Rhyne's Heartbeat (SUAREZ SERIES I)

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Dinig na dinig ko ang pagsinghap ng karamihan sa gulat sa aking sinabi.

I smiled at Liam, na ngayon ay busangot na ang mukha at halos mag-isang linya na ang mga labi sa inis sa ginawa ko. Napangisi ako lalo. Magkapatid nga talaga kami. Parehong ayaw ipaalam sa iba ang tunay na pagkatao.

But then, while looking into his lonely eyes, I realized that they were lonelier than mine.

Ang ngiti kong nang-aasar ay naging totoong ngiti. I felt my heart swell with so much happiness. Nangilid pa nga ang mga luha ko sa saya. I had no idea why I was so emotional these days. My heart hurt at the fullness of it.

Acknowledging Liam in public as my brother meant I already accepted what happened to our family in the past. We were both victims of my mother's greed and jealousy, of our father's selfishness, and of Tita Bridgette's kindness and martyrdom.

Sa katunayan, ako nga dapat itong kinamuhian nila dahil ako ang bunga ng kasakiman ni Mama at ang kabaliwan nito sa pag-ibig. But instead, after my mother shot Papa to death, they took me in and treated me as their family.

Liam should've hated me because it was my mom whom Papa had married and not his mom. Instead, he asked Tita Bridgette to never tell me about his real identity. Nagpanggap siyang ampon para hindi ako tuluyang magalit sa mga magulang ko.

As if I never loathed them enough.

Kinamuhian ko si Mama dahil hinayaan niya ang sariling mabaliw sa pag-ibig at hindi man lang nagtira para sa sarili at para sa akin.

Kinamuhian ko si Papa dahil hinayaan niyang maguluhan siya sa dalawang magkaibigan. I hated him for always making her cry. He should've followed his heart and chosen Tita Bridgette instead. Kung iisipin ko ngayon, I was confident that I could take care of Mama even with just the two of us.

At si Tita Bridgette? She was so kind that I hated her as well back then when I learned of her relationship with my parents.

She was Papa's first love and Mama's best friend. She broke up with Papa when she learned that my mother was in love with him too. Instead of choosing her own happiness, she chose her best friend's happiness. She watched as the love of her life and her best friend got married and had their baby.

I hated her for choosing not to tell Papa that she was pregnant too at that time. I hated her for making Liam live a life without a father.

I could almost imagine Liam living through all the pain from childhood until now.

He had lived in the shadow of his true identity. He had hidden the truth to protect me from the pain. As if what happened to my parents wasn't hurtful enough.

Ever since I met him when we were both seven, hindi na siya nawala sa paligid ko kahit saan man ako magpunta. Wherever I was, he was always there, though not really with me. He was always in the shadows, hiding and watching over me. From grade school, junior and senior high school until my college days, he was always around.

Hindi nga lang madalas lumalapit dahil alam niyang naiinis ako noon kapag nagkakasama kami sa labas. Magkasama na nga sa bahay, pati ba naman sa eskuwelahan?

Nadaanan ko ulit ng tingin si Aphrodite at nakitang naestatwa na siya sa sobrang gulat.

Don't tell me she got jealous of me? Please. Liam is my brother.

Brother...

Ayoko mang aminin, dati ay naiinggit ako kay Czeila kapag nakikita ko kung gaano siya kamahal ng apat na Kuya niya. Deep down inside, even though back then I was sure I could take care of myself on my own, I wished I had had a brother as well.