Kami was surprised when he saw Mateo outside Yumi's bedroom that night.
He heard about what had happened in Governor General's mansion and wanted to ask Yumi about it. So he came here ngunit hindi niya inaasahang makikita ang binata doon.
The lad was sitting at balcony floor outside Yumi's room which kind of pitiful to see.
"Mateo, what are you doing here?" Kami asked.
"Naturally, I am here for my little wife. What about you?"
He blinked. "Well... I am here for my best friend, I guess."
Mateo squinted towards him. "I'd say, isn't it about time for you to hold back going in her room on your whim? She is mine now."
Kami crossed his arms on his chest. "Not yet. Technically. Hindi pa kayo kasal. And even if she is already married with you, the only one who can tell me to back off is her alone."
The latter looked at him coldly which just made him chuckled. He moved towards the lad and sat beside him.
"Yumi and I, we are inseparable, Mateo. We are a set. You take her then you are taking me as well too. You have no choice. The affinity between us isn't something your marriage can stop. Not unless she says so which is very unlikely."
The lad's lips twitched then with a glare, he asked Kami, "You are very confident, huh?"
"Life and death and life again... That's what my bond with her, Mateo. Naturally, I am confident that you can never surpass that even if she really falls for you in the future."
Mateo was about to open his mouth to tell him that he also had that same "life and death and life again" affinity with Yumi but the lad spoke first.
"Mateo, don't play dumb. You know what I mean. You and her were rivals in the pastlife. Although you made her work fun in some ways, that would never beat the fact that I am her dearest friend then and now.
"Besides, kung yun lang ang pagbabasehan, even that Sancho outranks you."
When Kami said this, Mateo quickly frowned.
He meant to ask Yumi for a long time now kung sino ba ang Sancho na iyon sa dating buhay niya.
She only told him na kagaya din nila ang binata na nagtransmigrate mula sa modern era. But she didn't exactly explain to him kung anong relasyon niya sa binata.
Then that thing happened in Don Enrico's residence.
Sa totoo lang, he was also very surprised at that day. He could tell even from a far that thick killing intent of Yumi while she was facing Sancho at that time.
He even had an inkling back then that she was really about to pull out her hidden blade and kill Sancho right that very moment. Fortunately, he rushed towards them and stopped her at once.
"Don't worry though. Our relationship will never cross that romantic side. I happen to like your sister, you know." Kami suddenly admitted which made Mateo stop thinking about Yumi and Sancho.
He looked at Kami with a scrutinizing look.
"My sister is not someone you can like. Besides, Yumi will never accept that."
"I can handle Yumi. It is true that she is possessive but that is only because she is the type of person who seldom cares to other people. But when she does, she wants to protect them and takes care of them the best she can. I just need to prove to her that Malia and I are meant to be. It will take a while but she will learn to accept it eventually.
"What I am more worried about is you. Naturally, I need your approval to officially court your sister."
"I am not going to approve that. I am still fixing my relationship with Yumi. How can I cause her disappointment again?"
Kami made a face. But he understood what Mateo meant.
But no matter, he was still firmed in beginning to court Malia.
He realized, now that the whole capital was already beginning to talk about the three ladies, Malia would definitely have admirers soon enough.
That's something he couldn't accept that easily.
He had this urging feeling that he should begin pursuing her now if he didn't want things to be too late.
So no matter what, even with or without approval from Mateo, he would court Malia now.
As for Yumi, she needed assurance from him, that's for sure. Assurance that even though both of them had already started to get into relationship with other people, they would still be the most important person for each other.
He, of course, still thought of Yumi as his best person in which ever world they were. He was prepared to prove that to the lady, he just hoped that Malia would understand it in the future, if ever they really ended up together.
Anyway, naputol ang iniisip ni Kami when Mateo had suddenly spoken.
"Tell me about that Sancho. The other day, Yumi was about to kill him. Tell me why she seems to be loathe him so much."
Kami was stunned. "What did you say? Yumi almost killed him?"
"Yes."
Kami was deep in his thoughts instantly. His expression was so serious.
Mateo just patiently waited for him though. That Sancho was not only garnering such big emotion from his little wife. Even Kami had a big reaction about him. He must not be just a simple person in their lives back then.
Soon, Kami had finally decided.
Mateo would marry Yumi. When that time came, he was no longer the person who would be beside her all the time. It would be this lad.
Since that was the case, Mateo should definitely know about Sancho then.
"Mateo, please don't tell Yumi that it is me who tell you this. I do not trust that Sancho especially when he is hovering around Yumi.
"Also, I think it is just natural that as her future husband you have to learn about the past of the two of them so you can also protect her. I won't be always around her but you will be. Therefore I am willing to give my trust on you.
"Sancho... In the past life, he was the love of Yumi's life. Yumi knew him since her trainee days as an agent. She developed feelings with him since he was always good to her. I also thought he was genuinely in love with her back then. They had never been in official relationship though. But I knew Yumi had almost accepted his proposal of engagement back then.
"That night though, when Yumi and I had died, it was all because of him. He just took over the leadership of the organization and gave Yumi the death mission himself. His people killed me when they found out that I was helping her to get away from that place. Then it was personally Sancho who lured Yumi towards the other members of the organization to kill her. In the end, Yumi chose to jump off the cliff instead of dying on their hands.
"This is the reason why Yumi has that huge killing intent towards Sancho whenever she was seeing him. Because he betrayed her. And yes, that's also why she is so big when it comes to trust and betrayals... why she was so angry with you back then.
"However, she cannot kill the Sancho in this era. No matter how angry she was, she cannot touch him at all. You see, five years ago, when Sancho lived in L City for a while, we both investigated him. We found out that he never knew about the past life. He might look very much as Sancho before, but he is not the same one.
"So Yumi has to reign over her desire to kill. I will appreciate it if you can help me with this. I do not want her to end up in a very difficult situation just because of the man with the same name and face as her previous lover."
This revelation made Mateo quiet.
He had his thoughts about Yumi and Sancho especially after he witnessed that happenings in Don Enrico's residence.
But he never thought it was this complicated.
He couldn't help frowning and clenching his fist though.
'...her previous lover.' Kami said.
Whether Sancho in this era was the same person or not, the fact that he reminded Yumi of her previous lover made Mateo's blood boil.
Yumi was his alone.
He didn't like the idea of having another lads presence lurking around her physically and mentally.
"Thank you for telling me all of this. Don't worry. Just me alone is enough to protect her. I will make sure she forgets about that guy and all of her feelings towards him. In this lifetime, she can only love and hate me."
Kami was stunned upon hearing those words.
Love and hate him?
He wanted to tell Mateo that it might not be a good idea. That maybe he should just settle for love instead. But upon seeing the foreboding expression of the lad's face, Kami just decided to remain silent.
***