Secretly Married (English)

Chapter 33

The next few days prior to Kent's departure, Phoebe couldn't enjoy herself fully. There was the thought that she had to confront Elisa soon and the fact that the next few weeks would be Kent-less. Needless to say, she was having quite a few mood swings.

She got the courage to confront Elisa one partic- ular Wednesday. She was in a cubicle when she heard Elisa, along with her posse, enter the restroom noisily. Elisa's voice stood out above everyone else's.

"Yeah, well, we never know what can happen in Paris," she said.

"Aren't you playing with fire, Elisa?" a friend asked.

"Shut up, Kels!" Elisa answered. "Kent and I belong together. It's only a matter of—"

Phoebe's heartbeat grew faster as she listened in. Who did Elisa think she was? Phoebe opened the cubicle door with a bang and hit Elisa in the process. That was a lucky one, she thought with a smirk.

"Ow!" Elisa said, turning around to find Phoebe standing there. "Oh, it's you." She rolled her eyes and then started brushing her hair.

"We need to talk, Elisa." Phoebe tried to look calm.

"What about? I can't be seen with you," Elisa said, her eyes fixed on her own reflection—the narcissist.

Phoebe leaned in and whispered, "If you don't want to come back home to a controversy—"

Elisa's friends started dispersing, eventually leaving the restroom.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know things about you that you really wouldn't like people to know about." She fished in her pocket for a piece ofpaper which she'd kept there just in case this moment came. "Just text me where you want to meet. I'll meet you there."

Elisa took the note and rolled her eyes. "What makes you think I'll waste my time contacting you?"

"Well, if you want, I can just publish the ev—"

"Fine!" Elisa said, stuffing the note into her pocket and leaving the restroom.

Just as soon as Elisa got out of the restroom, Jhone got out of a cubicle. Phoebe was surprised to find her there. Jhone hugged her friend. "I'm so proud of you!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes. Now she could breathe properly. But then she remembered that she'd just begun.

This is for Harley, she thought.

"By the way, check your e-mail. Philip said he already sent you the video he took of him and Elisa."

As usual, the day after, Kent drove Phoebe home before he went to their shoot. Then Phoebe waited a few minutes for Jhone, who picked her up in a taxi. Philip was with her.

"Harley will meet us there," Jhone said as Phoebe got into the car.

Then she got a text from Harley: "It's not too late to back out."

They arrived near the coffee shop that Elisa chose. Jhone then handed a few bucks to the taxi driver and told him to have a snack somewhere.

Phoebe took a deep breath. She saw Elisa entering the coffee shop in poor disguise. Jhone patted her on the back.

"You can do it, Fibs. Remember, this is for Harley."

"We'll capture everything on video from here," Philip said. "Just press the record button on that thing as soon as you start talking."

Phoebe nodded, took another deep breath, and went out. She found Elisa in the coffee shop, tucked in the farthest corner by the glass window.

"Hi," Phoebe said, sitting opposite her.

"Okay, make it fast because I don't have much time."

"Fine, Elisa." She hit the record button of the digital recorder in her pocket. "I know that it was you who planted the story in theEnvoy.ph. I also know that you were the one who had me followed."

Elisa turned pale, shaking her head. "You have no proof." Phoebe could see that she was trying to act all cool, but her voice was shaking. "Plus, Kent knows . . . it was Phil—Philip. He's—I know Philip. We talked. In fact, he sent me this video."

Phoebe played the video on her phone which showed Elisa scheming on how to destroy Phoebe.

Elisa's eyes widened. "Where the fuck did you get—"

"Does it matter? Why would you do all these?" "You don't belong with Kent, and you have no right seducing Harley!" she said.

"None of those things are true, Elisa." "Whatever. You don't belong with either ofthem.

They're too good for you! Just wait when we return from Paris . . ."

"Kent loves me, so you can just keep your delusions to yourself."

"We'll see about that," she said as she stood up and left.

After the confrontation, Phoebe found Harley in the taxi with Jhone and Philip. Harley looked at her with concern because she had a blank expression on her face when she got into the taxi.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She tried to smile. "I have to get back home. Kent's leaving tomorrow."

When she got home, Kent was already there, but he only came out of his bedroom long enough to tell her that he was going to the airport alone and that he didn't want Phoebe to see him off.

Phoebe just sulked in her bedroom, wondering why he didn't want her there. Sure, he did say that he didn't want Phoebe going home alone after seeing him off at the airport, but was there another reason?

She went out of her bedroom and knocked on Kent's door so hard that it was impossible for Kent to ignore it.

"Phoebe, I'm busy!" he shouted through the closed door.

"Let me just—come on. You're leaving tomorrow.

You don't even want me to see you off at the airport. Please don't be like this!"

"Phoebe!"

"Kent, look, if you don't want me to touch your things, I won't. Just let me in." Phoebe was close to tears already, her forehead resting on the closed door.

"Get some sleep, will you? It's almost midnight!"

"Just open up. If you want, you can rant my ears off right in there, just open up, please." She gave in to her tears right then.

So finally, Kent opened up the door and pulled her in a hug. "Shit. This is why I didn't want you to come with me to the airport."

"Why?"

"I don't think I'll be able to go through immigra- tion if I saw you crying there. I might not even get past the door."

Phoebe fell asleep on Kent's bed, watching him pack. She had just been asleep for a few hours when Kent prodded her awake.

"Hey." Phoebe opened her eyes and saw him standing before her, ready to go.

She got up and then went out of the room with Kent.

"Your taxi's waiting, Kent," Manang Lourdes said.

As ifit just dawned on Phoebe, she started crying. Kent laughed, but she could see his eyes getting hazy with tears as well. He kissed her on the lips and then pulled up his trolley.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Phoebe replied.

The taxi honked. Kent looked at her one more time then nodded at the old lady, who now had her arm around Phoebe's shoulder.

Phoebe watched as Kent disappeared into the taxi and, as the taxi drove off, wondered how the empty days would go by without him.

*later*