The Ruthless (Quantum Meruit Series #1)

34. Invited

34.
Invited

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Unti-unti kong iminulat ang mga mata na mabilis ko ring ipinikit nang sunod-sunod na pumitik ang sentido ko. Ah, shit. This was too familiar. Ilang bote na naman ba ng alak ang naitungga ko kagabi?

Nang naipilit ang sariling maupo sa kama ay agad kong dinampot ang alarm clock sa hindi kalayuan. My eyes went wide when it was almost twelve p.m. I groaned when I was reminded of my engagement later. I was to replace a hostess in a variety show. Papatayin na talaga ako ni Trinity!

Mabagal na umalis ako sa kuwarto at dumiretso sa kusina. Fuck. Hindi na talaga ako iinom ulit!

I was busy evenly spreading melted cheese on my bread, hurrying my brunch so I could leave already, when I heard a vibration nearby. It was my phone on the countertop.

"Hello?" pagod kong sagot sa caller – si Trinity. "If you called to remind me of the hosting—"

"Kagigising mo lang?" she cut me off. "Kanina pa ako tawag nang tawag."

"Ah, oo." Ginulo ko ang sariling buhok na agad ding natigil nang napansin ang kakaibang pananahimik niya. "May problema ba?"

Matagal bago siya sumagot. "Si Hernan, Will."

Kumunot ang noo ko at umayos sa pagkakatayo. "Anong meron kay Hernan?"

"P-patay na si Hernan."

It was a thunder that jolted me in my sleep. What the fuck did she just say?

The next minutes, I couldn't grasp what she was telling me. Para akong nabingi sa sariling katahimikan at walang maintindihan.

Hernan was dead?

"I called the organizer of the variety show. Alam na rin nila ang nangyari," malungkot na sabi ni Trinity pagkabalik ng kaunting huwisyo ko. "If you plan to visit him in his wake, please bring your bodyguards this time."

"Hernan . . ." I uttered breathily. "D-dead?"

It couldn't be!

"Willow . . ."

It shook the hell out of me that I couldn't remember who was the one who dropped the call.

How could Hernan die all of a sudden? We were together last night! He was being annoying and shit. Tapos mababalitaan kong ganito?

Buong tanghali akong nanginginig at nag-iisip. Ang bigat-bigat ng pakiramdam ko lalo na nang naalala iyong huling sinabi ko sa kanya.

I hate you so much that I want you dead . . .

Natutop ko ang bibig kasabay ng pag-iinit ng mga mata ko.

I hated him, alright. I had threatened him a lot of times that I would kill him. But they were lies in the brink of explosion. I never wanted him to die! I hated him so much but I would never want to see him cold and lifeless!

And he just . . . died after I reiterated those words to him . . .

The news spread like wildfire. Of course, he was, in a way, a celebrity. Everyone wanted to know what happened.

"It was brutal. Talagang malaki ang galit noong gumawa!" I heard a woman beside me whisper to her friend.

Ang bigat ng bawat hakbang ko, nag-aalangan pa rin sa katotohanang ilang beses na akong sinampal-sampal. Patay na talaga siya. Patunay doon ang tahimik na paghimlay niya sa kabaong.

I could feel the stares of everyone. But they didn't matter to me at all. This would be a part of his funeral. But I just wanted to see him for the last time.

How cruel of death. You were with me hours ago, being the annoying fuck you are. Tapos ngayon . . .

Halos hindi ko magawang tingnan ang mukha niya sa salamin. Everything of me was in denial.

I wanted to apologize to him and tell him how I deeply regretted it all. But the lump in my throat felt bigger as seconds passed by.

"Hindi pa nadadakip 'yong suspek," sabi noong babae sa likuran ko pagkaupo ko. "It's not just robbery at all. Why would you stab a person repeatedly in vital areas and seal the body in a drum then throw it to a river if your main purpose is to steal? That person murdered him. And for whatever reason, I hope that person rots in jail!"

Gumugulong pa ang imbestigasyon sa pagkamatay niya. I didn't know much of the details yet. Ngunit ang sigurado ako ay namatay siya ilang oras lang matapos iyong pag-aaway namin sa kalsada. Matapos kasi noong sagutan namin sa parking lot, sumunod pa siya sa akin. Since I couldn't take it anymore, I stopped the car and faced him once again. Hindi ko na matandaan ang mga sinabi ko roon. But I was sure they hurt him.

I swallowed hard and looked down.

He died with those vile words of mine. How cruel of me.

Everyone was sure that Hernan was murdered. I shared the same opinion. It was a crime borne out of hate and vengeance.

But who would do such thing?

"Are you sure? Hindi mo ba panghihinayangan?"

Trinity sounded disheartened with what I said. I told her that I wouldn't be attending that event abroad. I had prepared for the said event as it was somehow related to my duties when I was still the reigning Miss Universe. But with the condition I was in and Hernan's death, everything was getting out of hand. I thought it was the best to lie low for a while as I picked myself up.

"Hindi nga kasi," I convinced and opened the mail. "And besides . . . I have an important matter to attend to."

"And what is that?"

"I was . . . invited."

"Saan?"

Ipinatong ko ang papel sa counter at pilit akong ngumiti. "Investigation."