"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.
"Ok. Kung okay ka na tapusin mo na lang ang report at pagkatapos, i-email mo sa akin, then I'll go ahead. May rehearsal pa akong gagawin before the press conference." "Okay po," sagot naman ni Claire, na panay tingin sa cellphone."I believe everything is ready?" he asked and stepped into his room, closing the door behind him. Hindi niya na hinintay ang sagot nito."Yes, sir," sagot naman ni Claire at balik na ulit sa pagtitipa sa yellow na keyboard na binili ng amo.Reluctantly, Luke left Claire to her work and returned to his own desk, occasionally looking up to find his assistant still busy in her chair. Luke wondered if she was really fine.At half past two, Luke caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Claire's head lifted, and she blinked several times again. He remained very still and quiet, hoping not to cause a distraction. After a moment, Claire's hands began to move, and he could hear her fingers tapping on the keyboard, picking up from where she left off. Deep insi
"Ano bang nakain nung gago na yun? Fickle-minded masyado, nakakainis naman oh!" Pabulong bulong na saad ni Claire habang dali daling kinuha ang itim na flat shoes niya at sinipa ang three inches na sapatos sa ilalim ng mesa. Kinuha niya ang iPhone na bigay nito sa kanya nung isang buwan at inilagay sa magic black bag. Kinuha naman niya sa sariling purse ang susi ng sasakyan, at patakbo na siya sa VIP elevator na maghahatid sa kanya sa parking lot."Ang gago, kung maka ‘I'll ruin you,’ para bang 100k ang sahod ko," hingal na reklamo niya sa sarili.Umalis naman ito kanina sa opisina ng may pasipol-sipol pa at sinabihan pa siyang huwag na lang anito siyang sumama sa conference hall dahil nga sa nangyaring pagkahilo niya kanina. Pero ilang minuto lang ang nakalipas simula nung nakaalis ito, bigla-bigla na lang itong nag-video call sa kanya at pinapakuha siya ng bagong suit dahil ang kulay navy blue nitong suot-suot ay nag-blend daw sa background wall ng stage. Nagmukha tuloy itong alien n