THE car stopped as they reached the place, nakita agad ni Gabrielle sina Kyla at Kurt sa labas ng kanilang apartment talking to a woman in her middle age.
"Aba naman Kyla! Dalawang buwan na kayong hindi nakakabayad ng upa. Alam ko namang mahirap din ang pinag dadaanan niyo pero itong upa lang ng apartment ang hanap buhay ng pamilya ko. Kung ayaw niyong magbayad ngayun mismo mapipilitan talaga akong paalisin kayong dalawa!"
"Pasensya na po talaga. Mag babayad naman talaga kami Aling Judy lalo na at may nahanap na akong trabaho." pakiusap ni Kurt.
"Aba, huling pagkakataon niyo na tong dalawa. Kung hindi pa kayo makabayad sa linggong to mabuti't maghanap na lang kayo ng bagong mauupahan!"
Pagkatapos, umalis agad ang babae and before Kurt and Kyla could enter their apartment, tinawag niya agad ang mga ito.
"Kyla, Kurt!"
Lumingon ang magkapatid and they looked at Gabrielle in disbelief.
"Gab-Gabby?" Di makapaniwala na tanong ni Kurt. Lumapit si Gabrielle sa dalawa.
"Ako nga." She whispered.
"Anong ginagawa mo dito?!" Kyla shouted angrily. Gabrielle was not surprised because she remembered seeing them both a year ago but she ignored them like a stranger, yun ay dahil hindi niya naalala ang dalawa.
"Kyla ano ba!" Kurt yelled back to his twin sister.
"Kinalimutan mo na kami diba kaya anong kailangan mo!?" Sigaw ni Kyla at hindi nagpapigil sa kapatid.
"Let me explain Kyla." Hindi alam ni Gabrielle kung bakit humantong ang dalawa sa paghihirap. The twins were smart and talented, they can still find any work for themselves even without Phoenix Publishing.
"Di na kailangan! Umalis ka na!" Sigaw ng babaeng kaharap at galit na pumasok sa loob ng apartment nila.
"Gabby, pagpasensyahan mo na ang kambal ko. Na bigla lang yun, hayaan mo kakausapin ko siya." Kurt smile a little. He was surprised to see Gabrielle and she looked different from the last time they saw her a year ago.
"Kurt, I am sorry, can I talk to her?"
Kurt hesitated at first but then opened the door widely.
"Pagpasensyahan mo na, maliit lang ang apartment namin."
The apartment is made of wood. It is old and small. The living room and the kitchen are in one area. It has a small bathroom and only one small room with a double deck bed. Gabrielle looked away and tried her best to stop her tears.
She felt sorry for the life they are living right now. It was far from the big and luxurious condo unit they once lived in. Seeing the twin's misfortune made Gabrielle's heart heavier.
Lumapit siya sa bukas na kwarto at nakita niya si Kyla na nakahiga sa kama nang nakatalikod.
"Kyla." Gabrielle called out.
Padabog na tumayo si Kyla at galit na tumingin sa kapatid.
"Ano ba Kurt, bakit mo pinapasok ang babaeng yan!?" She then, looked at Gabrielle with her eyes full of hatred.
"Umalis ka na dito kung ayaw mong kaladkarin kita palabas!" Kyla slam the door close right into Gabrielle's face.
"Gabby, hayaan mo muna siya. Kilala mo naman ang kapatid ko, grabe kung magtampo. She just needed some time and she'll eventually talk to you."
Gabrielle breathe in as she wiped her tears. She sat on the floor as she stared at the door. "Kyla, naalala mo ba? I started Phoenix Publishing in a small studio room."
Gabrielle chuckled slightly. "In fact, it was smaller than this apartment. Saksi kayo sa lahat ng hirap na dinanas ko just to make Phoenix Publishing stood, tall and firm."
Kurt just listened silently as he watched Gabrielle being emotional.
He also remembered, Kyla and Gabrielle met when they were in college and they became best friends.
Gabrielle started Phoenix Publishing even before they graduated from College and they joined her three months later when she started it.
She was a heiress but she started at nothing. She wrote her own book, proofread it on her own, edit her own book covers, promote it herself and publish it on her own.
"When you guys decided to join me, that's when we started dreaming. We dreamed to be more successful and to enter in the International market diba? We haven't reached that goal yet kaya bakit ko kakalimutan lahat ng pangarap natin when we are at the peak of our career and success? Alam niyo na hindi ako basta sumusuko and I would never abandon you." Gabrielle wiped her tears as her voice toned down.
"I was suffering from amnesia for three years. Believe me, it was never my intention to forget both of you. It was not my intention to forget everything."
Kurt lowered his head as he spoke. "Alam namin na na aksidente ka and your Mom died because of it pero your dad and stepmom mo told us that you were traumatized so you decided to abandon everything and live abroad for good."
At first, Kyla and Kurt were fighting for Phoenix Publishing dahil naiintindihan nila ang pinagdadaanan ni Gabrielle and they were hoping that Gabrielle would come back but 7 months had passed and she never did.
They started to lose manpower and they were slowly struggling financially, nabaon din sila sa utang.
Everyone started to leave one by one and a year later Kurt and Kyla were the only ones that were left behind to run Phoenix Publishing but they also lost hope until they decided to file for bankruptcy.
Bloom Publishing later bought Phoenix Publishing's land property to pay off their debt.
Napalingon si Gabrielle kay Kurt with a tear in her eyes as she slowly shook her head.
"That's not true." She whispered.
"I was just in the country all along but they kept me hidden from the public for almost 2 years."
She hated the fact that she was like their puppet in those years at wala man lang siyang nagawa.
Ang mas masakit pa ay yung taong inaasahan niyang dapat ay tumulong sa kanya ay mas piniling kampihan ang iba keysa sa sarili niyang anak. Gabrielle and her Dad were once close but her hatred towards him grow even more.
Tumayo si Gabrielle and looked at the closed door once more and then looked at Kurt. "Hindi ko kayo pipiliting maniwala pero hayaan niyo akong bumawi at tumulong sa inyo. Babalik ako bukas."
Gabrielle glance at Kyla's room for the last time as she slowly walks outside.
Tumingin si Kurt sa nakasaradong kwarto bago tumingin kay Gabrielle na paalis.
Aaminin niya, masama din ang loob niya dahil umaasa siyang babalik si Gabrielle kahit isang taon o dalawang taon pa ang lumipas.
Pero noong nagkita sila last year, Gabrielle saw them but she acted like she didn't know them. That's when he got disappointed. He was so worried for her but alas, he was worried for nothing.
But now he understands and believes her reason why she didn't know them a year ago.
Kung hindi siya nagsasabi ng totoo, she could've kept on acting like she does not know them because they had nothing left and they are already useless.
Hindi niya pinigilan si Gabrielle dahil naiintindihan niya ang galit ng kambal niya. Mahirap din ang dinaanan nila noong nawala siya.
Nakatayo na si Gabrielle sa harap ng kotse niya. Lumabas naman si Danny para pagbuksan siya ng pinto pero nanatili siyang nakatayo sa kinatatayuan niya ng ilang minuto. Huminga siya ng malalim at lumingon kay Kurt na nakatingin sa kanya.
Gabrielle smiled sadly and was about to enter the car when Kyla went out and shouted.
"Hindi mo na kailangan bumalik!"
Gabrielle assumed that she was still angry and don't want her to come back but she was surprised when Kyla sat on the ground and cried.
"Kyla." She whispered as she came close to her.
"Talaga bang nagka amnesia ka? Anong feeling nun?" Kyla asked like a child while crying.
Gabrielle's tears fell again as she chuckled slightly. In the next few seconds, the two women hugged each other while crying. Lumapit din si Kurt at nakiyakap sa dalawa.
Nang kumawala si Gabrielle she looked at Kurt and Kyla with teary eyes. "Pinapatawad mo na ako?"
"Hindi pa noh. I need medical records to prove your innocence."
Gabrielle chuckled. Yep, she already forgave her. "Three years have passed already since the accident. Wala na akong copy nun, but I have lots of witnesses tho."
Kyla just laughed and rolled her eyes.
The three of them were best friends and they had always been together for more than 7 years. They had been through a lot and experienced a lot of challenges yet they still stuck together.
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