Conveniently Married

Chapter 14

               Camille and Patrick decided to just stay at Patrick's father's house. Wala din naman ang kapatid at ang tatay niya. Nasa kapitolyo dahil may inasikaso daw sabi ng kasambahay habang nag-aalmusal sila. Pinapunta na lang nila sa bahay ang isa sa mga pinagkakatiwalaan sa hacienda para kunin ang pera na isasahod sa lahat ng trabahante.

"Magandang umaga ho Ma'am Camille. Ser Patrick," bati nang katiwala sa kanila. "Pasensya ho at medyo natagalan ako."

"Walang problema ho Mang Berto. Pasensya na ho at kayo pa inabala ko, medyo masama po kasi pakiramdam ko. Dito na lang siguro muna ho kami. Di na kami makakapunta ng bahay," sabi naman ni Camille. She didn't feel that well after all. After what they did in the shower and after, the slight discomfort she felt turned to being sore all over again. But she didn't regret any of it.

"Walang ano man Ma'am. Sige ho, aalis na ho ako," paalam naman ng matanda. May edad na ito pero patuloy pa rin sa pagtatrabaho sa kanila dahil ayaw nitong tumigil muna dahil wala raw itong gagawin at tumutulong rin ito sa pagpapaaral ng mga apo.

"Sige ho Manong Berto," dagdag naman ni Patrick. "Mag-iingat ho kayo sa daan at medyo maulan." Ang lumang jeep kasi na dating service vehicle ng hacienda ang gamit nito.

Papasok na sana sila ulit ng bahay nang may bagong dumating at bumusina nang paulit-ulit. Bago pa nila masalubong man ang kung sinong dumating ay kusa na siyang pumasok. Both of them were taken aback to see Joshua Dominguez. Neither of them expected to see him again. "Is it true? Na pinilit lang kayo ng mga tatay niyo na magpakasal? Is it fucking true Camille?"

Camille paled. Some had their suspicions like Joshua but no one was supposed to know that they were married because of their fathers' whims. "Kung yan lang ang pinunta mo dito, makakaalis ka na,"malamig na tugon ni Patrick. Napahigpit ang hawak nito sa baywang niya at agad naman itong nilingon ni Camille.

"Are you really the mayor's son? Are you really going to settle for another man's cast off woman?" he taunted the both of them. Camille's eyes narrowed. Kahit papaano, iniwasan niyang masaktan si Joshua. Alam niyang may kasalanan rin naman siya kahit papaano. But she never expected this kind of shit from Joshua. She clenched her fists to stop herself from hitting him across the face to wipe out his taunting smile.

"Umalis ka na bago kita ipakaladkad palabas," nagpipigil na sabi ni Camille. Pero di sumunod si Joshua. He wasn't even scared.

"Oh please, spare me the drama. Is your marriage even legal?" dagdag pa nito, tila walang pakialam. "Baka naman pati yun peke, tulad ng relasyon niyo. And Patrick? Papatol ka talaga sa pinagsawaan na ng iba?"

"Is that the best you can do?" Patrick was balling his fingers into fists. Ayaw niyang madumihan ang mga kamay niya para lang sa walang kwentang gagong ito. But a few more words from Joshua Dominguez and he'd send him straight to the hospital for a facelift. And he wouldn't even ask help from his father or brother's men. "Ano ba talagang pinunta mo dito?"

"He's just mad coz we stepped on his ego," it was Camille who answered in barely a whisper. She didn't tell Patrick that Joshua was basically harassing her with texts and phone calls. It wasn't hard to just block his number para matapos ang problema niya. "Alam ng lahat ng tao dito ang tungkol sa amin dati. Everyone expected us to be together. And when he left for the US, everyone expected me to wait for him. Di nila alam na wala akong ni katiting na nararamdaman sa kanya. And when you arrived and we got married, tanggap ka agad ng lahat. Next to your brother, you're like a local celebrity. No one's fawning over him, unlike before. Tama ba ako Josh? Natapakan pride mo nang malaman mong wala palang may pakialam sa pagbabalik mo at di ako naghintay sayo."

Akmang susugurin na sana ni Joshua Dominguez si Camille pero bago pa siya makalapit ng tuluyan ay nasampal na ito ni Camille. Her hand left a clear mark on his face. Neither of them saw that coming. Even Camille herself was surprised.

Natigilan rin si Joshua. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Camille would dare hit him across the face. Tila narinig rin naman ng ilang kasambahay at guwardiya ang pagtaas ng boses nila kaya inabutan sila ng mga ito. Joshua had a hand to his face while staring angrily at Camille. "Ilabas niyo na siya," mahinahon n autos ni Patrick sa mga guwardiya. He was trying his best to be calm. And to remind himself never to anger his wife.

Nang mailabas na ng mga guwardiya si Joshua at nakaalis na ang mga chismosang kasambahay ay agad na hinarap ni Patrick ang asawa. "Are you okay?" tanong nito sa asawa.

Tumango lang si Camille pero di umiimik. "I'm... I'm sorry." She didn't even know what she was apologizing for. But she didn't know what else to say.

"It's not your fault, okay? Wag kang magsorry," sabi ni Patrick. "I can't believe he had the balls to imply na pinagsawaan ka na ng kung sino."

"You don't believe him?" Camille asked in a small voice, looking down. Takot siya. Takot na takot siya na baka nagbago na ang tingin sa kanya ni Patrick dahil sa mga sinabi ni Joshua.

Umiling lang si Patrick. He never realized his wife was this naïve. He knew what he took from her the other night. "Camille, baby, I didn't care how many men you've been with. But last night let me know you've never been with anybody. Ang ikinagagalit ko ay ang pananalita ng gagong yun. Wala siyang karapatan pagsalitaan ka ng ganun." He ran his hands through her hair and her back. "I love you. And nothing anyone will say will change that."

Tumango na lang si Camille. "Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Don't say that. Ako ang hindi deserving sa ating dalawa," sabi ni Patrick. He wanted to lighten up the situation. "Inaalipin nga kita sa bahay."

"I enjoyed being the housewife, waiting for you to come home," nakangiting sabi Camille. "I love you. Maybe that's enough to deserve each other."

Author's note:

So guys, obvious naman siguro na tapos na to diba? Sorry. I know you were expecting, like 20 chapters. Ako rin. Honestly, I wanted and planned it to be longer when this was started but somewhere down the line I ran out of ideas. I didn't want it to be another clichéd story of fixed marriages so I decided to just end it. Di ko na alam ano pang gagawin ko sa kanilang dalawa. I honestly planned it to be at least 20 chapters pero ito na lang kinaya ng utak ko eh. I sincerely apologize coz I know some will be disappointed.