I Knew I Loved You

Chapter 38

 I then resumed to work. Ilang oras din akong naging busy dahil hindi lamang trabaho rito sa Cebu ang inaatupag ko. May ilang projects din ako sa Manila.

My work is done. Pumunta naman na si Aldrei sa office ko. "Tara na?" 

Sumakay na ako sa sasakyan ni Aldrei. He then started the engine. "Baka magalit si Miguel dahil hindi ka niya nakasama ngayon," pabiro niyang sinabi pero may halong sarkastiko sa tono niya. 

Umiling na lamang ako at tumawa ng pilit. "He knows about this already. No need to worry."

Sa Starbucks kami nagkape. He was the one who's going to order so I found a seat for Aldrei and I. 

"What do you want to order?" tanong niya sa akin. 

"Green tea frappe, venti." tumango siya at dumeretso na sa cashier. 

 Habang nag iintay, tinext ko naman si Henry. Baka magtampo... mahirap na. 

Ako:

   Dito na kami. After nito, uuwi na rin.

Ilang segundo lang ang nakakalipas, nagreply na kaagad. Bilis ah!

Henry:

   Okay. Huwag kang magpagabi. I'll see you later at the hotel.

 Halos manlaki mata ko roon. Lumapit na naman si Aldrei at umupo muna saglit. I tried to act normal. Huminga ako nang malalim. I shifted my weight and faced him. I cleared my throat.

"So," ani Drei. "Ngayon lang ulit tayo nagkasama. Busy ako masyado sa project natin while you are... busy with someone, I think?"

I forced a laugh. "Hindi naman. I just don't really stress myself too much at work so I still have time to go out with Grace."

"I'm talking about Miguel," aniya. "Kamusta naman ang paglilibot mo sa Cebu? I'm really busy at work nowadays, kaya I don't have time for leisure."

"Well," sabi ko. "Cebu is indeed a beautiful place! Lalo na sa Alegria. You should visit there too! Pati 'yung ibang lugar dito sa Cebu."

He chuckled. "Well..."

"You're really workaholic. Why don't you just relax, unwind at least for one day para naman kahit papaano ay hindi ganoon kabigat ang mga dinadala mong problema?" Nag-aalala kong sabi.

He sighed deeply. "Hindi ko pwedeng pabayaan ang project na ito. Ito na lamang ang tanging magsasalba sa kompanya namin. A few companies are still working with us, pero most of the big companies we were working with ay hindi na sa amin kumukuha ng supplies."

I held his hand. "If you need anything, just tell me. Maybe I could help."

He smiled at me. "Thank you. Let's stop discussing about business matters, mag kuwento ka naman sa akin! Kung anong nangyari na, may bago ka bang natuklasan... anything!"

Inihatid naman na sa amin ang frappe na inorder. Tinuloy naman namin ang kuwentuhan.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "By the way, I believe Henry is alive!" masigla kong sabi. His eyebrows furrowed, confused.

"That's i-impossible-"

"Yeah, I thought so too!" masigla kong sabi. "Si Miguel ay si Henry! All this time, I'm spending my life with him everyday, without me noticing it."

"You might just be saying that kasi nakikita mo si Henry sa kaniya. Gabb, b-baka naman nagkakamali ka lang," aniya.

Umiling ako. "No, Drei. He really is Henry! Lahat ng mga sinabi niya sa akin, tugma sa lahat ng nangyari. But the only problem is... may mga taong bumugbog sa kaniya noon. He also had a shot sa may bandang braso! I wonder what the motive of the people who did this to him is?"