya.

"It's okay to not be okay." He chuckled and shook his head.

"She's gone and there's nothing else I can do but to move forward."

"Yeah." Was the only thing I can think of saying.

Sandali kaming natahimik. Nawalan na din ako ng sasabihin. I respect Gerard as a person... as a leader, but now that I've learned this things about him, I started to respect him as a man.

"The truth is... Unless you let that person go... unless you forgive yourself for the things that you have no control over... you can't actually move on." He said and I just listened. "You know what it actually taught me?" He quickly glanced at me and I shook my head.

"It taught me that there are things that we don't want or expect to happen but it happened.. and we can't do anything but to accept it. Then there's the person you love, we don't want to lose them, but if they want to leave we have to let go."

"If it comes back then it's yours, ganon?" Tanong ko pero umiling siya but then it made him think.

"Wel, sure, it can be." Kumunot ang noo ko. Then the car stopped and I looked outside only to see that we are in front of my building. He removed his hand on the steering wheel and looked at me. "We let go because in letting go we all find what we are actually looking for."

I waved at Gerard as he started his engine again. Gusto pa niya sana akong pag buksan ng pinto pero inunahan ko siyang makababa.

The ride home with Gerard was the most sensible ride I've had in my entire life. It was a good thing to bump into him on one of the worst nights of my life. His words had made my head clearer.

I took my phone out from my bag and took a deep breath before I dialled Klaus' number.