His Wife in Nerdy Glasses

Prologue

"YOU LOOK..." Zenian paused for the lack of better words while giving Lanne, his unexpected visitor, who was seated on his couch a quick glance from head to toe. Ngunit imbis na makahanap ng nice at approppriate na adjective para i-describe ang appearance nito na pormal na nakaupo sa kanyang couch ay napakunot ang noo niya. There was nothing polite sa gustong lumabas sa infamous na unfiltered niyang bibig kaya naman sinubukan na lang niyang maghanap ng ibang salita. And for the first time in a long while, he found himself in a very uncomfortable position because of it. It was funny dahil kahit noong atakehin siya ng media dahil sa walang preno niyang bibig ay hindi siya kailanman nakaramdam ng pagkaasiwa maging nang makaharap niya ang malalaking pangalan sa entertainment man o business industry. Although he was obliged to sweeten his crude mouth before, it did not come to a point where he can't even find the right word to say making him look like a stupid fish out of the damn water, gaping.

If only the sneaky, nefarious paparazzo could see the situation he was in right now, he would definitely grace the front page of the tabloids and an onslaught of his memes would be overflowing on the social media outlets. Nakikinita pa nga niya ang isa sa mga headline na isusulat ng mga nasa media kasama ang kanyang larawan kung sakali.

Award-Winning Hollywood Actor Zenian Alcantara, an Estranged Husband Face-Off His Wife! Nalukot ang gwapo niyang mukha dahil sa naiisip. It was safe to say na hindi niya iyon gustong mangyari kahit na kailan.

"Are you done?" seryosong tanong nito. She was looking at him with that stoic, no-nonsense face of hers na palaging nagpapaalala sa kanya sa mga katatrantaduang ginawa niya noon. That was her exclusive look when she was in a bad situation which was very familiar to him since she considered him one of those bad situations.

Pasekretong pinasadahan niya uli ng tingin si Lanne.

'No change at all.' He grimaced.

By that look alone, alam niyang wala pa rin itong halos ipinagbago. The little changes that he found were almost minuscule tulad ng pagtangkad nito at pag-iksi ng buhok nito na palaging nakapusod noon. Ito pa rin ang kilala niyang Lanne na kung makatingin sa kanya ay para bang pinatay niya ito sa previous life nila.

Hindi tuloy niya maiwasan ang magkahalong pagkabigla at pagtataka dahil sa napaka-unexpected nitong pagbisita.

Kung iisipin kasi, walang pwersa sa langit man o sa lupa na pipilit ditong bumiyahe patungong Amerika. He still remembered that she had bad memories in this country and he doubted if she would travel halfway around the world para lang makita ang magmumukha niya. She doesn't really have a strong affinity for his drop-dead gorgeous face. In fact, ayaw na ayaw nitong makita ang pagmumukha niya na para bang may virus siyang nakakahawa simula pa noong una silang magkakilalang dalawa. Not to mention that a lot of memories of them together were unpleasant for her.

That's maybe the reason why watching her looking like she wanted to be anywhere but inside his high-end apartment made him choose to be not his usual crude self.

"Not quite," he answered lamely pero bumawi na lang siya sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakita niya ng kanyang signature million-dollars smile na kinahuhumalingan ng halos lahat ng tao sa buong mundo. "Y-You look great!"

'Oh, hell! What the f**k am I doing?' kastigo niya sa kanyang sarili dahil alam niya higit kanino pa man na hindi gumagana ang kagwapuhan niya sa asawa.

Lanne answered her with a raised eyebrow, "For someone like you who acts as a living, you dont sound convincing at all."

"I was trying to be polite," he shrugged, a little abashed.

"Oh, please! Spare me with your pleasantries, will you?" napaismid si Lanne. "Ngayon mo pa lang talaga naisipang maging polite? Is that a crash course you learned in Hollywood?"

Zenian grunted both in frustration and humiliation. Hindi niya maiwasang sisihin ang sarili dahil sa hindi niya normal na pakikitungo rito. Being kind to her was a wrong idea from the beginning. Bakit niya ba naisip na dahil may trauma ito sa bansang kinaroroonan nito ngayon ay dapat na siyang maging mabait rito? Bakit ba iyon ang una niyang naisip nang makita niya itong naghihintay sa labas ng apartment niya? Did her presence shocked him stupid? Nabigla ba siya ng sobra dahil ito ang sumalubong sa kanya after a long month of filming? Siguro nga. Kung iisipin kasi, ito ang huling tao sa mundo na alam niyang maghihintay sa kanya sa pag-uwi. He wouldn't even bat an eyelid if he was welcomed by a stalker or a paparazzi pagkabukas niya ng kanyang apartment.

But Lanne was different.

Besides, how many years have passed since they last saw each other personally? Four? Five years? He doesn't even know how to talk to her normally before, more so now. Babatiin ba niya ito? Kukumustahin? O tatanungin ito ng diretso kung anong ginagawa nito all the way from the Philippines to where he's at?

That's the problem! He doesn't know what the right thing to do nor the right words to say. In the first place, they were not huge fans of each other.

Tatratuhin ba niya ito tulad noon?

Napapiksi siya nang maisip kung paano niya ito palaging pinapahirapan noon. He was such a pain in the ass sa buhay nito. Kaya nga mula nang magkakilala sila ay kaaway na ang turing nito sa kanya. At hindi niya ito masisisi. Kung gaano kasi kagaspang ang ugali niya sa iba ay doble rito. Siya ang numero unong kansyawero noon dahil sa kakaibang estilo nito ng pananamit.

Unconsciously, napatingin uli siya sa suot nito ngayon. Although nag-mellow ng kunti ang kabaduyan nito, her style remains the same. Nakasuot ito ng three-fourth sleeved blouse na maroon na pinaresan nito ng slacks at flat shoes na maitim. Mabuti na lang at hindi na present ang mahigpit na nakapusod na buhok nitong hairstyle pero ang makapal na salamin nito na halos tumatakip sa kalahati ng mukha nito na noon pa niya gustong tanggalin ay naroon pa rin.

Walang make-up. Walang accessories. Walang perfume. She looked plain like in his memories before—severely sexless. But how exactly can a husband say that to his wife? Alangan naman iyan ang ibungad niya rito. He was not that petty and small-minded anymore.

Getting himself together, sinalubong ni Zenian ang mga mata ni Lanne na natatakpan ng salamin bago seryosong nagsalita. "Since you don't want us to go through any formality, why are you here?"

"I want an annulment."