Second Chance

THEODORE 23

“Sir Mr. Willford wants to have a meeting with you this afternoon, and the press are still asking me to have a word with you.”

“I’ll talk to Mr. Willford. As for the press, it’s still a no.”

Hectic ang naging working rhythym namin sa office because of what happened. Although, our project with the Willfords is still a go, it seems like everyone is still trying to cope up. Lalong lalo na si Clyde. He hasn’t replied to my messages so that means he still must be all over the place.
I was signing some documents when Trish went inside my officr again.

“Sir. It’s Pauline Kim. Should I let her in?”

Si Pauline? Bakit naman kaya?

Pinapasok ko naman siya. She was holding an envelope when she came in.

“I haven’t had a proper greeting, Mr. Ramisses. It’s nice to see you again.”, pagngiti nito sakin.

I walked towards her ang hugged her.

“Yeah, it’s good that you’re back Pau. Take a seat.”

Umupo naman siya sa upuan na nakapwesto sa harap ng desk ko.

“Napadaan lang ako kasi, Athena will be leaving the renovations to me. I just thought na…you should know.”

“Oh. Is she…going back to Korea?”

“Hmm, oo. She needs to sort things out, kuya.”

I smiled as she called me kuya. Ang tagal ko ng di narinig yun sa kanya ah.

I remembered to how Athena will always get annoyed that she calls me kuya at sa kanya, Athena lang.

“Did you two talk?”, tanong pa ni Pau.
“Yeah. We did..”

Binigay naman niya sakin yung envelope na dala-dala niya.

“What’s this?”

“She left it to me. Ibigay ko daw sayo.”

Tumayo na naman si Pau and she bid goodbye.

“Sige, mauna na ko. I’ll have to review the documents na binigay niya sakin. I’ll see you around!”

“Okay, you take care.”

Pagkaalis niya ng office ko, I immediately opened up the envelope.

It was huge notebook. Wala namang nakalagay sa harap kaya binuksan ko na lang.

….

…..

It was a collage of our photos.

I saw our highschool pictures. The ones we took when I was still tutoring her.
Meron din nung nag Mr. and Ms. ROA, when we won our basketball championship, then when we had our first field trip together….

I blushed as I remembered it was the day I confessed my feelings for her. Grabe, ang corny ko naman nun.

….

There were pictures while we were on vacation, nung nagttrabaho pa siya sa Starbucks…

And when we were together in Ms. Graciel’s house…

When we were in college….

…..

Then I saw our prenuptial photos…

I was surprised to see these pictures kasi alam ko wala akong copy nito…Athena requested for the behind the scenes photos…I forgot that she had this.

There were more photos of us…nung kami na noon…

…..

……

…….

Then there’s this page na merong cut-outs ng articles….

Theodore Ramisses to be the next heir of the Ramisses Corporation

Theodore Ramisses named as the youngest successful businessman of the year

Ramisses Corporation stocks rocketed with the new heir in-charge

Where did she…how did she get this?

Habang speechless pa ko sa nakikita ko, I was more shocked as I got to the last page.

….

The last page had a transparent pocket.

There was a diamond ring.

I knew that ring. It was the one I gave her for our engagement. Di ko yan makakalimutan kasi I searched for almost 20+ shops just to find a perfect ring for her.
There was a note na nakatali sa singsing.

You deserve someone better. I wish nothing but your happiness.
-Athena

I…I thought…I thought she completely shut me down in her life…

Lumabas agad ako ng office and looked for Trish.

“Trish. Umalis na ba si Pauline???”

“Sir? Yes po bumaba na po siya.”

Nagmadali naman ako papuntang elevator. When I got out of the lobby, nakita kong papasakay na siya sa sasakyan niya.

“Pau!!!”

Napalingon naman siya sakin.

“Kuya??”

Hingal na hingal ko siyang nilapitan.

“Did Athena leave already??”

“Uhh..sabay kaming umalis. Baka nasa airport na yun. Bakit??”

“Can I drive your car???”

“Ha???”

Pumayag naman si Pauline na gamitin ko kotse niya to drive straight to the airport. Sumama din naman siya. I told her to try calling Athena.

“Di talaga sumasagot kuya eh.”

Ughh. Binilisan ko na lang yung pagdrive papuntang airport.

When we got there, nauna na kong lumabas kay Pau. I went to the international departures and looked over the place.

“Sir. Yung may ticket na lang po ang pwede pumasok dito.”

“No, no. I just need to talk to someone!”

“Sorry sir, di na po talaga pwede.”

Shit.

Naupo muna ako sa bench sa tabi. I scanned the place inside at di ko naman siya nakita sa kapal ng tao. Napabuntong hininga na lang ako. I reached my pocket at kinuha ko yung singsing ni Athena.

What am I doing? I should have told her last night. Bigla namang dumating yung sasakyan ni Pau. Binusinahan niya ko.

“Kuya!”

Bumaba siya ng sasakyan.

“I checked her flight…nakaalis na sila.”

It was too late.

I didn’t have a choice. Bumalik na nga lang kami ni Pau. While in the car, pinatay niya yung radyo at tumingin sya sakin.

“Kuya, what were you going to tell her?”

I looked at the ring again. Di ko yun binitawan.

I smiled as I knew how stupid this would sound.

“That I will be here….if ever she wants to come back again.”

There was a long pause. Pati ako, hindi din makapaniwala sa sinabi ko.

I may not have forgotten everything, but my heart still beats the same way. Our relationship may not be like before, but the truth is…I’m not just waiting for her to apologize, I’m waiting for her to come back.

We all have our glitches in life, it just so happened that the girl I loved had one too. But look where we are now…para akong back to zero. Willing to embrace her back, because I know it has been hard for her. And I wanted to be there when she feels like she’s lost again. I’ll make it right this time around.

“Hay. After all this time?”, tanong pa ni Pau.

“Yeah. I guess…”

Napangiti na lang ako. I knew how stupid it really is. But no love has been described as a smart one. The best ones are made out of mistakes.

-----

I got back to the office after Pau dropped me off. Wala talaga ko sa mood magtrabaho but I know I have things to do. But since Athena has pretty much occupied my mind right now, ewan ko na lang kung kakayanin kong magtrabaho.

When I got inside, I saw Sabrina sitting on my chair. She was looking at the notebook Athena gave to me.

“Sab? Why are you here?”

Tinignan niya ko na parang di siya makapaniwala sa nakikita niya.

“Ano to???”

“Get off. Don’t you know any privacy??”

But she didn’t. Mas tinignan niya pa ko ng masama.

“What’s going on? Are you…getting back with her???”, tanong pa niya.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you. Please, just go.”

Sab stood up, looking like she’s going to murder me with those eyes.

“Didn’t you see the news?? She’s probably out there seeing more guys! Sumikat lang, lumandi na!”

It was my turn to look at her seriously. Parang nagulat naman siya.

“Don’t talk to her like that. Wala kang alam.”

“Why? Do you know anything???”

“Like I said, I don’t need to explain anything to you.”

Tatawagin ko na sana si Trish to escort Sab out of my office when Sab spoke again.

“Becca and I…we’ll leave this country. If you want to see her again, you might want to reconsider your decision.”, pagbabanta na nito.

“Did you just use Becca against me??”

She wasn’t joking. Alam ko yang mukang yan. She’s determined to do whatever she likes at this point.

“Di mo magugustuhan ang kaya kong gawin, Theo. If this will wake you up from this foolishness, di ako magdadalawang isip na gawin yun.”

But I challenged her more.

“Try me.”

She may be a bit crazy at times, but I know her limitations. Titigil din sya sa kahibangan nya.

I really don’t know why she’s been aggressive nowadays. But I won’t let her control me. No one can. She took one last look at me at umalis na nga siya ng opisina ko. Napaupo na lang ako sa pagod na naramdaman ko.

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When I thought my problems would die down, nagising ako kinabukasan sa dami ng tawag ng sekretarya ko. I decided not to go to the office today kaya napahaba ang tulog ko, but this day has other plans for me.

“Trish? Anong problema?”

“Sir. Have you seen the news? Ang dami na pong reporters ang nandito sa office.”

What?? Ano na naman to???

I opened the internet at nung nakita ko na yung first article, halos malaglag ako sa kama ko.

Kim Soyi, formerly known as Athena Cojuangco, almost married to the heir of the Ramisses Corp.

Fuck.

I clicked the article. The first picture was when I escorted Athena out of the hotel nung event nila Clyde. Then I saw this familiar photo.

It was our prenuptial picture….the one I saw in Athena’s notebook. Paanong…

Dali dali kong kinuha yung notebook. When I turned the pages, I saw a page with a missing picture. Hindi maari to…

The only person who saw the notebook too was….

“Sabrina, anong ginawa mo???”

Di na ko nagaksaya ng panahon. Naligo at nagbihis ako ng napakabilis to do damage control. Athena can’t know about this. Mas lalo lang siyang masstress kapag nalaman niyang may bago na namang scandal ang lumabas.

When I got to the office, nakita agad ako ng mga reporters. I didn’t back off. I had to face them.

“Mr. Ramisses! Totoo po ba ang mga balitang ex-fiance niyo si Ms. Kim Soyi??”

“Sir! Ano pong masasabi niyo sa issue ng two-timing ng ex niyo??”

“Will you get back together sir??”

I didn’t answer the questions. Instead,

“I will give a statement regarding the issue this afternoon. Please, for the mean time, settle down.”

Sinalubong na nga ko ng mga guards at pinigilan ang mga reporters na lumapit pa. I went straight to my office.

When Trish saw me, she was obviously panicking.

“SIR!!!”

“Have you contacted the sites that released the articles?”, tanong ko agad dito.

“Yes po sir. Apparently, yung mga baguhan pong sites ang naglabas ng original article. Hindi po sila kasama sa nasabihan noon about keeping it a secret.”

“Shut them down or I’ll sue them, sabihin mo. I’ve already called my lawyer. Nilalakad na din niya ang mga papeles.”

“Okay po sir.”

I went to my PR team and I talked to Mark, the head.

“Mark, please make sure that these articles won’t be broadcasted. Block all the articles that may come out in international media. Maliwanag ba?”

“Yes po sir.”

I was about to check my phone again nung dumating si Paul.

“Theo!!!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I saw the articles. Okay ka lang? How did it happen??”

Speaking of how, ilang beses ko ng tinatawagan si Sabrina. But she won’t answer.

Nababaliw na talaga tong babaeng to. Sumosobra na sya eh.

“Sabrina.”, sagot ko dito.

“WHAT??? Why???. Did you speak to her??”

“Not yet. But I will. Paul, can you please monitor the situation here? I just need to talk to the press.”

Pinigilan naman ako ni Paul sa pag-alis.

“Hoy, san ka pupunta?? Why would you talk to them?? Baka lumala pa yan eh!”

“No. I have to protect Athena. She had enough of this.”

Di ko naman mapinta muka niya. Honestly, I didn’t want to explain further. Habang wala akong ginagawa, there will be a higher chance that she may be in deeper trouble.
I have to help her.

Bumaba na nga ko ulit and I faced the bunch of hungry reporters.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I just would like to say that Ms. Kim Soyi and I have not been in contact for many years. It was true we were engaged once, but that was all in the past. Let’s not exaggerate the information anymore.”, I firmly told all of them.

“Pero sir! Is it true she was a runaway bride???”

I tried to keep my composure. “Ms. Kim Soyi was not at fault.”

“Is it also true that it was because your grandfather was against your marriage??”

Sasagot na sana ako ng nakita kong dumating ang lawyer ko.

He kept me from saying more.

“Mr. Ramisses has given his side on the issue. That would be all.”, sabi sa kanila ng lawyer ko.

When we got inside the elevator, he was really frustrated.

“Mr. Ramisses, you shouldn’t have said anything. That would just worsen the problem!”

“I’m sorry, attorney. But I had to say something.”

“C’mon sir, we still have to work on the casualties made.”

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