The Girl Who Cheated

02: The Other Man

IF BELLA COULD choose whether to confront or escape a problem, she would most likely do the latter. Yes, she knows how tremulous the choice is, but that is what she is: a coward.

Hirap kasi siyang harapin ang problema. Natatakot siya na baka masaktan siya at kapag sobrang sakit na, baka mawasak siya. By escaping the problem, she could protect herself from getting hurt. She could protect herself from getting broken. After all, the only one that could help her is herself.

All her life, she tried to escape problems. Whenever Bella and Bryce fought, she'd lock herself inside her room and cry. Whenever she felt like she was about to cry at school, she'd excuse herself to the comfort room, and there, she would cry all the pain out.

No one wanted a hard and complicated life, or at least Bella didn't want that life. All she wanted was a simple life where she could live without aggravation and frustration; a life where she could not feel pain and only feel happiness. After all, that is what everyone wants, right? People only want to be happy, and how could she be happy if she had to confront problems every now and then?

This is the reason why it was hard for Bella to face her problem with Raymond. This is the reason why instead of talking about their dispute earlier, she chose to escape it by remaining silent; she was afraid that if they talked about it, her heart would be shattered into tiny pieces.

Kasalukuyan silang nasa Arrival area ng Clark International Airport, hinihintay ang pinsan ni Raymond na dumating. Nakaupo lang si Bella habang si Raymond naman ay nakatayo at sinisilip ang bawat tao na lumalabas sa airport. According to the screen in front of the chairs where people sat to wait for the passengers to get out of the airport, nakalapag na ang eroplano ng pinsan niya, kung kaya ganoon na lamang ang pagmamasid ni Raymond sa paligid.

It didn't take long before Raymond saw his cousin. "Chase! Good to see you, man!" He smiled as he welcomed his cousin with a warm hug.

"Parang 'di kami nag-away, a?" Bella mumbled as she rolled her eyes. She looked at her boyfriend's cousin. Chase has wavy brown hair na parang pinapahaba talaga nito. It was disheveled, but in an attractive way. Unlike his boyfriend, medyo toned ang katawan nito. Bukod pa rito, matangkad. If she was not mistaken, nasa 5'9" or 5'10" ito base sa height ni Raymond na 5'7". She had this cool and jolly aura na para bang masaya itong kakuwentuhan at hindi masungit.

"Chase, I would like you to meet my girlfriend," Raymond said as they went to her. "Her name is Bella."

"Bella?" Chase said. His voice was deep, pero kakikitaan ng buhay. He also had this charming smile that for sure, in Bella's opinion, would make the girls in her school go crazy. Hindi na magtataka si Bella kung marami nang napaiyak na babae itong pinsan niya. "As in Bella Cerillo? Wow! What a small world!"

He knows her? Sinubukan alalahanin ni Bella kung saan niya ito nakita but to no avail. It's not like makakalimutin ng mukha or pangalan si Bella but hindi niya talaga kilala itong si Chase. "Yes, ako nga iyon, pero baka kapangalan ko lang," she replied coldly. Hanggang ngayon, she still can't move on sa nangyari kanina. "Hindi talaga kita kilala."

Chase chuckled. "I supposed you won't remember me talaga since malayong-malayo na ang itsura ko ngayon sa itsura ko noon," he said. "It's Sammy! Chase Samuel Montilla, does it ring a bell? Kalaro ako ni Jay dati pa na kapitbahay mo! The one who gave you the shirt? Remember?"

"Sammy?" At that moment, she noticed the familiarity in Chase's face. His smile that she once saw when she was a kid when mud splattered on her shirt. His mole near his right eye reminded her of a kid that she used to call Piolo Pascual because of the same mole. She noticed everything. "Ikaw nga! Sammy!"

Before she could stop herself, she jumped and hugged Chase. She heard Chase laugh and hug her back. "So now, you remember me . . . That's good to know."