Entangled Deceptions

Chapter 26

I told Sam about my dream ngunit pinagtawanan niya lang ako at sinabi na maaaring kabaligtaran daw nito ang resulta sa totoong buhay.

But then, I wasn't relieved at all. It felt like my dream is about to come true. Ito na ata ang kinatatakutan ko. Brix went cold towards me all of a sudden.

Ni hindi ko alam kung may nagawa ba akong kasalanan na parati na siyang ginagabi ng uwi pati hindi makausap ng maayos.

Nagsawa na ba siya sakin? Naguguluhan na ako lalo na at hanggang ngayon ay hindi ko pa din makalimutan ang gabing narinig ko siyang kausap si Monica.

Madalas sila ang magkasama at halos hindi ko din sila maabutan parati sa kanyang opisina.

Kaya ba siya humingi ng tawad sakin ng gabing iyon? 

I need answers! I just can't contain these things bugging my head nonstop. And I won't also let him keep ignoring me for a couple more days.

So, I ended up standing in front of his study while playing with my sweaty fingers and breathing deeply. At last, I finally got the courage.

Kakausapin ko siya.

"Brix?" I called and knocked on the door before opening it.

"What do you need?" It's like his cold voice immediately put a thick barrier between us. It hurt me badly when he even didn't dare to throw me a glance and just kept himself busy with the documents on his desk instead.

"A-Are you busy?" 

"Can't you see?" He raised his eyebrows and looked at me in annoyance. "If you don't have some--"

"Let's talk." I blinked repeatedly and bit my lip. "Please."

He averted his glance before heaving a sigh. "What is it?"

"Are we still okay?" I almost whispered as I heard my voice crack. I can't see any fondness or joy in his eyes. What happened to him?

"We're both fine. That's what matters."

Binalot ng kirot ang aking dibdib sa kanyang sagot. I blinked rapidly to stop my tears from falling. 

Hindi niya man sabihin, ngunit alam kong may iba. Nag-iba siya. Ramdam ko ang panlalamig niya. Ang pambabalewala niya. Ang dating siya.

"I-I heard you that night…" Wala na din namang rason para itago ko pa ito sa kanya. It would be much better to tell him directly. "You… were calling M-Monica."

He got frozen on his tracks as he looked away from me. What hurts even more is that guilt can be seen transparently in his eyes and pale face.

"Does it even concern you?" He defensively asked and balled his fist. "Monica is my employee and she's my responsibility."

Pagak akong natawa sa harap niya. "Masyado ka namang ulirang boss at grabeng pag-aalala ang meron ka para sa kanya na kahit alas tres na ng madaling araw ay nagtatawagan pa kayo sa telepono?"

Nanatili akong nakatuon sa ngayo'y nanliliit na mga mata ni Brix. Kahit ang mga labi niya ay nag-isang linya sa sobrang pinipigilang inis.

A tear escaped my eye when he smirked and looked at me mockingly from head to toe. Tila nanliit ako sa ginawa niya.

"Stop being dramatic, Eli. You're just proving yourself how desperate you are."

Halos dumugo ang ibabang labi ko sa diin ng aking pagkagat. "W-Why are you l-like this? Did I do… s-something wrong?"

He was about to answer when his phone suddenly rang. He looked at me for a moment before taking the call.

"Hello?" Nahigit ko ang hininga nang matuon sakin ang tingin ni Brix. "What happened?"