Pursuing My Nemesis

Forty Two

Chapter 42

ANIEL AND I shared the same fear. We both fear the idea of losing each other. I fear the idea of waking up in the morning and realizing that he doesn't exist in my life anymore. I fear the idea of meeting him in the middle of the road, or on the way to work, and not feeling the same excitement and warmth that I am feeling right now.

Ngumiti ako at tuluyang lumapit sa kanya. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he greeted back and held my hand. I watched it as he intertwined it with mine. "Your palm is warm."

My smile remained on my lips. Nagpapasalamat talaga ako na hindi mahigpit ang ASDG sa public display of affection basta may naka set pa ring boundaries ang mga tao rito. Most of our workplace dating policies were just about the prohibition of sharing sensitive company information (if there is) and maintaining professionalism. Wala namang kaso sa amin ni Aniel ang mga 'yon dahil alam naman namin ang limit naming dalawa.

"I just had my coffee," I answered.

It's been two weeks since we all got back to work. The usual, tambak na naman ang trabaho ko bilang senior designer kaya nawalan ako ng oras para kamustahin ang kaso ni Mama. I've tried calling my brother last week but he's currently out of town for his work. Ilang beses din kaming kumain ni Aniel sa Coeurs et Fleurs para lang sadyain ko si Mrs. Bonneville, but their staff told me that the couple went to France for some personal stuff. Baka raw uuwi sila sa susunod na linggo pa.

My work consumed most of my time these past few days. Especially with the fact that I was a candidate for a promotion. Pakiramdam ko ay sinusubok talaga ako ng mga board members sa sunod-sunod na utos nila sa akin.

I noticed that Aniel became busy also with his own line of work and... personal life. Usually kasi, kahit gaano pa kami ka-busy sa trabaho, we would always have some time to hang out during the night. Minsan ay tumatambay lang kami sa unit namin tapos manonood ng isang episode ng The Good Doctor nang magkasama, and then we would drift off to sleep. We also usually eat our dinner from take outs since we're too lazy to dine out and too tired to cook at home.

But it's been days since I had a proper dinner with Aniel. Kadalasan ay may tumatawag sa kanya sa gitna ng pagkain namin and in just one short call, magpapaalam na siya sa akin na kailangan na raw niyang umalis. I kept asking him if there was a problem, but he always kept his mouth shut. It's typical of him to do that, but... I really felt like there's something wrong going on with him these past few days.

"Aniel," I called him. I was already on my way out of work when I decided to swing by Aniel's office. He told me that he'll be taking another hour of work to finish something.

"Yes, love?" he answered without lifting his head up from his laptop.

"Dinner tonight? I'm planning to cook," I said to him. "Ano'ng gusto mo?"

Aniel went hesitant at first but he eventually answered. "Anything you wishes to cook."

I smiled at him. "Alright. I'll see you later."

He only smiled a little before burying his head on the screen. I watched him for a second before leaving. I knew something was wrong. I just needed to wait for him to tell me about it.

***

A month had passed and Aniel's actions became more and more mysterious and bothersome to me. Lagi siyang tumatanggi sa mga sina-suggest kong weekend plans namin. He would always tell me that he needed to go to some places that is related to his job. Mas marami rin siyang natatanggap na tawag na minsan ay nagiging dahilan na ng sagutan naming dalawa.

I mean, I could've understand if it's just three or less calls during our private time. But to have him answer less than twenty calls in an hour? That's giving me green monsters!