Kabanata 14
1176 Words
Bea
"No."
Kreige smirked. "Great! I'll see you—wait what? You're saying no?" salubong na ngayon ang mga kilay niyang tanong na tila hindi makapaniwalang tinanggihan ko ang alok niya.
I leaned on my seat. I'm not gonna date someone who still keeps a photo of him with his ex on his bedside table. Kahit tatay pa siya ni Khalid, I will not settle with a man who isn't done loving someone else yet.
"I said no. I won't go exclusive with you nor date you for real. Our relationship is a casual thing, and if you want me to be your lawyer in every stupid case you're coming up with, might as well stay civil with me so the court wouldn't accuse me of having conflict of interest." I played with my pen while coldly staring at his surprised eyes. "Ano pa ang kailangan mo?"
Nayayamot niya akong tinitigan pabalik matapos bumuntonghininga. "Why are you being so mean? I'm being honest here."
"So am I. Now if you'll excuse me, marami pa akong gagawin ngayong araw."
Inirapan ko na siya't nagkunwari na lamang akong abala sa files na nasa mesa, ngunit nang lumabas siya at sumara ang pinto, pinakawalan ko ang hangin sa aking dibdib.
Yes, I find him attractive. Yes, I know it's selfish to not give the father of my child a chance to date me, but as long as Kreige still has a thing for his ex, I know I should never risk my heart. Dahil oras na bigyan ko siya ng pagkakataon at isang araw ay magkumahog siyang bumalik kay Crystal, hindi lamang ako ang masasaktan.
Khalid is too precious for him to carry the pain of losing his father to someone Kreige loved before Khalid even came into this world.
I heard a knock on my door. Nang makitang si Rafael ang pumasok ay sumandal ako sa swivel chair ko.
"Sinong nagbabantay kay Khalid?" he asked after giving me the cup of coffee he bought for me.
"His nanny is back."
"Does that mean you can come to my birthday party?" he asked after sipping on his cup.
"Yeah. I guess I need some momma time."
"I hope my client knew how important me time is to parents." He sighed. "Hindi siguro umabot sa ganito."
"Tell me about the case."
Rafael started telling me about a thirty-year-old woman who got depressed she ended up poisoning her kids and her. She survived but her kids died, and now Rafael needs to defend her in court so she'll go to a mental institution instead.
"She said her husband and kids never let her have enough time to assess her thoughts and emotions. She was so overwhelmed with everything that she ended up wanting to take her own life. Kaya lang walang mag-aalaga sa mga anak niya kaya nilason niya." Rafael sighed. "Kung overwhelmed ka na kay Khalid, magsabi ka. Alam kong mahirap maging single parent, pero nandito naman ako."
I smiled. "I'm lucky to have you, Raf. Minsan, nakakalimutan na ng ibang tao na bukod sa pagiging ina, asawa, anak at kapatid, we are all still humans. We need to disconnect from everything and everyone every once in a while so we can connect to ourselves. Kasi kapag nauubusan tayo ng panahong kumustahin ang mga sarili natin, our internal being gets destructive."
"Exactly. That's why we should never deprive ourselves the same care and attention that we give to other people before our internal being becomes so out of control." He sipped on his cup. "That's why I keep telling people that we are our own demons. The only person we should conquer is the part of us we often run away from."
Napangiti ako sa kanyang sinabi. Rafael may be a pain in the ass most of the time, but he is the closest to a brother that I ever had.
We discussed more about his case. Nang oras na para sa isa sa hearing na kailangan kong puntahan ay binilinan niya akong magkita na lamang kami sa club kung saan gaganapin ang birthday party niya.
After the hearing, I went home to spend an hour with Khalid before I told him that I need to go out. Good thing I already established to Khalid that I cannot always take him with me whenever I need to go somewhere. Kaya nang makapagbihis ako ay humalik lamang sa aking pisngi bago siya kumaway.
"Goobye, Mama! Wenjoy!"
I giggled softly before kissing his forehead. Kinuha naman siya ng kanyang yaya saka ako nagpaalam na sa kanila.
Pagdating ko sa bar ay maingay na ang grupo nina Rafael. Most of our colleagues, some of our closest cousins, and a few of his friends from college were there.
"How you've been, Bea? I heard you had several great wins this years," one of Rafael's friends from law school said.
I smiled at Attorney Johan. "Just doing my job."
"Malaki na pala ang anak mo, ano? Dapat 'yan magkatatay na," kumento niya.
Peke na lamang akong ngumiti at nag-focus sa iniinom ko. Nang masyado na nilang sinusubukang ungkatin ang tungkol sa tatay ng anak ko, nagpaalam ako kay Rafael na roon muna ako sa bar area para magpalamig ng ulo.
He knew I hate it when people I am not close with, try to meddle with my business so he jerked his head and let me do what I want.
Naupo ako sa stool at nag-order ng hard drink. I sang along to the upbeat song, at dahil naaaliw na ay hindi ko napansing napaparami na ang naiinom ko.
My head started spinning when a familiar guy sat on the stool next to me. It felt like I had deja vu the moment Kreige looked at me. Halatang lasing na rin at kung makangisi sa akin ay tila wala na sa sarili.
"Hey. You look like someone who just broke my heart today," he said before he laughed softly and shook his head.
Umismid ako. I broke his heart? Really now?
"Malay mo ako talaga 'yon?"
He smirked while holding his glass of whiskey. "Then I'd do everything to take you somewhere else with me."
My body suddenly heated. Tao lang ako. I have needs, too, and the thought of me easing my heat with the same man whom I first gave myself to, felt like a good idea. Or maybe I'm just too drunk and horny.
I really cannot tell anymore. All I know is I want to feel his warm skin against my body, so when our eyes met and our minds connected, kusang kumilos ang aming mga katawan. Our lips clashed in a hungry way, and when we paused to catch some air, Kreige smirked before he paid for our drinks.
"Let's get out of here," bulong niya bago hinalikan ang aking leeg.
The next thing I knew, we were already busy kissing each other inside the elevator while we're on our way to our hotel room.
He better not remember this night or I'm screwed. I am so screwed. . .
- Writer
