Sin City

21: J'Lian

"Who is that?!" sabay sabay nilang tanong.

"Uh..." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't know," my voice almost cracked. Nanginginig na umalis ako sa email at binalik ang screen ko sa video call namin magpipinsan. "I guess dad's friend," pilit akong ngumiti sa kanila.

"Roux Jillian Qil..." Andrea hummed and a mischievous smile slowly formed on her lips. "Uy, pareho silang Jillian. Nagpapakawingman na yata si tito Chaos kasi wala ka parin jowa," she teased. Napairap nalamang ako.

"In fairness, ang gwapo ng pangalan ha!" Eumika giddily smiled. Sabay sabay kaming apat na umirap dahil sa sinabi niya, uhaw sa gwapo talaga tong babaeng 'to.

"Mas gwapo pa din yung Dustin Alcantara diba?" panunukso ko rito. Her smile instantly vanished dahilan para pagtawanan namin siya.

For a quick second, I got scared. Scared that Eumika's situation might happen to me, too. Dalawang taon pa lang at nahihirapan pa rin ako, I still haven't moved on from Rouqil and I. Ang sakit sakit pa rin, but imagine eight years. Walong taon na at hindi pa din nakamove on si Eumi kay Dustin.

"Oh shit!" kuya Adrian suddenly said na nakakuha ng atensyon naming apat. Bakas sa mukha nito ang gulat nang tignan niya kami sa screen. "This is the friend that I was talking about, si Rouqil! He owns J'Lian!" he excitedly said. "I didn't know na kaya pala Rouqil ang pangalan niya dahil Roux Qil ang totoo niyang pangalan," he was impressed by his discovery.

Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko. I couldn't hear what they were talking about anymore because my whole world felt like it was muffled. Huminga akong malalim nang mamanhid ang mga kamay ko, I couldn't move on my seat at all.

"How long have you been friends with him?" I finally asked.

"Almost a year now," kuya immediately replied.

Why is he doing this? Hindi pa ba sapat yung ginawa niya sa akin kaya nakikipagkaibigan siya kay dad at kay kuya Adrian? Is he spying on us again? May balak ba ang Chiu Hotels na magtake over sa Pilipinas?

"I don't trust him," I clenched my jaw. Biglang bumalik ang lahat na nangyari two years ago. Naalala ko na naman ang mga sinabi niya sa akin when he broke up with me, ang sakit na idinulot niya, and the betrayal.

Simula noong malaman kong ginamit niya lang ako, araw araw kong kwinestyon kung ang lahat ba ng ginawa niya para sa akin ay totoo. Were his efforts genuine? Totoo ba yung mga matatamis na salita na sinabi niya sa akin? Did he even love me?

"Well I do trust my judgment and he never once made me feel like I shouldn't trust him," kuya Adrian nonchalantly answered.

Iyan din ang pakiramdam ko noon eh. I trusted that man with my heart and with my life. Rouqil filled the void that my parents caused, I've never felt that level of happiness til I met him but turns out, he only used me para mapaangat ang kompanya nila.

"Ah basta, I don't trust him at all," pagmamatigas ko.

"Then you fucked up," Chanty chuckled. "Because you're going to be stuck with him for a week."

_______

"Thank you for today, everyone. Meeting adjourned," kuya Adrian gladly dismissed us.

I heaved a sigh nang matapos kami sa staff meeting. I waited for everyone to leave, just in case my brother wants to talk to me, pero nang makita ko siyang busy na kausap ang pinsan kong si Eumika ay agad na akong lumabas.

I was following this new guy pababa ng lobby, ang bagal niya kasing maglakad. I didn't mind it because I wasn't in a rush. I think kuya Adrian said his name is Ezekiel. He is the new Operations Manager. I examined him, contemplating if he'd be a good candidate to be my fling because he's tall, he looks good, very masculine gumalaw, matalino, at sobrang bait tignan but he's way too tan for my liking, hindi ko talaga type ang moreno. Pero ganitong ganito ang mga gusto ni Eumika.