Marrying His Obsession

Chapter 4

"Thank you." I've thanked him several times now; if he hadn't come, Angelo would surely have a grip on me by now.

I wonder if there's something wrong with his head that he can't accept that we're no longer together. But Angelo isn't like that.

Truth is, he treats women like toys—wooing them and then breaking up. It took me a while to realize what kind of guy he really is.

What I can't understand is why he keeps bothering me. He should be happy now that we're finally done.

He can do whatever he wants—date other girls, anything! It puzzles me why he still won't leave me alone.

"Did you just happen to pass by there?" He remained quiet, so I kept bugging him with my questions. It's weird to me that he was also in that place.

"Yeah, just passing by," I nodded reluctantly and smiled faintly. After he rescued me from Angelo earlier, we left, and Angelo didn't even try to fight back.

Maybe he got scared or something. He probably deserved it anyway, for bothering me when he was the fool who cheated, leading us to break up.

"Do you want to sue him? I can be your lawyer." I paused.

"N-No... I don't think he'll bother me anymore. It would just make things messier if it ends up in a lawsuit. His family is influential, after all." That's the truth; it's hard to go against the Valencias—they have connections to powerful people.

That's why no matter what Angelo does, he never gets jailed.

It's simple; he always has his parents to back him up. Parents who condone their son's misdeeds, supporting him instead of teaching him a lesson.

"Are you afraid? I can fight them." I shook my head. He's already helped me more than enough.

I don't even know him that well, it's only been a few days since I met him. I still don't understand why he's helping me.

"I'm okay. I don't need that; thanks for the offer... I just don't want the situation to escalate further." I smiled and looked away as we arrived at Mang Inasal, unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Are you really okay?"

"Yes, thanks again, Kian... I hope this isn't our last meeting." I got out and waved briefly at him; there was no reaction on his face, but it seemed like he whispered something I didn't catch. .

I watched his car leave before going inside. I found Betty and immediately saw her.

"Betty! Kevin!" Their questioning faces greeted me. I noticed Jirah was with them too. "Sorry, I'm late."

"What's up? Why did it take you so long? We've been waiting for almost an hour," I frowned and placed my bag on the side.

"It's Angelo's fault. If he had just stopped bothering me, I wouldn't have been late." I said, feeling low, and leaned on the table for a moment.

"What? Angelo!? Did he come after you again?" I nodded briefly. "What does he want!? If I were you, I'd have hit him right in the face! Make sure to mess up his face so he won't have anything to boast about."

"I wanted to, but what chance do I have against him? Look at me. One punch from him and I'd probably black out!" I glanced at Kevin, who was busy flirting with his girlfriend.

It was quiet because they were all hugging each other on the side. In fairness, Jirah was fresh out of the shower. It's been years since I smelled Sunsilk on her.

"So, are we ordering now?" I just nodded and joined her in ordering at the counter.

"Unlimited rice," I murmured weakly.

"Yeah, you're never satisfied with just one cup. No wonder you're not gaining weight." I didn't reply and washed my hands. After we ordered, we returned to our table.

"Does flirting make you full?" I teased them, grateful they'd moved away from each other.

"Sorry, don't be bitter. Just like before, you and Angelo were PDA too," I glared at her. She really had to mention that guy's name.

"Don't mention his name, babe. Clearly Kaury doesn't want to hear it," I smiled at Jirah; at least she understood what I was trying to convey.

"You score one point with me, Jirah." I gave her a wink before starting to eat.

"Wow, are you two best friends now? Go ahead... that's fine, I'm okay." Betty teased weakly, very jealous. "Nothing's funny. If you wake up tomorrow without a 'Good morning' from Betty."

"Geez! We can be best friends too! You, Kaury, and me!" Jirah interrupted, and I stayed silent, focusing on my food.

"It's good you escaped from Angelo," I stopped chewing and faced Betty.

"Yeah, someone helped me."

"Really? Who?"

"Hmmmm, maybe next time we meet, I'll introduce him."

"Wow! Did you just say that? Is it a guy or a girl?"

"A guy-"

"Wow! Well, from now on, stay strong." I almost choked on what she said; good thing I reached for my glass of water. This girl says everything, making me embarrassed about Kian even though he's not here.

"You're crazy."

"Oh, why? That's where my grandpa's love story started! When he saved grandma!" I just fed her the chicken foot so she'd shut up.

Love story? Betty says all sorts of things.

*****

"Enjoy your stay." I returned to the counter and attended to more orders.

"I really admire you, Kaury. There's never a day you're not lively," I looked at Ate Mina, who was preparing orders now.

"Oh Ate Mina, you have to be lively to keep the customers happy." I smiled briefly and placed the order on the tray.

"Yeah, even I feel motivated to work because of you." She smiled back and turned away; that's when the smile slowly faded from my lips. Truth is, I'm sad right now!

I don't know why, but I'm really sad. It's been like this for the past few days; I can't explain what I'm feeling.

I keep looking outside as if I'm waiting for something, even though I know I'm not! I'm always hoping for something to happen even though I know I shouldn't expect anything.

It's been almost two months since I last saw him.

Angelo hasn't been bothering me either, and I heard his family moved out of Manila.

So I breathed a sigh of relief, but my mind was narrow, thinking if I'd ever endanger myself again, hoping to see her in such a situation.

Why do I want to see him again? I don't really know, something unsettles me, as if "thank you" isn't enough for all he had done.

I'm confused why I want to see him again, even though it seems unlikely since I know his not from here.

Maybe she's gone back to where he lives? I know I'm being confusing, even to myself, because of what I want to happen.

I want to focus, so I'm forcing myself to smile and stay upbeat.

"Hey, you're lost in thought!" Betty's face suddenly appeared in front of me. "Wow, deep in thought, huh? Can't figure it out." I winced. "Menu? I'm ordering, need something to warm up."

"Here you go. Always popping up." I handed her the menu. "Are you alone today? Where's Kevin?"

"Why are you asking that? He's probably with his girlfriend! Those two are inseparable."

"True. Just order, okay? And treat me too." She was about to argue, but I turned away and went back to the counter.

"What's your order, Ma'am?"

"Wow... so you really do work here, Kaury." I lifted my gaze.

"Duday."

"Yeah, it's me. How are you? Heard you and Angelo split?" I didn't respond. "Good riddance, they say. You think too highly of yourself! And it's partly your fault we fought! You're too much."

"Duday, this is a café. Could you lower your voice? There are other customers here." I tried to restrain her.

"Do I look like I care? I don't! If not for you, he wouldn't have avoided me. You witch, you could have agreed to our nighttime setup instead of hogging the morning! You're just selfish." I was momentarily stunned by her words.

"Come on, Duday. Can you leave if you're not ordering??" I started to feel nervous as she disturbed other customers.

"No way. This is the only time I had to come here. This day won't end without me making you bald!" Before I could speak, she grabbed my hair, causing me to fall and scatter my belongings.

"Stop it! Let go of me!"

"It's your fault we ended up like this!" I almost shouted as she yanked hard on my hair. Customers started standing up, even Ate Mina was startled.

"Hey! Let her go!" Betty approached and forcefully pulled her hair, making Duday release me. I quickly ran out from behind the counter to separate them.

"Betty! Stop it!" I tried to stop them, but they didn't want to let go of each other. "Guard! Get this woman out!"

"Oh my, what are you doing!? You're disturbing the other customers!" Ate Mina approached us and tried to calm them down.

"Don't meddle, Betty!"

"You fool! She's my friend!" Betty was about to hit her again when I stopped her and hugged her.

"Betty, enough... just let it go," I said sternly as I glanced at Duday, who was now being restrained by the guard.

"We're not done yet! Remember that!" were the last words I heard before she finally left.

"I'm sorry for what happened... I apologize..." I hung my head low.

"It's okay, Kaury. I just got annoyed with that woman."

"I understand, she seems a bit off... Ate Mina, I'm sorry."

"Let's get back to work," I smiled thinly and turned back to attend to Duday, who was now walking away.

"Hello? Who's this?" I answered the phone. I'm at the fish market right now, just left the café and came here to buy something for dinner, when my phone suddenly rang from an unknown number.

["Hmmm... how are you?"] I paused in my steps, trying to discern the voice.

"Who is this?" I repeated.

["I miss you..."] I held the phone slightly away from my ear. Who could this be? The voice was choppy, making it hard to hear clearly.

"Is this a scam? A hoax? Sorry, but you won't get anything from me!" I was about to hang up when the voice spoke again.

["Your voice... I miss your voice, let's... let's see each other again?"] My forehead creased, my heart pounding louder.

"K-Kian?" There was no reply, but I could hear deep breaths on the other end of the line. I wasn't sure if it was him calling me, and if it was, how did he get my number? "Kian? Is that you?"

["Hmmm... How are you?"]

"It's really you.... I-I'm okay, by the way, how did you get my number?"

["I have my ways."]

"Are you okay? Why do you sound out of breath?" I asked curiously.

["Nothing... It's... nothing, I'm fine. He followed you again?"]

"N-No..." I hesitated briefly, waiting for a ride.

["Do you want to see me?"]

"Huh? What do you mean—" I was cut off as the line went dead. I stared at my phone screen in disbelief, why did he hang up? I let out a deep sigh and started walking.

There were no vehicles around, and it was getting late, very dark around here. I was startled when a van pulled up in front of me.

"Wait! What—" I tried to break free from their grasp, to scream, but they covered my mouth. All I felt was the surroundings slowly fading into darkness.

"We got her."