Romancing Josh

17th Chapter

XVII:
Miracle

***

BAS' POINT OF VIEW

SURROUNDED by the rich and elites, I felt suffocated but I tried to act normal. Hindi talaga ako nababagay sa mundo ni Josh. I tried to smile and acted as if I was comfortable kahit sa totoo lang ay gusto ko na lang umuwi.

   Napili ni Josh ang function hall ng unang hotel na pinuntahan namin. The place looked elegant lalo pa't puro mga members ng alta sosyedad ang naroon. Dress-to-impress ang drama ng bawat isa. Halatang mamahalin ang suot ng mga bisita at gawa ng mga famous designers.

   They even invited an orchestra to serenade the guests. Marami ring mga reporters ang naroon para i-cover ang event. Apparently, Heraldez Construction was famous in the business world. The security was very tight since the President of the Republic of the Philippines was there who also happened to be the head of the Heraldez clan.

   "Hi. Bas, right?"

   Nilingon ko ang tumawag sa'kin at bumungad sa'kin ang nakangiting si Ice who was wearing a red suit. He looked dashing and definitely hot. As expected, head-turner rin siya dahil isa siyang sikat na singer.

   "Good evening po," I greeted him with a smile.

   "Drop the "po", I'm not that old. I'm probably younger than you."

   I chuckled.

   "Can I help you with something?" tanong ko sa kaswal nang tono.

   "Nah, I'm just pretty bored."

   Kumunot ang noo ko. Bakit naman siya mabu-bored, eh iyon ang mundo niya? For sure, sanay na siya sa mga gano'ng klaseng events. He looked comfortable ancd I thought he was having fun.

   "Hindi mo ba nagustuhan ang party?"

   "No, it's perfect. Ang ganda ng pagkaka-organize. I mean, si Kuya Josh ang nag-organize nito and I know he's a perfectionist. Hindi na ako nagtaka na ganito ang result ng party. But, you know, it's not really my thing."

   "Talaga?" hindi ko naitago ang surprise sa boses ko.

   "Yeah. Ang akala siguro ng marami na dahil laki ako sa yaman ay mahilig na ako sa sosyalan. No, that's not true. In fact, I've always felt like I don't belong in this world. Parang dapat sana ay napunta ako sa isang simpleng pamilya."

   "Pero international singer ka na. Natural, kailangan mong makipag-sosyalan."

   "Doesn't mean I like it."

   Born with a silver spoon but didn't want anything luxurious. Aba, Ice, kung ayaw mo, amin na lang!

   "Ladies and gentlemen, here to give us a welcome message, the dashing and young CEO of Heraldez Construction... Mr. Joseph Gabriel Heraldez!"

   Sabay kaming lumingon sa stage nang tawagin ng host si Josh. He stood up and waved at everyone bago umakyat sa stage. Lahat ay nagpalakpakan, lahat ay tinitingala siya. This was his world. Hindi ako makapaniwala na magkakagusto ang isang kagaya niya sa'kin. I wasn't trying to undervalue myself but I couldn't help but think that maybe this was too good to be true. Instead na mag-self-pity, I decided to neglect negative thoughts and just cheered on him. Masaya ako para sa kanya at proud na proud ako sa achievements niya.

   "Good evening everyone!" My heart was beating wildly when he started speaking. Grabe, gano'n katindi ang epekto niya sa'kin.

   "Hey, 'wag mo naman masyadong ipahalata na crush mo ang kuya ko," bulong ni Ice.