The Politician's Affair (gxg)

Chapter 20

"Oh wait Ma'am, let me check first" at tinignan nito ang schedules ni Chelsea.

"No, Yes I am Miss Alcantara" pagsagot ko nalang dahil ayokong ma-confuse ito.

"Oh, okay Ma'am. Miss Chelsea is waiting for you in her office" at sinamahan ako nito sa isang puting pinto.

"Ma'am, Miss Alcantara is here" paganunsiyo nito.

"Okay, let her in" rinig kong sagot nito galing sa loob.

"Ma'am" pag-ngiti nito saakin at binuksan ang pinto para tuluyan akong pumasok.

There she is, seating behind her desk, gorgeous as ever. Inilibot ko ang paningin ko sa kaniyang opisina kung saan niya ginagawa ang sessions ng kaniyang mga kliyente. Minimal lang yung ambience and mafi-feel mo yung pagka-peaceful dahil narin sa kulay puti ang pintura ng silid. Sa may isang banda naman ay may pictures ng kaniyang pamilya; ang parents niya, pati yung mga anak ng Kuya Alejo niya at ang kapatid niyang si Alex.

"Have a seat" she stood up and pointed at the sofa beside the door.

"Thank you" and I sat down.

"Do you want some water? Hot tea or coffee?" tanong nito at umupo sa single sofa kaharap ng inuupuan ko.

"No thanks, hindi rin naman ako magtatagal.. I don't want to bother you more" page-explain ko and she just nodded her head—an indication na gawin kona ang dahilan kung bakit ako pumunta dito.

"Let me start by saying I am sorry for the pain that I caused you, Chelsea" and I looked intently in her eyes. "I know you have a lot of questions that are going on in your mind and I will try to answer them as less complicated as possible" and I sighed. "I came here dahil ayoko ng maging duwag; I dont want to end up regretting that I never tried to fight for you—for us. You may think that I already gave you up years ago but I never did.. I just did not have the courage to fight. But please I want you to know that I never gave up" this time, nagsimula ng gumaralgal ang bosis ko lalo na ng wala akong makitang emosyon sa mukha nito, "Right from the start, I know it was you that I want to be with for the rest of my life. As cliché as it may seem pero its you that I want to be with looking after our children and its you that I want to build a family with"

"Why are you telling me this now? Kung kailan may asawa at anak ka na" mapait na sabi nito

I cant help but smile, "You see, you never asked me about that part.. you just kept on stating it on my face. Pero I can't blame you. So the answer is no and yes. No, Lauren is not my wife nor my girlfriend or live-in partner. She is my first cousin on my Father's side. And yes, I have a child. Charlotte Jane Yuzon is my daughter"

"But Jane calls her Mama? And Yuzon? What happened to Hane?" confusion is written all over her face.

"Lauren was with us right from the start; magsimula noong nalaman ko na buntis ako at hanggang sa manganak ako. Mari even saw us one time when we were in Makati. And she is also younger than the both of us because she's only 30" huminga muna ako ng malalim at sumandal sa kinauupuan ko and while fidgeting my hands, I answered her another question, "Yes, Hane was the father of my daughter but I filed divorce for our marriage right before I knew that I was pregnant and the papers announcing that we are divorced were officially released the time you already went back to Spain 3 years ago"

"Wait. So you were already pregnant when I was still there?"

"Yes. But I only found out that I was pregnant during the time you were admitted in the hospital and weeks before the shooting, I already filed a divorce kasi hindi kona kaya" an uncontrollable sob escaped, "Bago kapa dumating ay matagal na kaming hindi okay ni Hane. He started abusing me noong napagtanto niya na hindi kami maka-buo ng anak at nagsimula siyang maghinala na mayroon akong iba. Kaya nung mga panahong tinutukso mo ako dahil ang init at naka-turtle neck ako, those were the times where I have many bad bruises on my neck and arms dahil sa pambubugbog na natamo ko sakanya one time" i smiled bitterly and sighed, "and when he raped me.." my voice cracked again. Matagal bago ako nakapagsalita ulit, "the same night that I had you.. thats when I realize na THE ABUSE SHOULD STOP AND THE MARRIAGE SHOULD END"

Matagal kaming natahimik. Walang kumikibo. Sobrang bigat ng dibdib ko.

"I was the reason why you were shot that day" not knowing how she will take the information, I said it anyway, "It was Hane's orders"

Nagulat ito at napa-hawak sa dibdib, "W-wait. What? W-why?"

I sighed, "Apparently, he doest need any investigator to stalk me because deep inside, he know that I have someone else.. he just doesnt know who" I looked at her, "It was actually me that they were about to shoot that day. But things went south because the shooters accidentally shot you instead of me"

Puno ng poot at galit ang makikita sa mga mata nito. Gusto ko siyang yakapin ng mahigpit but I dont think she will like the gesture.

"I'm really sorry, Chels" and I looked down, "The reason why I never visited you in the hospital is because I blamed myself and still blame myself until now that I ruined your life. You never deserved that..", namumuo nanaman ang luha sa mata ko at feeling ko ay pipiyok ako anytime, "And at the same time I never stopped finding the culprit behind the shooting. And to my surprise, mismong ang kupal kong asawa pala ang may pakana at nagtangkang pumatay saakin. Hindi ako tumigil noon hanggat hindi siya nakulong, kahit pa maraming bumack-up sakanya dahil siya ang former Congressman ng probinsya at kilala siya bilang mayaman at mayroong drug cartel. Lahat ng krimen nito ay sinampal ko sakanya pati narin ang kasong Physical Abuse at Rape. Pero ang gago ay naka-takas parin sa mapoot na buhay sa kulungan dahil pinalabas nito na siya ay may Psychological problem kaya hindi ito pwede roon and instead ay ipinasok ito sa isang Mental Facility. With those crimes, lalong dumagdag yung laban ko against him para sa divorce naming dalawa"

"But they never told me about that" pagtataka nito

"Because I pleaded your family not to" sagot ko, "I was the one who walked out of your life bago pa kita masaktan ulit dahil kung man masaktan kita ulit ay hindi kona mapapatawad pa ang sarili ko"

"Its not for you to decide" mapait na sabi nito, "Wala kang karapatan na ipagkait at itago saakin ang katotohanan"

"Chels, I caused you so much pain and I don't want to add more.." I told her with a desperate voice

She looked at me with disbelief in her eyes, "Still, Its not for you to decide. Anong alam mo sa ikasasakit ko at hindi?" She laughed, "You made me a mistress and now you're telling me you don't want me to get hurt? You don't want me to get hurt pero harap-harapan mong sinampal saakin na hindi mo ako mapili? And with those facts that you decided to hide from me, how well do you know me para mag-desisyon para saakin?" 

"I am choosing you now" I helplessly said

"I'm not one of your options, Bridgette" 

I was about to answer kaso biglang tumunog ang intercom nito, "Ma'am, I just want to inform you that your 12:00 is here" 

She stood up, faced her back on me and looked outside through her window 

I stood up but before leaving I told her, "I just want you to know that I am fixing everything and I will never give up winning you back" 

With a heavy heart, I left her office. 

I will never stop fighting for you, Chelsea. I already wasted 3 years of not being with you and I don't want to add more years to that record.