The Antiquity of Us (La Fortuna Series #2)

Kabanata 33

Kabanata 33

Killer

Hindi ko alam kung sa'n ako tutungo. Ang tanging alam ko lang ay gusto ko nang lumabas sa club na 'yon dahil kung isasantabi ko pa 'tong nararamdaman ko ay baka nakagawa na ako ng malaking eskandalo.

That fucking bastard! He can kiss whoever the fuck he wants but for the love of God, he should've kept his eyes away from me while doing the deed!

My mind replayed what happened and every time I did, the brushing of his lips against her became clearer and clearer in my mind. I could remember how the girl encircled her arms around his neck so that she could pull him closer. I could remember how the liquor in his rocks glass almost spilled on the floor below because of the way they pressed against each other. At kung paano ko naaalala ang lahat ng 'to ay labas na sa akin.

"Why did you leave?"

Nakahilig ako sa railings ng deck nang lingunin ko ang nakangising mukha ni Atlas. We were at the highest floor of the cruise ship. Dahil walang glass window na magp-protekta sa 'kin sa ihip ng hangin, agad na sumabog ang buhok ko sa bawat hagupit nito sa 'king mukha. Sinikop ko 'yon at ipinirmi sa kanan kong balikat.

"Why did you follow me?" I asked chillingly.

"Hindi na ba ako puwedeng pumunta rito sa deck?"

"This is not as fun as flirting and kissing your girls at the club."

Dahil ilang minuto akong napag-isa rito bago siya dumating ay bahagya ko nang nakalma ang sarili ko. Like me, he propped his back against the railings, too. Our eyes bore on the midnight sky above us. Mas gusto ko ang ganitong kulay ng kalangitan. Itim. I was more familiar with it than the blue shade that it showcases when it's daylight. Darkness had always been my natural habitat, anyway.

"You saw it?" patay-malisya niya.

"Well maybe, if you didn't act so obvious about it, then I wouldn't have noticed." I snorted. "Do you do that all the time?"

"What?"

"Kiss another girl while looking at a girl you used to kiss."

Narinig ko ang malalim niyang paghinga. "No... not at all."

The fire in my heart ignited. Paano niya nagagawang magpanggap na parang wala lang 'to lahat? Na parang hindi ako nasasaktan sa mga ginagawa niya? He glanced at me on purpose earlier and we both know that! I don't understand why he did it but it was a fucking slap in the face. Hindi niya naman kailangang ipagduldulan na oo na, kaya niyang makipaghalikan sa iba kahit nandiyan ako!

"I'm not even surprised," I said in a small voice. "You kissed Maeve when you were still courting me. Kaya hindi ko maintindihan ang prinsipyong pinaglalaban mo dahil kahit simpleng katapatan nga sa nililigawan mo'y 'di mo magawa."

Sa gilid ng mga mata ko'y nakita ko ang paglingon niya sa 'kin. I chose not to brave his gaze but even when we weren't looking at each other, the way his eyes stroke me still made my heart run a mile a minute.

"You don't really have the right to say that, princess. You lied to me about your name. How sure am I that your identity was the only lie you made?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I can lie about a lot of things, but my feelings will always be genuine, Atlas. I am not hard to read. At akala ko, kayang-kaya mo akong basahin."

"And maybe that's where it all went wrong," he said in a solemn tone. Ramdam ko ang panghihinayang sa boses niya. "You had your own version of me in your head, not realizing that I'm human, too. I don't have psychic powers. So why did you give me the responsibility of figuring out how the puzzle goes, when you could've just been honest and true all along?"