Girlfriends 7: Past, Present, and Forever

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nawala ang ngiti ni Sir Enriquez nang marinig nito ang sinabi niya. Umayos ito sa pagkakaupo ay ipinagsalikop ang mga kamay sa lamesa.

"I'm sorry, Engineer Alcambre. I think I didn't hear that right?"

"I'm rejecting the offer for the new project in Taguig, Sir," ulit niya sa mas mariing tono.

Umawang ang bibig nito at napainom ng tubig. Tila hindi ito makapaniwala sa narinig.

"What happened, Engineer? I thought we clearly went through the contract for this one? Do you need some changes?"

Umiling siya. "This is a personal decision, Sir. But I can suggest you some of my best engineers at the firm. I can provide all the initial layouts and floor plans. There's still one month before the construction starts."

Sumeryoso ang mukha nito. Of course, Sir Enriquez wouldn't let this go easily. At alam ni Wayne ang maaaring consequence ng gagawin niya. His name's credibility might be stained. But what would his name be if it wasn't for the woman she loved all these years?

Si Estrella Cassandra pa rin. Palagi.

"You know it's not that easy, Wayne. You were the head engineer of our properties. You can't just quit without giving me a valid reason. That's being unprofessional."

Tumango siya. He's getting the point. Pero desidido siya sa bagay na ito. If having all these would mean losing his reason why he started everything, nothing would make sense anymore. There would be no choices here dahil alam niya kung sino ang laging pipiliin.

He was so fucking scared when Cassandra left him on that event. Pagkatapos ay hindi na siya nito ginustong makausap. She's probably trying to make it easier for him, huh? Then she should know better. Because he wouldn't let her go like he did ten years ago! He would stick to her like a fucking glue!

"I'll pay for the contract, Sir. I understand if you'll probably hate me for this. But I really had to make this choice."

"Wayne," naging kaswal ang tono nito. "You're like a family to me. If you could tell me the reason, I might understand. You're my best engineer. Umpisa pa lang ay buo ang tiwala ko sa'yo. Do you think letting this project go will be worth it? Is it Yurika? Did you break up?"

Umiling siya. "We were never together, Sir."

Hindi kaagad ito nakasagot. Mukhang iyon ang unang pagkakataon na nakumpirma ang tungkol doon.

"So there's no reason for me to marry her," he kept a straight face. "I accepted your offer before because I want to take that risk and I want to earn your trust. But it doesn't have anything to do with your daughter, Sir."

Parang namroblema itong napakamot sa sentido. "Well, I actually thought..."

"On your event yesterday, I brought my girl... She was the only woman I'm dying to marry."

Kumunot ang noo nito. "Do you mean the model they were talking about?"

Tumango siya. "She was there. And actually, it didn't end well."

Napayuko ito at napailing. Marahas na napabuntong-hininga ito at nang mag-angat ng tingin sa kanya ay nasa mga mata na nito ang paumanhin.

"I'm sorry, son... I really didn't know. Only if Yurika told me, I wouldn't have..." maging ito ay tila nahihiya sa nangyari. "I didn't mean anything when I said that. I'm really sorry."

Tumango siya. Wala naman talagang kasalanan ito. Only that, Cassandra got the wrong impression. Talagang nagdududa pa ito sa kanya! Kung pwede nga lang niya itong itali sa kanya kaagad ay itatali na niya ito!