YANA's POV
I smiled widely on the camera when I saw Athan positioned it upfront. Agad namang nagsilapitan ang mga pinsan ko at nakisali na rin.
"One! Two! Three!! Say cheese!!!" Sigaw ni Athan kaya mabilis naming sinunod. Matapos nun ay kanya-kanya na kaming nagsilapitan sa gawi ni ate Fel na busy sa kakausap kay Silver na kapatid niya.
"Nasa'n nga pala si Tim? Bakit wala, Yan?" napatingin ako kay ate Sisa na siyang nagtanong noon.
"M-May ginagawa lang po." Tumango-tango naman siya at nilapitan na si Kuya Aire. I don't really know how long I can keep up with this. They keep on looking for Timothy and I had to build a lie because if they know that I am getting married to a Chinese man, alam kong hindi magiging maganda ang reaksyon nila. I have to avoid making a hocus before the marriage day because my cousins will surely say no.
Nang matapos ang araw na iyon ay nauna na akong umalis. It was already 7 in the evening when I received a text from mom. Sabi niya ay kailangan raw ng kasama ni Jian Lin Wang sa isang event, and as his fiancé ako raw dapat ang gumawa nun. Few minutes after receiving her text, I received another message from an unregistered number which I concluded was owned by Jian Lin. Dahil na rin sa nagpakilala naman siya.
Jian Lin: Let's meet in San Cai, we need to meet tonight for tomorrow's event.- Jian Lin Wang
Sinunod ko na rin ang gusto ni mommy at magpunta na ng San Cai dahil yun ang sinabi ni Jian Lin sa text niya. I parked my car and when I entered the restaurant, I immediately saw Jian Lin occupying a table for two table.
"Umm, hi." I was hesitant on what to call him. Should I call him Jian? Or Lin? Or Jian Lin? His gaze lifted on me kaya mabilis akong umayos ng tayo. Mabilis siyang tumayo at ngumiti ng pagkatamis-tamis sa akin. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin at umupo na sa harapan niya. Ngayon ko lang ulit siya nakita. It's been two weeks since we met with our family at dalawang linggo na rin mula nung mapalad na gabi sa beach.
That night, something changed. To me, I should say. On how I saw him, as a person. Kasi, nung gabing yun... mas nakilala ko siya. Before talking to him, I was eager to be mean to him because I don't know him, not knowing that he was a good person. He made me laugh and we shared stories. He was very talkative and I was listening to him carefully. Nalaman kong sobrang yaman pala ng pamilya niya. He made me feel comfortable kaya naman ay di ko maiwasang magpasalamat dahil kahit papaano, alam kong hindi magiging impyerno ang magiging buhay ko sa hinaharap. Kasi tanggap ko na, eh. I already accepted my fate. That... I will never be with the one I truly love.
"Hello, Yana. Thanks for coming. Order muna tayo." Jian Lin said smiling again. Marahan akong umiling dahil kagagaling ko lang sa kainan.
"I'm full. Kumain na ako kina kuya kanina, eh." I honestly told him.
"Oh. Okay. Ako nalang, I haven't eaten." Nakagat ko ang pang-ibabang labi ko dahil sa sinabi niya. Now, I'm guilty.
"Alright. I'll just have a cake. Strawberry cake." Bawi ko at tipid siyang nginitian. He looked at me with amusement before calling the server. Agad namang naibigay ang orders namin at nagsimula na kaming kumaing dalawa. As usual, Jian Lin kept on talking. Minsan ay natatawa nalang ako dahil puro kalokohan ang sinasabi niya.
"Wala ka bang boyfriend, Yana?" Napatingin ako kay Jian Lin dahil sa tanong niya sa akin. Napakurap-kurap ako at prinosesa ang tanong niyang yun. Paano napunta dito ang tanong niya?
"Umm, wala... wala naman." I answered him. Wala na. Kasi, iniwan ko na. Pero parang ako ang nawalan.
"That's good. Akala ko kasi napilitan ka talaga ng sobra eh." Tumango-tangong sabi niya pa. I wanted to disagree, I wanted to say na 'napilitan ako'. Napilitan lang ako. Pero hindi ko maaring gawin iyon. Because if I will do that, I would be breaking my words.
