Chapter 22

Alessandro Ramirez

Matapos kausapin si Carlion at siguraduhing hindi nito ibebenta ang nalamang impormasyon, sinabihan ko si Hernan na dumaan sa 7/11. Baka kasi ay hindi pa kumakain si Celebes.

"Sir, mas mabuti pong hindi pagkain galing sa convenience store ang ibigay niyo kay Ms. Escuadro." Nagtagis ang bagang ko sa suhestisyon nito. Pa'no nito nalamang may plano akong bilhan doon ng pagkain si Celebes? "Mas mabuting bilhan ang mga babae ng mga pagkaing puno ng sustansiya."

At mas marunong pa talaga ito sa akin? He's got a point though.  I don't want Celebes to get sick of eating too much junk food or processed foods. I already know she regularly drinks beer so it isn't good if I'll buy her cup noodles.

"Huwag niyo po sanang bilhan si Ma'am ng cup noodles." Manghuhula ba 'tong lalaking 'to?! Sinamaan ko ito ng tingin pero parang pokus na pokus pa rin ito sa pagmamaneho kahit ang dami nitong sinasabi. Tahimik lamang si Rieno sa harapan at parang walang planong sumali sa usapan namin ni Hernan.

"What do you suggest then?" labas sa ilong kong tanong.

"Nandiyan pa ba ang listahan, Rieno?" ani Hernan sabay tapik sa katabi na akala ko ay tulog na dahil kanina pa ito tahimik.

Ilang segundo lang ay inabot ni Rieno ang iPad at bumungad sa akin ang nakabukas na notes app.

The title on the top says it all.

'What to buy for dinner when we need to do overtime - For employees only'

May ganito pa silang listahan?

Rieno scrolled down the page and paused on a certain part.

"Ito po ang listahan ng mga paborito ni Ms. Escuadro," ani Rieno. Kinuha ko ang iPad at hindi makapaniwalang tiningnan ang mga pagkaing nakalista. "Huwag po kayong mag-alala. Galing po ang impormasyong ito sa GC naming mga nasa security team at si Ms. Escuadro rin po ang nagsuhestisyon na maglista ng mga pagkaing gusto naming ipabili kapag may overtime."

Pork binagoongan. Cucumber salad(must not be circles so either chopped into pieces, julienned, crinkle-cut, or look like fries). Lechon manok. And the list goes on.

I looked at the now silent Rieno but he didn't even look at me.

"Si Celebes lang ba ang babae sa GC na sinasabi mo?"

"Opo."

Ah. These fuckers. How dare they be in a GC with Celebes?!

"I-add mo ako sa GC."

"Hindi po tayo friends sa Facebook, Sir."

"I-a-add niyo ako o isisisante ko kayong lahat?"

—

Sa huli ay binilhan namin si Celebes ng lechon manok at liempo. Sinabayan ko na rin ito ng rice.

"Mabait po si Ms. Escuadro sa amin kahit mukha kaming mga barakong tambay sa kanto." Parang mas lalo dumaldal si Hernan matapos naming bumili ng pagkain ah. Binilhan ko rin kasi sila ni Rieno ng hapunan. Hinayaan ko na lamang itong magsalita dahil si Celebes naman ang bukambibig nito. Mas nanaig ang kagustuhan kong malaman ang lahat tungkol sa babaeng laging gumugulo sa isipan ko. "Mukha lang talaga siyang suplada kaya wala siyang masyadong ka-close. Lagi namin siyang nakikita kasama si Ma'am Genevieve at Sir Clark. Lagi siyang masaya kapag magkasama silang tatlo."

Kumunot ang noo ko.

Celebes even knows my cousin Genevieve? How the hell did our paths not cross all these years?!

Fate, perhaps?

I chuckled at the thought.

"Sinabi niyo ba ang tungkol kay Brielle sa akin dahil kay Celebes?"

"Opo, tama kayo Sir. Si Ms. Escuadro ang pinakamalaking rason kong bakit napagkasunduan namin ni Rieno na maging whistleblower." Whistleblower. Tama nga rin namang tawagin silang gano'n. At may iba pa silang rason para maging tsismoso? "Isa pa sa totoo lang Sir, naaasiwa na po kaming sundan at imbestigahan si Brielle dahil sa utos ng ama niyo. Iba-iba po kasing lalaki ang laging kasama niya at dahil babae po ito, parang pinagtataksilan ko po ang aking asawa sa tuwing nakikita naming itong madalas na hubad. May okasyon pa nga po na kailangan naming pumunta sa isang orgy at halos hindi na ako patulugin ng asawa ko sa kama kahit anong paliwanag ko. Ganoon din ang nangyari kay Rieno. Naglakas loob lang akong magsabi sa ama niyo tungkol sa sitwasyon namin kaya siya mismo ang nakipag-usap sa aming mga asawa at humingi ng paumanhin sa 'di pagkakaunawaan."

My nose almost bled out from his straight Tagalog but understood what he was saying.

What a fucking unbelievable discovery. Even Dad knows about Brielle's actions. Did he just put up with it because of me and the arranged marriage? He must have thought I was blindly in love with Brielle.

Hah...

Well what's done is done. I've wasted my years with a two-faced bitch when I could've met someone like Celebes—

Fuck. Yes, Celebes again.

"Don't you dare say anything to Celebes about Brielle," pagbabanta ko sa kanila. "Or I'll fucking feed you Brielle's nude photographs."

Narinig ko pang parang maduduwal si Rieno bago sila magkasunod na magsalita.

"Yes, Sir."

Mabilis kaming nakaabot sa Condominium tower at nagpaalam na sila na maghahapunan na rin kaya mag-isa akong umakyat.

I swiped the black card in the private elevator and got in. A familiar Christmas song was playing in the speakers.

"Silent night, holy night~"

I remembered the memory of Celebes breaking down inside the elevator one time because of it. I should've contacted the staff already to not play this kind of music in the elevators. I don't want Celebes to have her bad memories triggered even when she didn't tell me about it for me to do something for her. Ayokong makita siya ulit na ganoon katakot.

I badly want to know what happened in the past but I don't want to be weird and be like a stalker or dig something about her fears because I want Celebes to tell me her fears herself when she's ready to trust me.

I clicked my tongue.

How corny of me.

I reached my floor in a few minutes and decided to go straight to Celebes' unit. I pressed the door bell without much thinking and even knocked.

The door opened wide and I saw that unknown fucker who kissed Celebes. Bakas ang pagkabagot sa asul nitong mata nang tingnan ako. Halos magdilim ang paningin ko  matapos mariyalisang nakasuot lamang ito ng bathrobe sa loob mismo ng unit ni Celebes.

Ayokong mag-isip ng kung ano dahil alam ko namang baliw na baliw si Celebes sa katawan ko para piliin 'tong payatot na 'to.

"Fuck, I should've checked if it's a person first. It's just a mosquito," sabi nito at saka ay sinipat ang suot ko. Pati ang relos ko ay tinitigan nito nang mabuti. "Not bad," komento nito at saka ay nadako ang mga mata sa dala kong malaking supot. "Aha! Food! Come in, my good man," anito at iminuwestra akong pumasok. "I'll treat you as a human for now because of the food."

Anak ng putragis.

Nagkasalubong ang kilay ko sa sinabi nito pero pumasok na lang din dahil gusto ko nang makita si Celebes.

I just want to kiss my sweetheart already.

"Where's Celebes?" kaagad kong sabi nang makarating kami sa sala.

"Chill. Baby is in her own bedroom." Pumewang ito at tinitigan na naman ang mukha ko nang mabuti. It was too long that it made me feel awkward. Kaunti na lang at iisipin kong nababakla ito sa akin. "And I thought you'll punch me after seeing me in her unit but you're surprisingly calm."

"Hinding-hindi ako ipagpapalit no Celebes sa payatot na tulad mo." He looked like he got punched in the stomach because of the face he's making. "Isa pa, walang tiwala si Celebes sa karamihang tao kaya kung nasa loob ka ng unit niya at wala kang black eye, hihintayin ko munang magpakilala ka muna bago mag-conclude kung ano ka sa buhay niya."

"Wow," he mumbled and laughed. "You like her, don't you?"

Before I can even decide to answer that, I heard Celebes' soft voice calling out my name.

"Alessandro?"

Walang ano-anong nilapag ko ang supot ng pagkain sa coffee table at tinakbo ang daan papunta sa kwarto niya. I couldn't help but pause when I saw her in her cute polar bear printed pajamas. She looked devastatingly beautiful even with her puffy eyes. Wait why are her eyes puffy like she cried?!

Before I could even think about what I'm doing or why am doing it, my hands cupped her face and I kissed her forehead.

"Did you cry sweetheart?" I stared at her beautiful eyes that slowly widened with surprise. "I'll punch whoever made my lovely woman cry."

"A-Alessandro?" naguguluhan nitong tanong at tinulak ako nang bahagya pero syempre hindi ako natinag. "W-Wait, lasing ka ba? You're looking at me in a weird way."

I raised a brow.

"I look at you weirdly?" She must've been nervous about it since her eyes trembled. I snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me. "Why?"

"T-There's something different with how you look at me," hindi makapaniwala niyang sabi. "I can't put a finger on what it is but it's different." I smiled at her. So cute. "N-Nag-contact lense ka ba?"

My smile fell. Contact lense? Really?

Napabuntong-hininga ako at bumitaw na. Hindi ko mapigalang mapasimangot nang makita si Celebes na nakahinga nang maluwag.

"I don't wear contact lenses."

Naghari ang katahimikan nang ilang segundo dahil hindi na siya umimik.

"Hey guys! I'm hungry!"

—

"So you're her twin brother?" I had more questions but I decided to just start with that.

"Yep," sabay na sagot ni Celebes at ng kapatid niya.

Siguro ay walang maniniwala na magkakambal silang dalawa dahil una, masyadong maganda si Celebes para ma-associate sa payatot na 'to at pangalawa magkaiba sila ng apilyedo. Celebes Enna Escuadro. Sargasso Lien Azul.

Their first names are the closest they could be as twins. It must be a family situation since Celebes didn't talk about it anymore and proceeded to eating the food I brought.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero parang iniiwasan nitong tumingin sa akin. Dahil ba sa kapatid niya? Ito ba yung nagpaiyak sa kanya kanina?

Naalala ko bigla ang pagkukuwento ni Dad tungkol sa mga magulang ni Celebes, na parang baliw na baliw ito sa asawa. My dad even said that he was a ruthless man who didn't give Celebes' mother freedom.

Their names could be related to that somehow. It's either Celebes' mother decided to not give her husband's surname to her beloved daughter. But why is Celebes alone?

And why is this stupid brother of hers here right now?

Tangina. Mamamatay ako sa dami ng mga tanong sa utak ko.

"Baby kain ka nang marami," nagsusumamong sabi ni Sargasso. Sinamaan ko ito nang tingin nang gusto nitong subuan si Celebes ng isang kutsarang kanin. Napansin nito ang tingin ko at saka ay ngumiwi. "What? Want me to feed you too?"

"Stop it, Sarge," saway ni Celebes dito kaya napangiti ako. Sambakol naman ang mukha ng loko-loko niyang kakambal na padabog na nagpatuloy sa paghimay ng lechon manok. "Y-You should eat a lot, Alessandro."

My cute sweetheart is red as a tomato. Why does she look so nervous ever since I got here? I want to tease her so much.

"Will you feed me, sweetheart?" I asked while watching her redden some more. "Why is my beautiful Celebes blushing?"

Nabilaukan si Sargasso pero hinayaan lang namin itong umubo roon at maghagilap ng tubig. He could die there for all I care.

"T-Tell me first why you're looking at me like that." Celebes couldn't hide her nervousness right now which makes me even curious. "C-Can you stop looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" I teased her.

She stared at me this time and said in awe.

"Like you're in love with me."

She is fucking adorable. Sexy and adorable.

"So?" I crossed my arms and gave her a wide grin. I took note of her nipples that hardened under her thin clothes. The room seemed to heat up when she licked her lips. She noticed where I was looking.

"Anong so?" aniya at pinagkrus ang mga braso para takpan ang ebidensiya ng pag-iinit niya. "You shouldn't look at me like I'm the most precious thing in the world to you Alessandro. Lalo na at may girlfriend ka na pakakasalan mo pa."

Ah. Celebes. Your cuteness will be the death of me.

"Should I cancel the wedding, sweetheart?"

"Magtigil ka nga sa kaka-sweetheart mo sa akin at baka bayagan kitang baliw ka!"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa pagbabanta nito.

"Why are you angry? I always call you sweetheart." She grumbled some incoherent words and then started eating again, as if pretending I don't exist. I wouldn't let her have the satisfaction of ignoring me when she's clearly affected. "I'll really cancel the wedding if you tell me to, sweetheart."

"Huwag kang magbiro kung klarong 'di mo naman kayang panindigan." Her words slapped the happiness out of me. Does she really not trust that I'll do everything for her or that I'll choose her over Brielle? "Just quickly eat and then leave." My jaw almost dropped from what she said. What the actual fuck? "I don't want to see your face for a couple of days. Grant me a leave since I need to spend time with my brother. You can at least do that for your fuck buddy, right?"

Fuck buddy—ah. Right. She is someone I fuck but why does it all seem so wrong for me right now?

I clenched my jaw and tried so suppress my growing anger because I can't really refute her. Technically, I haven't officially broken up with Brielle and I haven't canceled the wedding plans yet or tell my family about my plans to cancel it.

Fuck.

"Alright," nasabi ko na lang at nagpatuloy na sa pagkain. Bumalik na si Sargasso at saka ay nagpatuloy sa pagsasalita na para bang sinadya nitong 'di pansinin ang tensyon sa mesa.

"Anyways where did you buy this lechon manok dude?"