The Calm in the Chaos (Trazo Real Series #3)

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"Okay...", si Hailey na napatigil sa design niya pagkatapos kong ikwento sa kanya ang lahat.

Mula sa pag-uusap namin ni Rafael noong unang gabi ko sa Riqueza Coast hanggang sa mga nangyari noong gabi ng pageant, at ngayon. Inaasahan ko pa na magagalit si Hailey sa akin dahil ang usapan namin, iiwas ako kay Rafael at siya kay Kuya Ashton.

But seeing how calm she is, ito ang nagpagulat sa akin.

"Are you not mad at me?"

"Why would I be?", tanong niya at sumipsip sa kanyang iced coffee.

"We made a promise, Hailey..."

"But we also made a promise to choose happiness. Ang sabi mo sa akin, magaan sa pakiramdam na nag-uusap na ulit kayo. Ang sabi mo, masaya ka. If you're happy, then I won't object, Adi. Mas mahalaga sa akin na masaya ka. Bruha!"

"But... Do you think what I did was right?"

She shrugged. "Iyan ang hindi ko alam. Hindi naman kasi porque masaya, iyon na agad ang tama. But then, hindi rin naman natin alam. No one knows, Adi. Only time and the things bound to happen in the future will tell you if what you did was right."

I also told Cain about what I did.

"Cain... kaibigan lang naman."

"But you don't want him as a friend, Adi! Don't deny it because I know. Even if you date tons of men, I know who your heart desires and it's that fucking milky-white engineer."

"Hey! He's mestizo!"

"Whatever, Adi!"

He was there for me and like he said, he knows everything. At kahit pa ayaw niya na lagi akong papalit palit ng boyfriend, sinuportahan niya pa rin ako dahil alam niyang iyon lang ang paraan ko para makalimot, pansamantala.

"Hey...", saad ko at pinatong ang baba sa balikat niya. Inirapan lang niya ako at umiling. "It's just friendship, I promise. I won't fall for him. I mean... you know my feelings for him but I know my limits now. He's not the guy for me, I know that now. So I won't force it anymore with him. One day, the right man will come. For now, I just want to be friends with him."

Hindi pa rin siya umimik kaya nagsalita akong muli.

"You liked me before but we're bestfriends now, right? It's the same with him."

"No, it's not. I am over you when we became bestfriends. And I am completely over you since I was what... 15? 16? It wasn't deep, Adi. Yours for Rafael was different. Kaya wag ako."

Ngumuso ako at nagsalita siyang muli. "Why do you wanna be friends with him again?"

"Because we lost years. And I realized that what I did was selfish. He treated me like his sister and he was one of the best friends I had. I didn't give him a choice back then. Sinarili ko lang ang desisyon. He didn't do me wrong but he suffered. I hurt him, too."

"Not as much as he hurt you."

"I don't have time to measure who hurt more, Cain. The point is, we both hurt each other. Baka nga kaya hindi ako maka-move on kasi lagi ko siyang tinatakbuhan? If I face him and my feelings for him, maybe that would make it easier for me?"

"Bahala ka."

"Still mad?"

"Don't call me at night crying", he sighed. "I am against this but if this is really what you want... then I'll support you. Whatever makes you happy, Adi", he said and I embraced him tightly.

Rafael followed me on my social media accounts. I hesitated to follow him back but he kept on texting me, asking me for a follow back. In the end, I gave in. Buong Linggo ay naging abala ako sa pag-aaral dahil exam week na. Halos hindi ako mahagilap ng mga kaibigan ko kapag nagyayaya silang lumabas dahil inabala ko ang sarili ko sa pag-aaral.