Apples & Oranges

A&O 13

Irene's POV

Irene, this is Janet my cousin and Janet this is Irene. Pormal na pagpapakilala sa amin ni Clifford.

Janet is Clifford's cousin and she's a family lawyer. She will be my lawyer for the upcoming court hearing para sa sole custody na sinampa ni Greggy sa korte against me.

Hello Irene, you're so gorgeous naman, no wonder tinamaan ng husto, itong si Clifford sayo. May pang aasar na wika ni Janet as we shake hands.

Nako, infatuation lang yang kay Clifford eh. Anyway, thanks for the compliment Janet, I'm flattered. Grateful kong tugon while widening my eyes at Clifford. Kung anu ano na pala ang pinagsasabi niya sa pinsan niya about sa akin. Kaya nakapeace sign ang loko.

So? May I see the summon na binigay ng court sayo? Panimula ni Janet. Agad kong binigay sa kanya ang mga documents.

Irene, tatapatin na kita but this will going to be roughed. Sa batas if the parents are unmarried, malaki ang chance na nasa puder ng ina mapupunta ang bata. But in your case, malaki rin ang laban ng kabila especially marami silang grounds tungkol sayo. Pag explain ni Janet sa akin.

What kind of grounds? Kunot noo kong tanong.

As what being stated here,

First, is the financial stability. They weighed your financial stability, Irene. Di naman ibig sabihin neto na wala kang pantustos sa bata. It's just that, Mr. Araneta has more financial capability than yours.

Second, is Emotional and Psychological Stability. The court will assess your mental health capacity. Since Babae ka Irene, prone sayo ang mga ganito because of the emotions involvement.

Third, the recent accident of your daughter. Pinapalabas nila na may pagkukulang ka kaya nangyari ang aksidente sa bata. Irene, baka mahihirapan tayo dito dahil complete ang evidence ng kabila. They can prove that you didn't provide the safety and welfare of the child nung nasa puder mo. Mahabang pag explain ni Janet.

So, is there any chance for me to win Janet? Deretsahan kong tanong. Base on her explanations, sa tatlong grounds that being mentioned, lahat yun, talo na ako.

Well, there's a one chance for you to win Irene. It's the preference of your child. If your daughter will choose you, then tapus ang usapan, walang magagawa ang kampo ni Mr. Araneta.

That's the problem, Janet. Ayokong pinapapili ang anak ko. Honestly, Greggy already tried asking Annie and she's mad. Ayaw niya pag usapan ang pinapapili siya sa amin ni Greggy. Pag explain ko.

That's the hardest part of the child, especially bawal pa ma stress ang bata because of her recent surgery.

Napatulala nalang ako sa narinig. I don't know what to do.

Stop worrying too much, Irene. We will help you, okay? Singit ni Clifford to enlighten my mood.

Napatigil ako when my phone rings.
Ganun nalang ang pagkunot ng noo ko when it's from unregistered number calling. Janet and Clifford signal me to answer it first kaya sinunod ko na.

Yes hello, who's this please? Bungad ko sa kabila.

Ate! This is Elvira please come to the Hospital Asap. Annie heard kuya on the phone that pupunta daw sila ng Amerika at maiiwan ka dito sa Pinas, kaya heto, nagwawala si Annie and she keeps on looking for you.

What? Napatayo ako sa gulat ngunit agad rin napahawak sa aking sintido nang makaramdam ako ng pagkahilo. Good thing Clifford supported me para di matumba agad. Honestly, 1 week ko natong nararamdaman pero binaliwala ko lang.