Secretly Married (English)

Chapter 24

Phoebe turned around and saw Kent storming out of the car she saw earlier. Right after he slammed the car door and walked toward her with all their bags in tow, Elisa, with a little smirk on her face, got out of the driver's side of the car.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. After all that happened in Baguio, she was going to come home to this?

Kent approached her, took her arm, and pulled her away from Harley's car. Phoebe shook him off and went straight to Elisa.

"I don't know what your problem is, or who you really are, and yet somehow whenever you're around, something bad happens to me."

Elisa laughed and turned to Kent. "What the hell is she talking about?"

Phoebe was just about ready to slap her, but Kent took her hand away. She fought him off.

Elisa started laughing. "Such poor manners." She shook her head and turned to leave.

As she was starting her car, Phoebe picked up a piece of stone off the ground and was ready to throw it at Elisa's car. Good thing, her aim was bad because it missed by a few feet.

"Phoebe! What are you doing? Let's go home." Kent started to pull her away.

"What were you doing with that girl?"

"I was just going to ask you why you were with Harley!"

"He answered my call. And you didn't!" Kent couldn't look at her in the eye as he said sorry. "And thank you so much, Harley," Phoebe went on. Kent's glare looked like he wanted to wipe the puppy-dog look off Harley's face.

Phoebe started walking toward the gate. Before he could catch up, Kent turned to Harley, who was just about to get into his car.

"I'll deal with you later!"

"Stop pinning this on me. You're the one who can't be there for Isabelle when she needs you."

Harley shook his head and got into his car.

Kent followed Phoebe into the village, trying to match her gait. She was stomping on the ground hard.

"Phoebe!"

"Shut up!"

"Hey! Please! Talk to me!"

Phoebe stopped just as they both reach the gate of their house and turned to him. "I'm so mad. At Elisa. At all those people posting mean stuff on my Facebook wall. At that gossip website. And at you!" She ran into the house and slammed the door behind her.

"Phoebe!" Kent called. But she was already in her room.

Kent sat on the sofa with his head buried in his hands. When he heard footsteps approaching him, he thought it was Phoebe, but when he looked up, it was only Manang Lourdes.

"What's going on? What's with the shouting?"

"Manang Lourdes, I'm so confused. I don't know what to do anymore." He buried his head in his hands again, shaking it again.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a photo of Phoebe with Harley that's been circulating all over the Internet. Everyone's making up malicious stories about her."

"There's just one solution, and I think you know what it is."

"I can't tell everyone we're married, Manang. It's not that simple. Plus, people will think she's a cheating wife after all those photos circulated."

"Well, then, why don't you talk to Harley about it?"

"I'm not talking to that goon."

Manang Lourdes tapped him on the back. "Well, whatever you do, just do the right thing even if it's hard. And talk to Phoebe. Don't let the day end with the two of you still fighting." She left the room.

"Manang!" Kent called out. She came back with a worried look. "Where's the key to Phoebe's room?"

Manang Lourdes rolled her eyes and waved him off. "Just knock!"

"She's not going to open the door. She's angry."

The old lady shook her head, but then she reached into her pocket where she kept all the keys. She removed the one key to Phoebe's room and handed it over to Kent.

"You two better fix this."

Manang Lourdes left the room yet again, grumbling under her breath.

Kent went upstairs to Phoebe's room.

"Phoebe, let's talk."

Phoebe was all wrapped up in her blanket and was surprised to find Kent on her doorway.

Didn't I lock the door?

Phoebe rolled over so she would be completely wrapped and so she wouldn't be facing him. Kent ap- proached the bed and rolled her over so she would be facing him.

"Let's talk, Phoebe!"

Phoebe was now tightly wound in the blanket, which didn't allow her great movement. Still, she rolled over.

"Please! Don't act like a child!"

"Yeah, right. Like you're mature." Phoebe felt a weight on her side of the bed.Kent was sitting down.

"I love you . . . Please, let's talk."

Phoebe couldn't talk back. She had no proper rebuttal, especially when he was acting like that. She still felt angry, but she also felt herself softening up.

She sat up. "Why didn't you tell me about the photo circulating the Internet?"

"I was—I was trying to think of a way so you wouldn't have to know about it."

"Why were you in Elisa's car and why was your phone turned off earlier?"

"She was bugging me. I didn't want to make a scene. That's why I went into her car. If I refused and acted out, people would notice us even more. The phone—I turned it off because she kept on calling me before. I promise—there's nothing to it."

Phoebe looked at her husband and knew that he was indeed telling the truth.

He turned to her. "What about you—what were you doing in Harley's car?"

"I was already crying so hard when I read all the comments." She reached for her phone under her pillow and showed Kent the comments on her Facebook wall. "I was out of my mind. And when I tried to call you, I dialed Harley's name by mistake. He came even when I told him not to. He saved me."

Kent couldn't look at her then, like he was both angry and disappointed.

"I'm sorry. There was nothing to it as well. I just didn't have a choice. I felt so scared earlier. And only Harley was there to take me home."

"Can you—can you stop saying Harley's name? I love you, okay? I can do better!"

"Can you?" Phoebe met his eyes.

"Yes." And he didn't turn away.

"Can you tell everyone that we're married then?"

Phoebe asked.

*later*