04/13/19


RECKLESS
Chapter 19:

"You should have told me that you're coming. Nasundo sana kita." Sean said with a creased on his forehead.

I nudged his shoulder and he didn't expected that kaya medyo na-out of balance siya. Tinapunan niya lang ako ng masamang tingin pero nginitian ko lang siya.

Nasa mall kami na malayo sa kung saan pwedeng may makabangga kaming nakakakilala sa akin. When he found out that I am back here in the Philippines, kaagad niya akong pinuntahan.

Sean was so tall with his six feet and so height kaya nanliliit ako lalo na at naka-flats lang ako. Muntik na akong hindi umabot sa balikat niya. And with his height, no wonder na ang daming napapalingon lalo na at ang gwapo ng baby face na 'to.

"Sorry, baby. Biglaan kasi." I taunted, making his brows creased.

He sighs before he asked, "Do you have plans on coming back to Beijing? Because even though I missed you, I hate to see you here."

I know what he meant by that. Who would've thought na magiging ganito kami ni Sean? He is the heir of the Kho Empire and well pampered by his two older sister and well... he's much younger than I am.

I smiled faintly at him. "I never wanted to leave this country in the first place, Sean. I just thought..." nagbuntong hininga ako.

All my thoughts were wrong! Alam niya iyon kaya hindi ko na itinuloy.

Matagal kaming nawalan pareho ng kibo habang magkasabay na naglalakad palabas ng mall, papuntang basement kung saan naroon ang sasakyan niya.

He let go of my hand when we reach the basement. It was always been like that we're in public places, dito man o sa Beijing because eyes were always on us.

"So, what's your plan?" He asked while starting the engine. "If you plan to stay here, our wedding will follow for sure." Bitterness filled his voice kaya kinurot ko siya.

"Damn it, Cara! Ang sakit!" Reklamo niya.

"Akala mo naman ikakamatay mo kapag ikinasal ka sakin." Inirapan ko pa siya. "Eh ayaw ko rin naman magpakasal sa'yo."

"Then just marry him. You're making things complicated by running away. It's been years, Cara. The moment you finds out the truth, dapat ipinaalam mo na sa kaniya. You don't know how you unconsciously turned the almighty Dashiel Telpace into a monster." Walang prenong sabi niya.

Sean Kho rarely opens his mouth but when he does, he'll burn you alive with his words.

"Akala mo naman ganoon lang iyon kadaling gawin. You've never been in my situation so you wouldn't understand no matter what you say." He just ignored me and continue driving.

Kapag ganoong hindi na siya pinapansin ni Sean ay hindi na siya nagpupumilit pa. Sean Kho can talk normaly but most of the time, nagpapanis lang siya ng laway na parang iyong tatay niyang guwapo.

Hinubad ko ang suot na sandals at itinaas ang mga paa while singing a certain Chinese song I learned from Beijing. I'm not a good singer but chinese songs sounds good on me.

"You're always singing that."

Hindi ko pinansin si Sean. Nabubwisit ako sa kanya. Ano'ng akala niya, siya lang ang marunong mang snob?

"All right! Sing 'til your lungs came out but please, put down your legs. You're underwear's showing."

Doon ako napahinto at mabilis na umayos ng upo para lang ma-realize na nakapantalon ako!

"Bwisit ka talaga madalas!" Hinampas ko siya ng nadampot kong pamphlets. Natigil lang ako nang makita kong papasok kami sa subdivision na pag-aari ng mga daddy nila.

Tila nahulaan ni Sean ang nasa isip ko kaya mabilis siyang sumeryoso.

"It's still early and Dash doesn't stay with his parents. He lives on his penthouse alone. As in alone, Cara which is not good. There comes a time that he got sick and no one was around. We don't know how but Elle suddenly had the urge to visit him that night... I mean, madaling araw na pala noon.

"There, they found him burning with fever. Sobrang taas ng lagnat niya noon na kung hindi daw naagapan ay baka kung ano ang nangyari lalo na at mababa ang immune system niya noong panahon na iyon for over working too hard."

Nawalan ako ng kibo. I wanted him to shut up but I just can't bring myself to talk and told him to stop so Sean continue blabbering on what happened before.

"That was the time when you suddenly went missing. Until now, I bet, his parents still doesn't have any idea on what's going on with Dash. He's not the Dashiel we know back then. He change a lot, Cara and that was because of you."

Tinignan ko si Sean na noon ay nakahinto na sa tapat ng bahay nila. He was looking at me with those eyes like a hawk.

"Because you suddenly left him kasabay ng pagkawala ng anak ninyo. You were heartless, Cara yet I couldn't bring myself to hate you maybe because I saw you suffer back then or perhaps, because you're going to be my wife."

-

It's been a week since I came back from Beijing. Thankfully, hindi pa rin nagkukrus ang landas namin ni Dash. Well, siguro kasi hindi naman ako masyadong naglalalabas ng bahay dahil sa trabaho. Halos malunid na ako sa harap ng laptop sa dami ng emails.

"Anak, kakain na." Papa said as he taps my shoulder. "Puro ka trabaho. Hindi naman lulubog ang kumpanya ng lolo mo kung magpapahinga ka ng ilang araw. Let Aurea handle that hindi iyong puro siya pasarap."

I smiled at Papa. "Si Papa talaga. Idinamay na naman si Auntie." Isinara ko na ang laptop at sumabay kay Papa sa paglabas.

Sa hapag ay naroon si Sean na ikinasimangot ko. My family doesn't have the slightest idea of what Sean and I have. Kapag nalaman nila, ewan kung anong mangyayari.

Sa totoo lang ay iniiwasan ko rin si Sean. Since the day I came back and he finds out about it, wala na siyang ginawa kung hindi ang iparamdam sa akin na ako ang dahilan na pagbabago ni Dash. They're friends but why does it sounds like he's blaming me even though he also knows what I've been through?

Hindi ko naman iyon ginusto. Pinili ni Dash iyon at ito naman ang pinili ko. It's just a matter of how you would choose to live your life.

Years have passed pero hanggang ngayon iniisip ko pa rin na paano kaya kung hindi ako nagpadalosdalos noon at lumayo?

Si Dash kasi, hindi tulad ng ibang lalaki, hindi siya takot sa responsibilidad that when he finds out about my pregnancy, without second thought, tinanggap niya o mas tamang sabihin na ipinagpilitan niya kaagad ang sarili niya.

The thought of him being a father, I guess is not really a good thing because I knew how he spoiled his sisters. Paano pa kaya kapag sa anak na niya?

"You're always here." I told Sean while washing the dishes. Siya, nanonood lang sa tabi ko.

"Because I am your fiancé, that's why."

"No. You're here for a reason, Sean Endy—"

"Stop right there, lady!" He abruptly cut me. Ayaw talaga niya na nababanggit ang second name niya.

I grinned at him. Winisikan ko rin siya ng tubig kaya lalong nalukot ang mukha niya pero guwapo pa rin to the point na nakakainis na. Silang magkakaibigan, nakakainis ang pagmumukha.

"So, why are you here?"

"Dash was asking me about you. Nagkita kami nung isang araw."

Biglang kumabog ang dibdib ko. I gulped then asked him, "like what?"

"Kung kumusta ka na."

"Anong sabi mo?"

"Good."

"Iyon lang?" Halos ipukpok ko sa kanya 'yung sandok kong hawak. Akala ko kung ano na.

"Yeah. But I told him your story from the day you left the Philippines up until now."

Para akong tinakasan ng lakas pagkarinig ko noon sa kanya. Nabitawan ko iyong sandok na hawak ko at napaupo ako sa pinakamapit na silya. I looked up at Sean. He's still wearing the same expression. Iyong tila wala siyang ginawang kasalanan.

"Lahat? About us? About Niel?" I hold on to the hem of his shirt. "What exactly did you told him?" Nanginginig na iyong boses ko.

Sean taps my head. "It's fine. I just told him you left the Philippines because your family was there, that we got engaged, had Niel and now you're here for a visit." He sighs and held my shoulder. He lifted my chin up so our eyes would meet.

"Cara, you know my situation and each passing days, it gets worse. It's better for you to be with him because you have a connection better than we have."

Lumayo siya ng kaunti sa akin at may kinuha sa wallet niya. Iniabot niya iyon sa akin. Halos manginig ako pagkakita ng nakasulat sa maliit na papel na iyon.

It was Dashiel's business card.

"I gave him yours, by the way." He pulled me up for an embrace. "I think it's about time, Cara."

"About time for what?"

Bigla kong naitulak si Sean pagkarinig sa boses ni Kuya Hans. Kumuha siya ng tubig sa ref at uminom bago kami hinarap muli. Ako, kinakabahan kasi ang gulo-gulo na ng buhay ko. Parang buhok na buhol-buhol na. Tapos itong si Sean, hindi man lang yata nakakaramdam ng kaba. Kung hindi ko lang alam ang pinagdadaanan niya, iisipin ko na talaga na wala siyang feelings.

"Ano?" Untag ni Kuya Hans.

Siniko ko si Sean sa tagiliran. Para naman siyang robot na agad nagsalita.

"About time for me to go home."

Halos mapanganga ako sa sagot niya. Tangina! Napakahusay!

"Tapos kailangan may matinding yakapan?" Ani Kuya Hans. "Convince me more, young man."

"Si Kuya kung magsalita akala mo matanda." Pero hindi ako pinansin ni Kuya Hans dahil nanatili ang titig niya kay Sean.

"I'm going back to Hacienda Cervantes and I'm going to missed my Caramel that's why." Then, he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. "Besides, we're engaged to be married even before we have Niel so what's wrong if I hug her?"

"Sean!"

"What?!"

Sabay naming bulalas ni Kuya Hans. I don't know why Sean have to do that. We agreed to keep it a secret from my family because I know, they will freak out because it was merely like a business transaction for the Ty's and Kho's.

And yes, I kept our engagement a secret from my family. Alam ko naman kasi na malaki ang possibility na mag-fail ang relationship namin ni Sean.

"You heard it right. We were bound to marry each other sooner or later but it's still depends on how things will turned out after her return here in the Philippines. We all know that Cara and Dashiel have an unfinished business to settle first, ganoon din ako."

Nagtitigan silang dalawa. Knowing these two, alam kong walang magpapatalo kaya ako na ang pumutol sa titigan nila.

"Baka magka-develop-an kayo niyan," Sabi ko at hinatak na si Sean. "Kuya, ihahatid ko lang si Sean sa labas."

"Isasama ko si Niel sa hacienda kaya ako nagpunta rito," Walang preno pa rin na sabi ni Sean habang hatak ko siya palabas. Sakto naman na si Niel ay nasa sala at naglalaro ng leggo. Agad itong lumingon nang marinig ang pangalan.

"Hindi mo isasama ang pamangkin ko!" Ani Kuya na nakasunod pala sa amin.

"That's not something for you to decide." Sean flatly said as he cocked his head then turned to Niel.

"Really, Papa? I mean... Uncle?"

Sean ruffles Niel's hair as he crouched in front of the kid. "It's fine, Niel. You don't have to call me uncle anymore."

"No more secrets?" Ani Niel. His eyes filled with excitement.

Sean smiled. "Yes. No more secrets about the uncle-papa thing."

"How about the other one?" Inosenteng tanong ng anak ko.

Sa murang edad, ang dami na niyang alam. He didn't even have an enjoyable childhood because he has no one to played with and his environment is filled with people who's lives revolved around the business industry.

"That's still a secret." Ani Sean na tumingin sa akin at binuhat si Niel. "Do you want to go with me in the Hacienda? We can go horseback riding there."

Tumingin sa akin si Niel. His eyes were pleading and I don't have the heart to say no to him. I sighed as I nodded my head. Alam ko naman na hindi siya pababayaan ni Sean doon. Tuwang tuwa kaya sila kay Niel.

"Bahala kayo. Malalaki na kayo. But I expect an explanation from you, Cara. Magkapatid tayo pero napakarami mong sikreto mula nang umalis ka rito." Ani Kuya bago kami tinalikuran.

Sean smiled at me. "While we are away, settle your business with Dash. You have to choose, Cara. Either of us, hindi ka naman na lugi lalo na sa akin." This time, he was grinning.

"I'll choose you, then." Seryoso kong sabi na nagpawala ng ngisi niya because he knew when I was serious and when I was not.

***

A/N: For those who got confuse, RANT. Lol. Just post it in the comment box beloooow and for me to clear things out for you. I'm reading all your comments. Don't worry ;)