Giving In

Chapter 5

               Hindi mapakali si Liam. Mari acted strange. She always had control over her emotions and she didn't give in to hysterics. Mari raising her voice at him wasn't normal. Gaano pa to kagalit sa kanya dati, ni minsan di ito nagtaas ng boses. For a woman like Mari, emotions were petty, useless things.

That's why their arrangement worked for them. She didn't put that much value on her virginity or relationships. Isa to sa mga babaeng naniniwala na walang forever. Mari once told him that she was physically attracted to him, yun lang, wala nang iba. That was what attracted him to Mari in the first place. Some guy was drunk enough to confess he had feelings for her and she saw him turn him down nicely but with finality.

Liam took the quickest shower he had in his entire life, grabbed the keys of his car and drove to his office. He had no idea where Mari lived so he had no choice but to check her files at the office. Mabuti na lang at may susi siya sa opisina. Sana lang at walang nag overtime ngayon para walang magtanong sa kanya bakit siya nakikialam sa files ng HR.

He immediately took a picture of her address with his phone at returned the file. He saw that she lived in a condo that wasn't that far from the office. If he wasn't mistaken, units in that building didn't come cheap. Pero sa pagkakataong ito, hindi pinairal ni Liam ang pagdududa niya. There are more ways than one to be financially stable. Maybe she got help from her parents or relatives or got a loan or something.

When he got to the said building, halos takbuhin na niya paakyat. He was too impatient to wait for the elevator. Nang makarating siya sa tapat mismo ng unit ni Mari, he could hear voices from the inside. He knocked on the door and a teenaged looking girl opened it. "Ahhh... dito ba nakatira si Marianna Alvarez?" tanong niya.

Tumango naman ito at biglang sumigaw. "Ate Mari, may naghahanap po sa inyo."

Liam could hear the giggles of a baby along with Mari's answering voice and he suddenly went cold inside. "Sino ba yan? Papasukin mo muna." Bakit may bata sa loob ng condo ni Mari?

The teenager led him inside and offered him a seat on the sofa and asked if he wanted something to drink which he politely refused. Di nagtagal at lumabas si Mari na may kargang bata. The kid looked to be a little more than year old. The exact age if it was Mari's child. Their child. Napatayo siya ng wala sa oras at akmang lalapit but Mari backed off, fear evident in her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here Liam? Diba sabi kong ayaw ko nang kahit anong ugnayan sayo?" galit na sabi ni Mari pero halata pa rin ang takot sa kanya. Liam's reaction upon seeing her baby was just as she expected. There was the surprise. And the anger.

"Is... is that... my daughter?" Liam stuttered. There was no doubt in his mind that the baby was his. He ignored Mari's look of utter terror and came to them.

The speed at which she shook her head implied she was being defensive. "She's not your daughter. She's my daughter. Utang na loob Liam, umalis ka na."

"If she's not mine then who is her father Mari? Nasaan ang tatay ng anak mo?" Liam demanded, raising his voice. His anger was slowly fading when he thinks that the baby might not be his. Mari was his. Only his. If judging by the age of the baby, it was conceived during they were still, somehow, together. Liam refuses to believe Mari cheated on him.

Umiling lang ulit si Mari. "Liam please. Walang tatay ang anak ko. Umalis ka na," pag-uulit nito. But Liam refused to budge. The child was somehow starting to feel the tension from the two adult. She starting to fidget angrily at Mari's hair in distress, and her face looks like she was about to cry."Lina!" Mari called for the help. Agad namang lumapit ang yaya na naghihintay lang sa gilid kinakabahan at takot para sa amo. Halatang tatay ng kanyang alaga ang lalaki. Kahit siya nakikita ang pisikil na pagkakapareho ng dalawa. Mas lalong halata ang galit dito. "Dalhin mo muna si Kara sa kwarto."

Agad namang kinuha ng yaya ang bata. Gusto sanang umangal ni Liam but he realized they had to talk first. "I am not going to ask again Mari. Sino ang ama ng bata?" his knuckled were clenching back and forth. He wanted to hit something so bad.

Mari's eyes started to tear up. She never prepared for this to happen. She wasn't ready for this kind of confrontation. "You want your pound of flesh do you?" she asked but she didn't wait for Liam to answer. "Walang tatay ang anak ko. But if you want to know who contributed the sperm, it was you. You just helped me make her Liam but you are not her father. My daughter has no father. Kaya umalis ka na!"

The frustration, hurt and anger Mari felt was finally let out. The tears streaming down her face attested to that. Di siya ng tipong umiiyak agad but this time, di na niya napigilan. Years of resentment and rejection did that to her.

Napahilamos si Liam sa mukha niya. At dahil takot siyang mawalan ng control sa sarili, lumapit sa pader at pinagsusuntok yun. And when he finally had enough, bumalik siya sa harap ni Mari na ngayon ay nakasalampak na sa couch at humahagulgol. "Do you know how I feel right now Mari? I feel like you deliberately deprived me of my daughter. Pinagkait mo siya sa akin na para bang di ako karapat dapat na maging ama niya. Bakit Mari? Just because I wasn't acting rationally when you told me you're pregnant, doesn't mean I have no right to be a father. Alam mo bang anong inisip ko nung hindi ka na magparamdam? I thought you had an abortion or had a miscarriage. And that hurt. I've moved on but I was still hurt. Nagluksa ako para sa wala Mari. Di lang ang pagkawala mo sa akin ang pinagluksa ko. I also mourned the loss of my child. Bakit nagawa mo sa akin to!?"

Mari continued sobbing. She didn't know what to say. Alam niyang mali ang ginawa niya. No matter how much she justified her decisions, it was still flawed. But she can't deal with it now. Telling him the truth, the truth she tried so hard to forget is like digging her own grave.

It all came down to the fact that she deprived him of their daughter because she was too hurt by the knowledge that she meant nothing to him. That she refused to give him the chance to be a father because he had a low opinion of her. To prove to him that she wasn't a gold digger and social climber, she didn't give him the chance to be with his daughter dahil ayaw niyang sabihin na naghahabol siya kay Liam o sa pera nito.

She tried to stop crying pero di niya kinaya. She couldn't even string a proper sentence together and before she could bother answering him, nawala na si Liam sa harap niya at narinig na lang ni Mari ang pagbagsak ng pinto.

Author's Note:

Here's another chapter for you guys. Hahaha nilulubos ko po na may internet pa ako. Pag matagal kasi akong di makapagpost, nawawalan na akong gana. Hahaha this is a short story by the way. Baka mag expect kayo. Mga 15 chapters lang po.

COMMENTS PLEASE HAHAHAHA THIS IS UNEDITED!!!