Napadilat si Luke. What? Her words were impossible."Claire, are you, um, that drunk?" tanong nito sa kanya.Napataas kilay si Claire, habang parang baliw na kinakausap niya ang kanyang sarili.Ewan ko sayo, ang hina ng pick up! Kung mag a-ano... mag a-ano na! Huwag nang mag a-anohan pa! Ang ano namang taong ito! Hays! Ewan ko sayo!Luke frowned. They made no sense, no matter how loudly they echoed in his head.Luke thought perhaps he staggered back beneath the weight of all that impossibility, possibly even crumpled to the floor—but of course, he did no such thing. He was frozen into place as surely as if the stones beneath him had made him a statue, staring back at her.In horror. In confusion.Oh ano? Tutunga-nga, ka na lang dyan? Tanong ni Claire sa sarili habang yakap yakap pa rin ang among demonyong ang pula pula ng labi.There must be some mistake, a sliver of rationality deep inside him insisted."What did you say?" he managed to ask through a mouth that no longer felt like hi
As if that could save him from the nasty reality that he’d become exactly what he most loathed without knowing it. Did Claire hate him for that?He was an asshole; yes, he couldn't deny it."You keep mentioning what happened, which means you clearly knew about the first time when you were so drunk," Luke found himself saying, as if he could argue the conviction from her face. As if he could make this her fault and make it better, or different, by shrugging off the blame."Hindi ko alam, I was drunk, remember? But later on, I realised we—yes. I knew that too.""Then, bakit wala kang sinabi, Claire?""Bakit ba? Ano ba ang sasabihin ko dapat? Boss kita! Ano ka ba!""So?""Anong so ka dyan?" Her laugh sliced into him. "Wala akong ini-expect na kung ano pa man. What happened is just—a mistake. Oddly enough, you never took me seriously. Or I assume you didn’t, because it took you all this time to turn up here. Right at this very moment.""Ano? A mistake?""Oo, bakit totoo naman ah! This—" t
"Are you insane?!" Sigaw na tanong ni Claire."Yes, I'm insanely in love with you.""No! Take that back!" She exclaimed. "Owen is a great guy. He is your friend, damn it, Luke." Pabulyaw niyang dagdag sabay punas sa luhang kanina pa niya pinipigilan. "Owen is kind; he is, oh God. Why are you doing this? He likes me; he loves me for who I am.""Enough, Claire!" Pabulong na tugon ni Luke, habang hawak hawak ang kamay niya, na panay suntok sa dibdib niya. "Enough, but please let me love you.""No, Luke. No! Owen is much more well-mannered than you. Alam mo yan! He is warmer, nicer, more considerate to me. He is honest. He is everything I want." Napapikit si Claire sabay diing, "Alam niya kung nasasaktan ako, alam niya kung nalulungkot ako. He knew how to make me smile. He doesn't pretend; he is sweet, he is—""I said stop!" Pabulong na wika ni Luke habang napapayuko ito sa di malamang dahilan. He thought he had never been hurt before, but ang mga mata ng babaeng mahal niya na puno ng gal
Whatever distress might have been lurking in Claire, it disappeared in a flush of temper as her chin tipped up again. "Luke…""You wanted to give up on us, Claire?" Luke asked between kisses."No! I think I can't. I've loved you for so long I don't know what—""Oh Claire.""Mahal na mahal kita, Luke. Hindi ko alam kung—"Once again, Luke couldn’t force his mind to process that. He couldn’t seem to breathe past it. It was bad enough that they’d come here on a whim to discover that all this time, the woman who’d haunted him for the past few months had kept it a secret from him. That she knew that it was him. He never had the slightest notion of what he’d lost—not until Owen came into the picture.For the first time since what happened to them at the party, he saw the woman he’d adored so many years ago. The one who had always known what he was thinking, the one who had so often been thinking the very same thingShe certainly is now."Mahal na mahal kita, Claire. I can't give you up. I'l
"I will never let you sway me!" Saad ni Claire sa labas ng pinto ng dating amo."Okay," sagot naman ni Luke na sinabayan pa ng iling, napabuntong hininga ito at napatanaw sa labas ng bintana habang hinuhubad ang basang amerikana.Sa labas naman ng pintuan, napapikit naman si Claire habang nakadikit sa pader ang ulo nito, "I will never like you again, Luke. I'm done with you; I don't love you anymore." Halo halong emosyon ang nararamdaman niya sa mga oras na iyon, —galit, inis at panghihinayang ngunit parang sasabog ang puso niya sa inis sa sarili because she knew, deep down, there were words left unspoken for many years that were now lurking again and she hates to admit it. "That’s enough." Sagot naman ng lalaki, lumingon ito sa naka saradong pintuan. "You need to change your wet cloth, baka magkakasakit ka nyan, may bakanteng kwarto pa dito sa resthouse,” napabuntong hininga ito. “May CR dun, maligo ka muna. May extrang t-shirt ako dito. Ihahatid ko mamaya," pahabang dagdag nito ha
Ten months ago."Hays, late na naman ako," kastigo ni Claire sa sarili habang papasok sa elevator.She pummeled the button for the fifteenth floor until the doors finally closed and she felt the elevator begin to move."Kung mamalasin nga naman oh," dagdag niya habang inilagay ang hawak-hawak na cellphone sa pagitan ng kanyang mga labi at inayos ang itim na bag sa kanyang balikat at dala dalang brown envelope.She then curled her long, dark hair up into a bun, teasing errant strands until she could get a hair tie around all of it to hold it in place. Sa oras na natapos siya, ang elevator naman ay nag-ping, nagpapahiwatig ng kanyang pagdating sa fifteenth floor at bumukas na ang pintuan.Lumabas si Claire sa lobby area, habang panay pa rin ang kastigo sa sarili, inayos niya ang kanyang puting blusa sa baywang ng kanyang palda, habang napapamura dahil sa hindi niya na set sa tamang oras ang alarm clock.Inilagay niya ang cellphone sa bag at niyakap ang envelope. Inayos ang salamin sa ma
Two hours later, Claire blinked, suddenly aware that she hadn't been paying attention.Doctor Sebastian was still sitting across the small meeting table from her, but now he was watching her intently. Nakatingin ito sa kanya na para bang may sampung sungay siya sa noo.Claire felt her cheeks color with embarrassment and hoped the old man wouldn't ask her to repeat what he'd been saying.Ano nga ulit mga tanong nito? Hindi niya yata maalala dahil hindi naman siya nakikinig dito.It's not like she wanted to be there; mamatay na yata siya sa pagka-boring, pero di naman siya inaantok; this was, after all, really absurd. Was medicine for lack of sleep not enough? Did she really need to have this so-called session that made her bored to death? Ito ba ang rason kung bakit pinapapasok siya ni Luci sa trabaho kahit huwebes na day off niya dapat sa buwang ito?"How are you feeling, Claire? May I call you that?" tanong ng matandang doktor, his pronunciation careful and measured. Pinsan yata to n
Friday, the next day.Luke looked over at Claire's desk. She was busy with a press release for another client, frowning at the screen. Late lang ito ng ilang minuto, pero halos sabay lang naman silang dumating sa opisina. Nakakunot ang noo nito habang panay tipa sa keyboard ng MacbookPro na katabi naman ng iMac na naalala niyang pinilit niyang ipagamit sa babae kahit may office laptop at personal laptop ito. Well, call him tech-savvy, but Luke wanted everything to work according to his standards. At kahit nakailang tanggi ang sekretarya niyang mabango naman pala ang buhok na gamitin ang mga gadget na binili niya, napilit niya naman ito.He looked at her intently. Ngayon lang niya napagtangtong matangos naman pala ang ilong ni Claire. Ang pilik mata naman nito ay hindi na kailangan ng extension katulad ng mga babae sa buhay niya na halos dalawang oras kung makapag ayos ng sarili. Ito namang sekretarya niya ay halos lipstick lang ang palamuti sa mukha at may itim na eyeglasses pa. Cute.