Chapter 17

I asked for some help sa mga staff, but they asked me which function room would it be. Hindi ko naman matandaan. Tinuro naman sa akin kung nasaan ang function rooms at malaki ang chance na isa ro'n ay nando'n ang mga kasamahan ko. When I told to myself na papasukan ko ang isnag function room at kung hindi ko man sila makita ro'n, I wouldn't care less.

Napagpasyahan kong pasukin ang isang function at agad ko namang hinanap si Raj, pero hindi ko siya matanaw. I was about to go out, pero may humarang din sa akin at pinaupo ako sa silya ro'n. Magpapaliwanag pa sana ako, pero hindi na raw nila ina-allow na lumabas dahil magsisimula na ang event. I started to get worried dahil alam kong hinahanap na rin nila ako. I kept checkin in on my phone, pero nawawala ang signal nito.

"Please, let us all welcome Mr. Devin Zolter Carrington on the stage," the host announced, and my attention quickly panned to where the stage was. Doon ko lang napansin na paakyat ng stage si Devin Carrington at siya ang guest speaker na function room na 'to.

Lumipat din naman ako ng upuan na mas malapit sa harapan para mas makita ko ito nang maayos. Mayamaya lang din naman ay may kumalabit sa akin na staff at pinapalit muli ako nito ng pwesto. I was worried pa na baka paalisin nila at pabalikin do'n sa likod, pero nang itinuro sa akin ng staff kung saan ako ililipat ay nakita ko ang asawa ni Devin Carrington. Cely was waving at me and telling me to sit next to her.

I really had to make sure they would allow me to do that. In-assist na lang din nila ako papunta sa pwesto nina Cely at tumabi ako sa kanya.

"I was so nervous. I thought they would kick me out."

"Oh, why?" taka nitong tanong sa akin. "Aren't you supposed to be here? 

Umiling naman ako. "No. . . I was supposed to be going to the other event, but I entered the wrong function room and they won't let me go so I have no choice, but to stay until this event ends."

She giggled. "Oh, that's unfortunate. Don't worry, my husband won't take much long."

"Yeah, I mean it's okay. . . I've known Devin Carrington and you. . . I know you're a Filipina," I winced. "I'm actually Half-Filipina, too. You don't need to know that, but I guess, I just have to speak that out loud."

"So, you can speak and understand Tagalog?" she asked.

Tumango naman. "Syempre naman!"

Natawa naman si Cely sa akin. "Nakakapagod mag-English, 'no?"

"Sinabi mo pa," sagot ko. "Though wala namang problema sa akin. I've learned English growing up, and you can guess by my accent that my Indian accent was very noticeable."

"Ah, yeah, I think that's fine," Cely said, nodding her head. "I mean, you got a very good English."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. I don't want to keep talking to you as your husband is speaking and I might be disturbing you."

Muli siyang natawa sa sinabi ko. "Hindi, ano ba. Okay lang sa akin."

We listened to Devin's presentation. I'm not sure what can I expect from him. Hindi ko pa naman siya naririnig sa mga ganitong klaseng event so I don't know how he will run this discussion over the time. Still, he's a billionaire and has a lot of experience he could teach everyone who came to this event.

Moreover, one of the things I noticed that he kept on doing was to look at his wife and seemingly get her approval. Ang cute lang nilang dalawa sa palitan ng mga tingin nila. Mas natuon pa ang atensyon ko sa ginagawa nila kaysa sa mga sinasabi ni Devin. I still got some of the things he was speaking about on the stage and somehow made me realize that I would never be like him unless to was like Cely who eventually got married to a billionaire.

"I've been noticing this. . ." ani Cely at dumapo ang kamay niya sa kamay ko kung nasaan ang singsing. "Are you married?"

Sa puntong iyon ay kinabahan na ako. Sasabihin ko ba sa kanya ang totoo o pwede ko naman sa kanya sabihin na fake lang ang marriaged na 'to? Hindi na rin naman siguro kami magkikita after so maaari naman niyang malaman?

Napangiwi ako. "Uhm. . . I'm not sure if I should tell you about this because I've signed—"

"Oh, don't. Ayokong mapahamak ka."

"But I think I needed your advice," aniko. "I'm going to tell you something about my marriage, but please don't tell it to anyone, okay?"

"Sure, okay. I understand."

"Pinky promise?" 

Bahagya pa siyang natawa sa request ko, pero ginawa rin namin iyon. "Pinky promise."

"I'm in a situation where I have to put myself as a wife of this man," pagsisimula ko. "I'm not sure what was the purpose of it, but the only thing that I completely understand was to let everyone know we were married. One of the reasons he told me is that he doesn't want to get married to the woman his father would like him to end up with. Ayaw niya no'n so he came up with this solution na ipakilala ako sa parents niya as his girlfriend and then wife."

"What the actual shit?" she hissed.

"Shhh," pagpapatahimik ko pa sa kanya. "Basically, that's just it. There's no end to this agreement. As long as he wanted, we will have to do it."

"That's almost fucked up, Kash," she said. "I don't like your situation right now."

"So, please tell me what can I do?"

"What do you get in this agreement?"

"A lot." Ngiwi ko pa. "I stayed at his home right now in Mumbai. He would pay me monthly. There are other perks I would get so hindi pa rin ako talo. I'm good with it because I can also take advantage of it, but what if he asked for more from me?"

"What do you think it would be?"

"When I talked to his stepmom last time, she spoke about having a child or whatsoever. That scared the shit out of me and I don't think I can fulfill that part of the agreement."

"Was it part of the agreement?" she asked and I shook my head. "Then you don't have to worry about it. You won't be breaching any agreement if you don't want to get pregnant. It would be his problem and you were just doing your part in pretending as his wife so that should be it."

"True. . . You're right. That'll help me, Cely. Thank you so much."

"No worries. If you need any help, you can reach out to me. I will follow you on Instagram. Do you have one?" Tumango naman ako. "Alright. Let us follow each other and talk over there if we won't be able to see each other again after this event."

"Sure, no problem!"

Kahit papaano ay nakahinga ako nang maluwag na naisabi ko sa ibang tao ang sitwasyon ko with Raj ngayon. I trust Cely wouldn't say a word about it. That's why at the end of Devin's presentation, he went down and meet his wife. I also got a chance to meet him as Cely introduced me to him. Hindi ko na rin naman ipinalagpas pa ang pagkakataon na makapagpa-picture sa kanila.

I stayed with them until the next thirty minutes when the event was over. Sumabay na rin ako sa kanilang dalawa palabas ng function room kung saan ay may tumawag din ng atensyon ko. Nakita ko naman si Raj na mabilis na naglakad papunta sa direksyon ko. Cely looked at him and put her glances at me as she knew that that he was the one I was talking about earlier.

Fine man. She mouthed.

Hindi ko alam ung matatawa ba ako o kung ano sa sinabi niya. Nang makalapit din si Raj sa amin ay tinanong nito kung saan ako nanggaling. I explained to him what happened and how I ended up on the wrong function room that led me in meeting the Carrington's. When he realized who I was with, he was speechless and could only say a few words to them.

When the Carrington's excused themselves ay kaming dalawa na lamang ang naiwan.

"I got starstruck seeing them in person," I said. "I never thought I would be friends with Cely."

"Are you friends with her?"

Tumango naman ako. "Yes, she called me friends earlier so I think we are now."

Napangisi naman si Raj sa sinabi ko. "Okay, whatever. You do you, but we have to get back inside the function room. I was looking for almost an hour now. I thought you'd get back soon, but you didn't come back."

 I winced. "I'm sorry. . . I didn't mean to get lost, but I won't do it again."

"Come on. . . Let's go back and don't leave again without me."

"Yes, sir. . ."

He took my hand and held it tightly as we found our way back to the function room and sat back up without letting anyone notice I was gone for almost the two-hour event. I will do just fine here since I'm back with Raj and whatever might happen next shouldn't be a worry—hopefully.

***