Raging Affection (Isla Contejo #1)

Chapter 7

ITINAPAT ko sa mukha ko ang cellphone ko nang sagutin ko ang video call ng pinsan kong si Haira. Ngumiti ako at kumaway sa kaniya. Siya naman ay kumunot ang noo at pinagmasdan ang aking itsura.

"Where are you going? Wala kang pasok today, right? It's a Sunday," aniya.

Kahit mukha ko lang naman ang kita niya ay alam niya agad kung may lakad ako. Naka-liptint kasi ako at may maliit ngunit kumikinang na mga hikaw.

"Somewhere," simpleng sagot ko.

She arched a brow and looked at me suspiciously.

"You're going on a date?" she concluded.

Maarteng umikot ang mga mata ko.

"No, Haira! I'll just accompany someone to the beach today."

Naningkit ang mga mata niya. I noticed some of our similarities once again. Her eyes were also upturned and she was also morena -- a very common thing to the Salvatorres.

"Wow! Seems too romantic for someone who will not go on a date."

Pinanlakihan ko siya ng mata sa sinabi niya. Naku, paano ba ito? Should I tell her that I was about to go out with Zaviar? For sure, it would shock her because aside from Deja, she also knew how I hate Zaviar.

"Hindi nga iyon date! Maggagala lang kami ni Zaviar," diin ko.

Agad na nanlaki ang mga mata niya. "What?! Zaviar, you mean -- Zaviar Contejo, the Councilor? Iyong kinaiinisan mo?!"

As expected, she would react this way. Her eyes were widely opened as well as her mouth. Her expression was clearly telling me that she couldn't believe what she was hearing right now.

"Yeah, couz. But it's not what you think, okay? I need to get close to him. Kailangan ko siyang pakisamahan kahit ayaw ko."

Mabilis na nagdikit ang mga kilay niya. "What do you mean?"

I told her everything Mommy wanted me to do. She clearly understood that this "date" she was insisting was just another way for me to gather information that could ruin the Contejos.

Naalala ko na naman tuloy noong nagpunta ako sa kanila. That was already three days ago, but I could still feel how menacing his tone was that day.

"What really brought you here, Fleury? Hmm?"

Hindi ko agad siya nasagot. Ginalaw ko ang kamay ko kung kaya't dumulas paalis ang kamay niya roon. Naramdaman ko rin ang unti-unti niyang pag-atras kaya hindi na ako nagdalawang isip pa na harapin siya. 

Agad kong inilabas ang matamis kong ngiti.

"I already told you, Zaviar! I... I realized my mistake and I'm so sorry for that. It was really rude of me to act that way yesterday and I'm really thankful that you somehow managed to correct me."

Kahit hindi sinsero at hindi totoo ang mga pinagsasasabi ko, ginawa ko ang lahat upang makumbinsi siya. Diretso ko siyang tinitigan sa mata at pinalambot ko ang aking ekspresyon.

Diretso lang din siyang nakatingin sa akin at animo'y hindi maaaring biruin sa kaseryosohan ng itsura.

"B-Believe me..." Lumunok ako. "I really went here to make peace with you. I'm really sorry."

Hindi ko mabasa ang iniisip niya. Nakatitig lang kasi siya sa akin at tila ba nalulunod. I didn't know if he believed me, but I was really hoping that he did. This was just the start and I should make this work.

Humugot siya ng isang kalmadong buntong hininga at tumango.

"You don't have to say sorry to me, you know. You should say sorry to your house help."