Life After Lies

FORTY TWO: FOUND

Nakarating ako sa RRE sa takdang oras. But before that, bumalik muna ako sa hotel para mag ayos ng sarili ko. Ayokong humarap sa tatay ko na hindi maayos. Baka mamaya hindi nya ko kilalanin.

Nandito na ko sa waiting area papunta sa main office nya. Nagkaroon lang daw urgent meeting sa loob kaya nag intay pa ako. Di bale na, sanay naman akong mag hintay.

"Mademoiselle, tu peux entrer," nakangiting sambit ng secretary ni Mr. Rios at iginiya ako sa office of the president.

(Miss, you can come in)

Napatango ako at agarang tumayo. Pinag buksan ako ng pinto at dahan-dahan akong pumasok. Maingat akong humakbang hanggang sa nag tagpo ang mga mata namin.

Ang P-Papa ko. If I'm not mistaken he's at his 40s. He has a white complexion and a narrow nose. His eyes are as deep as well. Napanganga ako habang pinag mamasdan sya. Totoo na ito, I-I found him.

"Asseyez-vous, que puis-je faire pour vous?" mahinahong bungad nya.

(Sit down, what can I do for you?)

Naupo ako sa katapat ng kanya at marahang napalunok. Paano ko sasabihin na a-ako ang anak nya?Bahala na. I need this, kung hindi nya ko tanggap ay okay lang. "Je suis venu ici pour des affaires personnelles, Mr. Rios"

(I came here for personal business, Mr. Rios)

Tumango sya at naupo ng maayos habang nag hihintay ng kasunod kong sasabihin. "Tu te souviens encore de Francine?"

(Do you still remember Francine?)

Shock plastered on his face as he heard the name Francine. "Who are you, a-are you related to her?"

Marahan akong napatango at di na napigilan pa ang nag babadya kong mga luha. "I-I'm her daughter, M-Mr. Rios"

Dahan-dahang napatayo sya sa gulat at napaawang ang kanyang bibig. "T-Then you must be F-Franceska?"

I slowly nodded at tumayo na rin. "Ravi de vous rencontrer, p-papa"

(Nice to meet you, Papa)

I saw how his tears slowly fell down to his cheeks and he went closer and hugged me tightly. "If this is a dream, then I don't want to wake up. I've been longing for you since the day that I knew about you, my Franceska"

Humikbi ako habang nananatiling nakayakap sa kanya. "P-Papa, Mama's dead. I didn't even h-hug her once before she d-died"

Hinagod nya ng marahan ang aking buhok. "I know she's happy, now that we're together. Hush now"

Tumango ako at ilang minuto pa bago ako bumitaw sa yakap nya. Naupo kami sa kanyang sofa at nag usap.

"How did you know that I'm here? I'm just finishing my works so that I can come to the Philippines but then you came, you found me," gulat pa ring tanong nya.

Naalala kong bigla ang mga naiwan ko sa Pilipinas. "My p-parents told me about you, just recently"

He smiled at me and tapped my head. "I thought It will be hard for me to get you from them. Do you have plans of staying here with me or are you gonna go back to the Philippines?"

I need to tell my condition. Kung tatanggapin nya pa rin ba ako kapag nalaman nyang nabuntis ako. "Papa, I-I have to tell you something"

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"I'm p-pregnant," nahihiya kong sagot at saglit na napatungo.

Napaupo sya ng maayos sa gulat at mariin akong tinitigan. "You what?"

"I'm p-pregnant, I-I'm sorry"

He raised his eyebrow at seryoso akong tinitigan. Oh well, he's really my Papa. "Who's the father? Why you went here alone, huh? Does Elis know this?"

"Papa, they don't know. I kept this from them. A-And about the father of my b-baby, he's a D-Del Prado," kinabahang sagot ko.

"Del Prado? Is that— don't tell me, that bastard is the son of Elis and Alberto?" gulat na tanong nya at marahan na lang akong tumango.

"Franceska, what did you do? Even the father doesn't know that you're pregnant, am I right?" he furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me intently.

"Y-Yes, Pa"

"Was he cheated? I'll book a flight to the Philippines. Je tuerai ce salaud!" inis na sagot nya. He was about to dial on his phone nang pigilan ko sya.

(I'll kill that bastard!)

"Pa, c-calm down it's okay. I-I'm fine without him," naiiling na sagot ko.

He patted my head at bumuntong hininga na lang. "You're like your Mom. I'm sorry for the past years without me. I didn't know that Francine's pregnant when she left"

Kagaya nga ako ng nanay ko. Pareho kami ng kapalaran. Ang kaibahan lang ay hindi ako pumatol sa may asawang tao.

"I h-have a wife and a d-daughter but I chose to date another girl. It's hard for my wife to accept the truth that's why your Mom left me. I f-fell in love with her but I knew from the start that it was wrong. Yes, I'm a jerk. But I regret nothing because in the end, I have you," mahabang paliwanag nya at bigla akong yumakap sa kanya at nag landas muli ang aking mga luha.

"That's why I'm asking you if the father of my grandchild cheated on you. I saw the pain on my wife when I lied to her, and I don't want you to feel the same"

Kumalas ako sa pag kakayakap at nginitian sya. "He isn't, Pa. I j-just hide this to him because I thought we're s-siblings"

"He doesn't know that you're adopted?"  nag tataka nyang tanong at umiling na lang ako. They lied to me, I left and kept my baby away from them. Fair enough.