She will be loved (PUBLISHED)

17. Nothing matters

 I couldn’t move. I was just standing right there. Na-glue na yata iyong mga paa ko sa kinatatayuan ko. I looked at the projector, Julian seemed so lonely. There were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed to have lost weight.

“Julian, why did you do this interview with me?”

Nanginginig ang mga tuhod ko. First question pa lang, kinakabahan na ako. Julian clasped his hands together. I missed him so damn much that it hurts just looking at him on the projector.

“Because I want to tell my part of the story.” He sighed. Boy Abunda just nodded.

“I have a question. Sino si Sofia Enriquez sa buhay mo?”

“She’s a childhood friend.” Mabilis niyang sagot.

“Nag-uusap tayo kanina and I asked you if I can ask this on cam and you said that it’s okay, so Julian – were you really married with Sofia?”

I gasped. Why was he asking my Julian that? Of course they were married. May wedding ring sila. Nagsama sila sa loob ng pitong taon unless…

I looked around. I saw Sancho watching too. Sheena was just holding his hand while looking at his face.

I was crying. Ano ba talagang nangyayari?

“I thought we were. But I found out that the wedding was orchestrated.”

“So sa madaling sabi. Hindi ka kasal kay Sofia Enriquez?”

“Hindi.”

I gasped hard again. Hindi kasal si Julian kay Sofia? Ibig sabihin…

“Are you okay?” Tanong ni Adam. “Do you wanna sit down?” I shook my head. I couldn’t move. I was so anxious for the next things he would say. Ito na ba iyong sinasabi niyang hintayin ko? Is this my Julian fighting for what we had? I thought we’re over but seeing this now – I guess he just really needed time.

“Okay. I won’t ask details anymore because I know that this is a very sensitive topic for you. Basta ang bottom line lang – you were never married to Sofia Enriquez. But she was saying that you had an almost perfect relationship.”

“What do you expect, Boy? She’s an actress.” Julian gave a grin. Kahit na ngumisi siya ay kita pa rin ang kalungkutan sa mga mata niya.

Boy Abunda smiled. He looked at his index cards and asked the next question.

“Julian, sino si Tintin or si Laide Consunji para sa’yo?”

Lahat ng tao sa hall ay tumingin sa direksyon ko. Iyak naman ako nang iyak. Julian looked at the camera.

“She’s the love of my life.” I saw something in his eyes – para bang nagbago ang reaksyon niya – he seemed happy.

“She accepted me for who I am and frankly that’s hard to do – we both thought I was married. God knows kung paano niya ako iniwasan noon. But I persuaded her. Hindi ko siya basta nagustuhan at ginawang… kabit I love her and I will love her forever. Siya ang rason kung bakit ako nakaharap sa publiko ngayon. I want to clear her name. I don’t care about Sofia. She could say what she wanted to say but my heart will always belong to my Tintin.”

His tears started to fall. Mine was falling like crazy. Julian was in front of the public’s eyes saying all those things. This is him fighting for us. This is him trying to prove himself to everyone. I love him and clearly – he loves me too and he’s willing to do everything just to be with me.