Kieth's POV
"Which floor, sir?" Tanong ng elevator operator.
"5th, please." Sagot ko.
He pressed the button and I felt the elevator move.
Up we went and when it stopped, the first thing I saw when the doors opened was Ichi, standing there to greet me.
"Long time no see, insan." He smirked, despite the fact that he had deep dark circles around his eyes and a disheveled look.
"Well, you look like shit." Sabi ko, not bothering to greet properly as I walk passed him.
Don't get me wrong, I said this before and I'll say it again, I'm not mad that he screwed with my so called wife.
Galit ako sa kanya dahil alam ko na tinutulungan niya si Aliyah. Binigyan ko sila ng pagkakataon na mabuhay ng tahimik pero binalewala lang niya ito.
They're idiots and I can't believe I'm related to one of them.
"Nice to see you too." He commented as he followed behind.
We walk down the hallway in silence and head towards the farthest room on the floor.
Room 525
And when we finally reached the room, hinarang ni Ichi ang pinto.
"Insan." He says in a hushed voice, looked at me with guilt. "Look, alam kong mali ang ginawa ni Aliyah but can't you just let this go? I'll take responsibility for everything, just please, wag mo siyang saktan." He pleads.
Hearing this, I scoff.
"You go in there, you're going to break her heart even more. I just... I don't want her to get hurt." He adds.
His usual cocky demeanour was completely gone.
The bastard was sincerely afraid and worried for Aliyah's sake.
But I just found the whole thing funny.
Ano? Ayaw niyang saktan ko si Aliyah?
At si Myrah? Does he really expect me to stay still knowing the person responsible for her accident is Aliyah?
Sinaktan rin nila si Myrah.
He can protect his woman.
But that won't stop me from protecting mine.
"Ang kapal naman ata ng mukha mo, insan." I stare at him in disbelief. "Remember, I gave you a chance to run away with her."
I take a step closer to him and pull him by the collar. "Why didn't you?"
"The last time you broke it off with her, she didn't back down and came back. She's a stubborn woman, what makes you think this will be any different?" He glared at me.
"Last time, I only thought of freeing myself. Now, I have someone I want to protect." I push him harder. "You're not the only one desperate to protect the one you love."
He couldn't say a word.
Binitawan ko siya at inayos ang suot ko.
I had to remind myself again, I'm not here to fight. I'm here to talk.
Control your temper, Kieth.
I brush past Ichi and open the door.
Inside, the room was dim and aside from a few candle lights and a lamp, there was nothing else that lit the room.
"You're finally here." I hear Aliyah's voice in the distance. "I've been waiting for you, my love." She strains her voice to sound seductive.
I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand in disgust.
This is getting old.
"Stop messing around Aliyah." I say as I switch on the lights of the room.
The room lit up and I see Aliyah sitting on a couch wearing nothing but a black see-through nightgown.
She smiled, "You like what you see?"
Ilang taon tayong kasal, Aliyah. I never saw you as a woman. What makes you think I'll see you as one now?
But of course, hindi ko yan sinabi sa kanya.
All I could do was look at her with disappointment.
Hindi ko siya sinagot at hinubad ko ang coat ko.
Her smile widens. "I guess you do." She says as she starts to approach me.
"Don't kid yourself, Aliyah." I say and I thrust my coat on her. "Stop being shameless."
Clearly annoyed, tinapon niya ang coat sa sahig. "I'm not. Asawa kita, isn't this just normal?"
I look at my coat on the floor and then at her.
"The only thing not normal here is your brain." I said. "I'm not your husband, Aliyah. I was never your husband. Is that too hard to understand?"
I saw how my every word made her flinch pero hindi niya ito pinakita sa mukha niya.
She still looked at me with the same determination she had when we were kids.
"No, it's not." She replies. "It's just hard to accept it. And I refuse to accept it."
"Aliyah—.." I was about to set her straight when she interrupted me.
"Why don't we sit? I'm sure pagod ka sa biyahe. I even made you tea." Lumingon siya at pumunta sa kung saan may dalawang sofa at center table na may tea set.
She didn't give me a chance to say anything and just walked towards the sofa and sat there.
Hesitant, I follow her and sit opposite to her.
"Here." Sabi niya while offering a cup of tea.
Tiningnan ko lang ang tasa na inabot niya. Her face still had that hopeful look she always had. I almost felt pity for her.
"What do you want, Aliya?" Tanong ko.
She paused at my question but looked up to me nonetheless and leaned back.
"That's a stupid question. Alam mo naman kung ano ang gusto ko Kieth." She says with a hint of amusement. "And you're here to give me what I want, right?"
She looked so pleased with herself. As if thinking that what she did was enough to make me go back to her.
"No." Sagot ko.
Her smile faded.
"I'm here to set things straight."
"You can't do that if you don't give me what I want." She raises an eyebrow.
"Aliyah, kahit anong gawin mo, hindi mo makukuha ang gusto mo. Why can't you see that?" Sabi ko, dinidiin ang bawat salita na lumabas sa mga labi ko.
"And all I ever wanted was to be loved by you. Why can't you give me that?" She replies.
I sigh in frustration.
She really is stubborn as heck.
Memories of when we were kids rush back to me.
"You know, I did love you." I admit and she immediately froze.
"What?"
"There was a time when I loved you as a sister and as my only friend. Pero hindi yun tumagal. Alam mo kung bakit?" I asked. "It's because you tried to control me too."
She was out of words.
I don't think she ever expected me to say something like that.
"If you think this is all because of Myrah, you're wrong. This started even before I met her. Why don't you look at yourself for once and stop blaming others?"
Once I mentioned Myrah's name, Aliyah regained her senses.
She scoffed, "And? Is that supposed to stop me from ruining her? You didn't have any problems with it 8 years ago."
A surge of anger came flooding and I lower my head. I had to clench my first to control myself.
Tama siya.
Sinabayan ko pa nga sila sa katarantadohan nila.
And I broke her heart for the sake of protecting her from my father.
"So you thought it was okay to hit her with a car and make her assistant betray her?" Tanong ko.
She just smiled. "So, you knew."
"Alam mo, love, I can easily stop all of this if you could just give up on her and come back to me." She continues. "We can go back to how we were before. Be happy with married life."
Happy?
It was my turn to scoff.
I lift my head up and look at her intently.
"Mahal mo ba talaga ako?" I ask.
"Of course." She replies in heartbeat.
"And you truly want me to be happy?"
"Naturally." She says.
She looked at me, confused yet expectant of my next words. Thinking that I might've changed my mind.
And just like shattering a very thick wall of glass, I said...
"Then why are you making me miserable?"
I saw hurt in her eyes but in an instant, she snapped back, stood up and exclaimed, "No!"
"I-I'm not the one making you miserable! She is! I'm only trying to save you from her!"
"Save me? What exactly did she do wrong?" Following her, tumayo rin ako.
"She took you from me." She raised her voice and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "She took everything from me!"
"I was the one who fell in love with her." I say as sincerely as I ever could and I took a step closer towards her. "It was never her fault."
Streams of tears started to run down her face.
"Y-you fell in love with her? Ha!" She tried to ask sarcastically but her voice broke as if she was struggling to even say it. "And did that make you happy? From what I saw, you only grew even more distant and miserable!"
Hindi ko siya sinagot. I only took another step closer to her.
"Sino ang palaging nasa tabi mo? Sino ang palaging nandyan para sayo? Ako, Kieth! I was always there for you!"
She was right and because we were always together, I should've corrected her when I had the chance.
At this point, I didn't feel anger towards her anymore.
I just felt bad that I had let her become the way she is now.
"Can't you see?! Only I can make you happy! We can be happy!" She lunged towards me at niyakap niya ako.
"Please, you're the only family I have." She whimpered.
Desperately trying to hold on to me, I pry her hands off me and look at her in the eye.
"Aliyah, I will never be happy with you."
After hearing that, she knelt and cried her heart out.
She did this the last time.
And I heartlessly left her.
This time, I'll properly cut this off.
"I just want to be free and you should free yourself too." I add.
This only made her bawl out even more.
"Why... why her?" She asks in between her tears.
Lumuhod ako at tiningnan ko siya, my eyes gentle and sad, "Because she's Myrah."
"At ako?" Tanong niya.
She looked so helpless and broken. If I only saw her with hatred, hindi ko maiintindihan kung bakit siya nagkakaganito.
But I do understand her now.
I look at her with a small smile and take her hands away from her face.
"Someone loves you dearly, Aliyah. He's waiting outside that door." Sabi ko.
She didn't say anything.
"Let's put an end to this. Please, for both our sakes." I beg.
"I... I'm so sorry..." She continues crying. "I'm sorry...."
Seeing her cry so much and apologize, I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders.
And for the first time in decades, I pat her head comfortingly, the only gentle gesture I could ever give her.
"This time, I sincerely wish you happiness." I say before standing up and leaving.
_ _ _
3rd Person POV
After leaving a crying Aliyah, Kieth and Ichi share a quick look and the two rush off, one outside the building, the other to his beloved.
When he entered the room, Ichi saw Aliyah on the ground, crying.
"Damnit, Kieth" He cursed under his breath and rushed to her side.
"I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry...." She kept muttering.
"Aly, Aly, look at me." He frantically tries to make her stop. "It's me. I'm here."
But she didn't seem to have heard him.
To Aliyah, the sound of her sobs and her heart breaking were the only things she heard.
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry...
She knew she had no chance anymore.
That she should let him go and move on.
She understood and she knew that that would be best.
But...
She didn't want it to end.
I'm sorry...
I'm sorry Kieth...
But I still can't forgive her.
_____________
Damn, Aliyah. Why can't you just drop the drama and try to move on with Ichi already... frick. I'm the author and even I'm so frustrated. *sigh*
Anyhoo!
Hi, my lovely readers!
It's me again! How are ya'll doing? I hope you guys are safe and reading this in the comforts of you home.
As promised, here's the update you've been waiting for! I updated a day early! Yey!
I'm sorry again for the short delay and all the headaches Aliyah is giving at the moment 😔
Oh by the way! Congratulations to us for reaching 504K reads on NDKS! 🎉 WOOT!
Thank you so so much for reading guys, I just can't express how thankful I am 😭
Well, all that aside, I can't wait to finish this book too. We can finally see how their story ends! FINALLY!
SO STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT UPDATE!
(expect one within the week or so)
Don't forget to leave a vote and comment to let me know if you guys are there!
I'd love it if you left a comment the most 👉👈 ... Your comments give me the strength to keep going! They fuel me! Yaaassss!
Anyways, bye my lovelies! See you in the next update!
~Ms. Author~