Surrender

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

Daniella's

After ng mala-telenobelang scene sa sala ay dito nanaman kami sa kwarto maghahasik ng kababalaghan. Agad kami nag-isip ng kung ano man na pwedeng gawin. Hindi naman pwedeng maghalikan lang kami the whole day diba? But I'm not against that idea.

Bago ko pa man irecommend kay Nick na mag make-out session na lang kami dito sa kwarto, napag-isipan niya na maglaro nalang kami ng Q and A. Alternately magtatanungan daw kami ng kahit ano pero kapag hindi daw maalala ng tinatanong may punishment daw.

"You have to kiss me or I have to kiss you"

According to him 'yan daw ang punishment kapag hindi makasagot sa tanong.

Parang in favor pa yata 'to sa akin

Para malaman kung sino ang mauuna sa pag-bato ng tanong, nag-decide kami na mag bato-bato-pick muna. As far as I can remember, hindi ko matandaan kung magaling nga ba ako dito or mas magaling si Nick. Parehas naman kaming may amnesia kaya fair naman siguro ang laban na 'to.

Inunat ko muna ang mga kamay ko at isa-isang pinatunog ang aking mga daliri habang tinititigan si Nick. Pagkatapos ng aking pekeng warm-up para sa bato-bato-pick of the century ay ako na ang kusang nag-bilang para mabigla siya. 

"1..2..3! Bato..Bato...Pick!"

I kept my sight on our palms that were either rock, paper or scissors. Parang natigil ang oras sa sandaling iyon. Tila nag slow-motion ang paligid ng nalaman na kung sino ang panalo.

"I...won?" Nagtatakang tanong ni Nick habang nakatingin sa kanyang kamay.

Paper vs. Scissors

"Yes you did. Hmp." I pouted. Well, its not of a big deal naman. I clapped my hands twice signalling him to start asking his questions. "Sige na ikaw ang unang magtatanong." Napalitan ng excitement ang inis dahil magsisimula na ang tanungan.

"Okay.. Where did we first meet?"

Agad naman akong napaisip. Saan nga 'ba? Hmmm...

"Sa school? 4th year college. Sa canteen. You were buying something and I was behind you because we were queueing for lunch. Tapos pagkatapos mong makabili nakita mo ko. Then you told me I'm pretty and asked for my number." pag-explain ko sa kanya. Kunwari naman siyang nag-isip at hinawak-hawakan pa ang kanyang baba.

"Did I really do that?"

Wait. Hindi Niya ba 'to matandaan?

"Hindi mo pala maalala!? Anong sense ng rules kung 'di naman natin malalaman kung tama ba yung sagot!" Padabog kong hinampas ang higaan at pagkatapos ay tumayo. He then grabbed my wrist.

"Sorry, love. Ganito nalang, I'll ask you what I don't remember then you do the same. Hopefully we get to answer them." Nagmamakaawa niyang sabi. I briefly rolled my eyes then went back to my position. Pinagpatuloy namin ang paglalaro.

"Sige, uhm.. Nasan pala tayo ngayon!? It's been a day and I don't even know where we are right now." Medyo pagalit kong tanong sa kanya. Ngayon ko lang na-realize na wala akong ka muwang-muwang kung nasaan kami ngayon.

"We're somewhere in Aklan, love. I asked my friend for help, thankfully he offered this resthouse. " Umusog naman siya at lumapit sa'kin. Nayakap nanaman siya at nasa gitna ako ng kanyang malulusog na mga hita. Pareho kaming nakatingin sa sliding door sa gilid ng kama.

The view was majestic.

Coconut trees filled the horizon. Shades of green filled the canvas called nature. Birds happily flapping their wings made their way to the veranda's railings. The sun gleamed only enough for me to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Napabaling naman ang atensyon ko sa lalaking nasa likuran ko. It's his turn to ask.

"Our first kiss?" Siya nanaman ang nag-tanong.

"4th year college. After 5 months of courting me, you told me to meet you sa isang mall. Tapos we became official, then you kissed me." Yep. As what I remembered Ito nga yung nangyari. Baka kulang lang sa details pero parang ganito nga yung nangyari.

"Hindi ko talaga 'yan maalala. Care to help me remember?" Napalingon naman ako. Bigla naman siyang nag pout. He was asking for me to kiss him. Aba't malandi rin pala 'tong amnesiac na 'to.I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Ako naman." Bigla naman ako napa-isip kung ano ang itatanong ko sa kanya. "When did you know that my brother was planning something...bad?" Curious talaga ako kung paano niya nalaman.I wanna know how dangerous our situation is para naman hindi ako mag padalos-dalos ng desisyon.

"When I woke up from coma, my friends helped me remember stuff. Like our wedding and how we treat each other before. Then they also told me how your brother tried to kill me." Humugot muna siya ng malalim na hinga at ipinagpatuloy ang sinasabi. "Then, I hired private investigators to fish for more information. They told me he was involved in a lot of illegal drug smuggling and human trafficking. He was also associated with someone who were not in good terms with my family."

"Sino?"

"Cadmus Ocampo."

Ang familliar ng name. Parang kilala ko ang taong 'to-

"Siya diba yung bagong asawa ng mom mo? I mean step-dad mo?" I nonchalantly said. Shit! "I'm sorry, Baka na offend kita." Ano ba naman kasi, I should remind myself to think twice before saying things. Argh!

"No, love, you didn't. Well, yeah, my step-dad hates my so much that he wants me dead. Now that my mom is gone, he just wants the company to be his." Tumango-tango naman ako sa mga sinabi niya, but I was at loss for words.

Thats why sangkot ang kuya ko sa aksidente namin ni Nick. Dahil sa step-dad niya. Pero bakit naman naisipan ng kuya ko na gawin 'to sa'kin. Sa sarili niyang kapatid?

"So, wait, ano naman kinalaman ng kuya ko dito? Bakit niya 'to ginagawa? Is he being manipulated by that Cadmus?"

"Regarding your brother, he voluntarily signed up for this, he hired people to track me down and continue with his plans.Cadmus did nothing but finance his plans. One thing is for sure, he badly wants me six feet below the ground." I saw him shake his head due to the absurdity of what Cadmus wants to happen.

Nepo Corporation is a big company. I might not remember the specifics of the scope of their company's assets, I am sure na malaking kompanya ito. That old hag would probably not have any interest in it kung 'di niya naman ito nakikita ng value. But the problem is, it wasn't his to own in the first place. At alam ng lahat kung sino ang nararapat na mag-may-ari nito.

Muling nanahimik ang buong kwarto. Napabuntong-hininga ako sa sobrang daming nalaman ngayon. Pero importante 'to para sa sitwasyon namin ngayon.

Ayoko nang mamuhay sa kasinungalingan at maging ligtas mula sa pahamak.

Ngayon na nandito na ang taong pinakamamahal ko, mas pipiliin ko na malaman ang mapait na katotohanan. Kahit malagay pa sa panganib ang buhay ko.

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Thanks for reading!