"Amelia, what the hell?!", he said sternly and pushed her.
"What- oh, you're with this little one again, kaya bawal", she said mockingly.
"Amelia, you're drunk"
"I'm not"
"Umalis ka na, 'wag kang mag-eskandalo dito"
"I just don't understand Richard, okay naman sa akin. Tanggap ko naman na hanggang friends lang ang kaya mong ibigay sa akin. I accepted it right? Pero 'wag mo naman akong layuan, hindi naman mawawala agad agad ang pagmamahal ko sa'yo eh.. I love you Rich.. I love you", she said, her tears started falling. At ako naman, nakatayo lang doon. Nanonood. Hindi ko alam kung anong mararamdaman ko.
"Go home, Amelia", he just said and held my hand and walk past Amelia. Nang malapit na kami sa kotse niya- yes, he owned one regalo ng tatay niya sa kanya- I stopped walking.
"Nicomaine", he said then turned to me. "Hey... "
"She loves you", I murmured that he heard.
"Nicomaine... ", he repeated.
"She kissed you"
"I'm sorry, you don't have to see that"
"I don't have to see that? So ginagawa niyo 'yun kapag wala ako?"
"No!", he protested.
"Do you love her too?"
He sighed.
"No..."
"She called you baby"
"I don't care", he crouched then held my chin. "You're my baby", he said looking in my eyes.
"Hindi ko alam kung paano ko ipapaliwanag sa'yo but in time, you'll understand. Darating tayo sa araw na 'yon. But for now.. ", his gaze fell down on my parted lips. I saw him gulped, his jaw clenched. "Just trust me with this, baby"
I nodded, he smiled. Then he held my hand. I looked at him then my heart went wild, but it doesn't hurt no more, it felt.... good.
Hindi ko pa rin maintindihan, but I trust him. Kahit hindi ko alam kung mararamdaman ko ba uli yung sakit na naramdaman ko kanina nung nakita kong hinalikan siya ni Amelia, I somehow envy her cause she has the guts to do that on Chadchad. I know she didn't deserve to be pitied on cause what she did was brave. Kasi kung ako 'yon? 'Di ko yata kaya, kung sa akin ginawa ni Chadchad 'yon, di ko kakayanin. Pero meron ba akong pinanghahawakan na hindi niya rin 'yon gagawin sa akin? Wala. Just his words. And I trust him. Deep in my heart, I know he won't hurt me, not intentionally.
Pagkauwi ko, sinamahan pa ako sandali ni Chadchad bago siya umuwi. Hindi naabutan si Richard ng K-12 that's why he's on his last year in college kahit 18 lang siya. His course, Accountancy is supposed to be 4 years pero nakaya niya lang ng tatlong taon, he is that smart and he is running for Suma Cum Laude. He is every woman's dream. His family is very rich. His father owned a big company and one day gusto kong magtrabaho dun. Nang dumating si Mama, umalis na rin siya nagpaalam na rin ako para umakyat sa taas. But before that, mom bombarded me with questions like kung may gwapo ba akong kaklase o kung anu-ano pa para matigil na rin siya I answered yes. Meron naman talaga kasi akong good-looking classmates.
"Ingat ka, Richard", my mom said when he left. Tumango lang siya.
Anong nangyari 'dun?
Pagkahiga ko sa kama, binasa ko na agad 'yong binigay ni Joyce na libro. The title was Swear it Again. After two hours I finished reading the book. It was consisted of ten chapters and it ended well, I was just smiling the whole time I was reading the romance novel, ewan ko but I can picture Chadchad as the hero and me as the heroine. And after reading the book I learnt a lot. Really. Like, love is still perfect and magical it will challenge us to see beyond perfection. Love is perfect, it will make us crazy. Love is perfect, at the same time painful. Painful, but worth it. Love is worth the risk. Love is.... having a happy ending with Chadchad.
