Lips That Lie

CHAPTER 29

It has been almost a week after her last conversation with Paolo but nothing happened. She wasn't sure how to feel about the way things turned out. Panatag siya dahil hindi naman siya nito isinumbong sa pulis o sa kahit kanino matapos niyang ibunyag dito ang tunay na pagkatao. Ngunit bigo siya dahil ang ibig sabihin lang no'n ay hindi pa rin siya nito pinapaniwalaan at wala itong balak na makipagtulungan upang imbestigahan ang nangyari kay Celine.

She thought about the way Paolo looked at her before kicking her out of his unit. She saw the recognition in his eyes, she's certain of it. Maybe he did realise that she's telling the truth but is refusing to believe it. He'd rather live with the thought that Celine married another man than to accept the fact that she's completely gone.

"H-Hindi pa rin po u-umuuwi si Madamme," anang isa sa mga kawaksi nang bisitahin niya ang mansiyon ng kanyang ina.

Hindi na niya alam kung anong dapat gawin. She just discovered something that happened before Celine's death and her marriage with Antonio was in chaos. But her mother is still nowhere to be found!

"Hindi ba siya tumatawag sa inyo? O kahit nag-iwan lang ng bilin kung nasaan ito?"

The maid shook her head. Yukong-yuko ito at halos manginig ang magkasalikop na mga kamay habang nakatayo sa harapan. She felt guilty thinking that she's scaring her for something that wasn't her fault.

"W-Wala po talaga akong alam, Ma'am Celine. Patawarin niyo ako."

"Hindi mo kasalanan," alo niya rito. "P-Pasensiya na. Sige, babalik na lang ako ulit kapag narito na siya. Please let me know when she's back."

Sunod-sunod ang naging tango nito. "S-Sige po."

Bigo siyang umalis doon at umuwi.

"Ma'am Celine, hindi makakauwi si Antonio para sa dinner. Huwag mo na siyang hintayin," si Manang Marcia.

Binalingan niya ito bago ibinalik ang tingin sa hapag kung saan ang inihanda niyang pagkain saka nagbuntong-hininga.

Naging malamig na ang turing sa kanya ni Antonio magmula ng araw na makita siya nito sa condo tower kung nasaan si Paolo. This feels like the first months of their marriage but it was worse this time.

He's completely ignoring her. At least noon, kahit paano ay kinakausap at pinapansin pa naman siya nito. They sleep together on bed but he never once touched or even looked at her.

She didn't know how to reach out to him. Paano niya ipapaliwanag na mali ito ng iniisip tungkol sa kanila ni Paolo nang hindi sinasabi rito ang lahat? Iba ang galit nito ngayon kaya mahihirapan siyang paniwalain ito sa kahit na anong alibi. It's either she tells him the truth or let him believe that she's having an affair with her supposed ex-lover.

Nasasaktan siya dahil sa pangungulila sa asawa ngunit wala siyang magawa. Ang dami niyang kailangang i-konsidera bago masabi rito ang totoo. Paolo is different because she needed him to discover the truth about her sister's death. At paano ito makakatulong kung ang alam nito ay buhay pa si Celine sa katauhan niya?

Tinignan niya ang huling mensahe kay Antonio. Halos isang oras na ang nakalipas pero hindi pa rin ito nagrereply. She asked him if they could have lunch together. The two check marks indicate that he's already read it. Ngunit sadya nito iyong binabalewala.

She sighed before mindlessly fixing her table. Alam niyang napupuna na ng mga kasamahan ang biglaang pagbabago ng tungo ni Antonio sa kanya dahil ilang araw na rin silang hindi nagsasabay pumasok, mag-lunch, o kahit umuwi. When he's at El Grande, he would never visit her station and would just leave immediately after staying for some meetings and paperwork unlike before. But nobody dared to ask what's happening.