Stolen Moments

02.

Me and Zayden were glaring at each other when Miss Megan, the wedding planner, arrived. She greeted us and sat on the vacant seat. I asked Cheska to get her something to eat and drink.

She started briefing us about the wedding planning and started asking us what we wanted.

"I think a plain modern wedding would be nice. We'll settle with whites and neutrals for the color, and just modern decorations." Zayden suggested.

"What? No. I don't like that for the wedding." Kaagad kong kontra. Modern? Really? That's so boring and basic!

"You don't like the wedding in general." umismid siya bago bumaling ulit sa wedding planner. "It's settled, we'll go for a modern theme."

"This isn't even your wedding, why are you deciding for it?" kontra ko.

"Because I know that my brother would agree on that, Celestine." simpleng saad niya bago sumimsim sa kape na in-order niya kanina.

"Well, I don't. And I have the right to interject because this is my wedding too." I said firmly.

I made a promise to myself when I was young, and even if I couldn't grant the first one, which is to marry the man that I truly love, then I'll at least grant the other one.

"I want it to be like a fairytale wedding. The colors would be white and pastels, mostly light shades of pink. I also want the reception to be at a garden, with lots of flowers and butterflies. They didn't give us a specified budget, right? But I'm sure the Zamora's can afford it. If not, I'd be more than willing to help pay for the expenses."

"A fairytale wedding? What are you, a kid having a birthday party?" kunot ang noong bumaling sa'kin si Zayden. "My brother wouldn't agree on this."

"Well, he should've been here to help me plan but he isn't. So I make the final choices." I shrugged and crossed my arms.

"That's why I'm here. On behalf of him, I will help with the planning. And I'm here saying that he wouldn't like the theme that you're suggesting so if I were you, I'd end this argument and settle with my idea." he argued.

"Ma'am, Sir, can we please finalize our decisions first? Ano po ba talaga, modern or fairytale?" Nag-aalangang sumingit sa usapam si Miss Megan.

"Modern."

"Fairytale."

Halos magkasabay kami ni Zayden sa pagsagot sa kanya. Miss Megan sighed and massaged her temple. "Ano po?"

I can see that she's already losing her patience. Kahit sino naman din kasi talaga ay mauubusan ng pasensya sa bangayan namin ni Zayden. Ako nga mismo ay naiinis na din.

I tilted my head as I glared at Zamora, while he did the same. It took about a minute of us killing each other with our gazes and when the wedding planner tried to get our attention, that's when we both finally gave up.

Huminga ako nang malalim. "This is my wedding, Zamora. And the last time I checked, I'm getting married to your brother, not to you. So while he's not here to help me plan for this, your opinion is irrelevant and everything goes according to what I say." I said firmly.

"Please take notes." I looked at Miss Megan and started telling her what I wanted. I felt fulfilled after that. A heavy weight on my chest was slightly lifted, because I know in myself that I granted at least one of my young heart's wish.

Zayden was just staring at me emotionlessly as I talked. Even after the wedding planner left, he was still staring at me.

"Problema mo?" I raised my brows.

"Ang galing mong mag marunong." he said bluntly. "And you're so used to getting what you want, huh? You're such a self entitled spoiled brat who wants everything to be according to what she says."

"Wow!" I gasped. "Ako pa talaga ang nagmamarunong? And how dare you call me spoiled and self entitled?! This is my wedding, Zamora. My mom asked me to help plan this para masunod ang gusto ko. Sa ating dalawa, ako ang may karapatang magsabi ng demands ko dahil ako ang bride. Bestman ka lang sa kasal na 'to, 'wag ka umastang parang ikaw ang pakakasalan ko kung maka-kontra ka sa mga desisyon ko."

"And what? Let you ruin my brother's wedding? Kasal 'to ng kapatid ko, Celestine. I want everything to be perfect because I want what's best for him. Ang malas niya na nga na sa'yo siya ikakasal, hahayaan ko pa bang malas din siya sa mismong kasal na magaganap? No way." he crossed his arms and leaned his back on his chair.

"E'di siya dapat ang nandito, hindi ikaw. Siya dapat ang kasama kong nag pla-plano para parehas kaming nagbibigay ng suggestions."

Nasaan ba kasi si Zackary? Bakit itong kapatid niyang asungot ang kasama kong nag pla-plano para sa kasal namin? Kung siya sana ang nandito, e'di hindi ako naiinis nang ganito.

Bwisit na Zayden 'to, panira talaga sa buhay ko! Bakit kasi siya pa ang pinasama sa'kin? Pwede namang kami nalang ni Miss Megan, bakit kasi kasama pa siya?!

I excused myself to call my mom. Pumasok ako sa opisina ko at mabilis na dinial ang number niya.

"Mom! Bakit si Zayden ang kasama? Hindi ba pwedeng iba nalang? Or kahit kami nalang ni Miss Megan, okay lang! Please, just ask the Zamora's to get rid of Zayden for me." I pleaded.

"Anak, kinausap ko sila tita mo at ang sabi nila ay parusa daw nila yun para kay Zayden."

"Parusa? What is he, a kid?" I snorted.

"Well, ganon siguro talaga sila. Anyways, anak, just deal with him. Okay naman kayo noon, ah? Bakit ngayon ay halos 'di na kayo magkasundo?"

I sighed heavily. She was right, okay naman kami noon. I don't know what happened, one day we just became enemies who hated each other so bad. It wasn't always like this, we used to love each other's company. We were inseperable, we hanged out a lot, and we used to have so much fun together. Until one day, it all changed, and we lost that bond. He just changed. He started hating me, I never understood why.

As for me, I like to believe that I hate him too. But everytime I try to think about it, maybe it was just my way to protect myself from being hurt because of his sudden hatred towards me. I claimed that I hate him too, just to avoid the pain that I feel everytime he would be vocal, saying that he hates me.

Back then, we also argued a lot, but we used to do it for fun. We'd always end up laughing and still agreeing on something right after. It used to be our bond, to show each other that we cared. Maybe that's one thing that hasn't changed between us. We still fight a lot. But now, our fights are filled with rath and hatred. I don't even know how it turned out to be that way.

"Maybe we outgrew eachother, I don't know. That was a long time ago, mommy." I chuckled lightly.

"Three years isn't that long." natawa na siya sa sinabi ko. "But anak, just deal with him, okay? Kaya mo yan."

Napairap ako at nakagat ang ibabang labi. Parang wala naman na akong choice? Ano ba kasing ginawa ni Zayden at kailangan pa siyang parusahan nila tita? At talagang damay pa ako, huh?