Bad Times at Sunrise (La Fortuna Series #3)

Kabanata 19

Kabanata 19

Suffer

"Do you really want to know?"

Tumango ako, desidido. "Marami ka nang alam sa 'kin, pero wala akong kaalam-alam tungkol sa 'yo. Unfair naman ata 'yon."

"Hmm," he lamented and narrowed his eyes, "but last time I checked, we don't have any responsibility to disclose information about ourselves to each other."

"Well, last time, 'di tayo engaged." Gumuhit ang isang ngiti sa labi ko. "Iba na ang sitwasyon natin ngayon. As your fiancée, I demand you to tell me about your mother."

He chuckled, oblivious that I wasn't kidding. "That's not how it works. At teka nga, sinong nagsabing pumapayag akong maging engaged sa 'yo?" Tinaasan niya 'ko ng kilay.

"As if namang may choice tayo," wika ko kahit naghuhuramentado ang puso ko. "'Yon ang desisyon ng mga pamilya natin kaya kailangan na lang natin 'yong tanggapin."

"I don't think so," he said. "You know what you want, Sunny. I know what I want, too. Papayag ka bang ipakasal sa lalaking 'di mo mahal?" I snickered 'cause of his tone. Tunog propesor. He added, "Besides, I can't marry you."

"Why not?" I tried not to sound bitter.

"I don't want to marry a girl I haven't proposed to."

Naitikom ko ang labi ko kasi tama naman siya. His family's not perfect but he always pegged me as a family man. Siya 'yong tipong mae-enjoy ang mga school meetings tungkol sa grades ng anak niya. He'd be at a park, rocking the swing for his son or daughter while his wife takes pictures of them.

When it came to the lucky girl, I could imagine him waiting for her in front of the altar as she walks down the aisle. He would love her with all his life and treat her like how she deserved to be treated. Sa kaniya lang lalambing ang tono niya. Sa kaniya lang matutunaw ang yelong nakabalot sa pagkatao niya. Sa kaniya lang iikot ang mundo niya.

I could imagine it clearly because Ico had that vibe. 'The man of your dreams' vibe. Nakakagulo ng isipan. Ayokong sirain ang pagkakataon niyang maikasal sa babaeng karapatdapat sa kaniya, pero ayoko ring sayangin ang pagkakataon kong maikasal sa kaniya. When did I become this selfish?

"I don't want you to settle with me, too, Sunny. Alam kong 'di ako ang pinangarap mo," dagdag niya. "This engagement disrespects us both. It disrespects our freedom of choice and our right to marry someone whom we love. The last thing I want is you being miserable with me."

"Anong plano mo kung gano'n?"

"For now, let's play according to their rules. I promise I'll find you a way out of this, though."

What if I don't want a way out? What if this was everything I wanted and so much more? Marrying him wouldn't be settling for less at all. Gusto ko siya. It might be too early to call what I was feeling love, but by the looks of things, doon din ang punta no'n.

Ayos lang kahit 'di niya 'ko tanungin ng 'Will you marry me?' dahil lahat ng 'to, pumapabor sa 'kin... 'Yon nga lang, alam kong di 'to pumapabor sa kaniya. With me, he'd be throwing everything he worked hard for until now. With us together, it'd be him who'd be settling for less.

Nagkibit-balikat ako. "Okay," kunyari'y kalmado kong wika at nginisihan siya. Nang mapunta ulit ang tingin ko sa bangle niya'y nagkaro'n ako ng tsansang ibahin ang topiko. "Mabuti at 'di tinangay ng alon 'yang bangle mo. Mukhang importante pa naman sa 'yo."

"This?" Inayos niya ang bangle bago ako tinignan. "Fine." He sighed. "Since you found this for me, I'll tell you a few things about my mother."

Bahagya siyang umismid nang makita ang interesado kong ekspresyon. Mas gugustuhin ko naman kasing makinig tungkol dito kaysa pag-usapan ang non-existing na relasyon namin. He had all the right (and he would find the ways, too) to stop the engagement, ayaw ko man o hindi. That sucked for me.