Lie With Me

Tenth Lie

HER POV

"Now, let's talk"

All pretenses are gone that instant. The maids rush to get the plates away and clean the table. Halatang alam na nilang hindi maganda ang mga mangyayari and they decided to avoid any casualties that they can have. Being with this three, for sure hindi malayong walang may masaktan. Specially if it seems to repeat what happened 5 years ago. Ang bago lang dito, wala si mama at nandito ang puno't-dulo ng galit nila, si Kenneth.

My eyes roam the room for their expressions and I could only sigh mentally. Dad and my two cousins presence had been a surprise. Wala akong alam na uuwi sila ngayon, for if I had known, I wouldn't allow them and Kenneth to meet. But as fate would have it, she decided not to prolong the agony. Their anger isn't so much as a surprise. I know why they feel that way. They've been with me since that fateful day and had sworn to never let him near me. So their reaction isn't that much for me to be bother of, except that my twins had seen that. That will be another story all together.

"What the hell is that prick doing here, Lue?" Kuya Peter don't really like beating around the bush. His tone both hard and loud. But I maintain my poker face.

I sigh, "He's here because Louie wants him here."

Napakunoot noo naman sila doon. "At wala ka bang balak na sabihin sa amin that the bastard is back and alive?" Kuya Drew sneered calmly. "Kung hindi ba kami umuwi ngayon, hindi pa namin malalaman. Since when did you start being in contact with him?"

"We haven't been in contact not since three months ago." I answered. "And we're still trying to come into terms with everything, Kuya."

It's not as if I want to have anything to do with him matapos lahat ng nangyari. No. It just happen at ang hirap isiksik sa utak ko na nandito siya ngayon after years of absence. After he flat out deny our children.

Hindi ko ginustong magkakilala pa sila ng ganito kaaga and most specially not the way it happened. Who would say that your ex-boyfriend will show up again just at the same time and day your kids decided to visit you? No one, right? I didn't even know what to say then. To say I'm shock would be an understatement. Just as I didn't plan for my kids to know who their real father is.

"You could still have told us." Kuya Peter insisted though with a modicum of calmness this time. "We're just phone call away, Lue. You could say or even inform us of anything."

Napayuko na lang ako sa sinabi niya. I can clearly hear the disappointment and hurt in his voice. And I'm sorry for that.

Kuya Peter and Kuya Drew are the brothers I never had. Them, Ysabel together with my parents and the twins had been my family. Bata pa lang, silang dalawa na ang nagsilbing pader na makakapitan ko. They loved, cherished and cared for me as any older sibling would for their younger siblings. They are my first friends and we promise never to keep secrets from one another. Sila din ang unang nakaalam about my pregnancy and they may not happy with it, they supported me through it all. That's why I get where their hurt are coming from. Because for once, I keep something from them.

"I'm sorry for that," I told them, looking straight in their eyes. "It happened fast and all I could think of that moment are Louie and Louis. Hindi ko na naisip pang tawagan kayo dahil alam kong busy kayo at may kanya-kanya kayong buhay. You're all busy abroad and this is my problem. Ayoko nang idamay pa kayo doon."

"We're still your family, my Luxielle." my dad finally talked. He's looking at me sympathetically and I know he understood me. "I'm still your father and no matter what I do, how far we may be, you'll always be in our top priority."

"Pa,"

"I know you want to handle this alone," he cut me off. "and I'm proud of you for that. However, may anak ka man ngayon, you are still our daughter. Your mom would say the same thing if she's here. At ano man ang nangyayari sa inyo, we want to know."

"As for you," nakita kong napaigtad ng upo si Kenneth. I don't blame him for his reaction. Dad really is scary. "I didn't expect that you will have the guts to show yourself up right now after all the things you made my daughter went through. Ang kapal naman talaga ng mukha mo."

My dad is always calm on the outside, but he's a volcano of emotions waiting to erupt inside. Kitang-kita ko kung gaano siya kagalit kahit na hindi niya pinapakita. He's eyes are burning with fire and hatred. If he could only kill using it, Kenneth would be dead the moment he saw him.

"I'm here to take all the responsibility, sir." Kenneth tried to look at my father but immediately look away after a minute. "I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry for that."

Hindi napigilan ng mga pinsan ko ang matawa ng pagak sa sinabi niya. They really are mocking him. Halata rin na ayaw nila maniwala sa sinabi niya. Who would? Nandito sila noon nung pinagtabuyan at tinalikuran niya ako at ang mga anak ko. They witnessed how he treated me and how he flat out deny us. Kahit ako, kapag naaalala ko iyon, hindi ko mapigilan ang magalit at saktan siya. I almost have miscarrage that day if not for my cousin's help.

"You are funny, Ferrer." Kuya Drew sneered. "Tapos mong gaguhin, ipagtabuyan at talikuran, ngayon naman sasabihin mong gusto mong akuin? Aba't gago ka naman talaga e, no?"

"For your information," Kuya Peter butt in. "The twins and Lue manage for five years. Five years." he gritted his teeth, halatang nagpipigil. "Five years wala ka sa buhay nila and not once they needed you. What makes you think that they would start now?"

"Nagawang palakihin ng pinsan ko ang mga bata ng wala ka, Ferrer." dagdag pa niya. "Bakit naman nila kakailanganin pa ng isang kagaya mo sa buhay nila?"

"Oh! Just so you know, someone already took your responsibility without second thoughts." Kuya Drew mocked in return. "Have you met Kean Aragon? That's him. He gladly and I could say that that man has more balls than you. Hindi man kanya, wala siyang pakialam. I really don't know what my cousin saw in you when in fact Kean is much more of a man than I actually thought. Surely the twins already found the father they need in him." He leaned in and smirked at him. "That's why I assure you, Ferrer, no one in this house needs you. Sooner or later, they will find out what kind of person you are and regret ever meeting you. You don't deserve Lue, much more to be those kids' father."

Walang nagsalita. It was pure silence and no one seem to move. Kita ko ang panunuya sa mga tingin ng mga pinsan ko. I would want to tell them to stop, but something stops me. Because what they say is half true. The kids don't have to know how their real father denied them. And I really don't see myself with him anymore. What he did made me into what I am right now. Not only him. Kean may have been the father figure of my kids, but it won't mean anything to me. I realize that I don't need a man in my life except for my family and the twins. Sa kanila ko na lang ibubuhos ang lahat ng meron ako ngayon. They will be the only men I will need in my life. Not Kenneth, nor Kean, or any man out there. Sila lang sapat na sa akin.

I turn to look at the man who broke me. Hindi ko alam kung bakit parang ibang tao ang nasa harapan ko ngayon. He acts as if he didn't know what happened. Para bang nabura sa alaala niya lahat ng nangyari. It's as if I'm staring at a different person. I don't know what happened to him right after I went to Korea. All communications are cut off at kahit doon sa mga kakilala namin, wala akong naging balita about him. The moment he walked away was the last time I saw him. Kung titignan, matagal na rin pala. And something within those years must have changed him. Hindi ko rin alam na itinuloy rin pala niya ang pangarap niya to be an engineer. I'm happy for him, in all truths, sa kabila ng kasalanan niya sa akin.

I forgave him a long time ago, honestly.

Sadyang may mga bagay lang na mahirap kalimutan gaano man katagal ang lumipas. May mga bagay na hindi ko na maalis.

He broke me. But he gave something that made me whole and stronger than before. For that, I'll always be thankful to him.

I lost myself loving him, but my twins brought me back. He gave back my happiness that he took in the form of Louie and Louis, my life.

A/N: Elle's cousin at the multimedia. Drew (left) and Peter (right) at your service. ^^v