"You know your way out, Janine." Pag uli ko pa sa binitawang salita.
"Huh?" Gulat niyang tanong. Marahil ay hindi niya na-anticipate 'yon.
Tinignan ko siya matapos magpakawala ng malalim na buntong hininga.
I looked away when I saw pain in her eyes. Hindi ko pa rin talaga kaya kapag ganitong nasasaktan siya.
At first, I thought she was fine. It has been four years, after all. People move on. They rebuild. I did, in my own way, or at least I tried to.
"Please," she held both of my hand and put them on both of her cheeks. "Baby, please..."
The longer I watched her, the more I noticed the little things. The way her jaw tightened just slightly when she called me the way she did. The way her fingers wrapped around my hands, it was like she needed to hold on to something.
Maybe she wasn’t doing as well as I thought. Maybe time hadn’t made everything disappear for her either. She was sitting there, holding herself together with practiced grace, trying not to let anything slip.
Looking back to what our relationship was like before gives me chills down my spine. We shared our good times and the bad ones. We bonded and cried together.
At sa lahat ng pwedeng maalala, bumabalik lahat ng sakit noong mga panahong pinigilan ko siya na iwan ako.
She stood up and reached for me more. It was as if facing me was not enough for her. It was as if she needed more of me.
"Please, wag mo nang pahirapan pa yung sarili mo." Binawi ko ang dalawang kamay at tumayo papalapit sa pintuan.
I don't want to make things worse for the both of us. Masyado pa ring malalim yung sugat na iniwan niya.
Imbis na lumabas, sa akin siya lumapit at yumakap. She hugged me tighly as if I'll fade away if she won't hold me.
Hinayaan ko siya na yumakap sakin at umiyak. She kept on saying sorry and telling me that nothing has changed.
Umupo kami sa sofa nung kumalma siya. Hindi pa rin ako nagsalita.
"Sandali lang," iniayos niya ang puwesto at humiga sa sofa gamit ang mga hita ko bilang unan niya. "Last na 'to, pasensya na."
Hinawakan niya ang braso ko at pinadulas ang kamay niya sa kamay ko.
Kinulong niya ang kamay ko sa dibdib niya at kamay.
Minutes passed and she fell asleep.
Nagkaron ako ng pagkakataon na titigan siya habang mahimbing na natutulog.
The curled eyelashes, the jawline, her thin lips, pointed nose. Those features were easy for me to kiss back then.
Tinanggal ko sa kapit niya ang kamay ko at marahang pinaglaruan ko ang buhok niya.
Sa mga napag uusapan namin ng mga pinsan niya, hindi sila nagkulang sa pagbigay ng impormasyon tungkol kay Janine.
Nabawi niya ang shares niya at shares ng daddy niya. She was able to build a mansion in Bulacan. Malolos Bulacan, if I'm not mistaken.
The moment I first heard the news, something warm and overwhelming filled my chest. I didn’t expect it to affect me like that. But it did. And for a second, maybe even longer, I felt like a proud wife or something close to it. Masaya akong nagawa niyang tuparin ang mga pangarap niya para sa sarili at para sa pamilya.
It wasn’t my achievement. It wasn’t my story to tell. But hearing that something good had happened to her, something big and meaningful, made my heart swell in a way I couldn’t explain.
BINABASA MO ANG
CAPTIVATED
General FictionEMPIRE SERIES #1 How do two hearts that once beat the same find their way back after everything broke? And if you're already okay now, living fully without them, is going back still worth it? This is a story of what stays, what fades, and what love...
