HIDING HIS DAUGHTER (TAGLISH)

PROLOGUE

“Nagmamakaawa ako sa ‘yo, Jaiden, wag kang sumama sa kanya. Ako yung girlfriend mo, e! Ako! Bakit kay Catherine pa? Bakit kaibigan ko pa?” I was on my knees, the cold marble floor seeping through my jeans, my hands clutching at the hem of his shirt like a drowning person grabbing at driftwood. It was a desperate plea, a last-ditch effort to salvage what was left of my shattered world — the world we built together, brick by brick, over three years of late-night calls, stolen kisses, and promises of forever. Please, choose us. Please, piliin mo ako.

He didn’t look at me. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind me, as if I was invisible. As if I was nothing more than a stain he wanted to wipe away. Then he said it — the words that would silence every single happy memory I ever had with him.

“Catherine is pregnant.”

Parang nabingi ako sa narinig ko. It was like a punch to the gut, so hard it knocked the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air that didn’t feel like it belonged in my lungs anymore. Nanghihina akong tumayo, my legs barely able to support my weight, and I had to reach for the edge of the coffee table to keep from falling. Three months, I thought, my mind racing. Three months ago, he said he was on a business trip to Cebu. Three months ago, Catherine said she was visiting her lola in Davao. Tangina, they lied. They lied to me together.

Rage, mainit at nakakabulag, surged through me — hot, red, and so intense it made my hands shake. Sinampal ko siya ng mag-asawang sampal, hard enough to leave a sting on my palm and a red mark on his cheek. “Hindi kita dapat minahal. Sana hindi nalang kita minahal. Ang sakit sakit mong mahalin.” Each word was punctuated by a sob, a ragged, broken sound that came from somewhere deep in my chest — a place that was now bleeding out.

Tumingin ako kay Catherine, my so-called friend. The one I shared my first heartbreak with, the one I called at 2 AM when I thought Jaiden was cheating the first time (and he was, but I forgave him because he said he loved me). A smug smile played on her lips until Jaiden looked her way, and then she transformed — her eyes went wide, her lower lip trembled, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach like she was protecting something precious. A viper in sheep’s clothing, pretending to be a lamb. How long? I wanted to scream. How long have you been stabbing me in the back while I was feeding you my favorite adobo?

Lumapit ako kay Catherine saka siya sinampal at sinabunutan, my fingers tangling in her long, straight hair that I used to help her style before dates. It wasn’t enough. Kulang pa ito sa panlolokong ginawa nila sa ‘kin. It wouldn’t even begin to repay the betrayal, the deceit that had festered beneath the surface of our friendship like a cancer, eating away at everything until there was nothing left but ash.

Dinuro ko siya, my finger trembling with fury so fierce I thought it would break. “Tinuring kitang para ko nang kapatid, Cath. Kaibigan kita e! Anong ginawa ko sa ‘yo para gawin mo ‘to sa ‘kin? Sinusuportahan kita noong nawalan ka ng trabaho, tinulungan kita, pinakinggan kita noong ikaw ang nasasaktan — at ito ang sukli mo?”

“Sana hindi nalang kita nakilala. Sana hindi nalang kita naging kaibigan. Wala kang utang na loob, Catherine.” The words tumbled out, raw and broken, like glass shards cutting through my tongue. If I could turn back time, I would erase them both from my life — consign them to the oblivion they deserved, so I could go back to being the girl who believed in love and friendship, the girl who didn’t know what it felt like to have her world crumble in front of her eyes.

“STOP, ANGELA!” Jaiden’s roar echoed through the room, so loud it made the pictures on the wall rattle. Before I could react, he shoved me away from Catherine — hard. I stumbled backwards, my back hitting the edge of the sofa, and a sharp pain shot up my spine.