"Red!"

She ignored Troy and continued walking. Hindi na rin siya bumalik sa table kung saan naroroon ang mommy nito. She wanted to get away, to be alone. Pakiramdam niya ay isa siyang outsider na nang-gate crash ng family gathering.

"Ate, wait!"

Red stopped on track. Boses ni Ariesa ang tumawag. She turned to see the girl running towards her, with Ela following behind.

"Ate, galit ka ba?" tanong ni Ela nang makalapit sila.

"N-No," sagot niya sabay iling. "I'm just not used to that."

"Well, you better start getting used to it. Kuya can be so terribly sweet with his girl."

...his girl. That made her stomach churn. She doesn't want to be anybody's girl. Parang ang submissive ng dating.

Hinawakan siya ni Ela sa kamay at saka hinila pabalik kay Troy. She tugged back.

"Ela..."

Ela sighed and let go of her hand. "I'm sorry, ate."

"Tell you what? Tayo na lang ang mag-bonding."

"Are you serious, ate? Yey! We can ride the golf cart!"

She smiled at the girls. Dahil sa nag-iisa siyang anak, hindi niya naranasan ang sibling bond na nakikita niya ngayon sa magkakapatid. Ngayon siya nakaramdam ng matinding panghihinayang. Kung siguro ay totoo silang magkapatid ni Vince, baka iba ngayon ang sitwasyon niya.

Baka naging close sila ng daddy niya. And her mom might even still be alive. Who knows? Isang kibot lang naman sa tadhana, mababago na ito.

"Can Vico come with?" asked Ariesa.

"Sure." Just not your kuya, gusto niyang idagdag. But Troy didn't look like he has any intention of going with them. Pumunta ito kina Henrietta at kinausap ang mag-inang santa-santita. She was surprised when she felt dismay.

Sumakay sila ng golf cart at nagpakalayo-layo sa ibang tao. Madaldal ang magkapatid. Sinamahan pa ni Vico na wala ring preno ang bibig. Naaliw sya kahit sa pakikinig lang sa tatlo. She was enjoying the joyride, until she became the topic of interest.

"Ate, ilan na ang nagiging boyfriends mo?" Ela asked.

Nagkatinginan silang dalawa ni Vico.

"I'm not sure," sagot nya. "Maybe three?"

Vico snorted. "Three, my ass. Did you mean, three last quarter?"

Sinamaan niya ng tingin ang pinsan. "Dating doesn't count, okay? Yung iba naman kasi, dini-date ko lang ng ilang beses, hindi ko binu-boyfriend." She doesn't normally care about what other people think of her, but at that time, she's subconsciously craving for Troy's sisters' approval.

"Okay lang yan, ate. Kuya had plenty of girlfriends too."

"Speaking of which, naging girlfriend din ba nya si Santina?" tanong niya sa magkapatid.

"Curious ka?" sabat ni Vico.

"Hindi pa, ate," sagot ni Ela. "Kuya thinks of her as a younger sister kasi."

"You mean to say, not appealing enough'? I get where he's coming from. She looks so boring kasi."

The three laughed at her remark.

"You're obviously jealous," Vico teased.

Rolling her eyes, she responded, "Please... what's there to be jealous about?"

"Nothing, ate," Ela interjected. "We like you better for kuya."

"Yes. He's tamed when he's with you."

Napataas ang kilay niya sa rason ng magkapatid.

"So you're okay with the fact that I have your brother on the leash?"

The two girls grinned. Nailing na lamang siya.

"Ikaw, Vico, nakailang girlfriends ka na?"

The question made Vico swirve so hard to the left. They were almost thrown out.

"Ano ba! Magdahan-dahan ka nga sa pagliko!" pangaral niya sa pinsan.

"Sorry, I was caught off guard," pabulong nitong sabi.

Nang makabawi ang dalawa ay kinulit ng mga ito si Vico. Vico shot her a helpless look, his eyes were begging. Just lie, you idiot! she wanted to shout out.

"Was that so hard to answer, Vico?"

"Oo nga, how many ba? Did you lose count na?"

She grunted and made him stop driving.

"He's been with one," sagot niya. It's true anyway. But Vico does not consider that one time to be a real relationship. He was still a closet gay back then and he didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially his father. So he asked some girl in school to pretend to be his girlfriend for a time being. That didn't pan out well, of course. Hindi rin nakatiis ang gaga. Umamin din ito sa ama, who practically disowned him.

"One... fleet? Dozen? One what?"

"One. As in isa lang," paglilinaw niya.

The two girls gaped.

"No way!"

"Confirmed!"

They high-fived and laughed. Bahagya namang namutla si Vico. Kahit siya ay napakunot din ang noo.

"You knew?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Duh!"

"Kelan pa?"

"Since we met you pa! Mas interested ka pa kaya sa gowns namin kesa sa 'ming dalawa!"

"At saka kahit anong pagpapa-cute ang gawin namin, you wouldn't budge!"

Vico was looking sour, but relieved. The two didn't seem to mind that he's gay.

"You won't tell on Vico, would you?" she asked.

"Only if he answers all our questions."

Pero bago pa man ulanin ng taong si Vico ay ipinatawag na sila para mananghalian. They headed back, with Vico's promise that they will pick up where they left off right after lunch. Sa loob sila nananghalian, along with the other patrons of the place.

Kagaya kanina, bidang-bida na naman si Antoinette, clearly disregarding her presence. Mukhang hindi pa rin ito nagsasawang ipagsiksikan ang anak nito kay Troy. Wala naman syang maipanlaban. She couldn't even annoy the woman. Fianceé lang naman siya sa salita. Ni wala nga syang engagement ring. Hindi pa naman talaga sya pumapayag. Troy just told his family straight that they were already engaged.

"But kuya's already engaged," putol ni Ariesa when Antoinette opened the topic of engagement.

The woman scrutinized her and then smirked when she saw the ringless finger. "I don't see any ring, child."

"Actually..." Troy stood up. Oh no! Pinanlisikan niya ito, but he wasn't looking at her. May hawak-hawak itong maliit na kahon. She knew that box all too well. Ilang beses na ba siyang nakakita ng ganoon sa TV? Everyone became excited. "I asked her to be my fianceé out of whim and I didn't have a ring with me. I told her na to follow na lang. And here it is..."

Lumuhod ito sa tabi niya at ngumiti.

"Honey..."

"Don't."

"We won't be official without this." He took the ring and forced it on her finger. Pakiramdam niya ay nabali ang daliri niya.

"Thank you, honey." She calmed herself down, not wanting to stab him with the steak knife in front of his whole family.

"Wala man lang kiss?"

I could kill Vico. He's just my cousin anyway.

Nagpigil ito ng tawa nang makitang sumama ang timpla ng mukha niya.

"Oo nga. Hindi ko pa kayo nakikitang mag-kiss, kuya," chimed Ela.

Si Ariesa naman ay inihanda na ang phone to take pictures.

"They're asking for a kiss. Hindi ba natin sila pagbibigyan?" he asked, still kneeling.

She gave him a tight smile and leaned to kiss his cheek. Ariesa looked disappointed. But she didn't care. It's bad enough that he got her into this mess. Pati ba naman kiss, hihingin pa nito sa kanya? Well apparently, he wasn't going to ask for it. He figured that he could just get it. And so before she could resume eating, nahila na siya nito patayo. He enveloped her in his arms and crushed her lips with his. The clicking noise followed suit.

"That's how you kiss your fiancé," sabi nito pagkatapos.

She slid back to her seat, still surprised. Tuwang-tuwa naman ang mga ito sa eksena, with the exception of Antoinette, who was fuming, and Santina, who looked like she was about to cry.

Vico gave her a thumbs up. Siya naman ay napatulala na lang. Her head was still spinning. Nawalan na rin siya ng ganang kumain.

The lunch lasted for two hours. Ayaw tigilan ng mga ito ang usapang kasal. It made her want to throw up, although wala rin naman siyang maisusuka dahil hindi rin siya nakakain ng maayos. She wasn't even considering settling down. Wala talaga iyon sa plano niya. She intends to die alone.

If it wasn't for that stupid idea...

She sighed. But what can she do? Ayaw naman niyang mawala sa kanya ang lahat.

Ayaw pa sana siyang pauwiin nina Ariesa but she insisted. Nagdahilan siyang masakit ang ulo niya, which was half true dahil kulang siya sa tulog. Sumabay na rin sa pag-uwi si Vico, but promised that he would reschedule their little chat. She could tell that he was also fond of the girls.

Pagkarating na pagkarating nila sa bahay ay agad niyang hinubad ang singsing at ibinato kay Troy.

"What the—"

"I didn't agree to this, Troy. Stop playing games with me. I'm not a pawn in your chess board!"

He snorted. "You didn't agree? Do I need to remind you na ikaw ang lumapit sa 'kin para makiusap na pakasalan kita?"

"That was clearly a mistake."

"Well, face the goddamn consequence!"

But that's just the thing... she couldn't. Ano ba naman itong gulong pinasok nya?