Wild Deception

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

"YOU mean, the owner of the mansion himself was the one who ordered the guerillas to burn the house down?"

"Exactly."

"Why would he burn his own house when it's the most beautiful and expensive house in town? Hindi man lang ba siya nanghinayang?"

"He had to do it for the country's sake, baby."

Napatigil nang bahagya si Liberty sa pagtatanong nang marinig niya ang katagang iyon.

Baby. It sends chills to her spine everytime Theo calls her that way. Up until now, she can feel how his lips crashed unto hers. At ngayon naman ay magkahawak kamay silang nakatingin sa kabuuan ng The Ruins mansion. It's one of the tourist destinations in Negros Occidental.

After that intimate moment they have shared earlier, Theo dragged her here. Maganda raw kasing puntahan ito 'pag gabi.

Kaunti lang din ang tao sa lugar, mukhang sila nga lang ang bisita. Tanging ang mga tagabantay at mga tao sa maliit na restau lang ang tao. She wanted to think that Theo made a special arrangement about their visit, however, it's a silly idea that she shouldn't be thinking. She erased that thought. Sino siya para gawing espesyal ni Theo?

"What's wrong?" Theo asked her. Isinabit pa nito sa likod ng tainga niya ang buhok na tumatabing sa kanyang mukha. Magmula nang lumapag sila kanina sa airport ay mistulang naging ibang tao si Theo, sa kilos at sa pananalita niya. Most of all, with the way he treats her.

If this is just a part of his scheme, she's game on! If Theo wants to play, she's more than prepared.

Or so she thought.

"Nothing. It's just that, that Don Lacson was too kind to give up his own wealth for the sake of other people," she said.

"That's love, baby. He loved the people that he was willing to lose the most precious wealth he had," Theo stated as a matter of fact. Liberty's heart skipped a beat.

Liberty remained staring at the remains of the mansion, pretending to be unaware of the intensity of Theo's gaze.  She felt him tightened his grip on her hand as if he wanted to tell her something.

"Pero hindi ba sabi mo itinayo niya ito bilang alaala ng namatay niyang asawa? Para na ring hinayaan niyang mawala ang asawa niya sa kanya," ani Liberty. She took her phone out while saying that. Kinuhanan niya ng litrato ang mansion.

"He ordered the guerillas to burn the mansion so that the Japanese will not make it as their military office. Just so you know, this ancestral home was built during the second world war, and that time, the Japanese were invading our country."

Liberty nodded her head. Hindi niya akalain na gano'n pala kasakit ang pinagdaanan ng mansyon na ito sa kabila ng kagandahan nitong taglay.

Ang The Ruins ay isang ancestral home na pagmamay-ari ng hacienderong si Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson. Nakapag-asawa siya ng isang Portuguese, si Maria Braga Lacson, na namatay no'ng ipinanganak niya ang ikalabing-isa nilang anak ng Don.

Despite its empty cement shell, the mansion shouts wealth and elegance. Kaya siguro marami ang dumadayo rito. Liberty sighed. Napatingin siya sa magarbong fountain na nasa tapat ng mansyon. It was at the center of a wide garden. Maliwanag ang buwan kaya lalong tumingkad ang repleksyon ng tubig na umaagos doon.

"Then he must be brave for letting go of a special memory in exchange of other's safety," Liberty blurted out. She took another photo of the fountain.

"He did not let go of his wife's thoroughly, it's just the mansion. What's important was what he truly felt for her despite that she's gone. For sure, his wife was the only woman he loved. The fact that he built that mansion sounds great, right? Sometimes, there are just memories we need to let go to make things right."