Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 31

I was so good at leaving—leaving him hanging in the air while I saved myself. I left him, again.
Like I always did... I'm taking all the fall for this. After all, it was my decision.

But since then, he never fails to surprise me.

And in return, I never failed to leave him behind. It was... complicated. Everything is.
Magulo. 'Di ko maintindihan. How can I believe his words when Natalie's words were more plausible?

Simula ng bumalik siya ng Pilipinas, ay ni wala akong narinig tungkol sa babae. But people knew that Akio tied the knot. It's impossible for him to claim that he's not married—everyone knew that he left the country after getting married.

Hindi na nakakapagtaka na hindi ako maniwala sa sinasabi niya kung gayong maraming bagay ang hindi nagtutugma.

I've learned my lesson. I don't want to be so naive about things I'm not sure of...

"Maia?"

Lumingon ako sa aking likuran nang may tumawag sa aking pangalan. My eyes widened seeing a familiar face I hadn't seen in years.

"Jason!" I exclaimed, accepting his friendly hug. I lightly tapped his back, chuckling at the tightening embrace.

"Wow! You look like you haven't even aged!" puri niya. "It's been years since I last saw you. I got busy with law school, but it seems like your beauty doesn't falter no matter how many years pass."

"Whatever, stop with the compliments, it might get to my head!" Ikinumpas ko ang kamay.

Iginilid ko ang cart na dala para bigyang-daan ang ibang mga mamimili. It was such a lazy Sunday with Malaya, I didn't expect to see a colleague from the past.

"What are you up to now?" he asked, glancing over my shoulder.

"Nothing much," I answered, slightly puckering my lips. "I stay at home most of the time, taking care of this little devil."

"Oh..." Naghugis-bilog ang bibig niya.

"You're married?" Nanlaki ang mga mata niya.

"No," I laughed dismissively. "I own a coffee shop. Alam mo na... It grew big enough that I could hire more workers. Now I pretty much own my time."

I steered clear of more questions, giving him a quick summary of my life to distract him from asking about my niece.

Before he could even open his mouth, I cut in, "How about you? I remember you talking about law school—are you a lawyer now, huh?"

"Oh well, I ended up quitting 'cause I lost interest along the way. I decided to go into business."

"Mr. Businessman, I like that!" pabiro kong hinampas ang braso niya.

"Momma, can we go now?"

Nagbaba ako ng tingin sa pamangkin na nakasimangot at hindi maganda ang timpla. Ang tingin pa nga lang ay masama, nababahala tuloy ako baka isipin ni Jason na sinasamaan siya nito ng tingin.

"I'm hungry na, and we need to pick up Taro at the vet po," malamig niyang dagdag.

"Oh, sorry! We'll go eat after this, wait," I gave him an awkward smile. "I'm sorry, we need to go. I have errands to do pa rin kasi."

"Sure, sure. Let's just see each other next time."

"I'll get your contact, is that fine?"

Smooth, huh? I smirked inwardly—he hasn't changed. Biting my lip to hide the smug grin creeping in, I typed my number into his phone. I could feel his gaze on me, but I pretended not to notice.