Fated to Love You

better man (leni's version)

"How can he do this to me?!" Risa cried her heart out. "Sa lahat ng lalaki bakit sya pa?! Sobrang tagal na naming magkasama pero bakit ngayon pa sya nagloko? Bakit?"

Leni hugged her best friend without saying anything. She just hugged her tight, occasionally rubbing her back, listening to all her rants.

"Anong gagawin ko ngayon? How will solve this things up when he doesn't want to talk to me?" Risa continued crying.

"We'll figure it out, Ris." Grace joined in the hug.

They just found out that Win, Risa's husband cheated on her. Risa and Win were always fighting for the past few weeks. She knew it's normal to occur in a relationship but she felt something strange—he changed his profile picture, he removed the highlight stories in some of his socmed accounts, he doesn't reply to her that much telling her he was busy with work. One day, Risa saw the notifications on her phone, a girl named Leslie reacted "HAHA" on her pictures with Win. She began to feel something. She immediately screenshot the notifications and send it to Win. She asked him how he met the girl but he kept on dodging her questions. Risa then decided to sent a friend request to Leslie, she accepted it.

Risa communicated right away with Leslie because she has a strong feeling that she's her husband's new woman. Luckily, Leslie coorperated and told Risa the whole truth. She told Risa that she has a constant communication with Win for a month now while she doesn't know that he's married. Leslie assured Risa that she will not entertain Win again.

"Sobrang sakit!" Risa said, "May mga anak kami."

Leni hugged her more, she doesn't know what to tell her friend. She just stared blankly at the wall, then realization hits her. She knew how much pain Risa's suffering now. She's been there too, 5 years ago.

"Basta don't make decisions right now. Masyadong clouded ang thinking mo ngayon, you'll probably gonna make the wrong decision." Grace advised bringing Leni back to reality.

"And don't talk to him muna ngayon, baka din may masabi kang pagsisihan mo." Leni added.

They just stayed with Risa until she calmed down.

---

Leni stared at herself in the mirror, she's thinking about how hard Risa's situation is right now. Suddenly, tears started to pool her eyes. She remember everything that happened 5 years ago. The pain is still there, it never went away. She never grieved properly.

Her phone rang. She immediately wiped her tears and composed herself once again as she Risa was calling her. She knew she's needed. "Hello, Ris?"

"Lens, are you busy?"

"Hindi naman bakit?"

"Win called me up already."

"Are you okay? Do you want me there?"

"We're okay now, I think. Medyo mahabang kwento pero I promise to tell you tomorrow siguro. It's Sinta's birthday, pupunta ka naman diba?"

"Sana talaga maging okay kayo ni Win. I hope you guys talk it out but don't let your emotions ruin you. And regarding Sinta's birthday, syempre I'm going."

"Yay! Sige sige. Tawagan ko din si Grace. I'll see you tomorrow."

Call ended.

It's finally Sinta's 7th birthday party. Her parents, Win and Risa decided to held the party in a hotel and resort in Batangas. Leni was able to be there hours before the party started with her birthday gift for her goddaughter. She immediately located Grace together with Neil and their other friends. She greeted Risa and Win too.

"How are you?" Leni asked.

Risa smiled. "Okay naman. Nakapag-usap na kami ni Win."

Leni sighed in relief, "Mabuti naman. Jusko medyo kinabahan ako para sainyo. Birthday pa naman ni Sinta."

Risa chuckled, "Kaya nga eh. Na explain naman ni Win saakin lahat. He apologized. He admitted his fault."

Leni frowned, "So he admit na nag cheat nga sya?"

Risa nodded, "Pero according to him, hindi naman daw yun seryoso like past time lang. He just wanted to distract himself from all our fights and his personal problems. Pinagsabihan din daw sya ni Koko about it."

Leni nodded, "Mabuti naman. Sinabi mo pala kay Koko?"

Risa nodded, "I knew he would help. Alam mo naman yan diba, kahit nasa iisang circle of friends tayo, may small circle din silang mga boys gaya nating mga girls. And we all know that Koko will not tolerate the boys lalo na pag mali ang ginagawa."

Leni smiled, "Yeah. I know."

Risa nodded, she knew Leni experienced it before.

"Tara na! Mag-uumpisa na ang party. Saan kang table?" Risa changed the topic.

"Kina Grasya nalang." Leni smiled and went to her friends' table.

The party went on. There were clowns, magicians, water performances, games and many more. Sinta was so happy receiving all the gifts from all the attendees. She cannot count how many times she thanked them. The adults were having a fun time also as they get to spend time with their kids plus with their friends. They were planning to stay in the hotel and resort for another day to relax.

After the party, guests started to decrease. Some of them went back to Manila, but the whole barkada stayed. They've decided to checked in to relax and catch up with each other's lives. They were the only ones who where left at the venue as the boys continued to drink their beers plus Sinta excitedly opened all her gifts. Everytime she successfully opened a gift, she squeals in joy. The adults just watched the kids with a huge smiles in their faces.

They were having so much fun when suddenly an unexpected guest came in leaving them in silence. "Am I late?"

The boys halted. They didn't know if they were hallucinating due to their alcohol intake or everything was real. Grace stood up, "Bong—"

"Daddy!" Leona stopped helping her Ate Sinta in opening her gifts and ran as fast as she could the moment she saw her dad.

Bongbong crouched to carry his daughter, she hugged him tightly circling her small arms through his neck, he hugged her tightly, "I missed you, princess."

"I miss you too, daddy." Leona beamed at her dad, he saw her two front teeth missing. "Mommy! Daddy's here!" Leona exclaimed while looking at her mom.

Leni can feel her heartbeat beating too fast, she cannot move, she cannot talk, she cannot think. All she can do is to stare at the man she once loved.

Bongbong smiled and look directly into her eyes, "It's been a while, Mrs. Marcos."

To be continued...

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