Chapter 2

Tulala ako nang makauwi sa aking condo galing sa dinner meeting namin ng binayaran kong private detective. It suddenly dawned on me why I was not able to find him all these years using my own effort. Kaya pala hindi ko ito mahanap sa kahit anong social media ay dahil iba na ang pangalan nito. According to the report of the private detective that I hired, he's not the Caleb Sanchez that I knew anymore. He has a new identity now and he's now known as Rancher Silva.

I immediately typed his name on G****e and numerous information were shown as well as his pictures.

According to one of the sites on G****e, Rancher Silva is included in the top 50 richest bachelors in the country's business world. At the age of 29 and only in the span of 5 years, he was able to expand his father's Real Estate Business in Visayas and Mindanao.

Ang sabi sa investigation report, nahanap ito ng biological parents nito after 18 years. Ito pala ang nawawalang anak ng business tycoon na si Ronaldo Silva at Lianna Silva. He was a victim of kidnapping for ransom when he was only 2 years old. Ang mastermind daw ng kidnapping na ito ay isa sa galit na business rival ng ama. Due to envy, nagawa nitong ipakidnap sa pamamagitan ng pagbayad sa babysitter nito upang ito ay ilayo sa mga magulang. 3 years daw itong inalagaan ng babysitter nito habang nagtatago sa isang liblib na lugar. At nang biglang mamatay sa isang aksidente ang babysitter, naiwan itong mag-isa sa bahay kung saan nagtago ang babysitter nito. Natagpuan itong mag-isa sa maliit na kubo at sinurender ito sa DSWD at mapadpad sa bahay-ampunan kung saan kami nagkakilala at lumaki.

Dahil na rin sa murang edad nang ito ay makidnap, wala itong kahit anong ala-ala tungkol nangyaring pangingidnap dito. Hinanap daw ito ng kanyang mga magulang pero dahil hindi pa naman uso ang social media noon at sa liblib na lugar ito dinala kaya hindi nakarating ang balita sa lugar na iyon ukol sa kidnapping na naganap.

Just when his parents were losing hope of finding him, bigla itong nadiskubre ng kanyang ama sa construction site kung saan ito nagtatrabaho. Ang pinagtatrabahuhan pala nito bilang karpintero ay isa sa mga housing projects ng ama. Fate was the one who made a way for them to meet dahil nagkataon na nag-on-site visit ang ama sa Bulacan at makita ito. Dahil sa resemblance ng mga ito at sa lukso ng dugo, agad itong pina-DNA test at nagpositive nga ang resulta.

I clicked the images on G****e and was shocked to see pictures of him with different women. I tried to ignore the sudden pain in my chest. The Rancher now is so different from the Caleb I knew. He has matured and he's so much more handsome than before. He looks dangerously handsome even just in pictures. Hindi na ito maamong tignan. He exudes this mysterious aura that can, even in pictures, can be felt. His eyes were the strangest to me now. Its welcoming eyes that used to calm me down before were now as cold as ice at napagtanto kong he is definitely not the Caleb I loved and knew back when we were in the orphanage, but the Rancher Silva who screams mystery and coldness by just looking at him.

Bigla tuloy akong nanghina. Now that I have finally found him, I'm suddenly scared to approach him. He has changed a lot and I don't know if it is actually a good idea to suddenly appear in his life. After all, 10 years have passed. Baka nga binura na niya ako sa ala-ala nito dahil parehas pa kaming mga mga bata dati at iniwan ko pa ito para sa sarili kong kapakanan.

Tila bigla akong nagsisi na ipahanap ito. Ngayon ko lang napagtanto na napaka-naive ng gusto kong mangyari to think that I am a lawyer at that. Who in their right mind would look for the love of her life for a long time and expect that everything will be okay after showing up and saying sorry? Who would want to see a traitor, right?

He's obviously moved on with his life. Looking at these different pictures of beautiful women by his side on different occasions only means he enjoys being a bachelor. For the first time in my life, bigla akong nanliit at nahiya para sa sarili.

I was always confident about my appearance. I know I am beauty and brain. However, seeing him surrounded by these beautiful ladies makes my confidence drop.

I know my feelings are the same. Narealize ko after all these years, one could experience true love even at a young age. But unfortunately, it's not the same in his case. Hindi ko tuloy maiwasang mag-isip na kung sakali bang mas pinili ko ito noon kesa sa pangarap kong makahanap ng pamioyang magmamahal sa akin, would he be able to fulfill his promise of marrying me kung natagpuan ito ng mga magulang at malamang mayaman pala ito? Because based on these articles I am reading right now about his dating history and seeing his pictures with different women attached to these articles, I am sure that hindi pa rin kami magkakatuluyan.

Mapait akong napangiti at gusto ko na lamang sabunutan ang sarili sa kagagahan. Kung pwede ko lang ibalik ang oras, hinding-hindi ako magbabayad ng private detective upang ipahanap ito at makaramdam ng insecurity. Seeing these beautiful women he's been with, I can only conclude that he has a particular type- sexy and definitely not the conservative one.

Napabalikwas ako nang mapansing maliwanag na sa labas. Nagmamadali akong tumakbo sa bathroom para maligo. Napuyat ako kagabi kakascroll at magbasa tungkol kay Caleb o Rancher na ngayon. Nakatulugan ko ang pagse-search at nakalimutang i-set ang aking alarm clock.

I've decided not to pursue him anymore because I don't think I have the courage to face him. I don't think he's even interested in seeing me, because if he did, he has all the money to search for me and would have just like I did. Obviously, he has long forgotten about me. Saka sino bang hangal ang maghahanap sa taong nang-iwan sa kanya? That's why I have decided to just cheer on him from afar. Sapat na sa akin ang makitang successful ito and healthy. It's time for me to move on too and maybe try to go out and explore what I did not do when I was still a student. I was so focused on building my career as to even entertain suitors.

Even my friends call me boring because I don't go with them whenever they go clubbing. Wala din naman kase talaga akong balak mag-explore about dating because Caleb already has my heart kaya never talaga ako nagkainteres sa pag-entertain ng mga suitors. However, it's time for me to forget about him too, because he has moved on with his life and I have to do the same too.

I wish him well, really at wala akong karapatang istorbohin pa siya at ipaalala ang nakaraan na halatang matagal na nitong kinalimutan.