Freedom and the Beast

Epilogue

Epilogue
Domino

FREEDA'S PHONE ON the nightstand kept ringing while I was trying to figure out what shirts I should put inside my travel bag. For someone who loved silence and meditation during early mornings, she sure had a loud ringtone.

"Princess! Someone's calling!" I shouted so she could hear me.

"Pasagot na lang, babe. Thanks!" she shouted back from the bathroom. The sound of the shower echoed in her sweet voice.

I dropped the two tees that I was holding on the bed and reached for her phone. My forehead creased when I saw who was calling her.

Anong oras na ba sa India ngayon?

"Your Majesty," I cooed over the phone. I chuckled when I heard Freeda's father grumble in disapproval. "Good morning to you, too."

"Where is my daughter?" tanong niya. Pambihira. Hindi man lang ako binati pabalik.

"In the shower. Do you know what time it is here?"

"Do you know what time it is here?"

I grinned. "Why are you so grumpy in the morning? Did you not get enough sleep last night?" I asked, and a memory flashed inside my head. My lips stretched out into a smile again. Like father, like daughter.

"I did not call to talk about nonsense with you, Domino," Freeda's father replied in a rough voice. "I want my daughter."

I sighed and slumped into the bed. "I told you, Your Majesty, she's in the shower. Whatever you want to talk with her, you can tell me. Freeda and I don't share secrets."

"I don't want to talk about it with you," masungit na sagot niya. "And will you please stop addressing me like royalty?"

I snorted. "Please, you are royalty."

I cracked another laugh when he swore at me. It was again another normal banter with the head of the Verma royal family. It was the title Freeda was supposed to be holding right now, but I understood that she did not want to do anything with it. Ang totoo nga niyan ay masaya ako na mas pinili niyang manatili sa Pilipinas, kasama ko. But I wouldn't deny that I would also do the same thing if she wanted to lead their court. I wouldn't let her go without me by her side. Kung nasaan siya, nandoon din ako.

"If she's back, tell her that I called," her father said from the other line.

Honestly, I still did not know how to address the man until now. Ayaw niya kapag tinatawag ko siyang 'Sir Adra'. Ayaw rin niya sa 'Your Majesty' na normal lang naman itawag sa kanya dahil sa posisyon niya. Noong tinanong ko si Freeda tungkol doon, sabi niya tawagin ko na lang daw ang tatay niya ng kahit ano. And I preferred 'Your Majesty'. I liked it whenever he got grumpy after being called that.

Freeda's father and I became close after those things that we've done in order to make Freeda happy and free. I have learned a lot from the old man. Madami siyang naikwento sa akin tungkol sa kabataan ni Freeda, na natanto kong hindi ko pa naririnig mula mismo sa kanya. She and I did not talk too much about our past. Maybe because of the pain and issues we once had with each other. I was also aware that she did not have a childhood worth sharing.

But I love her. And I meant all of her. All her worst and best times, her mistakes, her flaws, her pain, and everything that made her who she was today—I loved her. And I would love to listen to everything that was about her. Her story was my favorite tale of all time. And I'm happy that I was in it.

"Who was that?" I blinked when Freeda showed herself in front of me with only a white towel wrapped around her body. With or without clothes on, she was exquisite.