THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE (COMPLETED)

Chapter 30: Forgiveness

"Please take care of my wife for a while. Babalik din po ako kaagad." naglakad na siya paalis habang may idina-dial sa telepono.

"Son..  Come back here. What are you going to do?!" sigaw ni Mr. Collin, ngunit patuloy lang sa paglalakad si Kaiser. Lumabas naman si Cassian at Harsh dahil narinig nila ang pagsigaw ng ama.

"Dad..  What happened? Where's Mr. Kaiser?" tanong ni Cassian.

"He left." Mr. Collin sighed heavily. Balak sanang sundan ng magkapatid si Kaiser ngunit pinigilan sila ng ama. "Let him be son. He has to do something to vent his anger."

Pumasok sila sa loob ng silid at ipinaalam kina Alli, at Alex ang balita.

Nagda-drive si Kaiser ng mabilis. Mabuti na lamang at alas-11 na ng gabi at wala masyadong lumalargang sasakyan, ngunit wala na siyang pakialam kung habulin pa siya ng mga traffic enforcer. Galit siya. At hindi niya malaman ang gagawin sa galit na nararamdaman. Kaagad niyang kinuha ang telepono saka tinawagan ang kaibigang abugado. Nilagay niya sa loudspeaker ang phone.

"Bud..  Where are you?"

"I'm at the club. May dinaanan ako dito. Why?"

"Sisingilin sana kita ng utang mo." to other it may sound like a joke. But, not for them.  Kaiser's voice is flat and serious. Kaagad naman itong nasense ng kausap.

"What do you want me to do. Bud?"

"Ano ang pinakamabigat na sentensya ang makukuha ng taong gumawa nito sa asawa ko?"  puno ng galit na tanong ni Kaiser, kinuyon niya ang kamay na nakahhawak sa manubela saka ito sinuntok ng usang beses.

"We have to talk. Bud.. Pumunta ka rito sa Club. Wag ka munang pumunta sa presento, if you hurt her, baka bumaliktad pa ang kaso. Okay? I'll wait for you here."

Agad na nagU-turn si Kaiser, at pinaharurut ang kotse.

"You can press charges against her with using violence, obstruction of justice and attempted murder. Pwede siyang mahatulan ng 15-18 years. But, if the hotel management will file a case of tresspassing and damage to property, it will be more than 20 years in prison."
Masusing paliwanag ni Att. Nathan.

Inabot ni Kaiser ang isang bote ng alak saka sinalinan ng baso sa harapan niya.

"Can you do something to make it longer? I want her to spend the rest of her life in prison." Kaiser asked his friend in a menacing voice.

Ang Kaiser na kaharap ni Att. Nathan ay iba sa kaibigan na nakasanayan niyang kalmado at hindi padalos-dalos mag -decision.
Att. Nathan tapped his shoulder.

"You should calm down first Bud,..  You know , I can arrange everything for this case to be closed in a matter of time without going through the process. I can send her to jail and let her stay there forever. But,  Bud..  Your wife once considered her as a sister and if you.. " pinigilan ni Kaiser ang anumamg sasabihin ng kaibigan. His mind is already clouded of anger.

"She almost killed my wife Nate! I almost lose my wife and my child. Because of that woman!" Kaiser hissed. Naibato niya ang hawak na baso dahil sa galit niya.

"You're wife's pregnant? Then, we can add that to Irene's case."

"God knows, how much I wanted to strangle her to death. But, the thought of leaving my wife and be sent to jail stopped me. Ang tanging magagawa ko na lang ngayon ay hayaan ang batas na panagutin siya." umupo si Kaiser saka sinuklay ang buhok ng kamay.

"She's been through a lot Nate..  My wife's been hurting because of them. And the whole time I spent watching her suffered in their hands slowly kills me. It fucki'n kills me!!  At ngayon na nakuha ko na siya mula sa kanila, hindi ko pa nagawang protektahan ng maayos." Nilagok ni Kaiser ang bote ng alak. Bumigat ang bawat paghinga niya.