The next time I see that Chase guy, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. And a fist on the face, for good measure.
What's his deal, anyway? Alam naman niyang may boyfriend si Mira. If he isn't the world's biggest jerk, sending my girlfriend flowers like he had the right to do so...
"Sir Vren, bakit po ganyan ang itsura mo? Para pong gusto mong manapak."
Kung hindi pa nagsalita ang sekretarya ko ay hindi ko pa namalayang nasa harap na pala ako ng aking opisina. I was so engrossed in my spiteful thoughts towards Mira's stupid college friend that it took Lally's strident voice to bring me back to my senses.
I ignored her question and instead, handed her the bouquet of tulips I was supposed to surprise Mira with. "Here, take these."
Lally gasped. "Para po sa akin 'to, sir?"
If it weren't for my sour mood, I would've laughed at her facial expression. My secretary looked the way someone might after being told they'd be given a million dollars for absolutely no reason at all.
"Maybe yes, maybe no." I shrugged. "But what's important is that they're definitely yours to take now."
****
Thinking about Mira accepting that bouquet of flowers from her dipwad of a friend made me feel like shit, so I ordered Lally to cancel all of my appointments and spent the entire afternoon moping in my office. I even sent my Grey Light friends a text message saying, "Blue Cavern at 10. Drinks on me," because let's face it, a situation like this deserves a glass of whiskey or two.
About an hour before the workday ended, I heard a knock on my office door.
"Come in," I said, still without any trace of enthusiasm.
The door opened, revealing Mira.
"Vren," she began, "tungkol sa bouquet na nakita mo kanina —"
"I don't wanna hear about those goddamned flowers or that friend of yours, Mira," I said, cutting her line short. "Just leave."
"Vren naman..." my girlfriend trailed off, her expression that of dismay. "I'm sorry, okay? Alam kong mali na tinanggap ko —"
"Didn't you hear what I said?" I sighed. "Please leave me alone; I'm not in the mood to talk about it right now."
"Hindi ako aalis dito hangga't hindi mo ako pinapakinggan," she replied. She looked me in the eye, her mouth set in a hard line.
"Fine." I stood up. "Then I'll be the one to leave. Can you go home on your own later? I have plans."
"Teka, Vren, saan ka pupunta?" Mira watched, looking appalled, as I walked past her.
"None of your business." I gave her an unfeeling glance before shutting the door behind me, leaving her alone in my office.
****
"Hey, Andrei. What brought you here?" Bella gave me a warm smile as I entered her room. She looked a lot better than how she did when I last saw her, and for that I'm glad.
"Nothing. I just wanted to check on you, that's all." I grinned at her. "How are you?"
"For someone who has only a couple of months left to live, I think I'm doing fine." She let out a soft laugh.
"That's not funny," I chastised. "Just stop... stop acting like you're on a deadline, okay?"
"But why? I am on a deadline." Muli siyang tumawa. "Besides, the only alternative to joking about it is to cry nonstop about it instead. And frankly, I don't have the energy to spare for that."
I shook my head, half-amused and half-exasperated. Now that I had thought about it, she actually made a good point.
"Are they taking good care of you here?" I asked, just to change the subject. "I'm having a word with Vince if they're not."
"There's no need for that. Vince and his staff are absolute angels." Bella smiled. "By the way, where's Mira? Bakit hindi mo siya kasama ngayon?"
I exhaled heavily. "She... she doesn't know I'm visiting you, actually."
Bella arched her brows. "Did you two have a fight about me?"
"No, it's not you," I assured her. "It's about... someone else."
"Someone else, huh?" Now she looked intrigued. "If it's not me, then who caused your fight?"
I sighed yet again, contemplating whether or not I should disclose this afternoon's events to my sick ex-girlfriend.
Well, I guess there's no harm in telling Bella about that stupid Chase.
"There's this idiot – a college friend, according to Mira – who obviously likes her. He had the audacity to send my girlfriend some flowers, which Mira accepted instead of sending back to him."
When I finished my story, Bella giggled.
"Thank you for laughing at me. It's really comforting," I told her, annoyed.
"Sorry," she appeased. "But it's really funny, seeing you jealous."
"I'm not jealous," I said, deadpan, causing Bella to give me a look that clearly said, Fool yourself, Andrei.
"You really love Mira, don't you?" she asked, smiling rather wistfully. "You wouldn't react that way otherwise."
I nodded. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Why don't you try talking to the guy?" she advised. "In case it's not clear to him that Mira is taken."
"What, so he could laugh at my face because of how threatened he's making me feel?" I scoffed. "I'm not giving that stupid Chase the satisfaction."
"Did you say Chase?" Bella was no longer smiling. "Is that the name of Mira's friend?"
"Yup. Chase Constantino," I smirked, a little surprised at myself for remembering that jerk's last name. "Why? Do you know him?"
"No," she answered quickly. "Of course not. I'm just... I'm just curious, that's all." She tried to smile again, though this time it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Lucky you. That idiot's a pain in the neck." I chuckled darkly. "A pain in the neck who's out to get my girlfriend," I then added dourly.
"Hey," Bella said in a mild tone. "I'm sure it was nothing. Mira will never hurt you the way a stupid girl once did." Marahan din siyang tumawa, pero halata ang lungkot sa mukha niya.
"I know that, but..."
"For the record, I really think that Mira's the right woman for you. And I'd be really pissed off kapag nalaman kong nasira ang relasyon niyo nang dahil lamang sa miscommunication. We both know from our experience how unhealthy it could be for a relationship." Bella placed a friendly hand on mine. "Talk to her, okay? 'Wag niyo nang patagalin ang tampuhan niyo."
When I didn't answer, she hit my arm, which made me laugh.
"Hey, that hurts!" I protested amidst my snigger.
"Shut it. We both know I'm too weak to cause real damage," sagot naman niya habang tumatawa rin. "As soon as you're out of here, I want you to talk to your girlfriend. The next time you visit me, gusto kong kasama mo na si Mira."
"How bossy." I grinned.
"Do I have your word, Andrei?"
"Yeah, you do. Thanks, Bella."
"Don't mention it," she replied, smiling back. "Now, get lost. I need to rest, and you need to patch things up with Mira."
"Yes, ma'am." I bid her goodbye. "We'll visit again as soon as we can."
I was feeling considerably lighter compared to how I felt before I talked to Bella, but as I was making my way out of the hospital, I couldn't help but think of my ex-girlfriend's reaction when she learned about Mira's stupid friend.
What's with that Chase Constantino? For one, he seems so important to Mira. And now, it turns out that even Bella obviously knows him.
I'm not stupid – Bella's denial was clear as day to me. But as to the reason why she didn't want to admit her association to Mira's college friend... that's the only thing left for me to figure out.