One Last Time

Kabanata L: THE UNEXPECTED CLIENT

The Unexpected Client.
______________________________________________

      MULA SA PAPAALIS NA BMW NI LEVI, inilipat ni Dad ang tingin sa’kin. “Are you taking that man back?” seryosong tanong niya na mariin kong inilingan.

“Of course not,” matigas kong tanggi.

Dad eyed me intently, as if weighing my response before he spoke. “Good. Marami pa namang lalaki diyan who’s better than him.”

Nagpinid lang ako ng labi saka seryosong tumikhim. “Uhm, ano nga palang ginagawa n’yo rito?”

"It's your mom's. She asked Norin earlier if she could check on you, she tried calling you, but you didn't answer. Turns out you were at the bar."

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but sigh. Right, nakalimutan ko palang sabihan si Mom!

“I'll just call her later," sinabi ko na lang at iniba na ang usapan. "Nasaan nga pala si Tita? Bakit hindi n'yo siya kasama ngayon?” I asked.

“She went to your Tita Noriel. Umuwi sila kagabi.”

My mouth opened slightly at the news. It means...

"Sapphire isn't with them. They left Sapphire with her aunt there," ani Dad na parang nabasa ang nasa isip ko.

I pressed my lips together and parted them after a few seconds. “W-Why? Is she still not okay?” I couldn't help but ask worriedly.

“She needs bed rest, so she’ll stay there until she gives birth.”

Suminghap ako sa narinig. Marami kaming bagay na hindi mapagkasunduan ni Sapphire. She’s actually one of my biggest enemies, but perhaps it's maturity that makes me sympathize with her instead of seeing her struggles as karma. We may have been enemies before, pero ngayon…naiintindihan ko siya at naaawa ako sa sitwasyon niya ngayon.

Sapphire grew up spoiled, and I have no right to criticize her for it, because I was the same once…dahil katulad ng naririnig kong sinasabi ng iba sa’kin noon… nagkulang sa aruga, and there’s some truth to that. Lumaki ako sa broken family, hindi pa magkasundo noon sila Mom and Dad, and Dad was more focused on Annika. Sa kabilang banda, lumaki si Sapphire Ann na hindi masyadong natutukan nina Tita Noriel at Tito Leo. I heard from Tita Norin before that Tita Noriel and Tito Leo are always busy with their family business, which is why they often leave the country. Lagi silang wala rito sa Pilipinas, kaya madalas naiiwan si Sapphire sa mga helper at driver nila.

Compared to my parents, Tita Noriel and Tito Leo are better. They fulfill their parental duties to Sapphire whenever they're home, but let's face it, iba pa rin talaga kapag laging magkasama ang magulang at anak. Daily interaction fosters stronger bonds. Their family is an example of one of the seemingly perfect families that has hidden struggles.

Adding to the complication, just like I was before, Sapphire is crazy about Ryle. Yes, that Mr. Ryle Vincent de Guia, the university's MVP soccer player who tried to hit on me once. Habang nagpapakabaliw ako kay Levi noon, nagpapakabaliw naman si Sapphire kay Ryle. Parang kami pa nga talaga ang totoong magpinsan, dahil halos pareho kami ng naranasan—pareho kaming naghabol sa lalaking wala namang gusto sa’min, except... she got pregnant. Her one-night stand with Ryle resulted in a pregnancy. And after that sunod-sunod na problema ang dumating kay Sapphire. Lumayo ang loob sa kanya ni Tita Noriel, dahil sobrang na-disappoint ang huli sa kanya.

“Tinawagan ka ba ni Jest?”

Natigil ang pag-iisip ko sa tanong ni Dad. I looked at him, only to notice the shallow crease on his forehead while watching me intently.