Ring of Promises

The Other Side 5

Ring of Promises

The Other Side 5

"Give her anything she needs and I will pay for it. Tour her around, make her eat all the delicious food, let her try something new. Please... take care of her." Pakiusap ko sa mag-asawang nasa harapan ko.

"Smetilla. Sembri una madre che si lascia alle spalle suo figlio." Natatawang sabi sa akin ni Matteo. Nakakunot ang noo ng kanyang asawa sa kanya.

"Stronzo." Mariin kong sabi sa kanya.

"What did you say, Matteo?" Umiling si Matteo kay Giada at biglang nagseryoso.

"We'll take care of your girl, Caspian. Don't worry about it, I'll keep you updated." Giada assured me.

I went to Rome just to say what I wanted for them to do with Amanda. She'll be staying here for three months. Nilibot ko ang mata ko sa magiging silid niya sa bahay ng aking kaibigan na si Matteo.

"Furn, Mauricio è qui." Matteo said, behind him was Mauricio.

"È bello vederti di nuovo." Bati ko sa nakababatang kapatid niya.

"Sì, è passato molto tempo." Walang emosyong sabi nito sa akin at nakipagkamay. "Cosa volete che faccia?"

I looked at his well built body. I'm sure he'll do his job effortlessly. I want him to keep Amanda safe. "Assicurati solo che sia al sicuro. È un lavoro, ti pagherò."

"Perchè? Non hai il coraggio di farlo da solo?" Pang-aasar pa sa akin nito. Huminga ako ng malalim at mas pinahaba ang pasensiya. Calm down, Caspian, he flew from Philippines to Italy just because you want him too.

"Mauricio, non hai sentito la notizia? Furn ha tradito quella ragazza che ti sta chiedendo di stare al sicuro. Ecco perché non ha il coraggio di farlo da solo. Che stronzo, vero? Furn è proprio uno stronzo."

"Vaffanculo, Matteo." I said in gritted teeth.

"No, it's fuck you and you're so stupid, Furn."

"What did you just say, Matteo?" Nagulat kaming tatlo dahil biglang nagsalita si Giada na nakikinig pala sa usapan.

"You heard him, Giada. Your husband keep on spitting bad words. That's why you should start learning Italian." Panglalaglag ko kay Matteo at ngumisi rito. He mouthed another curse for me.

Year after, I finally succeed. In between those horrible months, all I did was to work and think of Amanda. Whenever I'm not loaded with works, I will fly to Italy just to see her. She's having fun with Giada and Matteo. I feel bad for myself, I was supposed to be the one showing her the true beauty of Italy. I promised her that.

"Happy Birthday, Caspian." Mama greeted and hugged me. Her soft touch reminds me of Amanda. I stared at my mother's face and she did the same to me. It's been years since she watched and touched me like this. Hindi na ako nagulat nang bigla na lang siyang umiyak. "How have you been? Are you okay?"

Pumikit ako at dahan-dahang umiling. "I wish I could lie to you, Mama. I miss her and today's our anniversary."

"Oh, Caspian. I'm so sorry about what happened. I'm sorry your mother's not here when you're going through a lot. I'm sorry, you got to undergo it all alone. I'm really sorry, Caspian." Umiiyak niyang sabi habang sinasapo ang mukha ko. Hindi ko magawang iiwas ang mukha sa kanya kaya nakita niya ang pagpatak ng mga luha ko.

"It's not your fault, Mama. You didn't do anything wrong, it's all my fault. It's all my fault. I'm sorry... I'm such a failure."

"You are never a failure, Caspian. It's just... things happened to be so tough for you. Don't be too harsh towards yourself, it's not your entire fault. You did the right thing. You put your cousins in jail, it is where they were supposed to be. You chose not to give your Lolo's inheritance up, you truly deserve it. And you saved her... I'm sure she'll be proud of you because of it."