One Night Mistake

Chapter 3

Serene's POV

"Thank you for always making my days with you wonderful, Zero."

My eyes were shining when I looked at him. For me, he was the most mesmerizing and the most precious thing my eyes have ever encountered.

But things keep floating inside my mind when I always look at him.

When I look at him, I always feel the urge to tell him the mistake me and Aeron did but there's some part that pulls me back from where I am and just zip my mouth out.

He chuckled and caressed my face. "I'll give my all to you, if you'll wish to, Serene. Lahat...lahat." he said sweetly, pinching my nose.

Halos hindi ako makasagot sa kanyang mga sinasabi. I like it but I don't think I deserve it. With the mistake I did, I just wanna leave him alone and let him live his life.

Hindi naman ako nananakal, but sceneries of him learning the truth, para akong papatayin sa konsensya.

Alam kong masasaktan siya kapag sinabi ko ang nagawa ko, namin ni Aeron. I am pretty sure mayroon at mayroong masisirang relasyon, hindi lang relasyon namin ni Zero, kung hindi pati na rin nilang dalawa.

Good god, what will I do? I am so torned.

"Hey, Z." I called him out.

"Hmm," his ears are all ready from what will I say.

"Just a random thought, what if I make a mistake? Like I cheated unintentionally, ganon." I said out of nowhere.

He chuckled and messed with my hair. I pouted at him.

"I'll still be with you. Kahit ikaw ang pinakamakasalanang tao, I'll still stay," he said.

Pilit akong ngumiti. Hindi ko alam kung kanino ako masasaktan. Sa akin ba or para sa kanya.

"Huwag mo ngang isipin yan, Serene. Alam ko namang hindi mo ever magagawa yun. Lahat ng tiwala ko nasa iyo and I barely do that to others." he chuckled.

Hindi na ako nagsalita pa at iniba ang pinag-uusapan namin.

"Wala ka bang duty bukas? Lunes bukas, ah." I said.

Umiling siya sa akin. "I'll be with you until tomorrow. I took a day off." he answered.

"Hala, baka mapagod ka lang, Z. It's fine. May driver ka tonight, diba? You can go home and rest nalang on your room." I said considerately.

"Ikaw ang pahinga ko, Babe. Can you work on that?" he arched a brow.

Napahalakhak ako sa kanyang sinabi at isinantabi ang mga lumulutang sa utak ko na hindi ko masabi-sabi dahil hindi ako handa.

Tonight and tomorrow, I will let him enjoy and rest with me. Alam kong pagod siya dahil sa trabaho niya tapos nagbiyahe pa kami papunta rito. Hindi ko naman siya mapigilan dahil he always insist.

We have a healthy relationship and people say it's almost near from a perfect relationship.

You can't avoid fights naman pero small lang naman fights namin like not about big things that can make our relationship unstable.

Nakapagpababa kami saglit ng kinain bago kami dumiretso sa condo at doon nagpahinga.

Kinabukasan ay mas maaga akong nagising sa kanya.

I carefully removed his hand resting on my waist and carefully stood up so that he won't be woken up.

Nauna akong maligo dahil alam kong ngayon-ngayon din ay magigising na si Zero.

Di gaya ng dati na magana akong kumakanta sa loob ng banyo, ngayon, matamlay at tahimik lamang ako. Nalilito pa rin ako kung sasabihin ko ba o hindi.

Syempre, masakit yun para sa kanya lalo na kaibigan niya pa. Well, it wasn't intentional. Parehas naman kaming lasing pero natatakot ako baka bawiin lahat ni Zero ang lahat ng sinabi niya sa akin kapag nalaman niya ang nagawa namin ni Aeron.

What if I let Aeron tell him? Tutal siya naman ang nauna.

Napasinghap ako sa aking naisip at saka sinindi ang shower para mahimasmasan ako nang kaunti.

Hindi pwedeng si Aeron. Maloko iyon at saka baka baliktarin ang sitwasyon. Malay ko ba kung anong nagbago ngayong buhay pala siya matapos ang anim na taon.

Tama nga ako, pagkalabas na pagkalabas ko ng banyo ko ay naroon sa labas si Zero, naghihintay na matapos ako.

Zero greeted me with a soft, gentle kiss on my forehead before heading to the bathroom to be the next to take a bath. Ako naman ay dumiretso sa kusina para magluto ng aming almusal.

Usually, ganito ang sitwasyon namin sa tuwing nasa Taguig kami. He is friends with the owner of the company I am in kaya kung gugustuhin niyang tumambay sa building namin, he can.

I prepared a heavy meal for the both of us for our first meal of the day. From bacon, eggs and garlic rice, I made his meal special para man lang makabawi ako kahit sa maliliit na bagay man lang.

Halos mapatalon ako nang maramdaman ko ang kanyang kamay na sumilid sa magkabilang baywang ko mula sa likuran.

"Hmm, smells good." he sniffed.

I chuckled. "Ako o yung pagkain?" I joked.

He laughed on what I said and gave a peck on my neck that made me tickle a bit. "Both," aniya saka binigyan ako ng halik muli sa aking leeg at umupo sa harap ng breakfast table.

"Thank you for this special meal, Baby." he was amazed by what I did when in fact, it looks cheesy.

We started eating silently. After eating, we played rock, paper, scissors for it to decide who's gonna wash the dishes and in the end, I won.

Zero leaned on the sink and watched me wash the dishes with his frowning face. "Stubborn," he muttered and took the apron and put it on me.

I was wearing a red shirt for my top, beige slacks for my lower attire and nude-colored wedge sandals for my casual work attire while he was wearing a white dress shirt with three buttons down, gray slacks and white sneakers.

Nagmukha siyang artista dahil sa suot niyang shades habang ako ang kanyang personal assistant nang magsimula kaming maglakad papunta sa basement parking. Napairap ako saka nagsuot din ng akin.

We were greeted by the guards as soon as we arrived at my office. My floor is in the 48th floor, next floor to the office of the executives. Zero usually spend time in there, talking to my boss, Sachzna, which is Zero's family friend.

We took the lift from the lobby and picked our floor. It was about to close when someone's hand hindered it to open again.

"Oh, good morning, Serene." Diane's eyes turned to the man on my side, Zero, and smiled with grace.

I smiled fakely. "Good morning, Ma'am." I formally said.

Malaki ang ngiti siyang pumasok at tumabi sa bakanteng espasyo sa tabi ni Zero at saka tumingin sa kanya. "Good morning, Zero." she said.

Zero just threw a gaze at her and looked straightly through the door, ignoring her presence.

Nalipat ang tingin namin sa pasarang lift nang may pumasok muli. I smiled when I saw it's Sachzna.

"Oh, good morning!" she said jollily while holding a cup of coffee on her right hand and her handbag in her left hand.

"Good morning, Ma'am!" magalang at pormal na bati ni Diane.

Psh. Pakitang tao.

Kumunot lamang ang noo ni Sachzna at hindi tumugon sa bati ni Diane at tumingin sa akin at umirap pa.

Napahalakhak ako sa kanyang inakto. "I know were both pretty today, Serene." mataray niyang sabi saka tumabi sa akin.

The lift closed and started bringing us up to our destinations.

She winked at me and sipped on her coffee. "I thought you're busy, Z?" Sachzna tried making the awkward aura go away.

"Shut up, Sach." tanging sagot ni Zero na diretso pa rin ang tingin sa kung saan siya nakatapat.

Humalakhak si Sachzna sa kanya. "Ang ayos mo kausap ever, noh? My hands wanna choke the hell out of you." tinarayan pa ni Sach si Zero.

"By the way, what are you doing here again, Zero?" Sach said.

"What do you think?" Zero arched a brow.

I heard Diane cleared her throat to divert our attentions to her but no one cared about her. Halos matawa ako sa parteng walang pumansin sa kanya.

"Whatever. You'll treat us lunch since you're here! Wag kang aangal kung ayaw mong ipatapon kita with my guard outside my building."

"Bilhin ko pa building niyo. Tss." sagot naman ni Zero.

He snaked his arm on my waist, making Diane's eyes drift at it and cough fakely. Hindi naman siya nagsalita so I was relieved. Ayaw kong masira ang poise ko dahil sa kanya, noh!

Ilang sandali pa ay nakarating na kami sa floor namin. "Mauna na po kami, Ma'am." paalam ni Diane kay Sachzna at naunang lumabas sa amin.

Sachzna winked at me. "Shoo! Go away na kayo, girl!" pagtataboy niya sa aming dalawa ni Zero at umaktong tinutulak kami.

Napailing na lamang ako sa kanya at saka lumabas habang si Zero ay nakabuntot sa akin.

Nasanay na akong ganito kami sa tuwing pupunta siya rito sa opisina. Ganoon din ang mga kasama namin sa opisina, lalo na si Diane na halos magpahanda pa pag narito si Zero.

I sat on my swivel chair and turned my desktop on. Naramdaman kong may umikot sa aking inuupuan at sino pa nga ba. I took a glance on where Diane is before looking at Zero.

He leaned for a kiss. "I won't disturb you. Babalik ako mamaya." he whispered on my lips before leaving me.

I smiled sweetly before nodding. "All right,"

Umalis na siya pagkatapos habang ako naman ay binuksan ko ang aking desktop at hinayaan ang pabalik-balik na mga tingin ni Diane sa akin.

Ilang sandali pa ay nakita kong dumating na si Amber na basang basa pa ang buhok at halatang halata na nagmadaling nagpunta rito. Obviously, she's late again.

"Oh my! Sorry, Ma'am, I am late!" paumanhin ni Amber kay Diane.

Ngumiti lang sa kanya si Diane at tumango. Gulat na tumingin sa akin si Amber at umaktong hindi makapaniwala.

"Aba! Hula ko narito si Zero?" hula ni Amber pabulong.

Napahalakhak ako saka tumango. "Kaya pala good mood si Madam!" bulong niya dahil tabi lang naman kami ng cubicle.

Napailing na lamang ako sa panghihirit ni Amber saka sinimulan ang trabaho.

We became busy as soon as we started our work. We're hiring kasi kaya we're really busy lalo na kami ang in charge sa mga ganoong bagay. We're actually in need of more than a hundred employees dahil ang ibang empleyado sa aming kumpanya ay nagsisilipat para sa mas malaking mga oportunidad.

Kami ang mga nag-interview sa job fair na naganap noong nakaraang dalawang linggo.

"Shucks, ang gwapo naman nito. Tanggapin kaya natin? Check na check!"

Napalingon ako sa aking mga kaopisina na si Anna at Lalaine na naghahagikhikan dahil sa kanilang tinitingnan resume.

Kumunot ang noo ko sa kanila saka napailing. "Oy, lagot tayo kapag hindi qualified yang mga pinaghahire niyo, ha." I warned them.

"Qualified siya, besh! Ako ang nag interview, eh!" malanding tumawa si Anna.

Mukhang narinig naman ni Amber ang kanilang usapan kaya nakiusyoso rin ito at tiningnan ang form.

Kumunot ang noo ni Amber. "Gaga ka, tropa ko 'to, eh." sinapok pa ni Amber si Anna.

Amber looked at me and presented me the resume form. "Hindi ko man lang napansin na nag-apply pala sa atin si Aeron, Serene! Nakakaloka." aniya.

I took the form from her hand and almost dropped my jaw when I saw Aeron's resume.

"Sinong nag-interview sa kaniya?" tanong ko.

Malanding nagtaas ng kamay si Anna at humalakhak pa. "Oo! Ang galing sumagot! Tsaka mukhang may ibubuga," aniya.

"Well, bukod sa gwapo, magaling din kaya I think we should hire him." dagdag niya pa.

Napasinghap ako nang patago at saka ibinalik ang form sa kanila. Bumalik na ako sa cubicle ko habang sila ay nagpatuloy sa kwentuhan nila. Kung hindi pa sila sinita ni Diane ay hindi pa sila babalik sa kani-kanilang mga trabaho.

Sumapit ang lunch time at paalis na sana sa floor namin para maglunch ngunit lumabas na si Zero mula sa lift na may dala-dalang tatlong paper bags na malalaki.

Napansin ko ang paglipat ng tingin ni Diane mula sa kanyang desktop papunta kay Zero at napatayo at ngumiti.

"Oh, you bought those for me, Zero?" umaasang aniya.

Patago akong napaikot ng mga mata saka tumingin muli kay Zero na seryoso at diretso lamang ang tingin sa akin.

Katabi ng cubicle ko ang meeting table ng aming floor kaya doon din ang tungo ni Zero.

Nilapag ni Zero ang kanyang mga dala-dalang pagkain sa meeting table at saka tumingin sa amin.

"I brought you food, guys. Your manager would allow you to eat naman," Zero's eyes drifted to Diane who's waiting for him to look at her.

Pathetic.

"Hindi ba, Miss?" kaswal na tuloy ni Zero.

Diane nodded. "Of course,"

Di mo sure? Kapag wala siya ay bawal kaming mag lunch. Ang peke talaga.

Nanguna si Diane sa meeting table at akma pa sanang lalapit kay Zero ngunit ang mata ni Zero ay nasa akin na at nakangiti.

"Serene, Amber, kakain na," tawag nito sa amin ni Amber.

Tinawag din namin sila Anna at Lalaine sa meeting table, pati na rin ang iba pa naming kasama na sila Alex at Caleb.

Naupo kami roon sa pabilog na mesa habang hinahanda ni Amber ang mga kakainin namin.

Pansin ko ang pasaglit-saglit na sulyap ni Diane kay Zero na nasa tabi ko at nakaupo na and when she drifted her eyes at me, she arched a brow.

I smiled fakely. Sa kaloob-looban ko ay napapairap na ako at sinusumpa ko na siya.

"Tadah! Ang sasarap ng binili mo, Z! Salamat for the food!" ani Amber.

Binaling ni Diane ang atensyon sa aming pagkain at ngumiti saka tiningnan si Zero muli.

"Oh! You even know my favorite! Thanks, Zero!" she giggled.

And when she looked at me, her reaction was like she won the lotto. I just smiled fakely.

Feelingera.

Zero only smiled lightly and took a plate for me, giving me tons of rice and different kinds of viand on my plate.

Matapos namin kumain ay sa opisina na namin tumambay si Zero. Si Amber, Alex, at Caleb lamang ang kausap niya dahil sila Anna ay abala sa kanilang mga ginagawa.

"Is Serene demonizing you guys, also?" narinig ko ang pinagkukwentuhan nila Alex at Zero.

Humalakhak si Alex na mukhang tapos na sa ginagawa niyang trabaho. Anong oras na rin kasi. It's just minutes before our office hours end at kami nalang yata nila Anna at Lalaine ang may ginagawa. Si Diane ay nasa isang meeting at mukhang mamayang gabi pa matatapos ang meeting nila with the higher officials of our company.

"Madalas pa sa minsan, Doc!" pabirong sabi ni Alex.

Sinamaan ko lamang siya ng tumingin saka sinave na ang ginagawa ko sa excel.

I said my goodbyes to my workmates. Hindi na namin naabutan pa si Diane kaya medyo nakahinga na ako nang maluwag at hindi na tataas ang kilay ko sa inis.

We arrived at the parking and my car wasn't there anymore. Zero's car was the one in there already.

"Nasa condo na kotse mo, Babe." aniya.

Obviously. I rolled my eyes at him in sarcasm that made him raise the side of his lips and chuckled.

"Nag-apply pala sa inyo si Aeron," Zero uttered while he was driving.

Nalingon ako sa kaniya dahil sa sinabi niya at nagugulat na nagsalita. "Paano mo nalaman? Kahit ako ay kanina ko lang nalaman, eh." hindi ko ipinahalata ang gulat.

He took a glance. "Amber told me. He'll be a good asset on your company, Serene. High school palang ay magaling na sa mga bagay-bagay na ganyan yun," aniya.

I just nodded, no words coming out of my mouth.

"Anyways, I forgot to thank him for taking you home that night I wasn't able to join you guys," he added.

He took something on his pocket and gave me his phone.

"Can you text him for me? I just wanna say thanks."

I only looked at his phone, hesitating to take it, but in the end, I took it because he might notice my uneasiness to every thing he says about that man.

Natigil ako nang maalala lahat ng nangyari nung gabing iyon at natulala sa contacts ni Zero.

Bakit pa siya pasasalamatan?

Thanks dahil nakagawa kami ng kasalanan?

"Oh, right, my bad. His name on my contacts is 'brother', kaya hindi mo mahanap." aniya pa.

I was pulled back from the reality by my mind and found myself searching what Zero told me.

His inbox with Aeron was empty kaya I suppose they haven't talked pa since we knew that he's alive.

Patago akong napapikit nang mariin bago nagtipa ng sasabihin sa telepono.

Zero : Hey, thanks for bringing Serene home after the ball.

I immediately received a reply.

Brother : Ikaw ba yang nagtetext, pre? Dollars ka na pala! Hahaha!

"What did he say?" tanong ni Zero sa akin.

I read what exactly Aeron said that made Zero chuckle and shake his head.

"Tell him you're the one texting him. Ang daming say talaga as always." ani Zero.

"Do I really have to say I am the one texting?" tanong ko.

Ayaw ko ngang kausap, eh!

Tumango siya. "Yup. Tell him I am driving." Zero responded.

"Okay," sagot ko nalang.

Zero : This is Serene. He's driving.

Matagal bago siya muling sumagot sa mensahe.

Brother : K, dude.

I turned the phone off and gave it back to Zero and told him that he gave a nonsense answer. Napahagalpak naman si Zero roon, bagay na nagawa niya dahil sa traffic.

"Don't you find him weird, Babe?" tanong ko, naiirita.

Marinig ko lang pangalan niya ay naiirita na ako!

Humalakhak siya. "He's really weird, Serene. Parang di mo naman kaibigan yun noon. Siguro ay naninibago ka lang dahil akala natin lahat ay patay na siya." aniya.

"Yeah, right. Why would he fake his death, though? That's creepy." It was a rhetorical question but he answered.

"To protect his sister. Nag-iimbestiga sila noon sa nangyari sa mga magulang nila and you know how stubborn Aerin is. Aeron had to sacrifice for the ones he love." nagkibit-balikat siya.

I stopped at what he said. I remember how hard he cried when their parents died in highschool. He was still my suitor that time and I was with him in their parents' funeral.

His soul was flaming in madness that time but he was calm when he was with me. But we were both young and don't know about things. In the end, we didn't work out.

Zero's things were already in the car we are currently on. Panigurado ay diretso na siya sa aming probinsya niyan. We'll probably see each other maybe after weeks. Maybe about two to three weeks.

Minsan nga, magigising na lang ako sa condo nasa tabi ko siya with gifts. Like what I always tell, he's always full of surprises.

I took my Prada bag beside me when I saw that we just arrived at the lobby of my condominium.

My eyes was just about to drift through my boyfriend when he grabbed my jaw close to him using his hand and gave a peck on my lips, nose then to my forehead.

"See you in weeks, Baby," he muttered, kissing my head continuously.

"When will we meet again?" tanong ko.

"I don't know when we'll meet again but I'll make it up to you, I promise." he whispered and kissed my lips.

I nodded and smiled.

He caressed my jaws once again before letting me out of the car. I waited for him to depart before taking the lift from the lobby.

I felt exhausted when I saw my bed. I am so damn confused whether I'll tell him or not the things he should know.

Hindi lang talaga ako...handa.

Gustong-gusto ko nang gumaan ang loob ko pero paano? Hindi ako handa. I know he keeps promises pero we don't know if in this case, he can still stay with me.

Napasinghap ako dahil sa dami nang naiisip at pumapasok sa isip ko. I stood up and made myself productive for tonight.

I cooked food enough just for myself and watched television to kill the silence while eating at the living room.

Monday palang pero parang pang-isang linggong trabaho na ang nagawa ko. It's not the workloads, though. It's just me.

Ramdam ko ang sakit sa ulo nang matapos akong maghugas dahil sa pagod sa trabaho kaya dumiretso ako sa supply room ko.

I roamed my eyes around to look for the maintenance box wherein all kinds of tablets are in there.

Kinuha ko agad ito nang matanaw ko ito at dumiretso sa kusina para kumuha ng inumin.

Umupo ako sa tapat ng breakfast table at saka hinalughog ang box nang may mahawakan akong tablet na nakalimutan kong inumin.

What the f**k.

I just forgot to take contraceptives.

Agad ko iyon kinuha at saka uminom ng isa, dinadasalan na umepektibo pa iyon. Pikit-mata akong napasabunot sa aking buhok.

What if...may mabuo sa ginawa namin ni Aeron?

I shouted in frustration, not knowing what to do. Will I really lose Zero for this? Am I really ruining my own...fulfilled life...because of that one night mistake?