I'm Yours to Keep

Chapter 39

I headed straight to Gerard's place after my talk with Saira. Ginabi na ako kaya naabutan ko siyang nagbabasa sa study stable habang nasa mahabang lamesa na ang mga box ng pagkain. Inilapag niya agad ang binabasang papel at tumayo para lapitan ako.

Ngayon ko lang naramdaman ang pagod sa biyahe. I hugged him tight. "Hmm..."

"How's my girl?" bulong niya habang magkayakap pa rin kami.

"Tired."

Hinalikan niya ako sa noo at iginiya ako sa lamesa. "Shall we eat o gusto mo nang magpahinga?"

Ngumiti ako at naupo sa silya. "I'd love to see what you bought."

Nang patapos na kaming kumain, tyinempuhan kong sabihin ang kanina ko pa naiisip. "I had a test earlier. It was the assignment that you handed me earlier. About... Lonzo."

Kumuyom ang panga niya at marahang tumango. "I knew about that. Saira told me that you're scheduled for that test today."

Natahimik ako habang pinagmamasdan siya. "I haven't told you about... my trauma."

He bit his lower lip and nodded. "But Lonzo did. Lonzo is my... superior."

Napasandal ako sa kinauupuan ko habang nakatitig sa kaniya. "There's a lot that I want to know. Why did you leave before? Why did you even come back to us?"

Tumango siya ulit at ipinatong ang magkabilang siko sa lamesa habang nakababa ang mga kamay. "I believe that this is the part where I tell you about my blind obedience test."

I patiently waited for him to open-up.

"When you met me, I was given an assignment. It was my first, and that was the same test that you had today. It was Mae that I needed to kill."

Unti-unti akong napasinghap.

"Hindi ko masabi agad hangga't hindi mo natatapos ang sarili mong blind obedience test."

"I understand."

Tumikhim siya at tumitig sa lamesa. "KMA told me that... Mae is a traitor posing as a nerdy student at your school. My parents believed so much in me that I was so afraid to fail them. So, I followed KMA's order."

I saw sadness and shame in his eyes. Pabalik-balik sa 'kin at sa lamesa ang tingin niya.

"I did try to kill Mae. Before sunrise, on the day of our date. I thought I was successful but... KMA gave me a gun with blank bullets. Mae didn't die, which is part of the plan, then I received that call."

Inalala ko ang araw na may tumawag sa kaniya habang nasa museum kami.

"Pinababalik ako sa HQ. Doon nila pinaliwanag ang nangyari. And since I failed, they imposed sanctions on me. I was still shocked because I was just a newcomer back then, and my parents knew that I failed."

He blinked a few times and sighed painfully.

"So, I didn't realize that they've already sent me back to Italy. One more year of training and two years of settling as a civil informant." Unti-unti siyang nag-angat ng tingin. "I'm sorry. I failed you."

"What do you mean?"

Kinagat ang ibabang labi niya bago bumuntonghininga. "Remember when I told you... I'd try my best to be worthy of you? Apparently, it was... a broken promise."

Nangilid ang luha ko at nginitian siya. "We have a lifetime of chances; we can try every day."

Marahan siyang tumitig sa 'kin habang unti-unting ngumungiti, hanggang sa lumapit na siya at pinaupo ako sa lamesa para mahalikan. He slid his hands under the hem of my shirt as his kiss went down to my neck. I wasn't tired after all.