The Price Of Love

Chapter Twenty Three

Yvo could already feel the throbbing pain in his head before he could even open his eyes. A groan escaped his lips dried lips as he raised his head. Nasapo niya ang ulo niya at nanghihinang napasandal sa headboard. It was one of those horrible hangovers. He'd had too much to drink last night and could hardly remember how he had made it into his room.

He carefully climbed down the bed, his balance slightly unsteady, and made his way to the bathroom. He had a few too many drinks after Krista left. He tried to drown his feelings for her, his regret, he could've been's. But it resurfaced again while he stood under the shower with water pouring over him. Pilit niyang pinalis sa isip niya ang mukha ng babae. Her innocent tear-filled eye looking straight into his. How he missed her and what they had together that even in his drunken dream, she was all he could see.

Only when he got out of the shower did Yuka crossed his mind. He woke up without his wife beside him and wondered where she was. Agad siyang nagbihis at nagmamadaling bumaba.

"Good morning." He said, his voice still hoarse, when he found his wife in the kitchen.

"Buti naman nagising ka na." She didn't bother to throw a glance at him as he was busy with the omelette she was cooking.

"Bakit ikaw gumagawa niyan?" He asked.

"Maaga akong nagising." She answered but the truth was that she barely had any sleep. They had just gotten married and her husband was already cheating on him in his mind with another woman. Sino'ng babae ang makakatulog ng mahimbing nun? "Upo ka diyan."

Yvo obediently sat at the kitchen island counter. He could feel the thick tension in the air as the usual talkative Yuka barely spoke. Ngayon unti-unting bumalik sa isip niya ang nangyari kagabi. How he'd gotten so drunk last night that he had to call the driver to pick him up from the bar. Even when drunk, Yvo was still a logical person. And Yuka helped him up his bedroom and then he kissed her.

"Shit." He uttered under his breath. He kissed Yuka!

Padabog na ibinba ni Yuka ang isang plato ng omelette sa harap niya. "Kumain ka."

"Yuka, I'm sorry." Mahinang sabi niya. 

"Tubig gusto mo?" She asked in a stoic tone but didn't wait for his answer, she made her way to the fridge. Kumuha siya ng tubig at ng baso. She harshly put it down in front of Yvo.

"I didn't mean what I did to you last night. I didn't mean to kiss you." He said, guilt flooding him. He felt as though he had taken advantage of Yuka, had he really? His memory of last night wasn't as clear but he'd remember kissing her. Did he force himself on her? Was that why she was mad?

Suddenly, cold water splashed on his face. "YUKA!"

"Fuck you!" She said as tears of anger ran down her face. "Ako ang pinakasalan mo, Yvo! Ako, hindi si Krista!"

"What are you talking about?" His brows furrowed in confusion.

Even though they married for practically, it was still a huge blow to her ego that her husband had moaned another woman's name while he was being intimate with her.

"Hindi mo ba natatandaan, ha? Inuungol mo pangalan ni Krista nung hinahalikan mo ako kagabi. Bakit? Hindi ba ko kalibog-libog at kailangan ex mo pa pinapantasya mo?" She was already sobbing. It might be the pregnancy hormones talking and making her so emotional or maybe it was just an insult to her that he didn't find her desirable enough. Or it was both.

Yvo with his water-soaked face just stared at the crying Yuka and couldn't think of anything to say or how to react.

"Bakit? Maganda naman ako, ah? Is it because I've put on weight?" She felt so insecure and she couldn't, for the love of God, hide it. She was used to men drooling over her, dying to date her, wooing her and her own husband didn't want anything to do with her.