Buy Me

CHAPTER 60

[Handa ka na?]

Sandaling nawalan ng kibo si Constantine nang marinig ang tanong na 'yon mula sa kanyang telepono. For a while there, he wasn't sure how to answer the question being asked by his distant guard.

Would it please Benjamin if he'd say he was far from ready? That it wasn't death itself that was making his hand cold while driving towards VEE's biggest fashion event, but the fact that he was about to leave Ella completely? Maiintindihan ba nito ang pakiramdam no'n kahit kaunti?

Naipilig niya ang kanyang ulo nang mabilis na tingin ang kanyang cellphone sa dashboard. His gray eyes were voided when he then turned to the rearview mirror to glimpse at the motorcycle tailing his car. It was Benjamin, the same genius who erased all his details from any server that could track him down.

However, what the genius did still wasn't enough to completely set him free from the ordeal. Nakakalat na raw kasi ang mga tauhan ng grupong gumagalaw sa likod ng taxidermist.

"Ibaba mo na ang telepono, Benjamin. Gusto ko nang makita ang mag-ina ko--"

[Gusto ko lang ipaalam sa'yo na nakahanda na ang tatakasan ng dalawa.] The genius didn't let him finish and continued talking. Unlike how they usually talk, walang pataasan ng boses o kahit anong nagaganap ngayon. They were just both flat and dry—indifferent. [Susunduin ko ang mag-ina mo mamaya--]

"Magiging ligtas ba sila roon?"

[Oo.]

That was all he needed to know. Iyon lang naman ang mahalaga sa kanya sa ngayon—ang mailayo na si Ella sa napakagulong sitwasyong naghihintay sa kanya.

"Tatawagan ko 'yong abugado ko mamaya para maiayos ang bayad mo," he quietly said before putting his dead gaze back to the street. "Iyong ilang maiiwan ko i-invest ko sa pangalan mo para matapos mo yang computer program na binubuo mo."

[Huwag na. Wala naman akong balak ipakilala 'yong kapatid sayo--]

"I insist. Isipin mo na lang advance payment ko na sayo hanggang sa maisipan mong bigay 'yong impormasyon kay Ella." He let out a deep sigh. "I don't have to be there, but I'm hoping you will one day."

"Hindi ko gagawin--"

"I'm still hoping that you will." Constantine bitterly smiled. "Hindi naman masyadong malulungkot si Ella kung mawawala man ako. Kaya lang sa tingin ko mas magiging masaya siya kapag nagkita sila noong kuya niya."

[Nagseselos ka ba?]

'Yes.' Constantine let go of an empty chuckle, realizing that the accusation was right. But then, what sense would it make to let the other guy know? Wala na rin namang mababago. Huli na. Hanggang dito na lang siya.

"Kung sakaling magtatanong 'yong kuya ni Ella kung sino nagpahanap sa kanya..." He looked up at the huge billboard he was passing by. Mukha niya ang nakapaskil doon. It was from the last photoshoot he had—a sign that denotes how near he was to the venue of Vee's fashion show "... sabihin mo na lang 'yong hindi pinili ng kapatid niya."

[That's so dramatic.]

He deadpanned Benjamin's sarcasm and laughed the pain off. He wouldn't dare talk against the genius today. He was the bait, and the genius would be the one to be left with Ella and his child after tonight. Funny, but as much as he hated the genius' guts, he found himself seeing someone he could trust in him. Especially now that he couldn't expect any help from the Don. "Well, everybody gets to be dramatic in their last hours, right?"

[Naiayos ko na ang posisyon ng mga guards mo sa loob ng hotel, Alandy.]

"Yet you can't still assure me that I will live after tomorrow."