Beyond the Horizon of Love (Ryker Series #1)

BTHOL [41]

"Where are you confused, Ril? For what specific reason are you confused?"

I bent down and gently massaged my temple. My head hurts thinking about what could happen.

"I don't know," tanging nasabi ko na lamang.

"Is it about your ex?"

I slowly looked up at him. He never dared to ask about my ex or my family because he knew that topic was sensitive to me.

He licked his lower lip when he saw my reaction. "Does he... hurt you? Does he make you cry? What did he do to you?"

"We just talked," mabilis na sagot ko. "I gave him the closure that he had been wanting. I already told him everything."

"Does he want to reconcile?"

"Hindi ko alam," I replied. "I've been wanting to contact him. Pero hindi ko magawa. Hindi ko kaya."

"Do you..." He bit his lower lip before running his fingers through his hair. "...still love him?"

I saw how he looked away when I slowly nodded in response.

"What's stopping you from talking to him?" He asked, still not looking at the camera. "What's stopping you from talking to Sean?"

My lips parted in shock when he mentioned Sean's name. He knew? Alam niyang si Sean ang ex ko?

"How did you know?" I asked in shock.

"How would I not know?" tanong niya pabalik sa akin. "You kept your memories together for the whole three years that I've been with you. Tell me, Ril. How would I not know?"

"Ty..."

"Come on. I already knew everything. You didn't tell me directly, but in the whole three years of being with you, I found out everything about you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I know that you're avoiding that topic so bad that you don't want to talk about it. I know you're in the US to heal. That's why I promised myself to be with you because I know how hard what you've been going through."

For some unknown reason, tears gradually formed in the corners of my eyes. Umayos ako ng upo at napapaypay sa sarili dahil sa nararamdaman.

"I wanted to tell you this in person before I left but you seemed so exhausted that's why I decided not to," he told me. "Ril... you know that I like you, right?"

I swallowed and slowly nodded. Alam ko. Nararamdaman ko. Hindi man siya umamin sa akin ay hindi lingid sa kaalaman ko ang nararamdaman niya, tatlong taon na.

"Do you know why I remained as your friend instead of making a move on you?" he asked me. I remained silent. "It's because I know that I can't beat the love you have for him."

I could not open my mouth to speak. Akala ko noon kapag umamin si Tyler sa akin ay walang magiging epekto iyon sa akin pero ngayong sinasabi na niya ngayon sa akin ay para akong na-estatwa.

"That's why when you asked me to recommend you an engineer, I immediately told you about him. I played cupid for the person I secretly like for three years to the person she loved for six years. You can spot the difference by just hearing it, right? Three years versus six years, how can I beat that?"

"Tyler, you're an amazing friend. I value our friendship a lot..."

Tyler nodded. "I knew it wouldn't be easy to compete with the history you have with him."

"Ty, it's not about you not being enough or not being able to compete. It's just that... my heart still belongs to him. And I'm sorry for playing dumb. For acting as if I don't know about your feelings."