Chapter 34

The Bliss

"Hack! Hack!" malakas kong tawag sa walanghiyang lalaking nagbibingibingihan ngayon dahil may ginawa na naman siyang kaiinisan ko. "Where's my daughter?!" Sa kabila ng tili ko, nanatiling tahimik ang paligid kaya napapadyak na ako sa sahig at nagmartsa papunta sa sala.

I saw some guards everywhere looking like statues who didn't even blink when I passed by. I got used to their intimidating presence after a while of seeing them in the house for 6 years. Yes, 6 years. I've been hiding for that long yet Hack still kept his promise. He stopped being my "informant" since I really didn't want to be pissed off more by Quentin's sweet words.

After giving birth to my daughter, I did some freelancing in some companies. Hack really helped us so much that I'm always having second thoughts on reprimanding him when he's doing something like this.

But that crazy asshole! Where the heck did he take my daughter this time?!

Lagi na lang akong nagigising na wala ang anak sa tabi ko at malalaman ko na lang na kung saan-saan niya na ito pinapasyal o 'di man kaya'y sinasama niya pa sa trabaho. One time I even caught him teaching my daughter how to kill some zombies in a shooting game. Naglintanya ako nang iilang araw dahil doon pero binalewala lang ni Hack iyon. Pasok sa tenga, labas sa kabila.

Iniisip ko tuloy kung magandang ideya ba na siya ang tumayong ama ng anak ko nang ilang taon.

"Papa Hack!" rinig kong tili ng isang malambing at magaang boses mula sa gaming room ng loko. "Papa Hack! Don't die!"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at patakbong pumunta sa kinaroroonan nila.

"Uquia!" tawag ko sa anak kong kasalukuyang hinahambalos ng maliit na unan ang natutulog na si Hack. "What are you doing?!" As I neared, my mouth opened in shock when I saw Hack as white as sheet while lying on the cold tiled floor. "Hack!" My panic made my voice tremble. "Hack, buhay ka pa ba?! Nasa last will mo ba na bayad na ako sa utang ko?!"

"Papa Hack! Don't die! You promised to buy me noodles!"

"Seriously?" Hack mumbled and slowly opened his eyes. Parang maiiyak ito na ewan habang nakatingin sa amin ni Uquia. "I'm dying here and you're thinking about food and money?!"

Uquia giggled and hugged Hack's arm. Her bright brown eyes shimmered as she gave Hack a cute smile.

"Papa Hack, don't be angry. Mama and I are just joking," paliwanag ng limang taong gulang na bata at mahinhing inipit ang kanyang itim na buhok. "And money? I'm too cute to think about money."

"Cute?! Cute?!" bulalas ni Hack habang nanlalaki ang mga mata. "You tried to kill me!"

I blinked in shock.

"What the hell are you telling my daughter, you asshole?!"

"Yeah! Papa Hack is an asshole!"

Napahilamos siya sa mukha habang tinititigan kami nang mabuti.

"Mga amazona!"

Smack!

~

"Frosty, ano ba naman 'yang anak mo daig pa ang lalaki sa kabruskuhan!" reklamo ni Hack habang tinitingnan si Uquia na pinaglalaruan ngayon ang mga plastik na baril. Nanlamig ako nang makita itong umasinta sa isa sa mga bodyguard gamit ang baril-barilan. "Oh! Princess! Aim good!"

Nabatukan ko naman si Hack kaya napakamot ito sa ulo at sinimangutan ako.

"This is all your fault, Hack," I said with gritted teeth. "Tingnan mo 'yang anak ko tomboy na tomboy!"

"Shut up, Frosty," anito at ngumuso. "Guns are cool."

"Uquia is just five years old!"

"It's better to start early," balewalang sabi nito at humalakhak nang makitang nagkakagulo na ang mga bodyguard sa pag-iwas sa mga pellet galing sa baril. "Good, Princess! Defend your kingdom!"

"You're calling her a Princess when you're teaching her to be a knight!" I shrieked at him but Hack just shrugged his shoulders. "Stop treating her like a boy!"

"Eh anong gagawin ko? Namana niya ang pagkaamazona mo. Remember she kicked me right on the face when she was just a baby? She's a natural!" I gave him a disapproving glare. "Now, now. Frosty. Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad. I'm worried. What if she'll end up hurting herself?" Nakakunot-noo kong sabi. Dumagundong ang baritonong boses ni Hack nang biglaan itong humalakhak. "What's funny?"

"I'm just thinking she'll do the hurting." Tumingin siya kay Uquia at ngumisi. "Your daughter's too pretty. Many boys will end up heartbroken someday. I'm even feeling heartbroken right now. I just wish she's my daughter."

"She is your daughter," giit ko kaya natawa na naman si Hack. "I'll never tell her about Quentin."

"She's a smart kid. She'll figure out sooner or later that I'm just a stand-in." He stood up and towered over me, his eyes piercing right into mine. "One day you'll have to tell her the truth." Bumaling muli ito kay Uquia na ngayo'y nakikipaghabulan sa kadalasang walang imik na mga bodyguard. "Princess! Your knight in shining armor has come!" deklara nito sa malakas na boses.

"Shut up, Papa Hack! You're just the old king!" Uquia said with a cool voice and began raining pellets on his legs.

"Ow! Ow! Frosty, help!"

~

"Frosty..." Inismiran ko si Hack nang makita itong tila tutang nasipa ng may-ari nito. His platinum blonde hair was so messy as if he just went home from a cat fight. "Frosty, I was dumped." Tinaasan ko ito ng kilay. "My princess stole my phone and messaged all my women that I already have a daughter. She sent them a photo of her and me together. She also told them that I called them leeches. All of them blocked me."

I tried to contain my laughter but magnificently failed. Napahalakhak ako nang malakas habang iniisip ang hitsura ng mga babae niya matapos i-send ni Uquia ang mga 'yon.

"Eh ba't mo kasi hinayaang makuha niya ang phone mo?" I snickered in glee.

"Hinampas niya ako ng unan. Mas malakas pa yata siya kaysa sa akin." He looked so pitiful but I still laughed at his disposition. "Now, I'm back to courting women in simulation games."

Mukhang malala na talaga ito. Ayaw na agad nitong mag-abalang maghanap ng bagong mga "tunay" na babae at gusto na lang makaramdam ng pagmamahal sa mga laro. Speaking of games...

"How's ML?" I asked while remembering Avicii.

"If you meant to say how's your brother, he's fine. They stopped pressuring him when he said he'll donate trillions to their company." I stared at him, wide-eyed. Trillions?! "Which gave "someone" an idea-"

"Stop, stop." May kakaibang ngisi sa mukha ni Hack nang sabihin niya ang "someone" kaya klaro na kung sino ang gusto niyang pag-usapan. "I don't want to hear about-"

"He's getting married." Napakurap ako habang 'di makapaniwalang tumitig sa kanya. "His grandfather kept on pressuring him. He was supposed to marry someone 5 years ago but Q said he had to solidify his position in the company. Now, the old man's getting impatient and threatened to purge his shares on some companies. It's crazy."

And so his grandfather began threatening him again.

Pinigilan kong huwag mapabuntong-hininga at makaramdam ng disappointment dahil doon.

He's getting married. Well, it's not as if he knows about Uquia. I don't want to tie him down with a responsibility he wasn't even prepared of having with me.

Uquia will have to grow up knowing lies about his father.

Nahilot ko ang sintido sa naiisip. It's going to be nasty once she finds out but I won't let that happen. As long as we're here and far away from Q, we can live a quiet life. Well, aside from Hack's weird parenting, I have no qualms against his character. He cherishes my daughter.

"Hack, you're Uquia's father," sabi ko sa kanya. "You know what's best for her."

He stared at me for a while and smiled.

"I know." He gave out a hearty chuckle. "Why am I feeling that you're saying I'm the best?"

I rolled my eyes at him and laughed.

This is fine. Feeling pained after knowing that Q has forgotten about me isn't important right now.

I wish him happiness with all my heart.

But how dare he?! How dare is the dare?! Who's the woman who expelled me from Q's mind?!

I tried to hide away what I'm feeling by laughing again.

It's really the end for us, huh?

I reached out to Hack and gave him a hug. He stiffened in shock but managed to hug me back. He's been really a good friend to me.

"Thank you, Hack."

He chortled and managed to say, "I'm sorry."

Kumalas ako sa pagkakayakap at umatras nang bahagya.

"Why are you saying sorry?" I tried looking at his face but he hugged me again. "Did you do something wrong?"

"Sorry, Frosty. I can't reciprocate your feelings-ow!"

Nasapok ko ito nang wala sa oras dahil sa kalokohan. Ninerbyos ako bahagya dahil may kakaiba sa tono nito nang sabihin iyon.

I dismissed it though since I trusted Hack. He'll tell me something if he wants me to know about it.

Nakatulog ako noong gabing 'yon habang iniisip ang sorry niya.

There's really something off about it.

~

When I woke up the next day with both Hack and my daughter gone and a note saying they'll attend Q's engagement party, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"HACKERY ROYCE FREDERICK! YOU FUCKING KIDNAPPER!"