"Ang sabi ko umuwi ka ng maaga, hindi ko sinabing umaga ka nang umuwi." He said sarcastically as he greeted me at the gate and took the food I had bought. I came from Hanz' condo and went through the mall to go to the grocery store before I went straight home.
"Sorry, we just have fun" I smiled to him even though my head aches because I drank hard last night. The damn hang over.
"You smells liquor, woman, you should took a bath before you came to mall." He coldly said and lowered the plastic bags on the counter top.
"I don't have any clothes on Hanz' condo." I replied. I really don't have any clothes in Hanz' condo so I just hurried shopping so I can go home and take a bath.
He stopped and looked at me slowly.
"You sleep in Hanz' condo?" I nodded to him.
"Just sleep." I smiled. I want to hugged him but I remember that I had no bath yet.
"Let's go to bathroom." He became cold again and suddenly pulled my wrist and went me to bathroom.
"What? I can bathe myself so leave!" I pushed him away cause he's still standing behind the door and watching me undressing myself.
"The smell of that man sticks to you so I will bathe you." He smirked and gently pushed and locked the door. I automatically hard gulf when he starts walking towards me.
My god. I'm not ready for this.
"I-i can---"
"Take it off." He commanded and pulled the hem of my off shoulder. Because I was a fool I did what he wanted and I took off my clothes.
"So unfair! You will touch my body and then I will just watch what you are doing!?" I complained that makes him to stop walking. He looked up to shower and when turned his gaze to me, he smirked.
"Let's save water and take a bath together." He starts undressing himself and I just swallowed hard when I saw the big bulge in his boxer shorts. "Why are you staring at my friend?" He raised his eyebrows.
"N-no kaya! I was just wondering why it seemed to grow!" I reason out and pulled the shower. When I saw him licking his lower lip I looked away and focused on bathing.
So hot here huh.
"I will not deprive you of the opportunity to see what you want." In my side vision I can see that he's now full body naked.
I swallowed hard again.
"How's your baby?" I asked with a genuine smile to Marga. I met her with Ace at the reunion party. I know her maybe four or five months until she broke up with Justin.
I don't know why I felt nervous as the days passed for me and Ace. We're engaged for six months and where just like strangers that starting to get to know each other.
[Baby pa rin, bakit?] She sounds mocking me so I just chuckled.
"I know, What I mean is how's your baby's health and you? how are you?" I smiled again while facing her in my laptop.
[Nakakapanibago lang sa pakiramdam kahit maglilimang buwan na'to. Ay! may ikukwento ko sa'yo bruha!!] She giggled and starts talking like she will never get out of words. [Kumain ako ng tuna sandwich tapos nilagyan ko ng cheese at chocolate, ang sarap! try mo sis! nagpapagawa nga ako kay Cyrus eh nandun sa kusina...] She talked more.
I feel like I want to vomit because of the foods that she wants me to try like. Tuna chocolate sandwich, ketchup and vanilla sandwich, fried fish dip in cheese with a lot of sugar. Hell.
I just listened to her stories and kept smiling. I feel and I can see that all her laughter and smiles are fake but I just accompany her because I know she needs a mother like her who can understand her situation and I am here, I once became a mother, I lost a child, but here me to listen to all her stories to make her feel that I am only here when they need someone to approach and shoulders to cry.
[Tapos kanina galing kami sa mall binilhan ako ni Cyrus ng hair clips para daw sa baby namin. Sweet no? anak na daw nya 'to kahit hindi sa kanya.] She smiled.
"Yeah, he's really kind." I'm out of words. I thought I was the best person to fake smiles but I made a mistake, there was something better about me and that was the woman in front of me who kept admiring me for her ability to hide her true feelings.
"Sana si Justin din tanggap na may anak sya sa'kin." After her sweet smile one by one the tears welled up in her eyes. This time I smiled even more when she cried in front of me. I am not happy that she is crying, I am happy that she is not afraid to show me how she really feels.
"Cheer up girl, you can do it, we can do it. Let's prove to all stupid cheater men that women can raise a child, alone. That women can stand alone, women is better than they know, and most all, women can fight against the world, alone." A piece of tears welled up to my eyes but I immediately wiped it out.
[Sorry, napaiyak pa'ko] She chuckles as she wiping her tears.
I was about to speak when Cyrus came.
[Oh bakit umiiyak ka na naman? gabi gabi na lang ba iiyak ka? Halika nga rito, 'diba nag-usap na tayo?] He asked Marga while she's sitting between Cyrus' open legs. [Hindi ba sinabi ko na kung dadating ang panahon na malalaman ni Justin 'yan at tinanggihan nya, handa naman akong maging tatay nyan ah. Tol iyak ka ng iyak, nakakairita, ayoko sa babaeng palaging umiiyak pero dahil love kita sige lang umiyak ka.] And he talked more so I decided to hang the call without telling them.
I just smiled because she has Cyrus now that even if he is crazy, he is serious when it comes to serious things. He's the kind of man that will never leave you and not afraid to accompany you through ups and down, through your worst and dark side.
"The lunch is ready. Why are you smiling, huh?" Ace asked when he saw me smiling while deep in thinking. I just smile and shrugged.
"Let's just eat." Then I keep all my belongings and went outside the room. I sat on counter chair and starts eating.
While I am eating silently, I saw him grabbed a wine on the kitchen cabinet and lowered the two wine glass in front of me. I continued eating and waiting for him to talk.
"I want to ask something." He said and poured a wine into my glass. I just nodded to him while chewing my food. "Are you serious about you say that you still love me? I doubt about you." Then he sipped on his wine as he glaring to me.
"Huh? What are trying to say?" I innocently asked and wiped my mouth with table napkin and also sipped my wine.
"You said you still love me, are you serious about that?" He raised his eyebrows. I frowned but I smiled to him.
"Of course I am serious, I love you" I smile and I am about to pinch his cheeks but he blocked my hands with his. Now I clearly see his empty facial expression.
"Such a liar woman." He squeezed the wine glass until it crack into pieces, he glare at me with his sharp eyes. "I'm not Idiot to believe in your stupid lies."
"What are you talking about?!" I stood up when he walked away and leave the broken wine glass on the counter top. My heart pumped fast because of nervousness and also curiosity of what he was saying. I am serious about him, I did not lie on him, I never lie to him.
"Ace." I followed him outside and I saw him entering his car. He did not pay any attention to me and just starts maneuvering his car so I went on the open gate and block his way.
"Better to run over me if you will not talk to me properly." I shouted for him to hear what I said. I saw that he went out. I gulped when I saw his angry face.
"What do you want?" He irritatedly asked.
"Why you suddenly became mad?" I asked and caressed his cheeks but he pushed my hand away.
"Don't touch me again." He said.
"Let's talk?" I grabbed his hand but he sharply glare to me so I immediately let go of his hand.
"Talk? What do you want me to do? To believe in you" He sounds insulting me but I nodded to him so that we'll gonna talk. "Do you want me to believe in your lies? Do you want me to fucking believe that you love me even though you're not? Camille, we're not high school students anymore, you can't fool me now. Let's stop this bullshit marriage cause it sucks! I hate this, I don't love you anymore! so can you please get out of my life? I don't need a feeling innocent woman, go ride and fuck your men, flirt."
I don’t know why it looks like another Ace is facing me now. I did not expect this, I just wanted to ask him why he suddenly asked me if I love him but why he would talk to me like this.
"A-ace, let's talk proper---"
"I have nothing to say, leave or i'll call the guard of the village to push you away" His eyes sharply glaring to me.
"I just want a talk, don't shout, please let's talk. I can't understand why you suddenly became like that, earlier we were happy but now you seemed like you want to buried me alive" I calmly said even though my voice really wants to broke and my tears really want to fall.
I really do not understand, just now I was just eating quietly and then suddenly we were fighting. Sobrang bilis ng pangyayari, sa sobrang bilis can no longer understand why he is acting like this. Acting like I did something that make him mad.
"Talk? We don't need that. We're not a couple, we're not in a relationship to talk." He rolled his eyes. I bit my lower lip and looked away.
"But we're engaged." I said. I heard him chuckled.
"I did not propose to you, don't be so confident, you're not that good for me to came back to you. Infact I have something to say." He smirked.
He placed his both hands inside his pockets and bent to reached my ears and whispered something to me.
"I planned this engagement, you know why? cause I want to broke you again, I thought of fucked you before I broke you and I succeed. I know you enjoy what we did in the bathroom earlier, leave, flirty bitch." He slowly pushed my shoulders with his index fingers and now I can't hold back my tears as his words slowly sinking in me.
To broke me again.
"I don't know you, Ace, I did nothing to you to hurt me like this, I hate you..." I ran away while letting my tears falling from my eyes.
What did I do to him to say those words. I used to be called flirtatious by anyone but why when I heard that word from him it was as if my heart was breaking and crushing. I have nothing else to say, events are so fast that I can not understand everything I only understand Ace pushed me away for an unknown reason.
"I'm here outside." I said to Hanz through phone while waiting to him. After my awkward meeting with that soldier I took Aira home and now I am waiting for Hanz.
"Sorry for waiting, natraffic ako" He said when he open the shut gun seat door.
"It's okay, I just arrived too" I said. He just nodded and starts driving. We engulfed by silence the whole drive and we just talk when we starts eating.
"He really think of that? woah." He said against chuckle while chewing his steak.
"Yeah, I really don't know to. You know, I should be mad to him because he freaking made me cry but I can't feel any angry feelings with him." I shrugged.
"Baka mahal mo pa." He coldly said. I lowered my utensils and smirked when I noticed that he's now in jealousy boyfriend mode.
"Someone's getting jealous." I whispered to tease him but he just rolled his eyes and handed me the receipt of our food.
"Pay for this since your soldier paid for your ice cream earlier." I laughed when I confirmed that he's jealous.
"Ace was not allowing me to pay for the food specially in date." I whispered to myself to tease him more. I got shocked when he took away the receipt and grabbed his wallet.
"Don't compare me with him." He said and pay for our food. I chuckled and and bent to kiss his nose.
"Never again." I smiled. He sighed and pinched my cheeks.
"You made me pissed again." He chuckled and grabbed my waist and we went out of the resto.
He took me home and he also slept there because I said it was late and he might have an accident on the road because it was dark. He said he would sleep in the guest room so I agreed but I also slept in the guest room. He just laughed when he saw me crawling over to him and fell asleep on top of him.
The next day I went to work early and I only caught Aira outside the room, alone while holding her lunch box.
"You're early, baby" I kneel on front of her and fixed her hair. She just smile and did not reply to me. "Come inside. Have you eaten?" She shook her head.
"Mommy just send me here and leave me to the guard." She smile again. My smile fade when Einn leave Aira again.
"Tita Mama, why Mommy is mad at me?" She asked with the tears that forming to her eyes.
"No, she's not. Maybe she is just tired from work" I caressed her cheeks.
I felt bad for my nephew.
"But Mama she always saying that she don't need me, she need Anthony but I don't know who is Anthony." She started to cry.
I suddenly stopped when she mentioned Kuya. She did not know Kuya, because Kuya and Einn were separated when Einn was pregnant with Aira. They separated because Einn had an accident, she was a victim of rape and she broke up with Kuya because she was afraid that Kuya would be angry with her. Eventually Kuya also found out that Einn was pregnant and he was ready to take responsibility even if it wasn't from him but a week later, Kuya was killed.
When Kuya was buried I visited Einn but I caught her taking a lot of pills and there were some broken things around her. Einn was almost crazy when Kuya disappeared, she could not accept that she had lost a man who was willing to accompany her until death so she tried to commit suicide to follow Kuya but I did not let that. I did not leave her side when she was pregnant with Aira until she gave birth. Einn and I were close to each other but our friendship separated when I started questioning her about raising Aira.
She always yells at Aira and sends her to school without eating so I take care of Aira. I wanted to be angry with Einn but I could not, I could not criticize her for raising Aira because once I did that I did not like what she answered. She said that she did not intend to have an abortion unlike me, her child is with her unlike me, and most of all her memory is complete that I do not have, in that part I do not understand, my memory is complete though.
Lunch time and I just found out that Aira had a lot of bruise around her body. My self control hits the limits, I have to do something now, She's crazy! she's hurting her own child!
"Who did this?" I calmly asked to her and pointed the one of her bruise. She looked away and hide her bruise and that move make me more pissed.
"I'll send you home later, I'll talk to your mom." I sighed heavily and tightly closed my fist but I stopped when I Aira pulled the hem of my uniform.
"Don't be mad to my mommy, she's nice, teacher. Makulit lang po ako that's why she pissed off." She looked down.
"I'm not mad to her, baby." Because I'm badly mad to her.
"She said she will follow the man Anthony after she fix my papers to send me in orphanages." She weakly smile when she looked up to me.
"Orphanages?" She's really crazy. "No, I will not let that happen."
"But it's okay, If mommy will be happy with 'Anthony' then I'll let her be happy, Mama. Don't stop her, you will visit me there naman po 'diba?" I bit my lower lip.
Why did she answer so mature. I understand her even more than Einn who seems to be completely insane. God, please help Einn.
Aira and I just talked and I found out a lot more about her. Einn said that if she had not been raped and would have gotten pregnant, she would not have separated from Anthony. She said she hoped she would not send Kuya Anthony home the day he was shot. Kuya was at work then but because Einn was conceiving she did not want Kuya away from her so even though Kuya had a lot of work she sent him home that day and that was also the day Kuya was shot outside the law firm.
"Do you want to know who is Anthony?" I asked her while she was sitting in my lap and I gently caressing her hair.
"Yes, I want to thank him for making my Mommy happy." She replied with a genuine smile on her lips.
"Anthony, you're not from him but he's your father, your Daddy." I smiled.
"I have Daddy? and that's Anthony?" She sounds shocked and her mouth's forming a big o.
"Your Daddy is my brother, the best brother in the world."
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