I FELL FOR MY UNEXPECTED HUSBAND

Chapter 38: Closing Doors

ANdrew's POV

Hindi pa ako tapos kumatok when the door opened to my face. May bigla namang umakap sakin. Hindi na ako nagulat nang malaman kong si Chantal yun.

“Drew, I’m so glad you came, akala ko talaga nananaginip lang ako when you called na pupunta ka” nahihikbi niyang sabi while still tangled to me.

I stood there frozen. I couldn’t move. I had to make sure all I’m feeling now are correct and appropriate. Kailangan ko pakiramdaman bawat kilos ko, cause I might regret the decisions I am about to take.

“Pwede bang pumasok?” I asked.

“Sure pasok ka, dun tayo sa sofa…I thought hindi na mangyayari ‘to Drew, you and me like this” Chantal in her old happy tone.

At naupo na kami sa sofa. She sat next to me.

“I came because I think we both owe this to each other, to talk”

“yeah, we do, we really have some catching up to do, mabuti naman at natauhan ka na at si Marga”

Nagpipigil akong masigawan si Chantal, keep calm Andrew “Let’s not involve Marga, it will just be about you and me muna. I have a lot of questions in my head”

“Okay, I’m sorry” at natahimik na siya.

If I don’t do this now, I dunno if I can still do this…

“Chantal, 3 years ago, we were so inlove, we do a lot of things together, finish each other’s sentences, travel the world together, halos magkarugtong na ang sikmura natin, our world revolved around each other,” natatawa at nahihiya ko pang sabi. Keep calm Andrew, bilin ko sa sarili ko.

“Everything fits back then, that’ s why I proposed.” Natahimik ako habang inaalala ang gabing yun ng 23rd birthday ko, “but I didn’t get an answer, I was left there on the eve of my 23rd birthday, hanging, alone, you left me, can I ask the question now?” at tumingin ako sa kanya.

“Why? Why’d you have to leave?”

The room was silent; it took awhile for Chantal to compose herself, may namumuo na kasing mga luha sa gilid ng mga mata niya.

“I was young and immature back then Andrew, your state they never stopped at making me feel how little I am for you, na ikaw ang Amerika at ako ang Pilipinas. Napakalaki mo, at ako, I’m a striving artist, graduate nga ako ng isang prominent na art school pero paraket raket lang ako back then”  umiiyak na siya.

“I remember how you could afford to take me to Macy’s and get me the Burberry or Louis Vuitton I dreamed of having for Christmas or my birthday, at ako? Sa bangketa sa Central Park with a $2 T-shirt for Andrew’s graduation”.  Naalala ko kung ganu ako natutuwa na noon sa mga maliliit na gestures ni Chantal, hindi ko ni minsan inisip na she can feel so little when I can give her the world right at her fingertips.

“That’s why I had to go Andrew, I have to prove something, para pag hinarap moko sa mundo na meron ka, hindi sobrang liit ng tingin ko sa sarili ko, I can say na I’m accomplished in my own rite. Nung natanggap ako sa Milan, I grabbed the opportunity kasi gusto ko may marating ako, I wanted to be a well-renowned illustrator o fabricator para maging proud ka sakin, kayo ng family mo, na hindi moko ikakahiya”

Habang nagkukuwneto si Chantal eh para akong sinasaksak ng mga maliliit na kutsilyo.

“Chantal, bakit panay ikaw ng ikaw? Nasaan ako doon? Hindi mo man lang ako tinanong, hindi mo ba naisip na if you talked to me I could’ve waited or we could’ve changed where our relationship was going? Pero sinaktan moko. You chose to break my heart.”

“No Andrew, I didn’t. You were all I thought of nung nasa Milan ako. Look at this” at inabot niya sakin ang portfolio niya.

I opened it one by one, slowly, carefully.

I couldn’t utter a single word. It kept leading me to the painting I  brought, everything she drew, she painted, was anything that has to do with me, how the first house I built looked, my first skyscraper, my first car, the picture of me sound asleep and she even had drawings of me and my family.

“Andrew, it was you all along, lahat ng ginawa ko for you, ikaw at ikaw lang. Marga couldn’t love you the way I do” niyakap ako ni Chantal ng sobrang higpit, the kind of hug na pakiramdam ko eh gusto niya akong kumbinsehin that everything she’s saying is true.

That’s when it hit me.

“Chantal…listen to me…infatuation mo lang ako, I’m not some trophy price you want to win, wala kang kelangan gawin to prove na you belonged with me, kasi sapat ka na the way you are noon”

“Sabihin mo nang infatuation kita o kahit na obsessed na ako sayo kagaya ng sinasabi ni Lyka sakin, you belong to me Andrew, I worked so hard to be where I am now, just for you”

“Hindi ko kinailangan yan Chantal, I was happy with the $2 shirt from Central Park, I never asked you for anything more, you were more than enough, but if you feel like you always want to chase something  to prove to the world how worthy you are of me, the it’s not gonna work, we never were gonna work, you will always feel inferior, and I can’t make you happy”

“At si Marga, siya ba yung babeng hinahanap mo, you have got to be kidding me Andrew” humahagulgol na sabi niya.

Keep Calm Andrew. I have to keep calm, prevent my nerves from walking out the door.

“Si Marga, I fell inlove with her just as she wasn’t trying. It may sound unfair with the feats you’ve done for the love you’re telling me , but that’s how it is, I’m sorry. She loved me even when I was so broken, she picked up the pieces of my broken person even if it hurt her. Siya na ang buhay ko Chantal and I intend for her to be that way. Hindi ko kayang nakikita siyang nasasaktan.“

“Pagkatpaos ng lahat na ginawa ko for you, para maging bagay ako sayo, hindi pa din ako sapat? Andrew naman…” hindi ko na alam panu patahanin si Chantal.

“I’m sorry Chantal, wala na akong pwede ibgay sayo”

“So ganun nalang yun, ibabasura mo lahat. LAHAT YUN!!!”

“I guess, Yes, it ends here,”  inabot ko sa kanya ang painting na bigay niya sakin.

Tumayo na ako nang pigilan niya ako, pinulupot niya ang mga braso niya around my thighs, hindi ako makalakad.

“Don’t go Andrew, I love you, Don’t go…please” todo na ang iyak niya.

“Please let go Chantal, let go” at tinanggal ko ang mga braso niya sa pagkapulupot nito sakin.

Agad naman ako naglakad palayo sa kanya to the door of her condo.

“You haven’t seen the last of me Andrew, baliw na ako sa…” were the last words I heard from her before I shut close the door.

Nabunutan ako ng tinik. Ngayon I  can really say that I am whole again. Pwede na ako mag-umpisa with Marga and we can have a family. Wala na akong setbacks, hidden baggage, lahat pinakawalan ko na.