Owned by a Billionaire (Monteverde Series 1)

15

Kinabukasan nang magmulat ako ng mata ay wala na akong katabi. Ang sakit ng katawan ko. I pulled the blanket towards my body and stood up from the bed.

The scene yesterday replayed on my mind again. Bumilis na naman ang tibok ng puso ko. A smile was threatening to appear on my lips.

My eyes widened when I saw the red stain on the bedsheet. Wala na sa kuwarto 'yong mga damit ko kagabi kaya nagbihis na ako. I changed the bedsheet and discarded the old one.

Lumabas ako ng kuwarto, Aaron wasn't in the living room. Tiningnan ko sa kitchen pero wala rin naman. Baka lumipat sa kuwarto niya'yon at do'n tinuloy ang tulog.

I decided to go outside to have some fresh air.. Maglalakad na sana ako papunta kina Aling Pacing nang may marinig akong lagaslas ng tubig sa likod-bahay. Naglakad ako patungo ro'n.

I froze when I saw Aaron sitting in front of a bucket of water while scrubbing my—

My cheeks flushed as I snatched my underwear away from him.

"You're awake. Good morning," gulat na sabi niya.

Namumula parin ang pisngi ko. "Why do you have my underwear?" I demanded.

He knitted his brows. "Nilalabhan ko, obviously," he answered casually.

"Hindi ka marunong maglaba!" I pointed out.

He tilted his head and regarded me with an amused expression. "That's why I'm trying."

I didn't answer so he cocked his head to the floral underwear I was still holding. "Give me that, Cassidy. I'm not yet done with it." He smirked while raising an eyebrow.

My cheeks turned red. "No!"

He chuckled."It's not like we haven't done it yet."

I ran inside the house and hung my underwear on the tiny wire inside my room. Lumabas ako ng kuwarto and saw him grinning. "You look happy." I commented.

He shrugged and headed towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast for us.

There was a loud knock on the door. It was followed by Aling Pacing's shrill voice. "Tao po."

I opened the door and greeted her. She smiled at me. "Magandang umaga, hija."

"Magandang umaga rin po. Tuloy po muna kayo."

She shook her head. "Hindi na Cassidy. Gusto ko lang naman imbitahin kayo ni Aaron mamaya sa bahay. Darating kasi ang anak ko na galing sa Estados Unidos. Saluhan niyo kami mamaya."

"Sasabhihan ko ho si Aaron."

"Salamat, anak. Aasahan ko kayo." Nginitian niya ako at umuwi na sa kanila. Sinarado ko ang pinto at bumalik sa kusina. Nagluluto ng sinangag si Aaron.

"Who was at the door?" he questioned.

"Aling Pacing. Do'n na raw tayo mag-dinner sa kanila mamaya dahil darating ang anak niya from US."

"Okay." Tinuloy niya lang 'yong ginagawa niya. Silence embraced us. I sat at the plastic stool while staring at his back. He finished cooking in a couple of minutes. He transferred the fried rice in a huge bowl and started frying bacon and eggs.

Hindi pa namin pinag-uusapan 'yong nangyari kagabi, and I can feel that he's evading the topic.

Hinango niya na 'yong bacon and egg sa kawali at nilagay sa isang plato. Inayos ko na ang hapag-kainan at umupo na kami.

"Let's eat." He said before he transferred some rice on my plate. I stared at him for a second too long.

"Cassi, is there something wrong?" He reached out to hold my hand.

"May iniisip lang ako," I assured him. He stood up from his chair and scooted closer. "Look, if this is about last night—"

"This is about last night," I admitted and sighed. I started fidgeting with my fingers. I don't know what to feel and how to react when I'm around him anymore. I want him to tell me again that he loves me. I want him to assure me that I'm not just a passing fancy.

He cupped my face but I averted my gaze. "Cassidy, I won't apologize for what happened last night, because I'm not feeling even a bit sorry about it. Last night was the most wonderful night of my life," he said, sincerity dripping from his voice.

I looked into his eyes and saw mixed emotions.

"Cassi, pananagutan kita," he said, so softly that it almost made my eyes water. "I'll marry you."

Umiling-iling ako. "No, Aaron. I'm not requiring you to marry me just because you screwed me last night. I enjoyed it too, but I am not forcing you into a commitment."

A scowl materialized on his perfect face. "Why would you even say that?"

"I don't want you to feel obligated to marry me." I whispered almost inaudibly.

"Pananagutan kita kahit anong mangyari, Cassidy. Hindi lang dahil obligado ako kung hindi dahil gusto ko." He answered.

"I will marry you not because I should, but because I want to!"

Hindi ako sumagot, nanatili lang akong nakayuko. Matapos ang ilang sandal ng nakabibinging katahimikan, naramadaman ko ang kamay niya na hinahawakan ang kamay ko. "I love you and I don't want to fucking lose you, Cassidy."

The kitchen was filled with our heavy breathing. "I can't handle the thought of you leaving me," he continued. 'Don't do it again."

I was taken aback by his confession. "I thought it was my imagination last night."

Nahihiyang napatingin ako sa sahig. It was real. I wasn't hallucinating.

I felt his arms around me. He kissed the top of my head. "I'm in love with you," His voice was gentle and tender.

I hugged him back."I know you heard everything I said last night. But still I want to tell you that I'm sorry for all the pain I caused." I spoke.

He sighed. "I've been thinking about it this morning. You made up too many lies so I could turn my back on you completely and pursue my lifelong dream. I wanted to hate you for that, but I can't. For the last four years I've lived with this emptiness and hatred for you, but I can't bring myself to be angry now that I've heard your reason."

My tears were threatening to fall. "I missed you,"

He wiped my tears and kissed my nose. "I missed you, too. I missed this. God, I missed us."

I was about to kiss him when I remembered something. "You had a girlfriend at NYC. That's why I stopped going there to see you." Pumunta ako dati sa building niya at nakita ko siyang may kasamang babae. "My private investigator said that her name was Aliya Suarez. And that she was your girlfriend."

He took a deep breath. "Mom saw how depressed I was so she started matchmaking me with different girls. I liked Aliya. She asked me to give our relationship a shot so I did. But it never worked out. We broke up after a month because even though I liked her, she could tell that I was still stuck with you."

I looked into his eyes and I could tell that he was being honest. He smiled and cupped my face so he could kiss me. "Can we have a do-over?"

And without any doubt, I nodded.