AS OF MAY 24, 2019: Hala siya!!!!! X)

Copyright © 2019 by Tala Natsume

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This story/book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a story/book review.

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

This story is ONLY posted on Wattpad and Booklat. Should you find this anywhere else and on another account(s) but TALA NATSUME, you are reading a copyright infringed material that has been copied/duplicated WITHOUT the consent of the author.

This story is my original creation, so please DO NOT COPY OR REPRODUCE.

"PLEASE RESPECT THE EFFORT, TIME AND EVEN THE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS THAT THE AUTHOR HAVE INVESTED TO CREATE AND COMPLETE THIS STORY FOR HER READERS."

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DISCLAIMER:

This story, names, characters, businesses, and events are fictitious. Certain place was mentioned, but the characters involved are wholly imaginary. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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And the story begins here...

       Mariing ikinuyom ni Sasha ang mga palad nang makita ng sariling mga mata ang kabulastugang ginagawa ni Lucas, her three-months-boyfriend-and-soon-to-be-ex.

Malinaw niyang nakikita sa kaniyang harapan ang lampungan nito at ng kasamang babae sa restaurant ng resort nang umagang iyon.

Lucas was there at the resort in Calatagan, Batangas for a two-day company outing. Noong isang araw ay nagpaalam itong aalis kasama ang mga ka-trabaho at nagsabing hindi siya matatawagan ng ilang araw dahil wala raw signal doon.

The heck? Hindi siya naniniwalang walang signal, malakas ang kutob niyang may ginagawa itong kabulastugan. Ilang araw na niyang nararamdaman ang panlalamig nito at sa tuwing tinatanong niya'y hindi makasagot ng diretso.

She wanted to confirm her intuition, so she followed him to the resort. At hindi siya nagkamali— he was cheating on her!

Sa pagitan ng mga mesang naroon sa restaurant ng resort ay malinaw niyang nakikita ang pagtataksil nito, nagsusubuan pa ng pagkain ang mga hinayupak!

Sana mabilaukan kayo!

She was terribly angry. Paano ba naman, tatlong buwan siyang nagsayang ng panahon sa lalaking haliparot! Kung alam lang niyang palikero ito, 'di na sana niya ito sinagot.

She met Lucas in a singles mixer event five months ago. Hindi niya maalala ang kabuuang pangyayari noong araw na iyon dahil bago pa sila ng mga kaibigan niya pumunta sa event ay lasing na siya.

She was tipsy and was really having fun. She met a couple of single men, had a quick chat with them until she bumped into Lucas. They've had fun. They talked about everything, and laughed about something. They just clicked and sparked. She remembered giving her number to him and that's when everything started.

However, when they met again after the event, she felt different.

Nagtataka siya dahil noong magkita silang muli after the mixer event ay tila may hindi tama siyang naramdaman. It was as if everything was wrong. As if something was missing. At kahit anong isip niya ay hindi niya maalala kung ano ang mali at kulang. Her memories on that day was hazy.

Nanligaw ito sa kaniya and after two months ay sinagot niya, only because he was persistent. Kalaunan ay naging agresibo ito at nag-umpisang hingin si Bataan. At sa parati niyang pagtanggi ay nag-umpisa itong mawalan ng gana sa kaniya.

Everyday, she wished that the Lucas she met at the mixer event comes back. He was so different that day.

Pero hindi nagbalik ang Lucas na iyon. Habang tumatagal ay lalo itong nag-iiba.

"Ano ka ba, Lucas.. tama na.."

Nagising ang diwa niya nang marinig ang kinikilig na tinig ng kasamang babae ni Lucas.

"Balik na ba tayo sa kwarto natin?" anang magaling na lalaki. Halos tumayo ang buhok niya sa batok sa sobrang pagka-umay.

Nang tumayo ang dalawa ay yumuko siya at ikinubli ang sarili sa suot na malaking summer hat sabay ayos ng suot na sun-glasses. Nang mapadaan ang mga ito sa mesa niya'y pinigilan niya ang sariling hablutin ang tasa niyang may umuusok pang kape at ibato sa dalawa.

She had a glimpsed at the woman's face and she almost choked on her saliva.

What in the hell was that face made of?!

Hindi niya akalaing ipagpapalit siya ni Lucas sa babaeng mukhang dikya!

Lalong nag-init ang ulo niya.

She was mad, not because he cheated on her, but because her pride could not accept the fact that she was replaced by someone as ugly as the sun-dried tomato!

Padabog siyang tumayo at sinundan ang dalawa sa labas ng restaurant.

"Bastard!" sigaw niya na ikina-lingon ng mga ito.

"Sasha?" Namamanghang sambit ng lalaki. Mabilis itong bumitaw sa babae na ikina-laki ng mga mata nito. "L-let me exp—"

"Dont bother, I don't need your explanation. I am breaking up with you." Sinulyapan niya ang kasama nito bago muling ibinalik ang tingin kay Lucas, "Enjoy fishing."

Iyon lang at mabilis siyang naglakad at nilampasan ang mga ito.

Dire-diretso siya sa mabilis na lakad-takbo at hinayaan ang mga paang dalhin siya sa kung saan. She was too cranky to think of anything else! Magpapalamig lang siya ng ulo bago bumiyahe pabalik ng Maynila.

Ilang sandali pa'y natagpuan niya ang sarili sa ma-batong bahagi ng resort. A number of people was swimming from afar, pero sa bahaging kinaroroonan niya'y walang katao-tao.

Perfect. She took off her hat, sun-glasses and summer dress. What's left was her two-piece white bikini. Lumusong siya sa tubig at hiniling na sana'y maibsan noon ang init ng ulo.

Lumangoy siya nang lumangoy. She wanted to remove all the stress from her mind and body.

Tuluy-tuloy lang siya sa paglangoy nang bigla nalang may maramdamang dumikit sa kaniyang binti kasunod na mahapding pakiramdam. Sinubukan niyang lumangoy pabalik subalit sa paglipas ng bawat segundo ay tumindi nang tumindi ang hapding nararamdaman niya.

She started to panic. May kalaliman ang bahaging iyon at nang dahil sa sobrang hapding naramdaman sa hita ay hindi niya alam kung papaano itutuloy ang paglangoy. Tumindi nang tumindi ang hapdi, until she could no longer swim. She floundered until she could move no more. She inhaled a huge amount of air before her head submerged into the water. She closed her eyes tightly, prayed that she could survive her current situation while cursing Lucas at the same time. It was all his fault!

She tried to swim up again only to feel more pain.

Until...

She felt a huge hand reached for her and pulled her out of the water. She grasped for air the moment she felt it on her skin.

The next thing she knew, ay nasa mababaw na bahagi na sila ng dagat.

Ubo siya nang ubo nang ibinagsak niya ang sarili sa buhanginan. Naka-inom siya ng tubig-dagat kaya nangangati ang lalamunan niya. Maliban pa roon ay tumindi ang hapdi sa binti niya. She opened her eyes and stared at her stinging leg. Nanlaki ang mga mata niya sa nakita. May malaking marka sa hita niya at pulang-pula.

"Jellyfish sting."

Umangat ang tingin niya sa lalaking nagsalita. Nakatayo ito at nakatunghay sa kaniya. Hindi kaagad niya maaninag ang mukha nito dahil sa tindi ng sikat ng araw.

"How do you feel? Are you nauseous?"

Umiling siya.

"Don't worry, it doesn't look serious." Lumuhod ito sa harapan niya at inalalayan siyang maupo ng maayos.

Napasinghap siya nang mapatitig sa mukha nito. Saglit niyang nakalimutan ang mahapding hita.

What are the odds of meeting the God of the Sea?

"We need to go back to the resort though, para maagapan ng first aid treatment ang hita mo. Hindi ka dapat lumangoy sa parteng ito, hindi mo ba napansin ang karatula sa unahan na bawal mag-swimming dito?"

Para siyang lokang umiling lang at nakatulala pa rin sa mukha nito.

The guy infront of her was the most gorgeous human being she had ever seen in her entire life. And he looked familiar. Kinunutan siya ng noo. Yes, he does look familiar...

"H-have we met before?"

Kinunutan ito ng noo, "You don't remember me?"

Oh! Bigla siyang na-excite. "Y-you seem familiar but I don't.. remember."

Sandali itong natigilan. Hanggang sa bumuntong hininga ito at pilit na ngumiti, "Don't worry about it, then. Kung hindi mo ako naaalala ay baka hindi talaga ako nag-marka sa iyo."

Gusto niyang itanong kung ano ang ibig nitong sabihin nang bigla na lamang siya nitong buhatin.

She gasped loudly. Awtomatikong napakapit siya sa leeg nito. Doon lang niya napansin na maliban sa suot nitong board shorts ay wala itong suot na pang-itaas. She shivered when their skin touched.

Diyos Mahabagin! Nararamdaman ng balat niya ang maskulado nitong dibdib pati na ang pandesal nito! Anong swerte nga naman ang dinala sa kaniya ng dikya...

"T-thank you for saving me."

Niyuko siya nito at nginitian kaya muli na naman siyang napasinghap. Ilang pulgada lang ang layo ng mukha nito sa mukha niya at hindi siya mapakali.

"I was there sitting at the top of the big rocks when I saw you, swimming back and forth. I was just watching you until I noticed something was wrong."

Yumuko siya at para umiwas ng tingin ay nilingon niya ang mga gamit na naiwan sa buhanginan.

"Don't worry about your stuff, sasabihin ko kay Lucas na kunin ang mga iyon mamaya."

Muli ay napasinghap siya at tumingala rito, "You know him?"

"Of course. We work at the same office. Nandito kami para sa company outing."

She frowned. Naisip niyang kaya marahil ito pamilyar ay dahil ka-trabaho ito ng walang'ya.

"Why are you here, by the way?"

Pinamulahan siya ng mukha nang muli siyang yukuin nito.

"Sinundan ko si Lucas. I caught him with another woman."

He laughed.

Geez, can he get more gorgeous?!

"I was surprised it took you so long to catch him."

Bumuntong-hininga siya at pabulong na nagsalita, "Pumili nalang siya ng kakalantariing iba, 'dun pa sa pangit."

He laughed again, and oh boy, how it sounded so sexy...

"Everybody in the office knew he was just dating that girl because she's rich."

She shrugged. "Marahil. Dahil maliban doon ay wala rin akong makitang ibang dahilan para gustuhin niya ang babaeng iyon."

Hindi ito sumagot kaya muli niya itong sinuri, pilit na inaalala kung saan sila nito nagkita.

Malapit na nilang marating ang lobby ng resort nang muli siya nitong yukuin. "How about you? Ano'ng nagustuhan mo kay Lucas?"

Umiwas siya ng tingin, "Why are you even asking?"

"Well, I'm just curious. Since you chose him over me during the singles mixer event."

Natigilan siya sa narinig.

The singles mixer event? Nag-isip siya. What did he mean by that?

He smiled as he gazed at her flustered face, "We were together almost the whole afternoon that day. You were already tipsy when you got there. Marami kang kwento tungkol sa mga pinagdaanan mo, you laughed a lot, too. I thought you were adorable and I wanted to get to know you more. Sandali lang kitang iniwan noon para kumuha ng tubig para sa'yo nang sa pagbalik ko'y kausap mo na si Lucas. Hindi na ako lumapit nang magyaya na ang mga kasama mong umuwi. And the next thing I knew, you were dating him."

Unti-unting nanlaki ang mga mata niya matapos marinig ang sinabi nito. Kumawala siya sa pagkakabuhat nito at hindi makapaniwalang sinuyod ito ng tingin.

"I-Ikaw?!"

He smiled sheepishly.

Oh, the missing piece of my life— I found it! Gusto niyang magtata-talon sa tuwa. Ngayon ay nasagot na ang matagal niyang itinatanong sa sarili. Kung bakit parang may nag-iba sa Lucas na nakilala niya sa mixer event at sa Lucas na sinagot niya. Dahil magkaibang tao pala ang mga ito!

Because the guy she spent time with at the event wasn't Lucas at all! It was the man infront of her!

"I.. I was too drunk that day to remember.. you," namamangha pa rin niyang sambit.

His gorgeous face went serious, "You could have been mine if I didn't leave you and give Lucas a chance to approach you."

Oh Lord.. Pinanginigan siya ng laman. I can be yours now!

"Now that you've learned about his cheating, are you planning to break up with him?"

Napa-kislot siya sa tanong nito. "I... I already did."

His face brightened as he smiled again.

Jusme!

"Good," nakangiting sabi nito. "I always believe that you are not destined to be with him, but with me. Would you like to reconsider your choice that day?"

She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.

Ang lalaki'y sinulyapan ang hita niyang pulang-pula na. He tsked. Lumapit ito at walang salitang binuhat siyang muli.

"Let's have your leg checked at the clinic first."

She shivered as their skin touched again. Lihim siyang napa-ngisi.

Dear Dikya,

You are heaven-sent. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Love,

Sasha

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