Forcedly Yours [R-18]

Chapter 20

Nagising ako sa ingay ng ringtone ko. Naninigkit pa ang mga matang sinulyapan ko ang cellphone ko at napapikit ulit nang makita ang pangalan ni Karina.

"Hmm?" nakapikit pa rin na sagot ko.

"Ate, may bagong bukas na digital art museum. Puntahan natin!" Excited na bungad ng kapatid ko.

Tahimik na pinakinggan ko siya habang bibong-bibo na kinwento niya ang grupo ng mga artist na gumawa ng museum at kung paano nila naisip ang konsepto.

"Okay, pagplanuhin natin kung kelan," sabi ko.

"Yehey! Okay ate, pasok muna ako sa first subject ko. Bye, miss you!" pagpapaalam niya.

Dinilat ko ang mga mata at ilang minutong napatulala sa kisame.

It was a Thursday, at dapat ay ngayon ang last day ng internship namin at magpapakain kami sa mga staff ng ospital. Tinext ako ni Sonia kinagabihan matapos ang insidente kung makakapunta ako at finorward ko sa kanya ang text ng clinical instructor namin na nagsasabing hindi ko na kelangang pumunta dahil nakumpleto ko naman na ang hours required duty ko. Agad naman na tinawagan niya ako.

"Anong nangyari, Tin? Bakit ka biglang nawala? Alam mo ba na may nakaaway si Dr Cruz na pasyente? No one knows the full story, actually. Grabe, yung mga pasa niya sa mukha. I heard he broke his nose, too," tuloy-tuloy na kwento niya.

I decided to tell her what happened except about what happened between Leyton and me. For some reason, I don't want her to paint my husband as the bad guy.

"Oh my god, it's my fault for leaving you," nalulungkot na sabi niya. "Tinawag kasi ako di doc-"

"No, wala kang kasalanan," agad na putol ko sa kanya. "I should have listened to you and told Leyton about the flowers. Hindi sana hahantong sa ganon ang nangyari," pareho kaming natahimik.

"Okay lang ba si Mitch?" nag-aalangang tanon ko maya-maya.

"Oo, pogi pa rin naman kahit may pasa," tumawa siya. "Bagay sa kanya, nagmukha siyang bad boy," pilyang sabi niya.

"Gaga."

"Are you okay, Tin? You know you can tell me anything, right?" nag-aalalang tanong niya pagkaraan.

I sighed, feeling guilty for not telling her everything. I tell Sonia everything. We have no secrets from each other. Pero ayokong sabihin sa kanya lahat ng nangyayari sa buhay naming mag-asawa. Especially the bad ones. She already knows about my situation and I don't want her to keep on thinking of Leyton as the villain. I mean, he sort of is, but still...

"Yeah, alam ko. Don't worry about me," sagot ko. "Anyways, magpapadala nalang ako next week ng apat na cake."

We chatted a bit more and I hung up after we said our goodbyes.

Bahagyang napangiwi ako nang bumangon ako para umupo sa kama. I know I have healed, although I still felt slightly tender down there.

It has been a week since the incident and I barely saw my husband.

The day after what happened, he left a note with Tylenol and water on the bedside table.

'You looked too peaceful, I didn't want to wake you. I hope the medicine helps with the pain, Baby'

It was almost like I could hear his voice when I read his note. My heart pounded, feeling warm due to the simple gesture. I remember hating the warm feeling in my chest.

Napatingin ako sa bedside table at kunot-noong inabot ko ang note katabi ng isang puting envelope.

Napakunot ang noo ko nang makita ko ang dalawang Visa na nasa loob ng envelope. These were European Visas. One had my name while the other one had Karina's name. Kasama sa envelope ang hotel bookings at plane tickets papunta ng Paris. There were leaflets and a paper that said we also had a tour package to the famous museums.