Kung ayaw mong maghintay, buy ka ng ebook na naka-sale for now dito: preciouspagesebookstore.com.ph/Product/Info/2844/IOU-Series-2--Ginger,-The-Actress
Kung ayaw mo naman, wait lang at 'wag demanding. Thanks.
____
Lucio was staring at the beautiful woman sleeping beside him. Mayroong sayang umalsa sa kanyang dibdib, bagaman hindi iyon buo. Just the same, being with Natalia was enough. At least for now. Hindi pa naibaba ang annulment ng babae at hindi rin nais ng kanyang pamilya na makisama siya rito.
Marahil hindi nga tama na makisama sa isang babaeng hindi pa ganap na malaya sa dati nitong asawa, ngunit under process na ang annulment ni Natalia at matagal nang nakasampa sa korte. For him, it was the same as being single. Lalo na kung matagal nang nagdurusa ang babae sa piling na lalaking pinakasalan. It was a bitter and scandalous separation.
Natalia Sandine Cruz-Ramirez was Lucio's life. He met her seven years ago. He let her go, thinking he had a lot of things to fulfill. How wrong was he. He shouldn't have let her go. Kung sana ay noon pa niya natuklasang hindi masaya ang mundo kung wala ito roon, marahil hindi sila kailanman nagkahiwalay. She was very heartbroken when she met her ex-husband. Rebound relationship, aminado si Natalia. Muling nakita ni Lucio ang babae tatlong taon na ang nakakaraan. Noon naunawaan ng binata na ito lamang ang kanyang minahal at mamahalin habang-buhay.
Ninais ni Lucio na ipakilala sa mga magulang at abuela si Natalia ngunit naisip niyang hindi matutuwa ang mga ito kapag nag-uwi siya ng isang babaeng mayroon pang asawa. Bukod doon ay hindi nawala ang katotohanang noon pa man, nais na ng kanyang mga magulang na pakasalan niya ang anak ng mga Sevilla. Inasahan ng mga ito sapagkat magiging isang malaking corporate marriage iyon. Corporate marriages were sort of like a family tradition. Mula sa kanyang abuelo at abuela at mga magulang ay nangyari ang ganoong pagsasanib-pamilya, na siyang dahilan kung bakit napakalaki na ngayon ng kanilang mga negosyo.
Nauunawaan ni Lucio kung gaano kaganda sa negosyo ang magiging pagpapakasal niya sa anak ni Mister Sevilla. They will take over Mister Sevilla's business, giving him whatever he needed and making sure that his family and future grandsons will be a part of a bigger company.
But Lucio thought it was time they stopped the tradition. He loved Natalia and she was the one he wanted to marry and spend the rest of his life with. Naniniwala siyang sa kanyang pamamalakad ay maaaring lumaki pang lalo ang negosyo ng pamilya. Granted, the Sevillas will help Lucio's father to achieve the goal of being one of the biggest food suppliers in Asia but in time, Lucio can place their company on top of the ladder as well. The biggest bonus was that he was going to be happy.
"Lucio," sambit ni Natalia, nagising na at hinaplos ang kanyang pisngi. "The most beautiful man in the world."
Napangiti siya at hinagkan ang kamay ng babae. "With the most beautiful woman on earth."
She laughed. How he missed that laughter. Nang una silang magkakilala ay hindi pa masasabing "ganap" ang transpormasyon ni Lucio. He was a product of an overachiever father and grandfather. It had been drilled in his head that he was born to be great and though it was tough to prove them right, he did it, not without consequences though. Noong bata pa ay hindi siya nakakakain masyado sa labis na pangambang bumaba ang marka o hindi iyon mapanatiling mataas. Kahit madalas na batid niyang kaya niyang mapanatili ang academic excellence, may tensiyon sa kanyang sistema, mayroong matinding takot.
He was a very shy kid. Ang mga oras niya ay kadalasang nauubos sa pag-aaral at pagbabasa. Hindi rin nakatulong na ang kanyang katawan ay nanatiling payat hanggang sa siya ay makapagtapos ng kolehiyo. Nagsimula siya noong magkaroon ng mga problema at nagtungo sa isang psychiatrist.
