Beautiful Heartbreak (Beautiful Series 1) • COMPLETED ✔️

(33) • utter misinterpretation

(Jelai)
...

I should have gone with Kiefer. I miss him a lot. If I tell him that I dread to see his face in person, he might ask me to book a ticket and fly to Singapore right away. Hindi malabong mangyari iyon.

That is why I'm occupying myself with work. Sa loob ng tatlong araw na wala si Kiefer ay ako muna ang in-charge sa inside operations.

Good thing is that Kiefer has a team of intellectual individuals na handa para sa anumang issue na darating sa Wood.

Nang matapos ko na ang ilan pang papeles na dapat kong pag-aralan at pirmahan, naisip ko na lumabas muna upang libangin ang sarili ko.

Mas lalo ko lang kasi naiisip si Kiefer kapag nakikita ko ang office niya. Hindi ko maiwasan na puntahan ito at silipin, baka kasi naisip niya na umuwi na agad at nasa loob na sya ng office para sorpresahin ako.

Paglabas ko ng building ay nabungaran agad ng mata ko si Kurt na kumakaway sa akin sa kabilang kalsada. Pagkakataon nga naman. I peeked at my watch. It's only 9 in the morning. Ano kayang kailangan niya?

My eyebrows arched when I saw him going my way. Mukhang ako ang sadya niya.

"Good morning, Jelai," he said with all smiles.

"Same to you," I smiled a bit. "Ano namang hangin ang nagtaboy sayo dito?" I asked.

Tinapunan ko ng tingin ang suot niya. He wears a beige open-collar shirt partnered with khaki chino pants. He also looks decent with his hair brushed up.

He could be Piolo Pascual's double. Napataas ang dalawang kilay ko. Puwede naman pala siyang maging simpatiko kung gugustuhin niya.

"Blocked agad ako sayo? I thought people are nicer at mornings. Anyway, take a look at this," sabi niya na inilabas ang cellphone sa bag.

Inabot niya sa akin ito. It's an open invitation from the National Painter's Guild to all the painters and aspiring ones around the city. His name is indicated at the email.

I gave him a side smile, still arching my eyebrows. I don't get it. Why would he showed that invitation to me? Hindi naman ako ang tipong mahilig sa art.

"That explains why you are quite good-looking today. Congratulations to you on attending the painter's guild. Enjoy," sabi ko bago tuluyan siyang iwan.

"Jelai, sandali lang. The reason why I showed it to you was to actually asked you if you want to tag along?" Pahabol na tanong ni Kurt.

Napahinto ako sa paglalakad at humarap sa kaniya. Hindi ko naman inaasahan na nagawa rin niyang makalapit sa akin kaya halos magkabungguan na kami. Napaatras ako.

Kurt did the same. Hindi niya inaasahan na magkakadikit kami. I brushed the strange feeling off of my system. I'm not, in any way, attracted to this guy.

"Bakit naman off all people ay ako pa ang naisip mong isama? Batid mo naman siguro na wala sa dugo ko ang pagiging mahihiligin sa art. Not to drive you away pero magiging burden lang ako sayo," paliwanag ko.

Napakamot na lang sa ulo si Kurt. Malamlam ang mga mata niya akong tinitigan. I batted my eyelashes at him. Did he just turn sad because I said no?

"I was about to ask Kiefer but unfortunately he is not in the country. Bukod kasi kay Kiefer, ikaw lang ang halos nakakausap ko dito," mababa ang tinig niya. "But if you are busy, walang problema. I'll go alone. Sige," he smiled but not enough to reach his eyes.

Nang akmang tatalikod na siya ay hindi naman nakayanan ng konsensya ko na basta na lang sya paalisin. He is still a friend of Kiefer, anyway. It means, I will be dealing with him for as long as he is friends with Kiefer.