Pabo Sarang (Stupid Love)

[1] - Lucky

**

"OMG, Franchette Dominique! You look good!" Tili nitong kaibigan ko, si Ciara.

"Eh? Don't I always look good? " Pabirong untag ko. Inirapan nya ako habang natatawa.

"I mean yeah, you always do.. But hell, you look stunning right now! What's with the lovely dress?" Tanong nya with sparkly eyes.

Ang sakit talaga nito sa bangs. Parang wala naman akong pinagbago eh. Nakasuot lang ako ngayon ng isang above-the-knee dress na medyo balloon.

"Oh, this. Dinner meeting with dad's big client slash friend. Kainis nga eh. You know naman, I hate dresses." I rolled my eyes.

--

"Dad, matagal pa ba?" Tanong ko kay Daddy pagkatapos kong tumingin sa orasan ng cellphone ko. 8:00pm na, 7:30 ang usapan ah. Tsktsk.

Nakaupo na kami ngayon sa isang Italian restaurant. Kainis naman yung mga taong paimportante. Tss.

"Oh, they're here." Formal na sabi ni Daddy, then he smiled at me.

Nakita kong paparating ang isang around 50 years old na lalaking mukhang kagalang-galang and a guy around my age. Mag-ama, I assumed.

"Dominique.." tawag ni Dad sa'kin. Nandito na pala sa harap namin yung mga client nya. I smiled at them. The older ones smiled back, but the handsome guy didn't even seem to care.

Tinitigan ko mula ulo hanggang paa yung lalaking hindi pumansin sa'kin. Hmm. Not bad. In fact, he's good-looking. You know, the kind of guy that girls would run head over heels with. Yung tipong tingnan mo pa lang, alam mo nang may sinasabi sa buhay.

"Ben, this is my daughter.. Dominique." Inintroduce ako ni dad dun sa Ben, yung matanda.

"Oh, such a beautiful girl. Bagay na bagay kayo ng anak ko." Then humalakhak sya. Nag-high five pa sila ni Daddy. Amp. Nagsu-sumixteen si Dad.

Pero.. Bagay? Like, really? What the hell? Is this some sort of a fixed dinner date? Yung tipong ipipilit kami ipakasal sa isa't isa para mapag-merge ang mga business namin? Oh, no. Too cliché, dad. Too cliché.

Yung part pa nga lang na na-in love ako sa bestfriend kong artista, cliché na eh. Tapos ngayon, ano? Fixed marriage, are you serious? Like, WHAT THE FUCK, DAD. WHAT THE FUCK.

I glared at daddy. Nag-shrug lang sya. Ay naku naman talaga oh!

"Chill lang anak, it's not what you think." Cool at pabulong na sabi ni daddy. I just gave him the 'siguraduhin mo lang' look.

"Anyway, this is my son.. Dalen." Pinakilala ni Mister Gonzalo yung anak nyang suplado.

[Dalen = read as Dey-len]

Syempre nagbigay courtesy naman yung Dalen, pilit nga lang. Napansin kong mabilis lang nya akong tiningnan pero mabilis din nyang ibinalik yung tingin na yon. He looked a bit in shock.

Dineadma ko lang sya. Napansin kong pabalik-balik na din yung tingin nya sa'kin. Like, what the hell? Hindi ba alam nitong Dalen na 'to na rude ang tumingin? Lalo na kung di naman kami close.

I excused myself papuntang comfort room, baka kasi may kung ano na pala ako sa mukha kaya ako tinititigan nung Dalen eh.

Tumingin ako sa salamin sa CR. Maayos naman pala yung bangs ko. Actually, I'm not that vain. May issue lang talaga ako sa bangs ko, that's it. Pero really, bakit sya nakatingin? Wala rin naman akong dumi sa mukha.

Ah! Syempre, nabighani sya sa kagandahan ko. Lamnyonaman, I'm too pretty to resist. Pero syempre, wag kayong masyadong maniwala sa pinagsasasabi ko. Uso kasi yung sariling puri, if you know what I mean.

Paglabas ko, nagulat ako dahil nasa likod ng pinto si Dalen.

"Danica.." Tawag nya. Eh? Sino yon?

"Huh? Ako ba? It's not Danica. It's Dominique. Minnie for short." I replied.

"No, it's you." Medyo frustrated na sabi nya. Parang nawala na yung cold aura nya kanina.

"No, it's not. My name's not Danica. Tanong mo man kay Daddy!" Medyo napasigaw na ako.

For a second, nag-doubt pa ako na Franchette Dominique Fuentes nga ang pangalan ko. He seemed so sure kasi eh. Haha!

[Franchette = read as Fran-Shey]

"Patrick, I'm not Danica, okay?" I assured him.

"Patrick? It's Dalen."

"No, you're Patrick." I insisted.

"Are you immitating me, Danica?" He looked a bit angry.

"Just kidding! Haha! Sige na Dalen, I gotta go. But one thing's for sure.. My name's not Danica, okay? Okay na?"

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?" Napasigaw at napahampas na sya dun sa kung anumang gamit sa tabi nya. Mukhang walang nakarinig dahil wala namang masyadong tao doon.

"D-doing what?" Medyo natatakot na sagot ko.

He sighed. Medyo natauhan siguro.

"This, Danica. Pretending as if you don't know me, as if we haven't met before, as if there's nothing between the two of us.. As if you didn't even love me." Nangingislap ang mga mata nya habang sinasabi to.

Oh, no. Don't tell me he's in tears.

But.. why? Is he a Psycho? Is this some kind of a prank or what? What the heck! I'M CONFUSED!

"Look, Dalen. My name's Dominique, okay? Not Danica. Not anything else. And this.. this is the first time I met you. Maybe, kamukha ko lang yung Danica? Right, kamukha ko sya! Am I right?" I'm trying my best to sound enthusiastic.

He looked at me. His cool aura's back.

"Magkamukha? Nah, I don't think so. Danica, stop pretending. Don't worry, I still love you. I still love you more than anything else." He smirked. And then.. And then he winked! HOLY CRAP, HE WINKED. HE LOOKS SOOOO GOOD!

But wait, he still loves me? I mean.. He still loves Danica? Who the heck is the Danica? Ang swerte mo girl!

**

A/N: Lol, okay. Thank you for reading x')

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