"So ano'ng nangyari sa date mo?" Excited na tanong ni Betsy pagkaupo ko pa lang sa table kung saan ako dinala ng receptionist. Tinitigan nila akong tatlo ni Andrea at Rose habang hinihintay ako na magsalita.

I frowned at them. Sino ba naman ang matutuwa sa ginawa nila? Last night, they set me up on a blind date without telling me! They told me to meet them at a restaurant pero pagdating ko sa restaurant wala sila doon. Instead, I was greeted by a tall, handsome guy named Osmond. Okay na sana eh. But the guy was too obnoxious. Our conversation was bad, ninety percent of it detailed his partying habits and his sex life. He even went too far as to tell me that he had caught an STD but 'everything's cleared up now'.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad." Sabi ni Andrea ng ikuwento ko sa kanila iyon. "Everything's cleared up now." She jokingly said. Nagtawanan ang tatlo. Their laughter died down when I looked at them with a serious, annoyed face.

"Well, guys will be guys." Rose shrugged her shoulders. 

"Don't ever do that again!" Inis na sabi ko. "God, it's so self degrading."

"We're just trying to help you. You're not getting any younger, Marian. Twenty-eight ka na at hindi ka pa nagkaka-boyfriend." Andrea said in a calm voice while playing with her food with a fork.

"What's so degrading about that?" Rose rolled her eyes. "Hay nako, Marian. Kung hindi ka rin lang magboboyfriend o mag-aasawa sana itinuloy mo na ang pagiging madre mo."

"Hindi pa naman huli para bumalik ka sa kumbento." Sabi naman ni Betsy

I shook my head. I didn't want to go back to the convent. I knew I wasn't cut out to be a nun. I wanted a family. I really did. I wanted a loving husband and wonderful children. Hindi pa lang siguro dumadating ang tamang lalaki para sa akin. Hindi kaya ito na ang kabayaran ko sa pagtalikod sa pagiging madre? Maybe I'd die an old maid. God, please, no...

Pero bakit sila, they already had their own family. Si Betsy, may asawa at anak na. Rose just had a baby with her live in partner and Andrea got married last year. Ako pa nga ang nakasalo ng bouquet sa wedding niya pero hanggang ngayon single pa rin ako. Never been touched and never been kissed.

"May problema ba sa akin?" Tanong ko sa kanila.

They all gave me a weird look as if they couldn't understand what I just asked them.

"Pangit ba ako?" I asked again.

"No, of course not. You're beautiful." Agad na sagot ni Rose.

"Mabait naman ako, di ba?" I pouted.

"Super." Andrea answered.

"Eh bakit hanggang ngayon hindi pa ako nagkakaron ng boyfriend? What's wrong with me?" I said, frustrated. 

"Nothing's wrong with you." Sabi ni Rose. "I know it sounds cliche but love will come to you when you're no longer looking for it. Maybe you just haven't met the right guy for you."

After finishing our lunch and catching up with each other, nagpaalam na kami sa isa't isa. Si Betsy kailangan sunduin ang anak niya sa school, si Rose pinabantayan lang sandali sa nanay ng ka-live in partner niya ang baby nila para makipagkita sa amin at si Andrea naman kailangan ng umuwi dahil pauwi na ang asawa niya galing sa trabaho. They had someone to go home to, people who would care about them, listen them. I didn't have any of those. I just had myself. Wala na si mama, she passed away a long time ago. I was alone.

I climbed to my car and started driving. I didn't want to spend my weekend by myself again in front of the tv watching chick flicks and drowning myself with self-pity. I didn't want to do this for the rest of my life.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

I could already hear the ominous sound of my biological clock ticking. I needed someone! Anyone!

I was lost in my thought long enough for my eyes to skip a frame and missed what was happening around me. Nagulat ako ng bumangga ang kotse ko sa likod ng kotse sa harap ko. 

Seth's POV

I stepped on the brakes as I reached the red light and before I even came to a halt, I felt a jerk from behind with the sound of metal crashing against metal.

Shit!

I wasn't hurt or anything but my car! My fucking car! I knew there'd be a huge damage. Napahigpit ang hawak ko sa manibela ng kotse ko. Does that stupid moron knew how much this car was worth? I was so angry I felt like I was going to sponteniously combust.

I quickly slid out of the car, angrily cussing to myself as I approached the ancient car that looked like it was digged out of King Tut's tomb. Great! Mukhang wala pang maipangbabayad ang driver ng kotseng ito. I furiously knocked on the window of her car and she turned her head to me. She had a confused look on her face as if she was taking in what was happening and that confused look turned into shock. I impatiently motioned her to lower down her window and she did.

"I-I'm sorry!" Iyon ang unang lumabas sa bibig niya.

"Are you alright?" Tanong ko sa kanya.

She slowly nodded her head. 

"Why did you fucking hit my car?" Nagbalik ang inis ko.

"H-hindi ko sinasadya. Bigla ka kasing huminto." She said in a small voice.

"Are you kidding me? Ako pa ang sisisihin mo ngayon?" I said in disbelief.

She bit her lower bottom and God was she teasing me? How I wanted to do it for her. My muscles tightened and my jaw clenched. I wouldn't let a pretty face move me. Did she think I would let her get away with what she did to my car just by doing that?

"By doing what?" She asked with her brows furrowed.

Did I just said that out loud?

"Nothing." I shook my head, slightly embarrassed. "Let me see your license." 

"Huh?" She looked at me dumbfounded.

"I said let me see your fucking license." I said, impatient and irritated.

Napakurap siya. "You don't need to shout!" She said in an annoyed tone.

"I have every rights to shout because you fucking ruined my car." Paalala ko sa kanya.

She gave me a nasty look before turning her head to the passenger's seat and angrily rummaging through her bag that was sitting on it. Then she got out of her car. She was petite, her head barely reached my shoulder.

"O, ayan, antipatiko ka!" She said shoving her license on my hand.

I gave her a glare that must have intimidated her because she quickly recoiled and then I turned my attention to her license. Her name was Marian Faith Perez. I calculated her age from her date of birth, she was twenty eight years old, not as young as she looked. And she lived a few miles away from here.

"May insurance ka?" Tanong ko.

She shook her head. I breathed out an annoyed huff. I was so fucked. 

"Well, someone sure as hell's going to pay for the damage to my car." She couldn't even afford a good car or an insurance, how was she going to pay for my car?

"Huwag kang mag-alala babayaran kita." She rolled her eyes at me.

"Really? Baka nga kahit ibenta mo yang kotse mo hindi mo mababayaran kahit pagpapagawa ng gasgas sa kotse ko." I said in an undertone. 

"Alam mo ang yabang mo talaga." Inis na sabi niya.

"I'm just being honest miss..." I looked at her license again, pretending to forget her name but I just didn't want her to know that I've already memorized everything that was written on it. "Perez."

"Wala kang karapatan maliitin ako! Hindi porke ba maganda yang kotse mo may karapatan ka ng mangmaliit ng tao. Kayo talagang mayayaman akala niyo lahat ng tao pwede niyong tapak-" She stopped mid-sentence when a police officer walked towards us.

"Ano'ng nangyari dito?" Tanong ng pulis.

"Ito kasing babaeng ito," I looked at her and scowled. "Binangga ang kotse ko."

"Bigla-bigla ka kasing huminto." Dahilan niya.

"If you'd paid attention you wouldn't  have crashed into my car." I said matter-of-factly.

"Sumama na lang kayo sa akin sa istasyon para makapag-file kayo ng accident report." Sabi ng pulis. Sumunod kami sa kanya sa police station sa hindi kalayuan. He started taking our statement at the station.

"I told you officer, he suddenly stopped kaya nabunggo ko yung kotse niya." Giit ng babae.

"Natural, titigil ako kasi red light." Sabi ko naman. "Saang driving school ka ba nag-aral, miss, at hindi mo maintindihan na kapag red light ibig sabihin stop."

"Antipatiko ka talagang lalaki ka, kanina pa akong nagtitimpi sa'yo." 

"Ikaw pa ngayon ang nagtitimpi?" I chuckled sarcastically. "Wow, thank you miss Perez, salamat sa pagtitimpi mo."

She opened her mouth and was about to say something, probably another bitchy remark, but the officer was quick to stop her. I shook my head as I looked at her. Ang ganda niya sana eh, huwag lang bubuka ang bibig. 

"Pwede bang tumigil muna kayo para kayong mga batang hindi magkasundo." Sabi niya. Nang makuha na ng pulis ang statement namin ay pinayagan na niya kaming umalis. She was the first to stand up from her seat and walk away. Agad ko siyang sinundan.

"Miss Perez." Tawag ko sa kanya ng nasa harap na siya ng police station. She frozed and it took her awhile to turn.

"Yes?" She said with her chin held up.

"Can I have your number?" I asked.

She paused for awhile with a surprised look on her face. "Sorry, I don't give my number to strangers." What? Was she thinking that I was hitting on her.

I rolled my eyes. "Hindi ako interesado sa'yo. I need your number so I can contact you para sa kotseng nabunggo mo." I reminded her.

"Oh... bakit? Wala naman akong sinabing interesado ka sa akin." She said, obviously trying to save face. She gave her number to me and I put it in my phone.