Elysian Secrets

Kabanata 40

"Si Raphael ang ama ng anak ko."

One sentence. One. Fucking. Sentence. That is all what Lia has to say for the more than six years of keeping a secret. Of betraying him. In what universe is this fair? Gustong magpakawala ni Raphael nang sunod-sunod na mura, pero nagpigil siya. Now that the woman is finally talking, he will not do anything to jeopardize extracting everything from her tonight.

"That's it," dagdag pa ng babae. "That's the secret. Now, you have blackmail material against one of the most powerful men in the country."

Napapa-arko ang kilay ni Raphael habang pinapanood ang blindfolded at nakatawang mukha ni Lia habang kinukumpirma ang isang sekretong ilang buwan na niyang alam. She looks drunk with adrenaline from sharing a secret. Guiliana Madrid really, really sucks at sharing.

"I am obligated to warn you, Max," pagpapatuloy nito na nakatawa pa rin. "Raphael seems to know this secret already. Ang value ng sekreto would have diminished by now. Also, I will never support your claim. No matter how good the sex is."

"Good sex?" He injected a tone of derision in his voice. "We didn't have just good sex. We had great sex. Amazing sex. Out-of-this-world, mind-altering sex. Don't insult me woman. I didn't imagine those screams I wrung out from you."

Humagikhik ang babae while swatting her hands in the air. "Yeah, yeah. So despite all that, magde-deny ako."

"Kahit malinaw pa sa sikat ng araw na nahuli ka na? As you've said, you think he knows that Niccolo is his."

"Yep!" She sounds so perky she is setting his teeth on edge.

"Why?" tanong niya.

Tumingala ito sa direksyon ng boses niya. The blindfold couldn't hide the small frown of confusion she had on her forehead. "What do you mean?"

"Why didn't you tell him?" Me? Why the fuck did you not tell me? "Don't you think he deserves to know?"

A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. "You don't even know the man, pero kumakampi ka na kaagad sa kanya." May gana pa itong manudyo.

"You don't actually believe you did right, do you?"

"Oh, no," mabilis nitong tugon. "I know it was bad. Very bad. Nothing right about it. Just pure selfishness."

Sumasakit ang ulo niya trying to follow Lia's logic.

"So, given the chance, you're going to do it all over again." It was a statement rather than a question.

"Yep," anito. May mumunting ngiti na namang naglalaro sa mga labi. "You're getting the urge to strangle me now, don't you?"

"Yep," sarkastiko niya ring tugon na ikinalapad lang ng ngiti nito. "Make me understand, Guiliana," dikta niya.

A shiver run through her body as if she was cold. "Kapag tinatawag mo ako sa buo kong pangalan, mas nagiging ka-boses mo ang boss ko."

Her fingers felt around for the blanket and he grabbed the sheet from behind him and covered her with it. He watched her tuck the edges under her chin before flinging an arm over his chest and hugged him. He sighed, rolled his eyes at himself in exasperation, and wrapped an arm around Lia so he could cuddle her closer.

When she started confessing, he intended to be the domineering bastard he usually is, but ... he's fucked. Sa kakasama niya kay Oliver, nahawaan na siya sa pagiging under de saya nito.

You've been pussywhipped long before he even met Sabrina, ani nang mapang-asar na bahagi ng utak niya.

Oh, shut up, asik niya sa sarili. It's confirmed. Guiliana Madrid has finally rendered him crazy.

"I don't know if I could make you understand, Max."

"Try me, sugar."

Hindi kaagad nagsalita ang babae. She just absentmindedly tapped her fingers against his chest, as if playing a piece on an invisible piano. Mayamaya, bumuntong-hininga ito.

"Raphael didn't ask for this. Any of this. It wouldn't be fair for me to drag him into a mess of not his own making."

"Was Raphael raped?" He knows the answer. He is Raphael, after all. Still, he wants her to say more. The one-sentence bombshell she dropped earlier is not the whole story.

"No," dahan-dahan na sagot ng babae. "I think not. Oh, my God. I hoped not." She looked horrified enough that he hurried.

"I'm sure he was not. Your boss is not someone that could be forced into anything he doesn't want. Trust me, sugar. That mess, whatever it was, he would have jumped right into with both feet in. You should have told him."

Dahan-dahang tumango si Lia. Her hands crept towards the edge of the blanket under her chin and started playing with it.

"I should have, but I couldn't. Not after I knew that there's going to be a Niccolo. I couldn't risk it."

"Couldn't risk what?"

Lia ducked her head into the blanket, almost hiding under it. "Raphael taking Niccolo from me," she whispered. Raphael could hear the hint of despair and desperation in that short statement.

"He wouldn't ," awtomatiko niyang tanggi. He barely managed to take the affront out of his voice.

"How would you know?"

"What?"

"How would you know? Would you let your son go?"

Hindi siya naka-imik dahil ang sagot niyang "oo" ay hindi makakatulong sa pag-alis nang agam-agam ni Lia.

"No," desidido nitong sagot sa sariling tanong. "If you were Raphael, you wouldn't have let it go. You're that kind of man, too. A son would be too important."

"You're important, too. You're the mother of that son."

Lia sniffed in disagreement. Umiling pa kahit nakapiring pa rin. "Oh, please, Max. Don't patronize me. I know what I am."

"And what is that exactly?"

"The woman stupid enough to spread her legs for Raphael Mondragon with no regard for protection." Napaawang ang mga labi niya sa pagkagulat. Sinubukan niyang magsalita pero naunahan na siya nito. "In the grand scheme of things, I'm irrelevant. Replaceable."

He growled. "No, you're not!" mariin niyang tanggi.

"Shhh," sabi lang nito sabay tapik sa kamay niyang nakayakap pa rin dito. "It's okay. That's just how the way it is. I don't mind the truth. If he wants to, Raphael could easily buy Niccolo a more suitable mother and erase me from their lives."

He's gobsmocked by the reality of how little Lia thinks of herself. Or of him.

"I had no idea that Raphael is that much of an asshole." He grits his teeth when he said that. Is this what he gets from being a mean sonnofabitch businessman? It has colored Lia's view of him in a more private context.

"Actually, he's not, Max. Raphael is a decent guy. Too decent in fact that I think, kung nagsabi ako sa kanya na nabuntis niya ako, he would have probably married me. And then, we will all be miserable."

He's having a migraine again. Hindi na niya masundan ang usapan.

"Miserable?" ulit niya.

"Yes."

"I don't get how it could be a miserable life being married to you."

Lia grinned at him again. "That's your sex head talking."

"No, it's not."

Tumawa lang ulit si Lia bago ngumiti sa kawalan. That smile has a hint of wistfulness, sadness, and defeat.

"We would be miserable, Max, because Raphael doesn't love me. Only a TV boss falls for his TV secretary. Raphael is all too real, and sadly, so am I."