Her Prince

- 60 -

- EPILOGUE -

Julien and I hadn't kissed yet...

And it was all my fault!

We had been in his room, sa bahay nila sa Lingmell when it almost happened, but I would tell you about the kissing part later.

You see... I thought I loved Julien more, dahil ako ang unang nagka-gusto, ako ang naunang umamin... but he proved me wrong.

Noong malaman nang parents ko na ako na lang mag-isa ang nakatira sa condo ni Hana, at kapit-bahay ko lang si Julien na siyang boyfriend ko, agad nila akong pinabalik sa Lingmell. I had confronted them, umiyak ako sa harapan nila, lahat ng sama ng loob ko, nilabas ko lahat—na hindi ko sila maramdaman, na parang wala akong mga magulang, na mas madalas ko pang makasama at maka-usap ang pamilya ni Hana kaysa sa kanila. I told them that I was better off alone in Hana's condo, or better yet, sa family ni Hana. Hindi siguro nila inasahan ang pag-iyak ko, so they promised to be with me, na araw-araw na silang uuwi sa Lingmell, para makabawi, at para hindi na ako mag-isa.

Sa pagbalik ko sa Lingmell, Julien followed me. Umalis na rin siya sa condo niya at bumalik sa kanila. Hindi na nakatanggi ang mga magulang ko , when Julien volunteered na isasabay at ihahatid-sundo niya ako sa pagpasok at pag-uwi, dahil on the way naman daw ang bahay namin papunta sa EU.

Pabirong nagtampo na naman tuloy si Healer sa kanya, dahil sa pag-alis niya sa condo.

Naipakilala na rin ako ni Julien sa parents niya, two weeks after we became official. His parents were too sweet! It melted my heart, I hadn't just felt like I was welcomed, but it was as if I was already part of their family. Masaya raw sila, dahil dumating ako sa buhay ng anak nila, at wakas ay nasuklian ang pagmamahal ni Julien. They too, were aware sa dating sitwasyon ng anak nila kay Trina. Lalong-lalo na si Ate Jamie, older sister ni Julien, na gigil na gigil kay Trina. Mabilis tuloy kaming nagkasundo ni Ate Jamie, dahil parehas kami nang nararamdaman sa bruhang 'yon.

At dahil nga legal na kami ni Julien both sides, there were times na bumibisita ako sa kanila, at siya naman sa'min.

This was where our almost kiss happened...

We were in his room, talking about random things, hanggang sa napunta kami sa books and mangas, sa genres at sa tropes.

"So, sa'ting dalawa, I fell first."

Julien smiled, raising a brow at my statement. "When did you realize na ako na pala ang gusto mo at hindi si Kuya Sana?"

"Remember noong walang power sa condo? Noong tinanong mo ako kung sino ang gusto ko?"

"You answered Kuya Sana."

"That was a lie. It was the exact moment I realized na ikaw na pala ang gusto."

Ever so slightly, he blushed. "You.. you should have told me!"

I snorted, "Para ano? Para i-reject mo ako?"

"Why do you keep on insisting I'll reject you?" Julien sighed, pouting. "If you had confessed to me at that very moment, Addy, I swear, I wouldn't have rejected you."

Narrowing my eyes, I lifted my chin up and commented, "Hindi ako naniniwala sa'yo."

Julien rolled his beautiful eyes, his face turned serious. "If you had confessed to me then... I would have given you a chance... I would have given myself a chance to like someone other than Trina. Bakit ba sa tingin mo nginitian kita sa McDo? Bakit ba kahit hindi mo ko pinansin noon, nilapitan pa rin kita para manghiram ako nang payong? I think I might have fallen first, late ko lang na-realize."