I was alone thinking I was just fine
I wasn't looking for anyone to be mine
I thought love was just a fabrication
A train that wouldn't stop at my station
Home, alone, that was my consignment
Solitary confinement
So when we met I was skirting around...
Upon sussing out her domicile, he puts off his return home for the week. Allison is cast down by the news, her disappointment palpable even over the phone, while his wife, Luisa, begins to smell something off. He hasn't given her a final decision regarding the election, and his refusal to come home only adds fuel to the fire. Luisa does not accept his alibi—the claim of insufficient construction materials for the school building sounds fabricated to her, a thin veil for a deeper secret.
Just as he hits the lock button on his phone, a breaking news notification pops onto his screen, and at that exact moment, the display light up with Luisa’s incoming call.
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"So, hindi ka na naman uuwi?" Luisa’s voice cuts through the receiver, sharp and already laced with accusations.
Aga rubs his temples. The fluorescent lights of his suite hum overhead, mocking the silence of the room. "Hindi pa tapos ang building construction," he replies, his voice a calculated, flat calm.
"Bakit? Hindi ba matatapos yan kahit wala ka?" she pushes, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "O baka naman may iba kang binibuild diyan?"
Aga exhales a jagged breath, closing his eyes. "Oh, come on. Will you please shut it? I cannot just leave everything here. This is just one week. Uuwi naman na ako next week," he explains, though even to his own ears, the excuse sounds hollow.
"You said the same damn thing last week, Aga!" The restraint in her voice snaps. "It’s almost the COC deadline. Dad is asking me about you. There are a lot of important matters here to focus on, but you’re hiding there. Ang sabihin mo, you are just using that work as an excuse!"
"Okay! Sige! If that is what you’re thinking, fine!" He stands up, pacing the narrow length of his office. "I told you, wala akong interest sa politics, Luisa. That is not my expertise. What will I do if I win? I am a businessman. That is what I am good at."
"Aga, my father will not leave you behind. He promised to guide you."
"Then why don’t you tell him to run again?" Aga lets out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Oh. Oo nga naman pala. No one believes in him now, so here I am. He is trying to push me out front as a pawn. Your family only cares about the name, Luisa. Not me."
