I heard him sigh heavily again after he asked the question so I cleared my throat again before answering.
"Maayos po." I simply answered back.
"If you can't attend the event, I can just assign someone. Just rest"
His voice was naturally deep but I guessed it was much deeper when he softly answered like this.
"Makakaabot po ako." Tumayo ako mula sa pagkakaupo sa higaan ko at naglakad palapit sa veranda.
I am sure that I will be healed after few days, at sayang rin naman kong hindi ko magagamit ang damit na pinasadya pa para sa akin. Ayoko ng makaabala pa kung kaya ko naman.
"Are you sure?" He breathily asked which made his voice deeper.
"Opo." Agaran kong sagot at tumingin sa malawak at maliwanag na siyudad ng metro.
"Okay...goodnight and rest...maghihintay ako." Mas marahan nitong sagot ngayon.
He didn't talked anymore after that and he himself ended the call kaya hindi na rin ako nakasungbat pa.
I let out a deep breath right after and rubbed my arms. Ramdam ko bigla ang pagtayo ng balahibo ko sa rahan ng boses niya. His voice is naturally cold and deep despite his playful aura and that is probably one of his charisma, not just as a singer but as an artist.
And no wonder, maraming nahuhumaling sa kanya kasama na ang kapatid ko.
Bumalik ako sa pagkakahiga pagkatapos pero hindi ko pa nahihila ang kumot ko ng bigla ulit tumunog ang cellphone ko. Sir Pierce came to my mind first so I quickly reached for my phone, baka may nakalimutan siyang sabihin.
But he isn't.
Still, I didn't hesitate to answer the call and stood up from my bed. It is another important call for me.
My heart leaped for a moment upon hearing her voice again. Ngayon lang ulit siya tumawag sa akin kaya dapat hindi ko na palampasin.
"Ma..." I happily answered.
"I'm here outside." She simply answered back which made my eyes wide.
Dali-dali akong lumabas ng kwarto ko at binuksan ang main door ko. My smile widened more upon seeing her standing in front of my unit kaya hindi ko na napigilan na yakapin siya.
I heard her chuckle as he tapped my shoulder. Humiwalay ako sa kanya at lumayo.
"I am here for something important, Liberty."
Tumango ako at kaagad siyang pinapasok sa loob. She sat down on my sofa at ngayon ko lang napagtanto na may sipon ako kaya hangga't maaari ay hindi ako pwedeng lapitan, especially her.
Just like Pierce she has work too at bawal siyang magkasakit o magkasipon. She then opened her bag, and pulled out a mask which she wore. Naglabas rin siya ng alcohol at binuhusan ang palad niya.
Napatikhim ako at napaiwas ng tingin. I shouldn't have hugged her.
"Sasama ka kay Pierce sa birthday ko diba?"
Kaagad akong tumango. She nodded her head too and looked around my apartment.
"Mukhang malapit ka kay Matilda...and I heard that Brianna met him exclusively on his own condo."
I blinked my eyes several times with her statement pero muli akong napatango.
Her eyes widened a little bit with my confirmation and chuckled. Her chuckles are somehow always making me uncomfortable. Kahit noong bata pa ako, I could always hear her sarcastic chuckle whenever she was fighting Papa.
"Pierce and Matilda are always strict with privacy, and you were able to bring Brianna inside his condo. So maybe...you could convince Matilda na pwedeng magtagal si Pierce sa birthday ko? Andra requested it, she just wanted more time with Pierce. Para na lang sa kapatid mo?"
Napababa ako ng tingin sa turan niya. I forgot that she just wanted to see me whenever she is requesting something, and I bet she hasn't visited Brianna this month. Isang beses lang rin siya bumisita sa kanya noong nakaraan na buwan.
I smiled bitterly. "Si Sir Pierce po mismo ang nag imbita sa kapatid ko noong sinabi kong fan po siya, ganon na rin po si Ma'am Matilda."
"Oh? Really? Pumayag siya dahil lang doon? Then you must be really close!" She enthusiastically answered instead.
Umiling kaagad ako. "Hindi po, nagkataon lang po dahil gustong gusto siya ni Brianna."
She quickly shook her head too. "Could you at least try? Nahihirapan ang kapatid mong sumingit sa oras ni Pierce."
I closed my eyes for a brief moment, trying to endure the talk pagkatapos ay muli akong tumingin sa kanya.
"Please, Liberty..." She added more.
Wala na akong nagawa. I nodded my head slowly and she clasped her hand with happiness.
"Or maybe you could just reason out na gusto mong magtagal dahil fan kita? That you wanted to talk to me. How about that?" She added more happily.
Mas lalo akong napangiti ng mapait pero sa isipan ko na lang iyon. How cruel is that for me as her child, huh? Ang hirap humingi ng oras at makibagay. This shouldn't be our situation as a mother and child but I've been hearing the same words from her from the very start.
Mahirap pa rin talaga at masakit kahit na sanay na ako.
For the next few days, Ronald came back again to take care of me pero sinabihan ko siya na maayos na ang pakiramdam ko. I am sure I will be more than fine the day of my Mom's birthday.
Sir Pierce didn't text nor call me anymore after that last call that we had. Before the day of the event, my simple dress came in a huge box at sa unit ko mismo dineliver, it also came with a box of heels. I was expecting a text or call from Sir Pierce and he indeed texted me, informing me that I will have a makeup artist.
Hindi na muli akong komontra dahil bukod sa baka nagpaschedule na siya ay nahihiya na rin naman na akong tumanggi.
And so before going to bed after checking the list of guests, I checked my dress and shoes.
I slowly opened the box, quite excited. Hindi ko rin naman maitatanggi na mahilig rin ako sa ganitong bagay. We didn't have an option at work to dress whatever we wanted, dahil hindi naman pwede. At ngayon lang ulit ako magsususot nito kaya hindi ko rin mapigilan na makaramdam ng excitement.
I gently held the dress in my hands and looked at myself in the mirror. It was a silver dress with silk fabric, umabot yon sa medyo mas mataas na parte ng hita ko. It has a black ribbon with glitters wrapped around the shoulder area, it is almost an off shoulder dress.
Hindi ko mapigilan na mapangiti, ngayon lang ulit ako magsususot nito. It looks kinda short but I could manage. I also tried my silver heels right after, hindi iyon pointed at hindi rin naman kataasan, kaya ko rin namang tumakbo kapag nagkataon.
The next morning is the day of the event pero dahil hapon naman ay naglinis pa ako ng unit ko ng umaga. I also had some exercise for not being able not to do it these last few days.
Before two ay nakaligo na ako at mga bandang alas tres ay dumating na ang sinasabi ni Sir Pierce na makeup artist. There was one gay and one girl. Hindi ako pamilyar sa kanila pero sinabihan na rin naman ako ni Pierce ng mga pangalan nila.
"Hmmm....your skin looks so flawless, actually masyadong makinis. Nagtratrabaho ka ba talaga sa military?"
Namula ako sa tanong ni Savannah, the gay makeup artist.
Ate Kristel chuckled. "Of course she is, nasa genes yan no. All natural diba Liberty?"
Brianna and I have the same skin texture, at dahil iyon kay Mama.
They started their business with me at habang nasa kalagitnaan kami ay biglang tumunog ang cellphone ko. It was on my lap because I am waiting for updates too. I looked at it and it was Sir Sebastian that was calling. Agaran ko itong sinagot.
"Sir?"
"Just meet Sir Pierce at the parking lot. May susundo sayo at hintayin mo na lang kami doon. Ako na ang bahala sa paghahatid sa kanya at nasa trabaho pa si Sir Pierce."
"Sige po." I simply answered.
"Don't forget to check the premises, and the guests. Be always alert at huwag na huwag kang hihiwalay sa kanya." He added more.
Napahinga ako ng malalim. It will be a long night for me but it's fine. It is also my Mom's birthday at minsan ko rin lang naman siyang kasama sa kaarawan niya. It is a blessing in disguise for me.
"You look so gorgeous. Mas maganda ka pa kaysa sa mga artista na naging kliyente ko." Ate Kristel complimented me as she looked into the mirror.
Napangiti ako. I am in a messy bun, exposing my back a little bit and my shoulders a little bit because it is an off shoulder.
"Na try mo na bang mag pageant?" Savannah asks next.
Kaagad naman akong umiling.
"Ayaw mong sumali?" He asked with a wide smile on his face.
Muling akong umiling. "It is not for me. At ayoko rin sa media."
It is true though, as much as possible I do not want to be part of any media or something related to it. I had enough of it because of Mom and I'll promise myself that I will never link myself with someone in the media aside from work. Katulad na lamang ngayon.
Mas gusto ko ang tahimik na buhay. I don't want any camera or people watching me and judging me from afar. Ayoko. Hinding-hindi ako gagaya kay Papa.
I breathed in deeply before stepping outside of my unit. Kaaalis lang rin nina Savannah at Ate Kristel, natapos sila ng maaga dahil simple lang rin naman ang gusto kong makeup at hair style. And I need to check the premises too so I need to go there early.
Sir Sebastian also made me wear an earpiece, kaya lahat ng pag uusap ko ay recorded. They will be at that headquarters monitoring everything, in case something happens but we are already confident especially that the case of his stalking has been solved.
May sumundo nga sa akin na isa rin sa mga kasamahan ko sa trabaho, si Sir Ejay, one of my superiors. Nasa mahigit isang oras rin ang biyahe namin dahil sa traffic. Around five thirty ay nandoon na ako at mga bandang alas sais pa darating si Sir Piece kaya mas oras pa ako. The event will be at one of the hotels of my Mom's family.
I brought my laptop with me and checked the CCTV's around the area. I reported everything back to the headquarters at matagal ko rin iyon na ginawa sa loob ng sa sasakyan.
Afterwhich, I checked the parking lot myself for anything. Hindi pa ganoon kapuno dahil maaga pa naman pero okay lang. After securing everything, I went back to the car and this time, I secured my gun.
"Secure it right, Liberty." Sir Ejay commented as he does his own checking of the guests too.
My dress is quite short, pero kaya ko namang itago sa hita ko. I secured it perfectly, and right after, Sir Sebastian called, informing me that they were already near the building.
Nag ayos na ako ng sarili at hinanda ang maliit kong sling bag. Huminga ako ng malalim at nang makita ko ang pamilyar na sasakyan nila na huminto sa tapat rin namin ay sinara ko na ang laptop ko.
"Be alert, Liberty." I nodded at Sir Ejay and saw Sir Pierce get out of the car together with Sir Sebastian.
I saw Sir Pierce eyes our car, probably being familiar with it. I opened the back seat and again, I looked at my surroundings.
There were a group of people on the right wing ag medyo malayo naman sila sa amin. So far everything is looking so normal. I walked towards their direction and just noticed the navy blue suit Sir Pierce was wearing.
I thought he'd be wearing a usual black suit...and he looks better in other colors...
Tumikhim ako ng makalapit na ako kay Sir Sebastian. I hand saluted him and looked at Sir Pierce na nasa tabi lang rin ni Sir Sebastian.
"Good eve, Sir Pierce." I seriously greeted him.
Ilang araw rin kaming hindi nagkita. I just realized it now that I have seen some stubble growing on him. Hindi siya sumagot pabalik pero kitang-kita ko ang pag iwas niya ng tingin, he even clenched his jaw which made my brows furrowed.
"Listen, Liberty...." Sir Sebastian started giving me advices kaya muling napunta ang tingin ko sa kanya.