He's My Cousin!

[Ch.58] Best Man

By the end of HMC, I promise Jiro gets his girl, whoever that will be huhuhu

[Ch.58] Best Man
// Ayanna's Point of View

"Paano kung malaman ni Lorraine ang ginagawa ko noon?" tanong ni Tito Enrique sa asawa habang natuturete. "I lied to her... I made her believe she lost her son. Mapapatawad ba ako ni Lors?" he was asking frantically.

Tita Joanne, his wife, comforted him, "You had to do such thing to save her son. You did the right thing."

"Aya, hija," mahinahong banggit ni Tito Jay sa pangalan ko kaya napalingon ako sa kaniya. Nailabas na si Paolo sa bahay namin at ang mga magulang ko naman ay kinakalma si Tito Enrique. Ate Sunshine came and picked Paolo up with his known mother, Tita Carissa.

"T-tito," I said as I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat. Hindi ko kayang makatingin sa kaniya nang diretso sa mata. I still couldn't comprehend the fact that Paolo was not a Salvatorre and the relationship between us was technically not wrong... but still, I couldn't help but to feel guilty for hiding the truth from them.

Iginiya niya ako sa sofa. "It's true that Paolo isn't a Salvatorre by blood, but in my eyes, he is my son no matter what." Narinig ko ang buntong hininga niya habang nakatingin lang ako sa lamesita sa gilid ko. "I want my son's happiness, Aya, but I can't jeopardize my wife's," he said. Napatingin ako sa kaniya. "Hindi na natin maitatama ang nangyari noon pero pwede pa nating itama ang mga mangyayari pa lang. I want you to choose what's right, hija."

"In my eyes, fighting for him is the right thing to do, Tito," lakas loob kong sinabi. "But I don't know... I don't know what may happen. Ayoko nang iwan sa ere si Paolo, pero ayoko rin pong manira ng pamilya. Tito... I..." I didn't know what to say anymore.

"I understand," sabi niya ngunit hindi ko alam kung tunay ba niyang naiintindihan iyon. "And I'm sorry that you had to hear such words from Carissa. Nadala lang siya ng mga nangyari."

"I deserve it."

Umiling si Tito Jay. "I'm not sure."

Umalis din siya agad. They said they'll settle their issues on their own. Nagkulong lang ako sa kwarto ko nang mga sumunod na araw hanggang sa dumating na naman ang araw na kailangan kong pumasok.

Sa totoo lang ay gusto ko na lang na magkulong sa kwarto ko. For a day, I wanted to shut myself out of everybody. But I knew I couldn't do that.

Sakto nang paglabas ko nang college namin nang break na ay naroroon si Ella. I didn't know what to do. Her eyes were red, even worse than mine. Dahan-dahan siyang lumapit sa akin and as if it was a reflex, I walked away from her.

"Aya, wait," she said. "Let me explain."

Nilingon ko siya. "Wala ka nang dapat ipaliwanag, Mikaella. We did what was believed a taboo, and you, being a righteous person..." I stopped because it didn't matter anymore. Ayoko nang makipagtalo dahil wala na kaming dapat pag-usapan pa. She was my best friend. Best friend. Kahit konti lang, umasa ako sa pag-intindi niya. I was not asking her to tolerate my actions, just a bit of her understanding. That was all I needed. At iyon ang ipinagkait niya sa akin.

"I didn't do it," she said. Napahalakhak na lang ako.

"Mikaella, stop this. Hindi nakakatawa 'yang ginagawa mo at mas lalong hindi ako tanga," nangagalaiti kong sabi sa kaniya. Baka mapatawad ko pa siya sa nagawa niya kung simpleng mag-sorrt siya pero itong pagtatanggi ro'n?

"Aya, please, paniwalaan mo ako," she said, her voice unstable. "They knew it before I came. Aya, believe me." Hinawakan niya ako sa braso ngunit agad akong kumawala. I didn't know what to say. Umabot na ako sa punto kung saan hindi na mahalaga kung magka-ayos pa kami o hindi na. I had accepted the fact that maybe I treated the wrong person to be my best friend. Maybe she qas never the best friend I thought I had.