My Boyfriend is a Freak (Published under Pop Fiction)

42: Vren

The next time I see that Chase guy, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. And a fist on the face, for good measure.

What's his deal, anyway? Alam naman niyang may boyfriend si Mira. If he isn't the world's biggest jerk, sending my girlfriend flowers like he had the right to do so...

"Sir Vren, bakit po ganyan ang itsura mo? Para pong gusto mong manapak."

Kung hindi pa nagsalita ang sekretarya ko ay hindi ko pa namalayang nasa harap na pala ako ng aking opisina. I was so engrossed in my spiteful thoughts towards Mira's stupid college friend that it took Lally's strident voice to bring me back to my senses.

I ignored her question and instead, handed her the bouquet of tulips I was supposed to surprise Mira with. "Here, take these."

Lally gasped. "Para po sa akin 'to, sir?"

If it weren't for my sour mood, I would've laughed at her facial expression. My secretary looked the way someone might after being told they'd be given a million dollars for absolutely no reason at all.

"Maybe yes, maybe no." I shrugged. "But what's important is that they're definitely yours to take now."

****

Thinking about Mira accepting that bouquet of flowers from her dipwad of a friend made me feel like shit, so I ordered Lally to cancel all of my appointments and spent the entire afternoon moping in my office. I even sent my Grey Light friends a text message saying, "Blue Cavern at 10. Drinks on me," because let's face it, a situation like this deserves a glass of whiskey or two.

About an hour before the workday ended, I heard a knock on my office door.

"Come in," I said, still without any trace of enthusiasm.

The door opened, revealing Mira.

"Vren," she began, "tungkol sa bouquet na nakita mo kanina —"

"I don't wanna hear about those goddamned flowers or that friend of yours, Mira," I said, cutting her line short. "Just leave."

"Vren naman..." my girlfriend trailed off, her expression that of dismay. "I'm sorry, okay? Alam kong mali na tinanggap ko —"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" I sighed. "Please leave me alone; I'm not in the mood to talk about it right now."

"Hindi ako aalis dito hangga't hindi mo ako pinapakinggan," she replied. She looked me in the eye, her mouth set in a hard line.

"Fine." I stood up. "Then I'll be the one to leave. Can you go home on your own later? I have plans."

"Teka, Vren, saan ka pupunta?" Mira watched, looking appalled, as I walked past her.

"None of your business." I gave her an unfeeling glance before shutting the door behind me, leaving her alone in my office.

****

"Hey, Andrei. What brought you here?" Bella gave me a warm smile as I entered her room. She looked a lot better than how she did when I last saw her, and for that I'm glad.

"Nothing. I just wanted to check on you, that's all." I grinned at her. "How are you?"

"For someone who has only a couple of months left to live, I think I'm doing fine." She let out a soft laugh.

"That's not funny," I chastised. "Just stop... stop acting like you're on a deadline, okay?"

"But why? I am on a deadline." Muli siyang tumawa. "Besides, the only alternative to joking about it is to cry nonstop about it instead. And frankly, I don't have the energy to spare for that."