"iniiwasan mo ba ako?" napahawak si elle sa dibdib niya dahil sa gulat, her eyes widened and she cursed under her breath.
"bakit may utang ba ako sayo para iwasan kita?" elle tried to joke pero hindi pa rin ngumiti si brent.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes elle." Seryosong sabi ni brent, ngumiti si elle
"I'm not in the mood to talk, wala akong oras brent." Lalong kumunot ang noo ni brent.
"Yung presentation, tapos ko na, reviewhin mo nalang yung parte mo, tapos, tapos na." sabi ni elle at nagsimulang maglakad palayo.
Pero hinigit ni brent ang kamay niya, causing her to lose balance and brent hugged her. Elle cursed, praying na hindi maramdaman ni brent ang pintig ng puso niya.
"I'm sorry if I ever did anything wrong elle, patawarin mo na ako." bulong ni brent, and God, it took every inch of decency in elle's body not to hug brent back and tell him na everything is going to be fine, instead elle swallowed the lump in her throat,
"brent tama na." she said, tumingin si brent sakanya, confusion written all over his face.
"hulog na hulog na ako brent" she started, looking up at the ceiling to prevent the tears from falling "wag naman ganito, may grace pa eh, ayoko ng ganito brent." she said, lumuwag ang hawak ni brent sa kamay ni elle and his jaw was wide open. Elle took that as an opportunity to run, she didn't look back, but she hoped brent would run after her.
He didn't.
Nakangiting lumabas si elle sa starbucks, in her hand is an envelope, sumahod na si elle, mababayaran na niya si rhenz.
"gusto mo ba malaman kung bakit iba si grace?" nakasandal si cj sa kotse niya, he was wearing shorts and a hoodie.
"grace never gave up on brent, she didn't stop even when he told him to"
"kung nandito ka para pagsabihan ako, lumalayo na ako okay?" sabi ni elle kay cj, pero hinarangan niya ito.
"mag-usap tayo elle." sabi ni cj, elle inhaled deeply, closing her fists.
"ano pa bang gusto mo cj? Lalayo na nga diba, sinasaktan ko na nga sarili ko eh, ano pa bang gusto mo? Mag transfer ako?" elle sarcastically said.
"you will never be grace." sabi ni cj, napasabunot si elle sa sarili niya, she groaned in frustration.
"ALAM KO OKAY? I CAN NEVER COMPARE TO GRACE, HINDI AKO SI GRACE, HINDI AKO PAMALIT KAY GRACE. HINDI KO SIYA MAPAPANTAYAN" elle shouted, halata sa mata ni cj ang gulat. elle took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"I want to risk everything for brent, I want to be able to love him, pero ang daming pumipigil sa akin, ang daming pumipigil sa amin. Titigilan ko na nga diba? Bakit nandito ka pa? Para ipamukha sa akin? Hindi ako tanga cj, alam ko yung tama, lalayo na nga ako diba?" elle asked, her voice full of anger.
"Gets ko naman na kinasal sila, gets ko naman yun. Lalayo na ako cj, patapusin mo lang yung presentation, papalipat na ako." she pleaded, kumunot ang noo ni cj.
"Anong kinasal?" he asked, elle's eyes softened.
"diba kaya ayaw niyo na mapalapit kami kasi kasal si brent?" elle asked, umiling si cj.
"Hindi sila kinasal elle, Grace was never the bride."
