A Kiss of Bleeding Fire

10

IT had been two weeks since I last talked to Garrett. He sent me text messages every morning asking about my pregnancy and when will I plan to talk to my parents. He also said he talked to his parents not to visit since I still hadn't had the chance to tell my parents about it.

I never replied to any of his messages though.

As I'd said, my life was in shambles. Last week pa nakabalik sina papa galing sa business tour nila pero hindi ko pa nasasabi ang tungkol sa pagbubuntis ko. It was too early to notice the bump on my tummy per se, but I needed to tell it before it came to their notice.

Thinking about my father's reaction made me shiver in panic. The disappointment I used to see in his eyes but this time, with anger and irritation. didn't know and I didn't want to find out but I had to. I had to see it once I dropped the bomb in front of them.

Also, father was just the surface of the problem. I needed to deal with Lola Esmeralda, the one who had loved me for who I was and tolerated my attitude. She loved me more than anyone else. She was the only person who made me her priority. Lola was no saint at all, she was cruel to Lia; she was manipulative and controlling. But I loved her still. We had our own flaws. We had our mistakes. What we can do was to own those mistakes, take accountability, and be better.

Lola wasn't okay with my father after what happened to Lia. Papa was desperate to have someone to blame; alas, lola Esmeraldo was the receiving end of that blame. She was cruel and what she had done and said to Lia brought my father to misery. But lola regretted it after. Well, after Lia went missing. Maybe, it was because of the guilt eating her up. But at least she knew better now.

We knew better now.

I tightly closed my eyes when I saw a figure standing in the parking lot. Garrett was beautifully standing there, wearing a black polo shirt, paired with jeans. His immaculate figure was bathed under the light of the sun. Kitang kita ko kung paano siya tignan ng mga babae sa paligid niya.

Unti-unti kong binagalan ang takbo ng aking sasakyan. I parked it meters away from him. Gusto ko siyang takasan; hindi pa ako handang kausapin siya. Overreacting? I didn't know. But his words were like a dagger with the ability to incapacitate someone. To inflict pain that never subsided. A dagger dripping with guilt and self-loathing.

Huminga ako nang malalim bago lumabas mula sa aking sasakyan. The humid air engulfed my body as I briskly strode away from the parking lot. My heart was beating so fast and aggressively. Hindi ko siya kita ngunit pakiramdam ko ay nakasunod siya sa akin. Damn it, why my chest was clenching, I didn't know.

When a warm hand clutched around my wrist, my heart stopped beating. I knew whose hand was it. It was Garrett. With a scowl painted over my face, I looked over my shoulder only to see him staring at me with those beautifully cold eyes. It was pathetic to ask him to be as expressive as he was when he was with Lia to me. I wanted to be the receiving end of those expressive eyes, not this cold— almost blank expression from his eyes.

I'd seen him with Lia before. He was a happy person, a ray of sunshine. But why did I have to face this grumpy, cold, snub man right now?

My chest constricted the moment the words he uttered a week ago came rolling like a torrent flood in my head. He was still blaming us— or me. He still had grudges against us. He still loved my sister and he cannot stand meters away from Bellamy without throwing verbal daggers. He was bitter and he was in love— so deeply in love that he did not care what the world says about him. The composed, well-mannered man he was just turned into a beast filled with bitterness and anger because the love of his life was missing.

Tears started to prickle at the back of my throat. I swallowed hard to stop my eyes from welling with tears. Damn it, my life was in shambles.

Fuck was I catching feelings with someone who was in love with my sister. A loyal man who'd move a mountain for Lia. A knight on a mission to protect her. A knight that can kill me without hesitation because I hurt his queen. And I would die by a thousand cuts.