You Again, Professor [GL• #2]

Chapter 19

I woke up when I heard my parents arguing again. They were in the hallway, right outside my room, their voices cutting through the silence na siyang naging dahilan para magising ako.

My room wasn’t soundproof, so every word they said was painfully clear. I got up, heart pounding, and pressed my ear against the door to catch the full conversation.

"Ignacio, you're destroying everything! Ikakapahamak mo iyon, and ruin us!" Mom’s voice broke as she screamed, her sobs filling the space between words.

"I know exactly what I’m doing, Cindy! Don't act like you care! You haven't for a long time!" Dad's voice was raw, thick with frustration. "You’re not upset because of me—you’re upset because of her, just admit it!"

Her?

Who was he talking about?

"That's ridiculous!" Mom spat through her tears, her voice trembling with anger. "How dare you accuse me of something like that? After everything we’ve been through, matapos ang ilang taon na iyon? You think I—"

"Oh, stop lying!" Dad cut her off, his voice rising, shaking with a fury I hadn’t heard before. "Do you think I’m blind? That I don’t see what’s really going on? You think I haven't noticed kung pa'no tayo sa mga nadaang taon na 'yon? How distant you are to me even the fact that I am trying to be faithful, loving, sweet husband. l am not stupid, Cindy! Para hindi mapansin, na kahit kailan! Hindi nawala ang isip mo sa babaeng iyon!" dama ko ang sakit sa bawat binibitawan na salita ni Daddy.

Mom’s sobs deepened, but her words turned cold, sharp. "That's not true, you're just accusing me because of your paranoia! Iniisip mo lang iyan, at sinasabi mo lang iyan, para isisi sa akin ang kasalanan mo!" sandaling nahinto si Mommy sa pagsasalita. "Yes, I never stop thinking about her, but it doesn't mean that I still care! I married you not just for the sake of our family or dahil kay Chanty, it's because I chose you, and all those years there is no one else—this is all just in your head!" inis na sigaw ni Mommy.

Napatakip ako sa aking bibig.

So, does it mean?

Mommy had a relationship with a woman?

"Don't turn this around on me!" Dad roared. "I know the truth. I’ve always known! You only married me because I got you pregnant. You never loved me! It was all a lie from the beginning, wasn’t it? All those years—you were always thinking of Northia, weren’t you?!" inis muling sigaw ni Daddy.

It made me freeze. Kung ganon ay si Northia ang babaeng iyon? Ang palagi nilang pinagtatalunan din.

The silence that followed was thick, suffocating. I felt my breath catch in my throat. Northia was this woman they kept talking about? Kaya pala ganon nalang din ang galit ni Daddy, at ang pagsisi ni Mommy sa ginawa ni Daddy sa kaso ng anak nito, dahil obviously Mommy still cares.

It made my heart aches for some unknown reason.

Mom’s voice lowered to a near-whisper, filled with an icy rage. "You have no idea what you’re talking about. I sacrificed everything for this family. And you? You’re so consumed by your own failures and insecurities, that you’ll believe any excuse to make me the villain."

"You are the villain here, Cindy!" Dad shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of more than just anger—there was deep pain, raw betrayal. "You trapped me in this marriage, and now, after all these years, ang babaeng iyon pa rin? You were just pretending for so long that we’re this perfect family? That we’re perfect the parents? Pretending that you actually love me?"

I heard my Dad took a shaky breath, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and hurt. "All this time, you’ve been lying to my face. Playing the role of the devoted wife, like you care about this family. But it was all just an act, wasn’t it? You never really wanted me. It was all a damn lie from the start, and you’ve been fooling everyone—including me!"