Dulling Glisters of the Diamond (Casa Fuego Series #5)

Chapter 31

Frustration

As expected, the news about our come back was all over the media. Hindi ko akalaing ganoon pa rin katindi ang pagputok ng balita tungkol sa amin gayung ilang taon kaming nawala. Even though we were inactive for years, I still somehow expected it to happen. The only news I didn't expect to escalate so very quickly was about my son.

Nagising kami pareho ni Julius dahil sa sunod-sunod na sa tawag sa cellphone ko. Dahan-dahan akong bumangon nang alas singko ng umaga upang hindi magising ang dalawa pero kahit anong ingat ko, nagising pa rin si Julius. He looked at me sleepily but when he saw me picking the phone, he never closed his eyes anymore.

"I'm sorry. Nagising ka tuloy," bulong ko.

"It's okay. Is there something wrong?" he asked in his bedroom voice.

"Sasagutin ko pa lang ang mga tawag. Excuse me," agad akong lumabas patungong balkonahe para hindi magising si Javion.

I hugged myself when the wind gently blew. Agad kong sinagot ang tawag na galing kay Papa. May mga missed calls din sila Lola, Conor, Kuya, at si Bart. Saktong kay Papa ang naabutan kong tawag kaya iyon ang sinagot ko.

"Hello..." kunot noo kong bungad.

"Grace, I'm sorry for calling this early. I don't think you have seen the news escalating in the media right now. You might want to open your laptop."

Naalarma ako roon. He was vague and that concerned me more. Pumasok agad ako para buksan ang laptop. Mataman akong pinagmamasdan ni Julius, nakatayo na ngayon at papasok ng banyo. Lumabas muli ako at nilapag ang laptop sa lamesa.

"What news are you exactly talking about, Pa?" I asked while typing on my laptop.

"It's about your son. It's all over the media. The pictures of him were taken down as per my request. I called you to ask if you want me to have the articles down, too?"

While scrolling on my laptop, I saw articles about me and my son. Napasinghap ako pero sa isip ko, wala naman akong pakealam kung malaman ng buong mundo na may anak ko. I am not trying to hide him. Naalarma lang ako nang makitang ang mga headline ay nagtatanong kung sino ang tatay.

"Wala namang kaso sa akin, Papa. Hindi ko naman binabalak itago ang anak ko. As long as there are no pictures of him. I find that intrusive. That's where I draw the line since I know how disastrous media is."

"Okay. That's good since I have already asked them to take the pictures down. We'll just let the articles remain and wait till all these pass by."

"Right, Papa."

"I was just concerned about you since I know things are happening too fast in your life right now. Are you alright?"

"I am very alright, Papa. Things turned out better than what I expected. I just have to sort things out and reevaluate my plans again. Akala ko kasi talaga kasal na si Julius kaya tatanggihan niya kami. Ngayong hindi pala at natanggap niya agad si Javion, kailangan ko pa ulit pag-isipan ang mga plano."

"Just call me when you need anything, okay?"

"Yes, Papa. Thank you," sabi ko at binaba na ang tawag.

Saktong pagbaba ko ay ang pagbukas ng sliding door. Nagkatinginan agad kami ni Julius. Bagong ligo na siya at namamangha akong tumingin sa kanya. He looked extra hotter with wet hair.

Tahimik ang paligid ngunit unti-unti nang kumukupas ang asul na kulay sa langit, hudyat na paparating na ang araw. Julius immediately walked towards me. Hindi siya naupo. Nanatili siya sa may bandang likod ko, nakahawak sa backrest ng upuan.