Unlawful Destiny

Chapter 39: The Odds

"L-Let's go Nikki." nag-iwas tingin siya sa akin at hinila ang bata palayo ngunit nagpumiglas ito.

"But mommy I want my candy!" sigaw nito sa kaniya.

"Baby not now." pagpupumilit nito sa bata, dahilan para magsimula itong umiyak.

Kinarga niya ito at akmang aalis na siya. Iniwan ko ang cart ko at nagmamadaling hinabol siya, "W-Wait!" sigaw ko.

Hindi niya ako nilingon at patuloy lamang siyang naglakad papunta ng parking lot.

"Daddy!" sigaw ng bata nang makita nito si James na palabas ng sasakyan.

Agad nagtama ang mga mata namin. Binigay ni Adaline ang bata kay James. Hindi ko alam ngunit parang nasaktan ako nang makita silang tatlo.

"A-Adaline." I called her name.

Binuksan niya ang pinto sa backseat ng kotse niya at sinakay ni James sa child seat ang bata, "Stay here baby. Stop crying, we'll get your candy later okay?" malambing na sabi ni Adaline sa bata.

Nang naisara na niya ang pinto ng sasakyan ay hinarap niya ako. She didn't say anything.

"I just wanna talk." panimula ko.

"We have nothing to talk about." agad niyang sagot sa akin.

Really? After four long years of just vanishing, we have nothing to talk about?

"We have a lot to talk about." I said firmly.

"Look, it's been four years. I have to go, I can't do this today." nagmamadali talaga niyang sagot. Is this another reason to avoid me?

"Yeah, it's been four years and I haven't gotten an answer why you suddenly left. And now that I have the chance to know, pinagdadamutan mo pa rin ako ng sagot."

The feeling of hurt I have been suppressing for four years are starting to come back.

Lumapit si James sa likod ni Adaline, "Is he bothering you?" tanong nito. Hindi ko mapigilan ang sarili ko kundi tignan siya nang masama. If I could punch this guy, I would've done it already kung wala lamang dito ang bata. Besides, ano nga namang karapatan kong saktan siya kung siya ang pinili ni Adaline at hindi ako.

That's just plain pathetic.

"No, I got this. Wait for me in the car." sagot niya kay James. She shut her eyes for a moment, "L-Look, I'm sorry for leaving so sudden and for not giving you an explanation. What I did was unfair, but I made my decision. I wanted to come back here, with James."

I scoffed, "Bullshit."

"E-Excu-"

"Just bullshit."

"I don't need you to believe me, Niccolo." she replied.

"You wanted to be with him, right after you slept with me?" hindi makapaniwalang tanong ko sa kaniya.

"It doesn't feel good to be played now, is it?" she said sarcastically.

"Fuck! Why do you hate me so much?" hindi ko na mapigilan ang emosyon ko. "I know how much I've hurt you in the past and I regret every single thing I did, and I tried showing you how much I love you but you won't let me." I said as my tears are starting to form.

Why do I still feel like this, as if it was only yesterday when she left. It still fucking hurts.

She didn't say anything, she just stared at me.

"I wanted to keep you so bad even though you kept pushing me away, Adaline." I took a deep breath, trying to hold my tears back. "Four years, you disappeared for four years, and you're still doing this to me."

"I know you have a lot of questions, and I'm sorry I can't answer them now. If you wanna talk, meet me at Santa Monica Pier tomorrow at 5 PM." nagmamadaling sabi niya sa akin.

"Before you go, your mom asked me to meet you, just so you know."

Napatigil siya sa pagbukas ng pinto at tinignan ako, "Good bye, Niccolo." paalam niya at tuluyan nilang nilisan ang lugar.

Nanatili pa akong nakatayo sa parking lot. Wala akong magawa kundi panoorin ang sasakyan nilang lumayo nang tuluyan.

I don't know why, but I kind of felt hurt seeing her start a family with James, while I was left waiting for her all those years.

I had no choice but to come back inside and finish buying groceries. My mind is still stuck at what happened earlier. I went home and I immediately called Jax about it.

"How's Los Angeles so far?" bungad na tanong sa akin ni Jax.

"I saw Adaline." deretsyong sagot ko.

"Woah, where?" tanong niya.

"I went out to buy groceries, and some young girl talked to me. Turns out, she's Adaline's daughter."

I heard him gasp, "Holy fuck, you have a daughter?"

Huh?

"What? What the fuck are you saying?" iritang tanong ko sa kaniya.

"You know full well what I'm trying to say." he replied.

"Dumbass, it's James' daughter. They were together at the grocery store." agad kong sagot sa kaniya.

What the hell is he saying?

"Bro, how old was the girl?" he asked again.

"I-I don't know, maybe three or four?" sagot ko.

"Don't you think she might be yours?"

Natahimik ako sa sinabi niyang ito.

I felt my heartbeat race.

Why haven't I thought of that?

I tried picturing the girl's face again, do I look like her? I can't quite see it.

"I can't just assume that, Jax. Adaline has been with James for four years now. They could be married for fuck's sake. They do their groceries together, only married couple do that shit." pangongontra ko sa kaniya.

"I don't know bro, I'm just saying. There's a possibility you have a child with her. I mean, you slept together before she left. Besides, I heard from Gwen that she's not married with James." paliwanag sa akin ni Jax.

What? She's not?

"R-Really?" paninigurado ko. Tila ba nakaramdam ako ng kaunting pag-asa.

"Yes, but they could be together like you suspect, just not married. It's yours to figure out, you're the one who's in LA." sagot niya.

I hung up the call and popped open a beer I bought from grocery earlier. Lumabas ako sa veranda ng hotel at nag-isip isip.

Jax has a point, but should I even ask Adaline about it? I will only sound dumb. I don't know what to feel about the possibility of having a child with her.

I don't want to mess with their happy family. Besides, I already have Celine in my life. So why am I even still bothering to know the reasons why Adaline left me?

It's clear now that she really chose James, she wanted a future with him and that shows. I don't wanna be some kind of jerk that ruins her happiness by still being stuck in the past.