Curse Vira. Kung hindi ko pa siya napigilan kanina, malamang ay nalaman na ni Mira ang tungkol kay Isabella.

"Excuse me — what? Ito ang ipinalit mo kay —?"

Every time I remember the way my spoiled brat of a sister treated Mira, not to mention how she deliberately tried to bring the subject of my ex-girlfriend into the conversation, I feel the strong urge to give Vira a whack in the head.

I'll find a way to get even with my evil sister, after her display of attitude towards my girlfriend. No one messes with my Mirathea.

I couldn't even fathom why Vira felt the need to mention Isabella. Was she trying to wind me up? If she was, then she clearly succeeded. Mentioning my ex did wind me up, and now I couldn't get that wretched woman out of my head.

****

"Happy Valentine's, Bella. It's been four years." I smiled as I wrapped my arms around Bella. The air smelled of her vanilla perfume.

To my surprise, instead of hugging me back, Bella stepped away from me.

"Hey. What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

It took several moments before she answered. With another jolt of surprise, I noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears. "I'm sorry, Andrei."

"Why are you saying sorry? What's the matter?" muling tanong ko. I was starting to get nervous, almost as if I already knew what's to come.

Tuluyan nang pumatak ang mga luha ni Bella. Quickly, almost angrily, she wiped them away.

I cupped her face with my hands. "Babe, what's wrong?"

"Let's end this, Andrei. This relationship isn't working anymore."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Wala ka nang ibang iniintindi kundi ang trabaho mo. Pagod na akong maging second priority mo."

"I'm sorry," I replied in a hollow voice. "I thought you understand how much pressure I'm getting from Dad, when it comes to Medialink. Dapat noon mo pa sinabi na ganyan na pala ang nararamdaman mo. Believe me, Bella, you were never second in my priorities. I love you more than anything or anyone."

"Bullshit."

I stared at her, eyes wide with shock. Bella never cursed.

"I should go," she continued when I failed to respond. "Goodbye, Andrei. Thanks for the four years. You've been a great boyfriend... only not anymore."

Without further ado, she turned her back on me and started walking away. But after a few steps, she stopped and faced me again.

"Just in case you're thinking of trying to win me over again... please don't. I'm already with someone else."

This time, when she turned away from me, she never looked back again.

Now all alone, shocked and angry and miserable, I cried. My heart felt like it was shattered into a million pieces.

I never cried... not until then.

That was the night when Andrei died.

****

"Sir Vren?" My secretary's voice brought me back to reality. God knows how long Lally had been looking at me while I stared into nothingness.

"Yeah?" I took a deep breath and met her gaze. "What's up, Lally?"

"Nasa labas po ang kapatid niyo. Papapasukin ko po ba –" Hindi na natapos ng secretary ko ang tanong niya nang biglang sumulpot ang isa na namang hindi inaasahang bisita sa nakaawang na pinto ng aking opisina.

"I told you, Lally, you don't need to ask Vren about that anymore. I'm family!" Vince, all smiles, made his way inside my office. "Right, bro?"

Bakit ba lagi na lang nakangisi ang kuya kong ito? Daig niya pa ang Yahoo Messenger icon. Nakakabwisit.

"Protocol po kasi na lahat ng makikipagkita kay Sir Vren –" Lally, scratching her head, began, only to be interrupted again by my brother.

"Family versus protocol. Which do you think will win?" nakakalokong tanong ni Vince.

"Lally, you can go now," utos ko sa secretary ko. As her boss, it is my duty to save her from the insanity that was Vince. "Thanks for letting me know about my stupid brother."

"Did you just call me 'stupid'? That hurts," Vince remarked, putting an offended hand over his chest as Lally hurried out of my office. Mukhang kahit siya, gusto nang makalayo sa kuya ko.

"Quit being dramatic, Vince. It's not like this is the first time I insulted you." I smirked as my brother occupied the seat in front of my desk. "What are you doing here, anyway? Mabuti at hindi nag-collapse ang AMMC pag-alis mo."

Bigla namang namula ang mukha ng kapatid ko. "Gusto lang talaga kitang dalawin."

"Oh, come on. Like I'd believe that." I grinned. "Are you here for Hannah Marvilla?"

"Fine," he relented. "I'm here to ask if you know where she is. Wala kasi siya sa opisina niya noong dumaan ako."

"You like her, huh?" Tuluyan na akong tumawa. "Are you courting her?"

"Nah." Iniwas ni Vince ang tingin niya. "We're just friends."

"Cross you heart, hope Vira dies?"

Tumawa na rin si Vince. "Grabe ka naman sa ate natin. Fine, I'm courting Hannah. Happy?"

"What happened to that Banerjee woman?" I inquired. "Wala na talaga kayo?"

Vince nodded. "Of course. Ang kupal ko naman kung may nililigawan na akong iba habang kami pa."

"Kupal ka naman talaga." I guffawed. "Ayain mo ba naman 'yon na magpakasal agad? You've known each other for what, just a week? What happened to your damned brain?"

Ngumiti naman ng nakakaloko ang ugok kong kapatid. "Well, I was just playing around. I mean, Samantha's nice, and I happened to know that she's crazy about me, so I took the plunge."

"You're impossible, bro. Playing around is one thing. Asking a woman to marry you is another," I chastised. "You never ask the question unless you really mean it."

"Nabigla lang ako, okay?" depensa naman ni Vince. "I wanted to know the feeling of not being rejected by a woman."

"Because Mira rejected you countless times while I was away?" I asked, suppressing a smile.

Vince nodded. "Yeah. That shattered my ego. God, I don't know what's wrong with me." He sighed. "But believe me, Vren – I'm already over Mira. I swear."

"You better be, 'cause she's mine." I grinned.

"I know. And I can't believe how foolish I was to not sense that all this time, ikaw pala ang gusto niya." Vince smiled back at me. "I'm really happy for the two of you, bro."

"Thanks. I hope things work out well between you and Hannah, too. She's one of Mira's best friends, so you know she's good. A lot better than that Banerjee woman, anyway."

Vince chuckled. But after a few beats, his expression turned serious. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Fire away."

"Last Sunday at the homecoming, right before you and Mira took off, were you talking to..." My brother trailed off. Alam kong nagdadalawang-isip pa siya kung babanggitin niya ba o hindi ang pangalan ng ex-girlfriend ko.

"Isabella?" Ako na mismo ang tumapos sa tanong niya. "Yup. She wanted to tell me something, and I told her to fuck off."

"So, you're still mad at her?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm still mad at her."

"It's been six years, bro. Don't you think it's a bit unusual that she still has that effect on you?" Vince remarked, still in that carefully measured tone. "And I take it na hindi pa alam ni Mira ang tungkol sa kanya. Tama ba ako?"

Tumango ako. "I just don't see why I should bother Mira with information about my stupid ex-girlfriend, that's all. I'm not trying to hide anything. And I know it's been six years, but I still despise what Isabella did to me. She two-timed me, remember?"

"'Course I do."

"I hate how she approached me at the homecoming, na para bang wala siyang nagawang matinding kasalanan sa akin. She's acting like we're best friends or something."

"I wonder what your ex-girlfriend wanted to tell you, though." Vince frowned slightly. "Hindi ka ba naku-curious?"

"I couldn't care less, to be honest."

"Alright, if you say so. I'm just making sure everything's alright with you." Vince leaned back on his seat, now wearing again his easy smile. "And Mira, for that matter. You're my brother, and she's a good friend of mine, so I really hope for your relationship to be smooth-sailing."

"Thanks for the concern, bro."

"My mouth's zipped if you don't want Mira knowing about Isabella."

"Good. Like I said, there's no use telling my girlfriend about that woman, because it won't achieve anything. Your silence will be appreciated."

"Right." To my pleasant surprise, Vince inched his fist closer to mine. "Fist-bump promise? Just like when we were kids?"

I grinned. "Fist-bump promise. I'm glad to have my brother back, you know."

Vince chuckled. "Me too."