Lumulutang pa rin sa kawalan ang aking isip nang bumaba sa may kalakihang yate. Happy, surprised, nervous, all of it at once. Mixed emotions, I must say.
The wedding wasn't planned. It wasn't even discussed, really. One minute we were just talking on the pier, the next, Janine was calling it fate and flagging down a yacht like it was a taxi.
The air smelled like a mixture of fuel and salt. Our eyes kept on locking with one another. She would subtly show a smile, trying so hard to stop it.
Now that it's over, I feel everything at once. I feel terrified and light and full and slightly out of my body.
I catch myself smiling for no reason and then suddenly wondering what we just did. My thoughts are scattered. I can't focus.
I feel like I'm floating through the day. But underneath all the noise, there's this quiet thrum that says something beautiful just started, and I don't need to have it all figured out.
I'm all over the place, but for the first time, it feels like exactly where I'm supposed to be.
Pinasalamatan namin ang lahat ng kasama. Ganon na lang din ang tuwa sa mga mata ni Janine nang banggitin ang tungkol sa kasal.
Napatitig ako kay Aubrey nang kausapin siya ni Janine.
She seem fine to me. Even though Janine mentioned that Aubrey has been acting so different lately.
"Please have courage to be tough and face Nathalie." Sambit ni Janine kay Aubrey. "It's been so long." Dagdag pa nito.
Aubrey nodded but she didn't say anything. Lumapit ito sa akin bago mahigpit na yumakap.
"Congratulations," she whispered gently.
Gusto ko rin sanang pag sabihan siya tungkol kay Nathalie pero ayaw ko nang makisali pa. Isa pa, it's her decision to not say anything about it so I need to respect it.
Nang makabalik sa sasakyan, sunod-sunod ang naging tawag kay Janine. She turned her phone off.
Nang makarating sa mansiyon niya, nakatayo malapit sa sofa ang mga kamag-anak niya. From her, their eyes went down on me. Slowly, they all glared at Janine's hand on my waist. Kalaunan, ang mga tingin ay napukol sa aking kamay.
Bahagya ko pang itinago ang kamay ko but I just can't do it. Masyadong gulat sa mga bisitang hindi namin alam na narito pala.
"You are all here..." Janine stated, nodding a couple of times. "My wife needs to rest." She added.
At mula doon, wala akong narinig na kahit anong ingay. Kita ko ang pagkadismaya nilang lahat. Nang muling mapukol sa akin ang tingin, nakita ko ang pag-irap na ginawa ng Tita niya. It was Aubrey's mom.
Walang nagsalita noong hinatak ako ni Janine at dinala sa kuwarto namin. She kept on releasing deep breaths and she looks worried.
"Don't think too much about me. I can face them. Sabihin nila, duwag yung asawa mo." Sambit ko sa kanya.
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't beg. But something in the way she looked at me felt like a quiet plea to let it go.
"They will only say mean words." She said trying to make me sit on our bed. "Please, baby..." she added.
It was as if she was trying to protect me from something I couldn't see. I kept telling her it was okay, that I needed to do this, that I wanted to know every part of her life, not just the safe ones.
Janine looked at me like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Her eyes were full of hesitation, the kind that holds back more than just words.
"I won't be affected by it. I'm your wife already. May magagawa pa ba sila doon?"
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...
