Tempted [Tagalog]

Chapter 10: A Not So Cordial Announcement

“LADIES ang gentlemen, our dear guests and friends. May I have your attention, please?” anunsyo ni Mommy as she clinks her wine glass using a metal spoon.

The members of a small orchestra stopped their music and in a blink of an eye, everyone's attention was set to my Mom and Dad. They’re seated in a long table just in front of a small stage, built for this occasion. Scanning the whole place, this is not an ordinary party. Mukha ngang pinaghandaan talaga kahit na biglaan lang naman. Sa table rin na iyon nakaupo ang mga magulang ni Clarkson, kasama pa ang ibang business partners nina Daddy.

I saw how my Mom smiled after everyone shifted their eyes on her.

“First of all, we wanted to thank you all for joining us in this very important celebration,” she said. “As you all know, today is our silver anniversary of my ever loving husband.”

Napuno ng palakpakan ang buong paligid after sabihin iyon ni Mommy. I even saw Dad stood up and gave my mom a kiss on her cheek, making everyone gasped for excitement. I was shocked on their sudden gesture of affection pero hindi ko maiwasan na mapangiwi. Well, aware naman ako na for the show lamang ang ipinapakita nilang dalawa.

“Maging masaya ka naman sa parents mo,” bulong sa akin ni Belle matapos pa akong sikuhin which made me clap my hands in a voluntarily manner. Mabilis ko rin iyon itinigil dahil hindi naman deserve ng parents ko ang ganitong reaksyon.

I love them both but this is just pure acting. They act as if they love each other in front of their dear friends and business partners. Naglakad sila palapit sa isang podium nang magkahawak kamay pa.

Wow, what a load of crap.

“Actually, we hosted this party not just to celebrate our wedding anniversary,” anunsyo ni Dad sa mic na nakalagay sa stand ng mismong podium. “Our beloved guests, we wanted to take this opportunity to announce that starting today, the Garcia and Salvador group of companies will be merging as one strong empire that will continuously grow throughout the succeeding years!”

Parang may biglang napigtal sa kaloob-looban ko matapos marinig ang huling pahayag ni Daddy. My mouth slightly opened from shock at automatic na napatingin sa dalawa kong kaibigan na tila mga nabigla rin sa nangyayari. I even eyed Clarkson, thinking that he might knew something but he just shrugged at me.

What the hell is going on?

“My kumpadre is right,” dinig kong anunsyo ni Tito Antonio na kasalukuyan nang nakatayo kasama si Tita Carina, pati na rin sina Mommy. “Because starting today, we have agreed to have our youngest child, Clarkson and the only heiress of the Garcia family, Alison, to be officially engaged.”

Napuno ng bulong-bulungan ang buong venue habang ang mga mata ko'y halos lumuwa na sa sobrang pagkabigla. Hindi nagtagal ay nauwi sa maingay na palakpakan ang kaninang bulungan. Marahas akong napatayo mula sa aking kinauupuan to immediately express my rejection to this bullshit but Daddy threw a deadly glare, which stopped me in an instant. Parang bigla na lamang hinigop ang lahat ng lakas ko at pabagsak akong napaupong muli.

“Allie, pull yourself together!” dinig kong sabi ni Anabelle but I can’t seem to process anything right now.

My gosh. What kind of stupidity is this?!

“May I ask everyone to please, join us, as we celebrate this wonderful union of our families and businesses!” Masigla ang boses ni Daddy matapos niyang sabihin ang bagay na iyon. All of our guests stood up and raised their glasses for a toast.

Napatingin ako kay Clarkson na hindi rin halos maipinta ang mukha sa nangyayari. Alam kong higit kanino man ay kaming dalawa ang pinaka apektado sa kalokohang ito. It’s just so unfortunate to be part of this society. It’s true that you can buy everything using your money and connection pero masaya nga ba kami? Gosh, we can’t even decide on whom we want to marry and spend our entire lives with!

“YOU have no say to this matter, Alison! What’s done is done.” Matigas at puno ng otoridad ang boses ni Daddy habang matalim siyang nakatingin sa akin.

The party ended a few hours ago and we’re currently debating about that engagement announcement thingy, earlier. We’re currently in our living room. Si Mommy ay nakaupo sa aking tabi, trying to keep me calm habang si Daddy ay panay ang lakad sa harapan namin.

“This is so unfair, Dad!” I protested. “God, I don’t even have feelings for Clarkson for crying out lou—”

“—feelings are only for those who can’t afford the kind of life we have, Alison!” sabi ni Daddy. “Kaya ngayon pa lang ay ihanda mo na ang sarili mo dahil darating ang araw na ikaw ang magmamana ng lahat ng ito. Have I made myself clear?!”

Before I could even answer back, he immediately stormed out our living room, leaving me and mommy behind. Marahas akong bumuga ng hangin at padabog na sumandal sa sofa namin. I kept swallowing a huge lump in my throat but the bitter taste of what I'm feeling right now is making it hard for me.

“Alison, anak,” tawag ni Mommy. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

Binalingan ko ng tingin si Mommy, “is this the same thing you've felt when your parents decided to have you and Dad, marry each other?”

Mom trailed off to avoid my gaze kaya ako na mismo ang humarap sa kanya to hear her answer, bago pa ako tuluyang masiraan ng bait dito.

“Mom, tell me! Ganito rin ba ang naramdaman mo noon?”

“It was your Dad who doesn’t feel the same way towards me,” aniya. “I mean, at first, we don’t like each other dahil noong mismong araw na pinagkasundo kami ng mga magulang namin ay iyon din mismo unang pagkikita namin.”

“Unbelievable.” I blinked couple of times, convincing myself about this kind of set up. Pero tila hindi ako makapaniwala sa naging paliwanag ni Mommy.

“Pero noong tumagal ng ilang buwan ang pagsasama namin, I slowly learned how to love your Dad as my other half,” Mommy said. “And everything after that followed smoothly. You even came into the world because we both tried to work things out. Kahit hindi namin gusto ang isa't isa noong una.”

She gave me an encouraging squeeze on my shoulder as her thin lips curved into a smile. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin pero kaagad hinawakan ni Mommy ang mukha ko at marahang iniharap muli sa kanya.

“Do you really love each other?” I asked, almost a whisper. “Or you’re just making me believe that you do 'love' each other kahit na hindi naman talaga kayo masaya.”

I saw how my mom was taken aback from my assumption. This time, it was her turn to trail off once again. I knew it!

“It’s not important whether we are happy or not, anak,” she said. “Mas importante sa amin ng Daddy mo na naibibigay namin ang lahat para sa iyo and as much as possible, we want to make sure that you’re happy—”

“—really, Mom? Do you think I'm happy that you just sealed my lifelong fate without even telling me?” I bitterly said. “Clarkson and I are just friends. So, the fact that you put us both in this kind of mess is just pure stupidi—”

Hindi ko na nagawa pang tapusin ang sasabihin ko nang muli ay dumapo ang palad naman ni Mommy sa pisngi ko, like some kind of a trespasser who just came uninvited.

“Stupidity? You really are naive, Alison!” galit na saad ni Mommy. “Your dad wanted to set you up with another heir but I insisted that if you were to marry someone, it should be none other than Clarkson because you two were friends ever since! In that way, hindi magiging mahirap sa akin bilang ina na basta ka na lamang ipamigay sa iba without even knowing kung anong klaseng buhay ang matatamasa mo!”

Hawak ko ang aking pisngi as I was biting my lower lip, preventing myself from crying. I know that my mom does have a point pero hindi ko talaga kayang tanggapin na sa mundong ginagalawan namin ay daig pa namin ang investment na basta na lamang ipagkakatiwala sa iba, without any knowledge whether that certain variable will grow or fall apart. Kagaya na lamang ng nangyari sa pagsasama nina Mommy.

“A-Alison, I-I'm—”

Hindi ko na pinatapos sa kanyang sasabihin si Mommy dahil matapos kong kunin ang maliit kong bag ay patakbo na akong lumabas ng aming bahay at dali-daling pinaandar ang aking sasakyan. Clueless on where to go, I decided to connect my phone to the speaker of my car to call Clarkson and Belle.