To Find You Once Again

Chapter Ten

Since the Trinoma incident, Nikki refused to be alone together with Matt. Hindi naman mahirap gawin iyon dahil with the production process, naging abala ang lahat. Sunod-sunod rin ang meetings na pinuntahan niya kaya nawalan na rin siya ng panahon na isipin ito. As much as possible, she wanted to stay away from him.

Isang hapon ay dinatnan niya si Lex sa office kausap ang head writer niya. Nang matanaw siya nito na paparating galing sa lunch break ay kumaway ito sa kanya at pinapupunta siya malapit dito. Tumalima naman siya kahit hindi niya alam kung bakit.

Nang makalapit na si Nikki ay narinig niya pa si Miss Veron na nagtanong kay Lex.

"Do you personally know each other, Mr. Francisco?" the headwriter asked. Pinaglipat-lipat nito ang tingin sa kanilang dalawa.

Ngumiti ang binata dito. "Kind of. She was my brother's only friend way back in high school."

Halatang nagulat ang head writer nila. Sa kanya naman ito bumaling.

"Nikki, bakit hindi mo sinabi na magkakilala pala kayo ni Lex? You could have said so from the start para nalaman namin kaagad ang dahilan kung bakit nagpakita si Jared Francisco sa publiko."

Nikki frowned. "Ano naman ang kinalaman ko sa paglantad ni Mr. Francisco sa publiko?"

Naguguluhan namang nagpalipat-lipat ng tingin ng head writer niya sa kaniya at kay Lex. "Hindi mo nasabi sa kanya, Mr. Francisco?"

Umiling si Lex, a hint of a smile played on his lips. Miss Veron raised an eyebrow. Pagkatapos ay umiling-iling. Ilang sandali pa ay nagpaalam naman ito. Naiwan pa rin siyang naguguluhan. What was that all about?

She turned to Lex. "What was that all about, Mr. Francisco?"

"Lex," the guy corrected indignantly.

"I mean, Lex," she amended. "And why did you suddenly appear in public? Not that I'm complaining. But isn't your mysteriousness part of your charm? Why did you suddenly appear in public after hiding in anonymity for years?"

Sandaling tumigil sa Lex, waring pinag-i-isipan kung hanggang saan ang sasabihin sa kanya. After a while, nagsalita na rin ito.

"Actually, I appeared in public for two reasons. The thing is, I made a promise with someone to find her kapag sikat na ako. So now that I'm basking in fame, I thought it's high time that the both of us find each other."

Hindi nakaligtas kay Nikki ang kasiyahan sa tinig nito. Lex was in love with someone enough to pursue his dreams.

"Eh, ano namang kinalaman ng relasyon ko kay Matt sa desisyon mo'ng magpakita?" naguguluhan pa ring tanong niya.

"I wasn't quite finished yet," angil nito sa kanya.

Gustong mangiti ni Nikki sa reasksyon ni Lex. It reminded her of Matt.

"So, ano na nga?" untag niya dito.

"The second reason why I appeared in public is because Matt was looking for the only girl he ever loved. When we first arrived here, una namin pinuntahan 'yung dati niyang tirahan. It turned out that she already moved somewhere. But now that he's finally found her, he wanted to get married right away. That's when he suggested that I appear in public para mas madali na ring makita yung girl na hinahanap ko," mahabang paliwanag nito.

Hindi na niya halos naiintindihan ang sinasabi ni Lex. Ang tanging tumatak sa isip niya ay ang babaeng papakasalan ni Matt. What happened to his promise that he would never leave her? Parang gusto niyang humagulgol ng mga sandaling iyon. Knowing that Matt had a girlfriend was different from knowing that he will be married.