Love In A Cruel World

Chapter 18

"Dad, is there a problem?"

Kaagad na napalingon sa 'kin si Dad while resting his elbow at the table of the mini bar. "Oh? What are you doing here? You should be sleeping right now."

"I just got some water, Dad," I said at inangat ang baso ng tubig na kinuha ko. He just nodded.

Muli niyang ibinalik ang tingin sa baso na hawak at may laman iyong whiskey. Nagtataka ako because it's already late and he's still drinking.

"What's wrong po, Dad?" I asked and sat on the next stool bar beside him.

He looked at me, then smiled a bit. "Nothing, Angel. It's just something about the company."

"What is it, Dad? Maybe I can help something?" I even held his hand while he's holding his glass.

"Well, I don't know what happened but some of our partners and investors want you to prove yourself to them. Since ikaw daw ang magmamana ng kompanya, they want to see if you're deserving and if you can actually take over the company," paliwanag niya at 'saka mabagal na lumingon sa 'kin.

"What do we need to do, Dad?" I curiously asked.

Dad smiled and lightly tapped my head. "Nothing, my Angel. I can fix this."

"No, Dad. I want to prove myself," I said. I've done enough before and it's time to show that I am really a Zabala.

"Are you sure?" tanong ni Dad, bakas sa mukha niya ang pag-aalala.

"Yes, Dad. Ano po bang kailangang gawin?" I insisted.

Nakita kong nagdadalawang isip pa si Dad but he spoke afterwards. "They are thinking of putting you as a worker in our company."

"Like on the job training?"

"Sort of. OJTs must be in the next semester but they want you to train as early as possible."

Natigil ako sa sinabi ni Dad. Yes, I want to prove myself pero hindi ko naman inaasahan na as soon as possible 'yon. Mahahati ang oras ko kay Timothy Blake - I mean, sa plano namin.

"Ayoko sanang sabihin sa 'yo because I want you to focus on your studies and enjoy your own life. We don't want to give you more problems and challenges. You've gone through enough," Dad said and I can see disapproval in his eyes and I know nag-aalala lang siya kung kaya ko ba.

"I already have a lot of it, Dad, this is just a sisiw one. So when will I start?"

"You're really sure that you can?" he asked, so I nodded. "You'll start from a small position like what Lie did," he added.

I gave him an assuring smile. "Yes, Dad."

"Okay, but we need to tell this to your mom first. Go to your room now. It's kinda late. Bukas na natin pag-usapan."

I just bid goodnight bago ako umalis at bumalik sa kwarto ko. I didn't dare to think about more stuff because for now, I want to rest my mind and my body.

Just like what Dad said, kinabukasan namin pinag-usapan ang tungkol sa pagpasok ko sa kompanya. I was busy fixing my uniform when someone knocked at my door. Nang lumingon ako, I saw Mom smiling at me.

"Mom? Do you need anything po?" I immediately asked.

Mom walks towards me at siya na mismo ang nag-ayos ng collar ng uniform ko. "Your dad told me that you accepted what the board wanted. Are you sure about it?" I can sense she's worried about me too, like Dad.

I smiled. "Of course, Mom. I experienced a lot of different jobs at nakayanan ko naman po, so I think I can do this, too."

Mom smiled wider as she held both sides of my cheeks. "I'm proud of you. I am proud that you've done everything before. And I am grateful to those people who became your parents while we are too far from you."