Kabanata 19Atasha's POVI am staring blankly while here in the office, drowned in thoughts about what’s happening between me and Elias. About his wrong confession to me at the bar, especially when I woke up this morning. I was about to wake him up, but was surprised because Jocelle’s name suddenly came out of his mouth. Is he still being haunted by Jocelle even in his sleep?So instead of continuing to wake him up, I lost interest. I also wanted to wait for him to give me a ride to work, but my pride eats me. It's difficult when my pride takes precedence because even though I really want to talk to him, my pride comes first.Sa hindi ko inaasahang pangyayari, halos isang buwan nang ganito ang kalagayan ng relasyon namin ni Elias. Hindi kami nag-uusap at nagpapansinan kahit na magkasama kami sa iisang bubong. Ako ay lumipat na rin ng kwarto sa ibaba at doon na natutulog. Wala nang kahit anong effort si Elias na makipag-usap sa akin. Hindi rin ako makapag-first move dahil sa tingin ko
KABANATA 20Atasha's POV"Atasha, I'm starting to ask myself if I loved the right woman."I was staring at Elias after he said those words to me. It felt like a knife had pierced my heart because of what he said, especially when I saw how coldly he looked at me. But I forced myself to hide the pain I felt, taking a deep breath. "Are you already drunk?" I asked nonchalantly before passing by him. But he quickly grabbed my arm. "Why did you do this to me? Do you want to ruin me with Dad?" he asked seriously, confusing me. I looked into his eyes, "What are you talking about, Elias?" His jaw clenched and he let out a heavy sigh, "Don't act like you did nothing wrong! I know you're the one behind this, Shang!" he yelled at me, causing me to be surprised by the sudden raise of his voice. I remained looking at him, full of confusion about his accusations against me. What is he saying? I don't remember doing anything. What is he accusing me of doing? "I don't know what you're talking ab
KABANATA 21Elias' POVIt has been over a week since the confrontation with Atasha, and until now, she remains in the condo even though I told her I wanted space. It seems like my words meant nothing to her; she acted as if she wasn't affected at all. However, I can truly feel the significant change in our relationship, and I don't know how Atasha can tolerate this situation.I know that our relationship is no longer happy, not like before when I always looked forward to her presence. Now, I loathed her, and I want to end things with her. I am no longer happy, and I don't know if it is still right for us to stay together. For that entire week, I remained silent, and she did the same towards me.While I was at work, I just kept myself busy with office tasks. And when Dad said that he would settle everything about the wedding, I knew that no matter what I said, his decision would not change. And now, I know that in a short time, Atasha will fulfill her dream of getting married. I want t
KABANATA 22Atasha's POVI am currently in the main kitchen teaching basic cooking skills to the interns when Zylee entered. "Chef, your future in-laws are in the VIP guest area," she informed me. I was immediately puzzled about what they were doing here."Take over for me here, you handle them," I instructed her before leaving the kitchen.I quickly went to the office to change my uniform to formally meet them. I also instructed the other waitresses to prepare food for them. After that, I headed to the VIP guest area to face them. Although, I still had no idea why they were here, perhaps they had something important to tell me."Atasha, darling!" Tita Stella greeted me as soon as she saw me."Tita," she hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Tito, it's good to see you," I greeted my future father-in-law with a smile."It's good to see you too, Atasha iha," tugon ni Tito Hector."If you don't mind, what brings you here?" Tita Stella gently held my hand and gave me a reassuring
KABANATA 23Atasha's POVNatapos ang buong araw na trabaho, pagod akong umuwi sa condo. Hindi ko alam kung ano ba ang nakakapagod sa araw na ito, yung trabaho ba o yung sobra sobrang pag-iisip. As I sat on the sofa, a sudden thought crossed my mind - I felt like having fun tonight. I was tempted to go to the clubhouse and get drunk. Though I hesitated because it's not in my nature to go out at night, especially without Elias, I decided to proceed with my plan.After taking a shower, I quickly got dressed. I put on a sexy night-out dress that fit me perfectly before I finally left the condo. This is the first time I'm going to the clubhouse without Elias. But for now, I'm going to try to party alone since he hasn't been home for several days and I have no idea where he's been staying. Just a few minutes later, I arrived at the clubhouse that we often frequented during college. I entered and was immediately greeted by the loud music. As usual, the place was still bustling with people a
KABANATA 24Atasha's POV"Let go of me!" sigaw ko kay Elias habang inaagaw ang braso ko sa kanya.Hinila niya ako palabas ng pinto bago niya ako binitawan. Ramdam ko ang galit niya dahil sa pag-igting ng kanyang panga, pinipigilan ang sarili."Who told you to come here?" may diin na halos mamamaos na tanong niya sa akin.Nagbuga ako ng hangin at inayos ang nakatabing na buhok sa mukha ko. "Ikaw ang dapat na tanungin ko niyan, Elias. What the hell are you doing here?!""It's none of your business okay?" tugon niya sa akin, dahilan para pandilatan ko, hindi ako makapaniwala sa sinabi niya."What? It's none of my business?! Nag-alala ako sayo kaya narito ako sa ospital dahil buong akala ko may nangyari sayo na masama! Tapos ito?! Ito ang madadatnan ko?!" sigaw ko sa kanya, wala na talaga ako sa sarili ko sa mga oras na ito. Wala na rin akong pakialam sa paligid ko."Can you please just stop?!""Stop?!" hindi makapaniwalang sigaw ko. "You want me to stop?! Matapos lahat ng ginagawa niyo s
KABANATA 25Atasha's POVIn the morning when I woke up, I packed all my belongings and didn't leave a single one behind. I occupied five suitcases and several boxes with my things because I really had that much. Sa ilang taon ba naman naming magkasama ni Elias dito sa malaking condo unit na ito? Hindi na ako magtataka kung maipon ng ganito karami ang mga gamit ko.Hawak-hawak ko ang bag ko'y lumabas na sa kwarto upang sumunod sa mga limang taong nagbuhat ng mga gamit ko. Pagkalabas ko'y napansin ko si Elias sa malaking sofa, tahimik lamang na nakaupo roon na tila tulala sa kawalan. Nakakapagtaka nga at narito siya ngayon, buong akala ko'y umalis siya kagabi.Napabuntong hininga ako bago dahan-dahang lumapit upang magpaalam na sa kanya."I'm going to leave now, Elias. Take care yourself," paalam ko ngunit nanatili lamang siyang tahimik. Hindi na ako nag-aksaya pa ng kahit ilang minuto at naglakad na ako papunta sa pinto.Ngunit bago pa ako tuluyang makalabas ay hindi ko inaasahan ang b
KABANATA 26Atasha's POVIt's been a week since I left Elias, and I admit that adjusting has been difficult. With the help of Kaeon, I was able to find a new place to stay, which is also a condominium building where he lives. While it may not be as high-quality as the de Marcel properties, I can say that it still has its own quality.It's a good thing that it's far from where Elias is, so that our paths won't cross. It's also convenient that it's close to my restaurant, and there's a possibility that I won't get stuck in traffic.I didn't go to work today as I planned to take a one-week leave to unwind. I need some space for myself, away from everyone who knows me. So I decided to book a flight to go on vacation in El Nido, Palawan.I've talked to Zylee about my upcoming leave, and I've entrusted her with the management of the restaurant while I'm away. I have great trust in her as my Chef Assistant, as she has proven herself to me several times before.After booking my flight and sec