Pinagsoltada

78

JOAN WORKED for a half-day. Nag-aalala si Ernesto dahil mukhang napasobra ang dalaga sa selebrasyon nila kagabi. But on the flip side, it was a relief that Joan was outside their family's territory for a while. Ibig sabihin kasi, hindi ito mamamatiyagan ni Allyssa.

Allyssa had been unusually quiet lately. Tiyak niyang nagko-concentrate ito sa pag-oobserba sa kanila . . . sa kaniya. Maybe, she was trying to convince his parents to persuade him to back out from the annulment that he already filed in court.

Ernesto already asked Attorney Pereira what he thinks about Allyssa's stay in their mansion. If any legal boundaries has been breached, given that they were on opposite sides in a filed court petition. Ayon sa kaniyang abogado, puwedeng kuwestiyonin ang intensiyon ng pananatili ni Allyssa sa hacienda, pero tiyak na ang magiging response lang dito ng abogado nito ay sinusubukan ni Allyssa ayusin ang relasyon nilang dalawa kaya nag-stay sa mansiyon. Given that possibility, Ernesto decided to not question Allyssa's stay anymore or make any complaints about it. After all, the reason why he had to maintain a clean reputation here and pin the blame to Allyssa is to up his chances when it comes to having Alwyn's custody. Dehado na kasi siya sa una pa lang, dahil ayon sa batas, hanggang wala pang pitong-taong gulang ang bata ay awtomatikong maninirahan ito kasama ang nanay nito. Kaya naman, ang habol ni Ernesto na lang bukod sa magkaroon ng kalayaang magpakasal sa iba ay magawaran ng mas maraming karapatan at oras na makasama ang kaniyang anak.

Allyssa's silence these past few days only caught him off-guard today.

Nasa barnhouse si Ernesto kasama si Dario at ang isang tauhan na namamahala sa storage. Habang iniisa-isa nila ang inventory ay pumasok sa barnhouse ang babae. They were already on the second floor when Ernesto saw her.

Allyssa looked around, as if her eyes were wandering around a place that is new to her. She dressed very intentionally as well, in an attire suitable for farm work—tight jeans, thigh-high boots, and a fitting button-down white shirt. When she caught sight of him, she gave him this emotionless stare. Then, she looked away as if nothing happened.

Ernesto turned to his employees. "Dario, ikaw na muna ang bahala rito."

Hindi na niya hinintay ang sagot nito. He immediately left and went to Allyssa.

After descending down the stairs, he caught her walking along the lined up sacks of chicken feeds. He threw his hands on his hips as he marched towards her.

"What are you doing here?"

Allyssa turned to him and smiled lifelessly. "Just walking around."

"We are already separated. That gives you no more rights to just walk around wherever you want, lalo na kung ang lugar ay property ng negosyo namin dito."

She faced him, cocked her head to the side, and crossed her arms. "Naligaw lang naman ako."

"Just stay in the mansion. Pakiusap, huwag mong gulohin ang operations dito."

She just smirked at him. "Gulohin? Why is that your first assumption of me everytime you see me? Na gulo lang ang idudulot ko?"

He sighed heavily. "Hindi sa ganoon. Alam mo namang nasa korte na ang petition ko for annulment. Your stay here is already questionable, don't make it more suspicious."

"Fine. I'll be honest with you, Ernesto. I am just calculating how much of this land and businesses and properties my son will get. Because if you want our annulment to be smooth sailing, some revised settlements and custody arrangements must be agreed upon as well."

Nagsalubong ang kaniyang mga kilay.

Allyssa looked around her. "I mean, if you're going to get annulled with me, I might as well make sure to include in the agreement some things that will secure my child's future despite of his father remarrying someone else. Kasi, hindi ba iyon lang naman ang meron sa annulment na wala sa legal separation?" Allyssa turned to him and gave him a sarcastic look that matched her tone. "Ang karapatang maikasal sa iba?"