Camille Syanna

"Would you relax?" Natatawang sabi ko matapos malingunan si ZA na panay ang tingin sa rearview and side mirrors habang nag-d-drive. "Dad is super cool! He wouldn't eat you alive."

"I am relaxed," deny niya. "It's just that I have never met my girlfriend's parents before,"

I rolled my eyes. Didn't I know that? He never had any girlfriend before me. "Oh, you'll be fine."

My father, Benedict Velez, was a retired basketball player. Now, he manages and coaches his own team under PBA. I had never seen anyone as loving and as caring as my dad. He'd put me first before anything else. And never did he make me feel I wasn't his own.

I was still very young when I found out the truth. They sat me down one day and told me everything because they believed that was the right thing to do. They put their hopes inside the bottle of my understanding of everything at a very early age.

I never looked or asked them about my real father. Dad never made me feel the need to look. He'd always been the best there was for me. Oh, he could pass for a saint had he applied.

"Oh, I wished I watched more basketball back in the day." He was still worried about the impression he would make on my parents, especially Dad. "If only I had time,"

I already told ZA about Dad not being my real father. He didn't say anything and just listened. One thing I love about ZA is he lets me talk.

"Baby, I appreciate your giddiness in meeting my parents. But I assure you they're going to like you!" I placed my hand above his thigh and squeezed it.

He groaned. "Keep your hands off me, or we'll take an unnecessary stopover."

Quickly, I withdrew my hand from his lap. Natatawa akong nailing at ibinaling na lamang ang tingin sa daan. I couldn't believe how happy I was these past couple of months. ZA really stood by me and let me navigate my feeling toward him on my own.

Mom was already at the gate when we parked in front of our home in Bel-Air. She was excited to meet ZA, my first-ever boyfriend.

I let ZA open the door for me. I stepped out with my hand still in his. Mom walked up to us with a lovely smile plastered on her face.

"Mabuti at nakarating na kayo," she kissed my cheek and ZA's too.

"Mom, this is ZA, my boyfriend," I told her.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," magalang na bati ni ZA kay Mommy.

"Hello, ZA. It's so nice to finally meet you," she gave me a meaningful glance before returning her attention to ZA. "I've heard so many wonderful stories about you."

"Mom, stop," I warned her as we entered the house. Mom was the only person I could share my kilig with dahil parehong busy si Chiara and Nisha.

"What?" She giggled. "You didn't lie. He has very intense green eyes and a charming smile."

"You said that?" ZA teased, grinning from ear to ear.

He liked that, huh? I rolled my eyes and elbowed his gut.

"Dad!" I ran toward Dad as he waited for us by the front door. "I missed you,"

"I missed you, too, darling." He kissed the top of my head. I stayed with ZA in his BGC condo for an entire week.

"Please, be nice," I whispered, kissing his cheek before turning to Mom and ZA. "Dad, this is ZA. ZA, this is my dad,"

"It's nice meeting you, Sir." ZA offered a hand and smiled.

But my ever-so-loving and sweet father wasn't too friendly this afternoon. Although, he still accepted my boyfriend's hand. "ZA stands for?"

"Zayn Andrei, Sir." He answered. Their handshake was brief and very formal.

"Zayn Andrei Vladislav," Dad's standoffish tone made me frown. I had never seen my father act this way in front of someone he just met.

"You know ZA?" I asked Dad.

He shrugged. His eyes were still at ZA. Ganoon rin ang huli. They were having a staring contest, and I could feel the tension thickening.

"Benedict, do you know your daughter's boyfriend?" Mom asked. Surely, I wasn't the only one caught in confusion around here.

"I do," was his simple response. His eyes never left ZA. How did they know each other? ZA never told me about him knowing my dad beyond the fact that he was a basketball legend. "Can I have a word with you, Vladislav?"

"No," pumagitna ako sa kanilang dalawa at tiningala si Daddy. "What's going on? How do you know each other?"

Dad turned to Mom, and they exchanged glances.

Nilapitan ako ni Mom at hinawakan sa braso. "Honey, help me prepare the table."

"Not until you tell me what's happening," I refused.

"Your boyfriend will be fine," she pulled me away this time, forcing me to come with her into the house. "Hayaan mo na ang Daddy mo. Nag-iisang anak ka namin at si ZA ang natatanging boyfriend na dinala mo rito. It's normal for your father to behave that way. He wants to make sure of his intentions on you."

We both reached the kitchen, and I was still panicking. What would he tell ZA? How would he react to my father being protective of me?

Mom asked me to help prepare the table. I did as I was told, but I kept checking my Chopard watch because it had been fifteen minutes since we left the two men alone. Ano naman kaya nag pinag-uusapan nilang dalawa?

"You love him, don't you?" Mom laughed, placing a pitcher of grape juice on the table. "Relax! Your father wouldn't do anything to your boyfriend. Benedict couldn't even hurt a fly."

I looked at Mom and stopped for a second. Do I love ZA? We never really talked. For months now, we've been enjoying each other's company. I like it when he's around, and I miss him when he's not. I know I feel something deeper for ZA, but how can I be sure that's love?

"I never thought this day would come," she continued. I frowned at her. "That you'll bring a man to our house who isn't Zanti. I'm glad you've woken up from your slightly sick infatuation with that guy."

"ZA made that happen," wala sa sarili kong bulong.

For years I made myself believe that was love I was feeling for Zanti. ZA made me realize that it wasn't.

"Mom, how did you know you love Dad?" I asked.

"I didn't know," Mom shrugged. "I felt it. I have never been as happy around someone as when I'm with your father. He's made everything easy for me. And things with him are lighter than with everyone else. I woke up one day with a big realization in my head that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him."

And then I thought of ZA. Do I see myself spending the rest of my life with him? Yes. Of course! But I also envisioned a future with Zanti. So, that wasn't enough to call what I was feeling "love".

The lunch with my parents was smooth. When Dad and ZA returned from their "talk," Mom had made all of us sit at the table and eat what she had prepared. Mom must have really liked ZA because she kept feeding him. And ZA seemed to be equally fond of my mother as he was constantly flattering Mom's cooking.

I couldn't say the same thing with Dad. He didn't say much at the table. And when I asked ZA kung ano ang napag-usapan nila'y hindi rin naman siya nagsalita.

"I'm sorry about Dad," I told ZA as we entered his condo. I was staying at his place tonight as planned. "He wasn't always like that with people he just met."

"I understand," nilingon niya ako at nginitian. "He's your father, and it's only normal to size up the guy your daughter is dating."

I rolled my eyes, kicking my Weitzmans on the carpeted floor. "Are you still not going to tell me what you two talked about?"

"Nope," he made a popping sound.

Naramdaman ko ang kanyang paglapit sa aking likuran. He placed his hands over my shoulders and gave it a slight squeeze. And then I felt his lips against my ear.

"Would you relax a little? My first meeting with your parents went well. And they were lovely people, Camille. Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"For letting me into that part of your life," he planted soft kisses around my ear and down to the side of my neck. "I wish I could do the same for you..."

The longing was evident in his voice. ZA couldn't introduce me to his parents because they were already gone. He was lonely and alone. But not anymore.

I am here for him.

I would always be here for ZA.

"Maybe you can tell me about them instead," I said in a small voice. ZA had opened up his life to me, but I could still feel the high barrier he had built on some parts of it.

And I wanted to get in.

I wanted to know everything about him.

I felt him tense behind me for a moment. His lips rested on the side of my neck. I could feel his breathing against my skin.

ZA took his time to think if he was ready to let me in on that side of his life. I almost thought he wouldn't until he spoke.

"My father died before I was born," simula niya, pumaikot ang kanyang mga braso sa aking bewang upang hapitin pa akong papalapit sa kanya. "Lola said he died serving his country. He was a Soviet soldier who died during the war in Afghanistan. Well, that was what she kept telling me before I coaxed her to tell me the truth."

"What was his name?"

"Zandro," was his short reply before continuing his story. "He met my mother Andrea when she was nineteen. She was finishing college, and he was here for a mission that didn't include impregnating a teenager. Yet, I happened. She loved my father so much that she had given him everything without asking for anything in return. She barely knew him, but that didn't stop her from wanting to be with him."

ZA's embrace tightened as if we didn't want to let me go, ever. Oh, if he only knew, I wouldn't want to be away from him.

"My father left the military and ended his contract with Pentagon defense. He married my mother and started a simple life with her. It was peaceful for a while, he couldn't believe it himself. Because once you opened your eyes in danger, you could never close them without fear reigning in your chest." ZA's voice hardened as he tried to contain his emotions. "On her last month of pregnancy, my mother received the most devastating news a pregnant wife could get. My father was brutally murdered on a brownfield in the next town where he worked as a contractor. My mother died two years later because of too much sadness. She couldn't stop thinking about all that could've been and would've been, and my presence alone wasn't enough to stop her from taking her own life."

"Oh, God!" I gasped. I could only imagine how hard this was for him. Rehashing his past felt almost the same as reliving the pain. I was about to turn so I could hug him, but he kept me still.

"From then on, I swore to my father's grave that I would look for the man responsible for his death."

I held his arms tightly. "Is that why you become a soldier?"

Ilang sandali kaming nabalot ng katahimikan bago niya ako pakawalan at pihitin paharap sa kanya. There was a silent plea in his eyes, I just didn't know what for. I could tell that ZA was about to tell me something more than I asked for.

"I was ten when my grandmother died and left me to fend for myself. A few weeks later, Solomon Mondragon and Rodrigo Santa de Leones came to my doorstep and offered me help. I was hesitant because I didn't know who they were." ZA held my hands, carefully choosing his next words. "I shoved them away, but they kept coming back. They told me they knew my father and that they were his friends. I didn't believe them. How would I? I didn't even know who he was. I didn't even meet the guy."

Solomon Mondragon and Rodrigo Santa de Leones were Dave and Red's fathers.

"On one of their many visits, Uncle Solomon told me they knew who killed my father."

"Who?" I couldn't help but ask.

"It was Montano Wesley," he mentioned his name with so much disdain. "He was a Pentagon Defense agent gone rogue. And they wanted to give me an opportunity to avenge his death. I was young with literally nothing except a hunger for vengeance that was keeping me alive."

ZA stared at me for a few seconds. I didn't know what to tell him to make his pain disappear. I could only be here for him.

"You would hate me if you found out what I had become," the pain in his voice cut through my chest. He was hurting just by the thought of me running away from him if he as much as revealed himself to me.

And though I didn't know if I was ready to nail myself on the ground I was standing, I was certain I wouldn't leave. I asked for this, didn't I?

"Try me," I told him.

ZA let go of my hand and walked toward the bedroom. I followed him. Silence sat in the air around us as he was taking something out of the chest drawer. He then handed me a file folder with an embossed text of Pentagon Defense.

Listening to his story, it was only fair to assume that he'd end up joining them. He wanted revenge, and he couldn't do that alone.

"Uncle Rigo and Uncle Solomon founded the organization. We are a secret alliance of every government around the world. We did what they couldn't do. We were trained to kill and protect. The scars you found on my body prove that what I had been through wasn't easy. But the physical pain was nothing compared to what had ruined me inside." ZA gave me time to absorb everything that he just said. "I am a monster, Camille. This is what I had become."

I went through the files he gave me. Inside was his profile and everything about him. My heart clenched as I thought of little ZA, the boy who barely knew a thing about life and was forced to take matters into his tiny hands. No one was there for him. He only had himself.

"Blade," I looked at him and called him by his code name. "How many have you killed?"

The thought of ZA killing people for a living pained me. Not because I was scared of him but because I felt sorry for the child he once was.

"I stopped counting. I figured they wouldn't stop piling up under my name."

"You don't scare me, Andrei," I told him, tossing the folder to the side. "If anything, knowing you deeper made me love you more."

"You love me," he whispered in disbelief.

I stopped for a second, realizing this was the first time I admitted to myself that I loved Zayn Andrei. And also the first time I told him. "I do,"

"And I love you, too..."

I could cry! This man had been through the toughest times and could still tell me he loved me. He didn't die from it all. He could have, but he didn't.

"I had been meaning to tell you, but I wasn't sure you could love me back for who I really was." He whispered hesitantly. "I withdrew myself from people and only trusted a few. I was ready to grow old and die alone until you."

God, how come I'm only realizing now that I'm head over heels, deeply and crazily in love with this man?

"You didn't become a monster," I smiled at him as tears ran down my cheeks. "Monsters didn't know how to love and share themselves with others. But you boldly did all those to me. You gave me access to the side of yourself that you were so scared to let the world know. Monsters couldn't do that."

I crossed the distance between us and pulled him in a tight embrace. I cried for the little boy who struggled to find himself and was ripped of the chance of having a peaceful life. I could only imagine how chaotic it was inside his chest. The anger and pain haywire in his head. ZA was tough to surpass all of those.

"I love you, ZA..."

"Andrei," he whispered, enveloping me in his arms. "I liked it better when you call me Andrei..."

I smiled in between my sobs. "Andrei, I love you."

"I love you, Camille, with all that's left of me."

ANNOUNCEMENT:

VLADISLAV - ZA's POV which covers the first and second-generation timeline is open for pre-order. We have limited slots left. Please message us on Facebook to order: https://web.facebook.com/frapwpstories or https://web.facebook.com/frxppauchino/

Title: Vladislav (ZA's POV) | Price: P550
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Book details: 5x8 perfect bind, 200 pages, cream paper, matte cover.

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