Firm Tenacity (The Athletes #3) COMPLETED

Prologue

Prologue

Fortunate

"What are you feeling now that your mother is going to marry my father? Hindi ba kamamatay lang ng daddy at kuya mo just two months ago?" Crisanta asked. She's in her white gown for the wedding that will happen a few hours from now.

I stopped playing with my fingers while people were fixing my face and hair. Kaming dalawa lang ang nasa hotel room dahil ang mga pinsan niya ay ayaw akong makasama. She's the daughter of my future stepfather. She's being handled by professional artists beside me, too.

I felt bad straight away. Dalawang buwan pa lang mula nang namatay si Daddy kasama si Kuya... And today, Mommy is bound to marry Crisanta's father in the church.

One thing is for sure. I am not happy. I felt betrayed. And I am scared of things that might happen to me after this day. This is my mother's new family now. This is not my family. She owns me... Will her new family own me, too? Will they treat me like their own fruit from their tree? I don't know.

Hindi ko alam kung paano kami nakalabas ng hotel, at kung paano ako itinakas ni Crisanta sa mga gwardya naming dalawa.

"Just... don't run away forever. Be back after the wedding," she said while panting. She was holding the door of the car. "I don't know why I'm doing this for you," the last thing she said before the car I was in roared away.

Tinulungan akong maka-alis ni Crisanta sa lugar na 'yon dahil 'yon talaga ang gusto ko na mangyari. I'm not going to leave for good. Hindi ko lang kaya na masaksihan ang kasal. I just can't...

I am not a selfish person, that's why I was thinking what will happen to Crisanta after helping me out. With just days of being with her family, I know they are austere and forbidding. Kaya nga rin nababahala ako sa sarili ko... I'm not used to strict family exposure.

But the thought about Crisanta subsided after I saw the peaceful place where the car stopped. I didn't know where I was. At sa oras na 'to, mas maganda sa pakiramdam na mapunta sa lugar na 'di ko alam. It's like I belong to this place. Hindi ko na rin naman alam kung saan ako lulugar.

This is what I wanted since we came back here from Japan. This is where I wanted to be after all the bad sequence of events in my life. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to cry... I wanted to vent out the leaden things I've been carrying the past months.

Naupo ako sa isang bench. Mag-isa ko na lang sa lugar dahil pina-una ko na ang driver namin. Suot ko pa rin ang puting cocktail dress na para sana sa kasal ni Mommy. Hawak ko sa kanang kamay ang isang automatic umbrella na galing sa Kuya kong... namatay dalawang buwan na ang nakalipas.

The place looked like a paradies. Sobrang lawak at parang walang katapusan. Wala akong makitang ibang bagay kundi puno at mga damo lamang. The place soothed me, and I know that the ambiance helped me emit emotion I had to.

When I closed my eyes, tears started pouring down like a heavy rain. With my small hands, I tried to wipe it all. My shoulders were quivering because of my cries from deep despair. Grabe ang pagtaas-baba ng aking mga balikat.

Paano na ako?

I was happy with my family before. We're not perfect, but to be happy with them was already a heart-fulfilling event. My father has two families, and we're the second one, but we're all good. We respect each other and we love each other like we share the same bloodline. My brother who died was just my step brother, but we treated each other like we're a hundred percent related. Only child siya, at ganoon din ako...

Japan is my comfort and safe zone. Philippines felt like a nightmare to me.

I can't help but think that Mommy already had an affair even before the accident. Dahil imposible na sa dalawang buwan na 'yon, gano'n na kalalim ang pagmamahalan nila para magpakasal. Maybe this is all about business again...