Relentlessly Yours [Completed]

Chapter 32

Nicola, Age Twenty Seven
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"What do you think of this?"

Napaangat ako tingin galing sa paglalagay ng frosting sa chocolate cupcakes at nilapit ng bahagya ang ulo pero tingnan ang sketchpad ni Silver.

Ilang sandali na pinagaaralan ko ang halter maxidress na disensyo niya at napatango. "Pretty," komento ko. "Anong magiging kulay niyan?"

Her face lights up with a smile, showcasing two slightly bunny teeth. It was both endearing and adorable. Mas lalo 'pang dumagdag sa maamo at feminine niyang mukha.

"Why, red, of course!" She turned her head to look at me thoughtfully. "This is for your birthday, what do you think? Susuotin mo kaya ito?"

Natigilan ako ng sandali bago natawa ng bahagya. "I don't celebrate birthdays."

Huh? How did I know that? It came out naturally from my lips as if I was used to saying it. Huh. Interesting...

Umiiling na napatawa siya ulit. "Well, you can't possibly be sure about that now, can you? Plus, you still have six more months to prepare."

She's right. Wala pa din akong maalala. Baka nga isa ako sa mga babae na mahilig mag-splurge tuwing birthdays.

Oh well, nag-family dinner lang naman din kami nung twenty-seventh birthday ko. Yeah, that's how I know Cal and I don't do parties.

Ngumiti ako sa kanya. "Fine. Tatanunungin ko nalang si Calum kung may plano kaming magpa-party."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Ugh, not Cal! I'm sure he'd rather spend the weekend out of the country to celebrate with 'the boys'," sabi niya at nag quote sign pa.

"'Yon ba ang laging ginagawa nila?"

She shrugged. "Other than antagonizing each other all the time? Yes," nagpakawala siya ng buntong-hininga at tumingin sa kisame ng sandali na tila napapaisip. "Alam mo, napaka weird ng mga 'yon. Sila-sila lang din ang nag-aasaran pero hindi naman sila mapaghiwalay. Kung titingnan sa labas, akala mo intimidating at seryoso," umiling siya. "I swear napaka-childish ng mga lalaking 'yon kung minsan. Fun fact, may matching tattoos pa! Sweet noh?" sabi niya tapos tumawa ng bahagya.

Hmm. Well, they all looked pretty intimidating and serious to me. Pero hindi ako sumalungat sa sinabi niya. Ano bang alam ko? Wala nga akong maalala.

I can't even explain how I know how to bake. My fingers also seemed to have muscle memory playing the piano. And then, I recently found out I also knew how to draw. Wow, multi-talented 'yan?

My family refused to tell me anything about my past. They wanted me to figure out things on my own, do and try things to see what I would like. Walang pressure kumbaga at nagpapasalamat ako doon. It allows me to just be in the moment.

Weirdly though, the first thing that I learned is that I was attracted to anything red in color. Katulad nalang ng red velvet cupcake na ginawa ko kasama ng mga chocolate cupcakes.

"Hay, just take now as an example. They are all huddled in kuya's condo again even with all the fiasco between Calum and Kai," sabi niya habang wala sa loob na nagdagdag ng iba pang detalye sa disenyo.

Gosh, I hope she doesn't overdo it. I already tolerated the fact that it's a maxi dress. I always liked my dresses simple and above the knee.

Huh? Wait, paano ko nalaman ulit 'yon? Another memory?

"Cole?" Silver snapped a finger on my face. "Hey, okay ka lang 'ba?" may pag-aalala sa mukha niya.

Kumurap ako at binigyan siya ng tipid na ngiti. "Oo naman," sagot ko at nagpatuloy sa paglagay ng frostings sa cupcakes. "You were saying?"