#BongLeni

Chapter 19 - #Burn

"Nandito na tayo." Bong Bong said.

After about two hours of driving, Bong Bong and Leni have finally arrived in Malacañang.

Bong Bong parked the car in the driveway and turned to Leni,

"Are you ready to see the palace?"

Leni smiled as she nodded.

"Game."

After the two of them got out of the car, Bong Bong took Leni's hand and intertwined his fingers with hers as he led her inside the old building.

As they walked through the entrance, Leni looked at Bong Bong and said,

"Mukhang excited ka pumunta dito."

Bong Bong smiled. He felt nostalgic as he looked around the place. He replied,

"Yeah... Dito kami tumira for some time, remember?"

As they continued to roam the area, Bong Bong proceeded to tell Leni stories about his childhood when he lived in Malacañang.

Bong Bong showed Leni the places in the palace where he had memorable moments growing up and happily talked about it.

"... Ito dati yung office ng father ko..."

"... Dito kami naghabulan ng itak ng ate ko..."

"... May foreign guest kami dati and dito siya sa guestroom nag-stay kaso naihian ng aso namin yung kama niya..."

Leni smiled as she listened to Bong Bong. His happiness as of the moment felt contagious.

After a while, the two of them finally arrived at the area shown in the card.

They stopped in their tracks as they saw the presidential seal on the wall. In front of it was the podium with Bong Bong's name plaque on top.

Bong Bong squeezed Leni's hand as he looked at her and smiled.

He then let go of her hand and proceeded to stand behind the podium.

Meanwhile, Leni stood a few feet away in front of the podium as she looked at Bong Bong.

She crossed her arms and smiled as she said,

"Ang ganda ng view mula dito. Very presidential... Mukha kang magbibigay ng formal address."

Bong Bong chuckled. He then looked down and noticed that a folder was also placed on top of the podium.

Curious about what's inside, he slowly opened it.

.

.

.

Bong Bong's smile faded as he saw what's inside it.

Leni immediately noticed the change in Bong Bong's expression.

Suddenly concerned, she asked him,

"BBM? What's wrong?"

Leni's question remained unanswered as Bong Bong looked at what's inside the folder.

It instantly changed his happy mood as feelings of hurt slowly took over him.

Inside the folder were a bunch of newspaper clippings, all of which presented negative articles pitting him against Leni.

Losing against her in the 2016 elections...

Their heated competition during the presidential campaign...

Leni saying that he doesn't show up in the most difficult moments in one interview...

The articles went on as Bong Bong remembered every negative thing that he went through when he fought against Leni.