Gods of Halcon 1: Davide Castillejo - COMPLETE

Chapter 7

Davide had waited for years. Wala na siyang maramdamang kahit na anong excitement sa ideyang magpapakasal sila ni Janet, hindi tulad noong teenager siya. For one, Janet had a very bad reputation that for some time, he seriously wondered if it was safe to go on a honeymoon with her. Janet's rebellious phase was a long one. Siguro ay inabot ng may limang taon na nabalitaan niya na kung sino-sino ang nakarelasyon nito, some even married. Rumors had it that she was into some kinky stuff.

Hindi inasahan ni Davide ang ganoong reputasyon ni Janet at sa isang banda ay nairita siya rito, maging sa mga magulang nito, dahil alam naman nilang lahat na sa bandang huli ay sila ang magpapakasal. But Janet's parents asked him to allow their daughter to explore. Iyon lang naman daw ang pakiusap ng anak ng mga ito bago lumagay sa tahimik. They said it took a while to convince Janet to marry him. Ang reaksiyon ng babae ay tulad ng naging reaksiyon ni Kuya Warton, galit.

Warton was now happily married with kids. Ibang-iba na ito sa dati, kahit pa nga paborito pa rin ng kanilang mga magulang. May dalawang taon siguro itong hindi pinansin ng kanyang mga magulang, pero sa huli ay hindi rin natiis ng dalawa. His kids were beautiful and he vowed never to do to them what their parents did to him.

Hindi na mabilang ni Davide kung ilang ulit sinabi sa kanya ng kapatid na huwag na niyang pakasalan si Janet. "It's just not worth it, Davide. Think about your own life, your own happiness."

Davide understood his brother. Malinaw din sa kanya ang malaking pagkakaiba nila kahit sila ay magkapatid. His brother chose romantic love, Davide chose their parents' approval that came with a very huge fortune and privilege. Ang pagpapakasal kay Janet ay nangangahulugan din ng pinakamataas na posisyon sa kompanya, natural. Kapag nagkaroon na ng merger, siya ang magiging CEO doon. Many people spend their lives working so hard and never getting there. Ano ang magiging pagkakaiba niya sa mga ito? Marrying Janet was a job. Malinaw naman sa kanilang dalawa iyon, malamang.

Hindi rin naniniwala si Davide na ang romantic love ay mahalaga sa lahat ng pagkakataon. He can love Janet. Maybe he already loved her, he just was not in love with her. He found her attractive as well. Janet was very beautiful. He would have to ask her to get tested though.

Hindi na niya iniisip pa ang love-love na iyon. It was not important to him. He was even starting to think that it was merely an illusion people came up with to justify things that were not normal, like marriage, for example. Was being tied down for years and years normal at all? Hindi ba at alam naman ng lahat ng tao na change is constant? So why the hell did people get married? Sure, most of them liked the person they were marrying but they must have had a clue that even that feeling was not going to last forever. Nothing did. What was normal about seeing someone every day for fifty or so years in a place that was too special, like a home? It was insanity. At siguro, ang dahilan kaya naimbento ang idea ng romantic love ay dahil doon, isang pampalubag-loob, isang social construct, isang defense mechanism.

As far as he was concerned, marriage was not exciting. Kung hindi dahil sa kasunduan ay hindi siya mag-aasawa kailanman. He simply found the idea ridiculous. It was absurd to want to be married when most marriages fail anyway. Realist siya at naniniwalang mas maiging isipin na siya ay rule, hindi exception to the rule. Ang exception to the rule ay ang mga taong tumatagal ang pagsasama. Pero ilan ba sa mga nagtatagal ang masaya? All he had to do was look at his parents to know that they were both living in silent desperation. They may have loved each other at first, but now they obviously can't stand each other. But they were still together. Hindi na inaasahan ni Davide na maiiba siya sa dalawa, kahit pa nangako siyang kung hihilingin ni Janet na makipaghiwalay sa kanya pagdating ng panahon ay palalayain niya ito. Why not? They were only getting married because their parents believed that a marriage bond would be the best guarantee of a corporate merger. They were old school. Naniniwala ang mga ito na kapag may anak na sila ni Janet, isang dugo na ang dalawang pamilya. It was an ancient practice that was still very much prevalent.

Now, the time had finally come. Nagtungo siya sa bahay ng mga Eusebio para pormal na mag-propose ng kasal sa babae. Hindi naman siguro nito inaasahan ang isang magarbong proposal, kahit pa nga handa siyang bigyan ito ng magarbong engagement party.

Inaasahan na siya ng pamilya. Nandoon ang mga magulang ng babae. Pero ang unang napansin ni Davide ay ang matinding stress sa mukha ng ama ni Janet.

"Is everything all right, Tito?" tanong ni Davide, napakunot ang noo.

Tumaas-baba ang Adam's apple nito. "Actually, hijo, we have something to tell you. Our daughter... well, our daughter decided to get married."

"Excuse me?"

"She ran away and married some guy."

Hindi nagawa ni Davide na makapagsalita. How can this happen? He was almost sure his father would blame him for waiting too long. Ilang ulit na nitong sinabi sa kanya noong nakaraang taon pa na magpakasal na sila ni Janet pero hindi siya nag-propose agad dahil gusto sana niyang makausap muna ang babae na palaging umaalis ng bansa. Finally, he called Janet's parents and he told them he was coming today. And now this.

"Is she getting an annulment?" tanong niya. "I'm pretty sure we can do something about that. Puwede naman nating i-hold ang registration ng kasal."

"I'm afraid the papers have already been filed. Janet made sure of that."

"It's not a problem. I will ask my lawyers to—"

"She will not marry you, Davide, I'm afraid," agaw ni Mrs. Eusebio.

"I see." He can feel his jaws tightening. These two were making him mad. Una, pinabayaan ng mga ito ang anak na gawin ang lahat ng gusto kahit may commitment na sa kanya. Pangalawa, wala man lang balak gawin ngayon. Hindi matanggap ni Davide na hindi na matutuloy ang merger. His parents were looking forward to that. He was looking forward to that. With their company and theirs, they will be unstoppable.

So what the hell kind of fuckery was this?! This was straight out fuckery. They let him and his family think that everything was all right for a very long time. Matagal na ring usapan ang lahat. Madami siyang inisang-tabi para sa kasal na iyon, para sa merger, para lang mauwi sa ganito ang lahat.

"I guess the merger will not take place," aniya. No problem. I guess I would simply have to find another company with a CEO who has a daughter who's ripe for marriage and propose... you bastards!

"Oh, it will," ani Mr. Eusebio.

Natigilan siya. "Oh?"

"We never talk about it," anang matandang lalaki, kasabay ng isang buntong-hininga, "but I do have another daughter. Her name is Aguida."

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