"What? Teresa, No! Mas gugustuhin ko pa na sumama na lang siya kay Nicole kesa pag-agawan pa namin siya." Maine replied, firm on making her own family the top priority.
"Kahit pa na masaktan ka?"
"Ganun naman talaga di ba? Kapag nag-mahal ka, masasaktan ka. That's the risk I was willing to take and now that I'm faced with the actualy possibility of getting my heart absolutely broken, wala na akong magagawa. I need to accept whatever is coming my way." she replied, feeling her tears make their way to her eyes.
"Aw, Maine."
"I guess that's my fate, Teresa."
---
"Tisoy, okay ka lang?" his mother asked after she noticed him sitting alone outside. He smield and held her hand.
"Opo naman."
"Sus, sakin ka pa nagsinungaling. Kilalang kilala ko yung baby kalabaw ko ... alam ko kapag di ka nagsasabi ng totoo." she said. RJ looked up and let out a sigh. When he first entered the Mendoza's mansion all he wanted was to gain enough money so he can buy a motorcycle, but he got more than that. Now his heart is on the line and he still has to choose between two amazing young girls.
"Di ko na po kasi alam gagawin ko eh." he whispered.
"Bakit, ano bang nangyayari?" she asked.
"Ma .... pogi problems." he replied. RJ has decided that it would be better to keep his problem a secret from his own mother.
"Aysus, sabi ko na nga ba eh. Hay naku ... anak basta mag-iingat ka hah? Pag naka-buntis ka itatakwil kita." she uttered. RJ's eyes widened and he quickly shot her a look.
"Joke lang ... ikaw naman. Pero ... kung ano man ... halimbawa ... kung kailangan mong pumili sa dalawang tao, laging puso ang pairalin hah?"
"Bakit po?" he asked.
"Kasi ang puso, hindi nagsisinungaling ... laging totoo yan."
"Salamat po." RJ replied and hugged her.
"Walang anuman ... alam mo na bang gagawin mo niyan?"
"Opo Ma, alam ko na."
---
Over the next couple of days, every tiny detail of Nicole's upcoming debut party was thoroughly finalized. Now all they need to do is start building things up to perfection. Maine joined the souvenir committee, she and some of their other cousins will be in charge of giving out tokens to the party attendees. She opted to have that task not because she wanted to but because it would grant her a lot of reasons to stay away from her sister.
Maine is not yet comfortable hanging out with Nicole. The guilt inside of her is still too much to handle.
"Ate, punta kami sa venue. Sama ka?" Nicole asked.
"Hindi na , di pa ako nag-shower eh." she replied, giving her an awkward smile.
"Ay, okay. But please go there later na rin? I wanna know your opinion. Ikaw kasi yung magaling sa design di ba?"
"Fine, for you." Maine replied. A few minutes later, Nicole and some of her friends have left. She let out a sigh and was about to go upstairs when RJ suddenly showed up.
"Pwede ba tayong mag-usap?" he asked.
"Makikita nila tayo." she replied in a whispering manner.
"Maine ..." RJ whispered back before he held her hands. She gazed into his eyes and saw extreme sadness. Already knowing that this couldn't be good, she took a deep breath and pulled him up to her room.
Maine then locked the door shut behind her and told RJ to start talking.
"Magre-resign na ako." he said, causing her mouth to fall open.
"What?" she asked. He stood up and held her arms. RJ gazed into her eyes and that almosr caused her knees to buckle. His panty-melting stare bored deep into her soul. Right at that moment, they're connected. No ending, no begging, they became the same person.
"Aalis ako dito pero hindi ibig sabihin nun, iiwanan kita. Kelangan natin ng oras Maine, oras para ipaliwanag sa lahat kung ano man yung meron tayo." he said.
Maine's heart broke a little, her abandonment issues suddenly came back. She quickly wiped a tear away and tried her best to smile.
"Sus, pinaganda mo pa eh yun lang din naman yun. Iiwanan mo din ako." she said.
"Kailangan kong lumayo. Masyado nang masikip yung bahay na to para sumiksik pa ako sa buhay niyo. Aalis ako pero ito yung promise ko sa'yo ... ikaw lang, ikaw lang ang pipiliin ko. Kahit anong araw, kahit anong oras at maging sa susunod na buhay ko ... ikaw lang. At kahit pa na dumating na yung oras na malaman ni Niknik ang lahat. Pangako, gagawin ko ang lahat para maging okay kayo ng kapatid mo."
"So yun yung dahilan talaga? Tisoy please ..." she begged and RJ teared up.
"Kasalanan ko to."
"No it's not. It's my fault, I was too weak to resist you."
"Wala na tayong magagawa Maine ... nahulog na eh ... hulog na hulog na tayo eh. Oo, aaminin ko nagka-crush ako kay Niknik ... at hanggang ngayon nasa isip ko pa rin siya pero sa puso ko, ikaw na ... ikaw na lang ang nandun. Kailangan kong lumayo para maisip natin kung ano yung magandang gawin."
"Eh paano yung Debut ni Nicole?"
"Pupunta pa rin ako ... Maine ... I'm sorry." he said and quickly swooped in for a kiss. Maine's heart jumped. It's their last kiss. His lips tasted salty. She kissed his tears the same way he kissed hers.
After that bittersweet moment, he kissed her forehead and walked out of the room. Maine is overwhelmed, all she could is sit down by the side of her bed and cry her eyes out.
--
RJ wiped the tears away from his eyes before he entered Mrs. Mendoza's home office. He took a deep breath and smiled at her.
"Tisoy, bakit?" she asked.
"Ah Mamsie, may sasabihin po kasi sana ako."
"Ano yun?"
"Magre-resign na po ako ngayong araw."
--
uh-oh, stay tuned for more :) xx
Chapter II of Dark is now available! Check it out on the link below! x
https://www.wattpad.com/342267480-dark-ii-corrupted
