It's been five long and painful months for both Karylle and Vice. Limang buwan na ang nakalipas mula ng lumabas silang dalawa sa big brother house.
Kahit na "filtered" ang mga scenes sa loob ng bahay na ipinalabas sa TV, naging issue pa din ang closeness ni Vice at Karylle sa loob ng bahay na 'yon. Madami naman ang nagkibit na lamang ng balikat dahil nga alam nila na bakla si Vice.
Pero alam nang mga malapit sa dalawa na may something sa mga kilos nila. Yael was one of those na nakapansin. He trusted Karylle so much. Hindi lang dahil mahal niya si Karylle but because he knows her. Pero dahil din kilala niya si Karylle, isang tingin pa lang nito kay Vice alam na niya.
Yael tried to ignore the possibility that Karylle would actually fall for Vice. Kahit na alam niya at nararamdaman niya na mahal naman talaga siya ni Karylle. He knew na noon pa man ay special si Vice kay Karylle. Everyday he had to remind himself na intindihin nalang. Hindi naman talaga niya gustong magbago paglabas ni Karylle from the PBB house.
Hindi niya ginusto na magkaroon ng gap sakanila. In fact, he wanted to double the effort para maramdaman ni Karylle how much she meant to him. But he couldn't. Pagbukas ng pinto noong gabi na lalabas sina Karylle and Vice and noong tiningnan siya ni Karylle, he saw guilt and regret in her eyes. Alam ni Yael na kung pwede lang, Karylle would stay sa loob ng bahay with Vice.
Hindi siya sigurado kung mahal na ba ni Karylle at that time si Vice o kung mahal nga ni Karylle si Vice, mas mahal kaya nito si Vice sakanya? From that moment on, hindi na niya matingnan si Karylle kasi parang pinapaalala lang sakanya ang mga tanong na yon.
He, too, had doubts. He felt something had changed between them. That's why when she asked him na pumuntang US, alam niya na she's just trying to save what's left of them. But it only made things worse for him dahil nga naconfirm na niya na 'hindi sila okay'. There are times na gusto na lang niyang iwan si Karylle baka nga matuwa pa ito pero natatakot siyang pagsisihan niya rin ito sa huli kaya hinayaan nalang niya and stayed with her.
Naging manhid na nga siguro siya or maybe he fell out of love too, like she did. Naging bantay sarado siya sa asawa not because he's jealous but because he wanted to end their misery kaya mas okay na magkaalaman na. Gusto na nga niyang tanungin si Karylle if she wanted to go with Vice but he couldn't because a part of him knew na mahal pa niya si Karylle despite everything.
Hanggang sa finally, he had enough, thus the confrontation habang nanunuod sila ng Big Night. It happened in perfect timing. A little too late to save their marriage but just in time to save the friendship they had.
Pareho lang silang nasaktan but obviously, siya 'yung mas nasaktan because siya 'yung unang 'naiwan'. Hindi na nga niya mabilang kung ilang beses ba nagsorry si Karylle sakanya, ayaw nga sana nitong maghiwalay sila pero he needs time, too. And he knew na kailangan din ni Karylle ng time to fix herself, to fix whatever she had with Vice and hindi nila maachieve 'yon if they stay together.
* * * *
She parked her car on her usual spot sa building na 'yon. She looked at the rear view mirror of her car and checked her face one last time before getting off her car. She put on her shades to help herself to feel better. It did made her feel better but she's still feeling nervous about coming back.
Five months is quite long and she isn't sure kung kaya pa ba niya na humarap sa camera. After spending two months in California then going back to the Philippines for a week just so she could say that she'll be leaving again then she just disappeared.
Wala siyang sinabihan kung saan siya pumunta bukod sa pamilya niya. Neither Vice nor Yael knew where she was for the last three months. But she knew she could not hide forever, kailangan niyang bumalik and work.
