Together but Separate

Chapter 8: All About Trust

Kate Rojas

I slept long last night, but I woke up having no energy or motivation to do some work. What happened yesterday drained me. I slept with heaviness in my heart.

Last night, I thought of blaming Nicko. But after thoroughly thinking about it, I realized that it was not his fault. It was not his fault that he was wealthy and famous, and people would do everything to be noticed by him. They would even use me just to get closer to him.

It was part of human culture to befriend someone who you could benefit from. If I did not marry Nicko, they would not even think of inviting me. They would just use me as their bridge to get to him.

I pulled myself out of bed. I needed to keep going in spite of what I felt. This was nothing compared to what I had been through in the past, so I should not sulk. At least, I learned something out of it. I had to build a wall next time because people had motives. And I learned that not every opportunity is good for you. Some could hurt you or destroy you. I had to be careful which opportunity to accept next time.

Pagkatapos kong mag-shower at magbihis ay bumaba na ako. Nakapambahay lang ako dahil wala akong ganang umalis ngayon.

Dumiretso ako sa dining room at natigilan ako nung nakita ko si Nicko roon. He was eating breakfast. Nung matauhan ako ay naglakad ako papunta sa pwesto ko sa mesa. I slowly pulled my chair and sat on it.

I glanced at him. Naka-focus lang siya sa pagkain like he did not notice my presence.

"Coffee po ninyo, maam."

Napaangat ako ng tingin sa kasambahay na nagbigay sa akin ng kape. "Thank you."

I did not sip my coffee yet because I felt like I needed to talk to him first. But he was giving out a snobbish vibe.

"Kamusta ang dinner ninyo kagabi?" I carefully asked.

He did not answer. Kumakain lang siya.

"Nicko, I am sorry."

Natigilan siya ng ilang sandali pero sumubo rin ulit. He really was ignoring me.

"Babawi ako sa mommy mo. I promise."

"No." Nagulat ako sa tono ng boses niya. Kinabahan ako nung matalim siyang tumingin sa akin. "Do not make any promises again."

Napalunok ako. I knew from that moment that I lost his trust. I knew it would be difficult to earn it back. What do I do now?

Yumuko ulit siya at kumain.

"The gala... It did not go well like I thought it would," I told him.

Baka kasi kapag sinabi ko ay makatulong iyon na mapatawad niya ako. Maybe he would be lenient about forgiving me.

"I heard," tipid na sagot niya.

So, he knew already. Baka sinabi na sa kanya ni Kuya Cris kagabi. Ano kaya ang reaksyon niya? Did he laugh at me?

"They only invited me because they thought that I would bring you with me. They wanted you there, not me," I continued, but he did not say a word.

Napabuntonghininga ako dahil wala akong makuha na sagot mula kay Nicko. Maybe he did not care about what happened because for him, I deserved it for ruining our plan.

Kumain nalang din ako. I felt like a fool trying to gain sympathy from someone who I disappointed in the first place.

"You have been around in the business for awhile and yet you have not learned how people play," sabi niya na kinagulat ko kaya napaangat ako ng tingin sa kanya. "If you want to be wise in business, do not go around chasing people's trust. They have to earn yours," sabi niya saka tumayo.