Claiming Andromeda #B1

28 Van

Reid's POV

I decided na bumalik na lang sa main office namin sa Ortigas pagkatapos kong ihatid si Andie sa bahay nila. Nangingiti ako pag naaalala ko sya. Nakakatuwa yung itsura nya kapag nagshi-shift ang moods or emosyon nya.

I remember the first time I saw her. She looked younger that time. I was having a dinner meeting with a client in a hotel resto-lounge.

"I made this arrangement for you, Hon! Happy birthday and I love you, Aris ko!" she said still playing the piano, then she started singing.

It caught my client's and my attention. Dumako ang tingin ko sa elevated platform where the piano was. The pianist and the singer were no longer there, instead a young Filipina beauty was playing the piano and singing for her boyfriend. She was singing a female cover of "Photograph" . . . and just WOW! She got her a very good voice. Plus she played the piano well. Just think that she made that arrangement herself for her boyfriend's birthday and how she looked at him lovingly while playing and singing that song ...what a lucky bastard!

I can't blame that Aris guy for being possessive and territorial when he kissed Andie infront of all the guests there. And she really looked cute and innocent when she blushed and hid her face in his shoulder after that.

I was happy for them. Couple so inlove...but envy engulfed me at the same time. Sumagi tuloy sa isip ko si Kelly. We never had any formal talk about our relationship. Consenting adults, you may say. But at that time I was eyeing her as the best candidate to marry. No, not inlove with her. Attracted and infatuated, maybe. She was from a well-off family. We were introduced by a common friend. We started dating and became intimate.

From the beginning, she was very vocal that she didn't want to marry yet until she gets her license as a neurologist. Yes, she was a doctor but a general practitioner at that time. So being a doctor, I was very disappointed and I loathed her upon learning that she aborted our child. I did not know she was pregnant with my baby. I only overheard her talking to her friend over the phone as if it was a casual topic. No remorse at all! I confronted her and her reason was the same. And she calls herself a doctor! I cried for my unborn child and never talked to Kelly since then.

Nag-menor ako when I saw the traffic light turn yellow then red. I heard my stomach crumble. Alas dos na pala. Di pa ako nakakapag-lunch dahil sa nangyari kanina. Naalala ko na naman tuloy si Andie.

The second time I saw her was the first time she saw me. It was a tiring weekday and I was on my way home. Balak kong kina Mommy umuwi dahil mas malapit doon yung pinanggalingan kong dinner meeting. I got curious when I noticed that a traffic enforcer was hailing the Honda Civic meters infront of me. Well, I was tailing this car for minutes now and it was really obvious that the driver was a lady. Masyadong cautious. Hehe! Lady drivers they are!

Something was off about it, para kasi silang nagtatalo. Syanga naman. Why was the car hailed? Napaka-ingat nga magmaneho to my observation. I was about to pass them pero nung mapatapat ako sa driver's side, I saw a familiar face. I decided to meddle, and whala! I was right. The enforcer was trying to force a violation to the lady and most probably will extort money from her.

When I bent over her car window, I noticed that she looked more innocent in her simple clothes without any make up. Parang menor de edad lang. Natawa pa nga ako nung magulat sya sa akin.

"Ay, kamote! Naku, sorry po. Nakalimutan na kita dyan." Ang cute nya lang. That same night I learned that her name was Andie. Cute din ng name parang yung may-ari.

The third time I saw her, I didn't know it was her. Pero from afar, I knew something was off. A young woman carrying a box walking fast and two men were following her. Nalaman ko lang na sya iyon nung businahan ko na yung dalawang lalaki. Tinamaan din kasi ng ilaw ng headlight ko ang mukha ni Andie. She was crying that night! At kanina ko nalaman kung ano ang dahilan ng pag-iyak na iyon.