Hate Me Now Love Me Later

Chapter 25 - Last Mission

Labis ang pagkabahalang nadarama ni Aminah sa seryosong anyo ngayon ni Knife. Napaangat siya mula sa pagkakasandig sa headboard ng kama.

"I have to go back to Macau. I have unfinished business there." Seryosong tinig ng kanyang asawa.

Agad naman siyang sinalakay ng matinding kaba. She knew what's that unfinished business means.

"W-when?" Kung kailan naman sila nagsisimulang magkaayos ay saka naman ito aalis agad-agad. "Hindi ba 'ko pwedeng sumama sa'yo?"

Knife sighed heavily.

Knife grab her both hands saka buong pagsuyo siyang tinignan. "Believe it or not, love.. I want to stay where you are at all times. But it's not safe for you to come back there. As much as I wanted to be with you always, you're more than safe in here."

Bumalik siya sa pagkakasandal.

"I'm scared." Pag-amin niya. Lalo pa at alam niyang may kinalaman ang mga Jacobs.

"Hush, love. Please don't be. I promise after our mission, babalik ako agad."

"Mission? And.. and what do you mean by that? Naguguluhan na 'ko sa'yo ha, Knife Marquez. Mas lalo mo akong pinag-aalala, eh."

Knife sighed again. Tila ba hirap na hirap ito na hindi niya mawari kung para saan.

"Kung makakabawas sa pag-aalala mo, Sylvester and his strongest men will go there with me."

Nalukot ang mukha niya sa pinaghalong kaba at kyuryosidad. "I.. I don't understand you. What are you saying? What's going on?"

"Me, Sylvester and the rest of the security details you've met were part of a team, a secret organization.. the Hidden Forces." Knife said directly to her eyes.

Though she already had a hint about it, she can't help herself but to gasp in shock. Umayos si Knife ng upo sa tabi niya. Kapwa na sila ngayon nakasandal sa headboard.

"Nagsimula ang grupo namin noong namatay si Tía Marissa, para tugisin ang pumatay sa kanya." Patuloy nito.

Tía Marissa is Sylvester's mother. Kapatid ng kanyang Papá Solomon. Bata pa lamang siya noong nabalitaan niyang namatay ang ginang. Wala siyang gaanong alam sa pangyayari sapagkat musmos pa lang siya noon at walang muwang sa nangyayari sa kanyang paligid. But she clearly remember how good as a person and mother she was.

"Dad helped Papá Carlito to find the killer. Ganoon din kami ni Sylvester.  And from then on, Hidden Forces continues. We serve people who seeks for justice. Our mission brought us to Macau and that's to bring down all the underground organizations including Mesobuthus Martensii. Dad and I.. Knoelle and Knaomi were part of it. We're all part of Hidden Forces aside from Mom. But she knew everything.. from the very beginning."

Too stunned to speak, she let Knife continue talking. Hinayaan niyang isiwalat ni Knife ang buong pangyayari. She's trying to absorb what she had just heard from Knife. Gulantang siya sa mga nalaman.

"Ganyan din ako noon. I am clueless of what's happening around me. Andoong manganib na ang buhay ko pero ni isa sa kanila walang nagsabi sa akin ng mga dapat kong malaman. Pero noong malaman ko naman ang lahat, naisip ko, sana pala nanatili na lang akong walang alam."

Odalie's words replayed on her mind. She was right, because after she heard what happened to the past.. she would rather not to ask questions anymore. A good woman died just because of selfishness of another woman. Sylvester lost a mother in the hands of a very close relative. Dorothy Olivero. Carlito Olivero's sister-in-law. She met that woman few times before she died. And she had no freaking idea that there were dark secrets behind the two women's death. And now, Knife will go back to Macau to continue his mission as a secret agent. At walang kasiguraduhan kung makakabalik pa ba ito ng buhay. She is very scared of the possibilities. She witnessed once how dangerous the Martensii's are, specially that Marcus Jacobs.