IMITATION 2. His Wife, His Mistress.

KABANATA 14.

Red is trying the best he could to ignore the pinch of pain in his chest. Ngunit kahit anong gawin niya ay hindi niya magawa. Lalo pa at tila nakapako ang kanyang paningin kay Serena at sa lalaking kayakap nito.

Are they in a relationship? And if they are, how could Serena have s3x with him? How could she sleep with him and flirt with him? Sadya ba na mababang uri na babae ito? Bumangon ang galit sa kaibuturan niya. Galit hindi lang para kay Serena kundi maging sa kanyang sarili.

How could he let a woman like Serena have access in his life. Wala sa hinagap niya ang magkaroon ng ugnayan sa mababang uri ng babaeng katulad nito. Serena is burying her face on the man's broad chest while hugging the man back tight.

Kapagkuwan ay umangat ang mukha nito at tumingala. He was supposed to averted his face to avoid the scene, ngunit ang peste niyang mga mata ay hindi nakikisama, at ang mas lalo na nakakapeste ay ang puso niya. He just couldn't understand it, why does he feel this fvcking pang of pain in his chest?

Serena is sweetly smiling at the man while they both stare intently at each other. Kapwa matamis na nakangiti sa isa’t-isa habang nanatiling nakayakap ang mga braso sa katawan ng bawat isa.

Oh, how stupid he is!

He should have left, at harapin ang landowner na naghihintay sa kanya sa dulo na bahagi ng cafe. But here he is. He was like an idiot staring at Serena while intimately hugging the man. Habang ang puso niya ay tila kinukurot ng pino.

“Miss de Jesus!”

Mabilis na kumalas si Serena sa lalaki at halos sabay na napatingin kapwa sa kanyang direksyon ang dalawa. Lihim na naikuyom niya ang kamao at ang paningin ay napako sa lalaki. Kilala niya ang lalaki. The man was the best plastic surgeon in town. Kilala ang lalaki hindi lang sa bansa kundi sa buong asya.

Hindi lang pagiging plastic surgeon kilala ang lalaki. Kilala rin ito bilang isang tagapagmana ng isang malaking kompanya sa bansang China. He is Alex Tan. the son of Ching Tan, the owner of Tan corporation.

Ganito ba ang babaeng ito? A gold digger?

Hindi ba ito nakuntento sa lalaki at pati siya ay kasali sa listahan nito na aakitin. Mas lalong sumidhi ang galit sa dibdib niya.

“Oras pa ng trabaho mo, Miss de Jesus,” his voice was firm and full of authority.

“Ahmmn, y-yes sir, I am sorry!” Napakurap ang maganda na mga mata ni Serena at napalunok ito.

Tumingala ito sa lalaki at ngumiti kapagkuwan ay bumuka ang mga manipis at mapula na mga labi. She is saying something to the man. The man then nodded. Bago tuluyan na talikuran ito ni Serena ay ginawaran pa nito ng halik sa pisngi.

Fvck, fvck!

Ang galit ay nanulay sa kalamnan niya. Seeing the man's lips touch Serena’s soft skin cheeks made his blood boil. Bakit ba siya naapektuhan ng ganito? Bakit sobrang naapektuhan ng isang mababang uri ng babae ang damdamin niya, ang puso niya, ang buo niyang pagkatao?

This is fvcking ridiculous!

He should fire her.

Ngunit paano niya iyon gagawin, gayong hawak na siya nito sa leeg? He knew na hindi ito nagbibiro sa mga sinasabi nito kanina.

Damn him for being stupid!

Fvck Serena de Jesus for stirring his whole being. Bweset, nakakaputang*na.

Hindi niya ugali ang mag mura kahit sa isip. Ngunit ngayon ay nagawa niya dahil sa matinding frustrasyon.

“Tara na sa table na naka-reserve for you. Kanina pa naghihintay—”

“Hindi ka ba makapaghintay na matapos ang trabaho bago ka makipag—”

“Makipag-landian?”

Serena cut her off which made him speechless. Napatitig na lamang siya sa sa mukha nito. Habang awang ang mga labi. Nakakainis lang, dahil sinalubong ni Serena ang paningin niya habang nakapagkit sa labi nito ang ngiti na animoy wala lang.

Is she teasing him or measuring his patience?

Hindi niya talaga alam kung saan ito kumukuha ng lakas ng loob. Sa halip na matinag ito sa kanya dahil siya ang amo ay siya pa itong aligaga ang loob.

Serena staring directly in his eyes made him feel so damn intimidated. All he could do was take a deep sigh. Tumiim ang mga bagang niya.

“Let’s go, sir William. Naghihintay na sa inyo ang ka-meeting nyo,” pagkatapos sabihin ang kataga na iyon ay agad na tinalikuran siya nito.

Natigil ang akmang pagbuka niya ng labi at nasundan na lamang niya ng tingin si Serena. Wala siyang magawa kundi ang sundan ito. Never in his life na na-frustrate siya ng ganito ka tindi sa isang tao.

Ngayon pa lang.

Ngunit kahit gaano kalaki ang inis sa buo niyang pagkatao para kay Serena ay hindi pa rin maikaila ang pag-usbong ng mahiwagang damdamin sa kalooban niya. Na kahit anong pilit na balewalain nya o pilit na pigilan ang sarili na huwag maramdaman ang pakiramdam na iyon ay hindi niya magawa.

Tila may sariling pag-iisip ang puso niya at ito mismo ang dumidekta sa pagkatao niya. He hates it. He fvcking hates himself.

Hindi umabot ng isang oras ang pakikipag-usap niya sa landowner. Agad na napapayag niya ito. It’s amazing how Serena creates the proposal. Naiinis siya sa dalaga. Wala siyang balak na gamitin ang proposal na ginawa nito.

But upon reading the proposal she made, he feels amazed. Habang nilalatag niya sa landowner ang proposal ay panay ang tingin ng may edad na lalaki kay Serena, Serena herself kept on smiling to the old man.

A kind of smile that lit up the entire place. Even the old man can’t help but smile back. And even he, himself, cannot deny the fact that despite the frustration he felt toward her, seeing her beautiful face and those sweet smiles painted on her soft, lilac-like lips made all his frustration fade in one fleeting moment.

Oh, damn him!

He fvcked up! So fvcked up!

“Where should I sign, Miss Serena?”

He blinks his eyes upon hearing the old man’s voice. Serena lets out a soft laugh while staring at him. Oh, crap! He feels like he is under a spell. He did not even notice that he was staring at Serena’s face without even blinking.

How long has he been staring at her? Thirty seconds? A minute? Oh, crap! This is fvcking ridiculous. Just a few moments ago, he scolded her and even insulted her. And now here he is, adoring her beauty in his mind.

Kinuha ni Serena ang dokumento sa harapan niya at maging ang signing pen. “Dito po mang Nelson,” turo ni Serena sa ilalim na bahagi ng dokumento sabay bigay ng signing pen sa may edad na lalaki.

Agad na nilagdaan ng may edad ang dokumento. Pagkatapos ng paglagda ay agad na tumayo siya upang tapusin na ng tuluyan ang meeting. Inangat niya ang kanan na kamay upang makipag kamay sa may edad.

“Salamat po, Mang Nelson. Makakaasa kayo na tutupad ako sa kasunduan natin.”

“May tiwala ako sa’yo, iho!”

Kasabay ng pagbili niya ng bahagi ng lupa na pagtitirikan ng bagong lab ay ang pagbili niya ng rancho ng may edad. Kasama sa kasunduan na iyon na mananatili sa rancho ang mga dating trabahante at bigyan ng tamang benepisyo.

Ang buong pamilya ni Mang Nelson ay nasa ibang bansa na. Matanda na ito at gusto ng makasama ang pamilya. May isang anak na babae at maging ang asawa ay isang banyaga. Mas pinili nitong makasama ang buong pamilya at ibenta na lamang ang rancho.

Matapos makipagkamay ay humarap at nginitian siya ng may edad na lalaki. “Huwag mo na pakawalan si Miss Serena. Ang babaeng katulad niya ay mangilan-ngilan na lamang. Babaeng maganda hindi lamang sa pisikal na anyo kundi maging ang kalooban.”

“Ho?” He was stunned. Paano nito nasasabi sa kanya ang bagay na iyon? Hindi ba nito alam na may asawa na siya? “Mang Nelson, hindi po maaari, may as—”

“Sabi ko nga sa kanya mang, Nelson,” sansala ni Serena na mabilis na nakalapit sa kanya at yakap ang isang braso sa braso niya at haplos ang isang palad. “Nag-iisa lang ako. Kaya kapag pakawalan niya ako, talagang pagsisihan niya po.”

Agad na marahan na hinila niya ang braso na yakap ng isang braso nito. Bumangon muli ang inis sa kalooban niya. Napalinga pa siya sa paligid. Maraming tao. Nag-aalala siya na baka may makakita sa kanila at aabot iyon kay Kristal.

Hurting Kristal is something that he really needs to avoid. He cannot hurt a good woman, a good wife, and above all, an innocent person. Buo na nang humarap siya kay Serena, he looked her straight in the eye again.

How can he beat this woman's wickedness? Wicked? How can such a beautiful woman, smart and full of intellect, become wicked? Indeed, in all fairy tales, the most wicked villain is beautiful, smart, and full of allure.

No.

He will do the best he can to beat her wickedness; he won’t let this woman destroy him or hurt his wife. That one passionate night that happened between the two of them will never happen again. He will consider that night the worst and yet sweetest mistake he ever made.

Sweetest mistake, because that night he was making love with Serenity, the woman he longed for, and the woman who owned his heart. Worst, because in reality, he was having s*x with a stranger who was about to destroy his life and hurt the people he cared for the most.

He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her close to his chest, then slowly bowed his head near the bottom of her ear. He heard Serena gasping, which made him smirk.

“You love playing games, huh, Miss de Jesus?” He tightened his grip on her arms. But fate felt like playing with him again at the moment. His sweet, seductive, and redolent scent penetrated deep into his sense of smell. Her scent was the same as that of his late wife.

His eyes wanted to close, and all his senses started to betray him again, but he gathered all his strength and fought the urge to hug her. What a bastard he was. Pathetic!

“You'd better stop, Miss de Jesus, while I still have a patient side within me, because the moment I lose all my patience, I will drag you out of this café and throw you onto the street,” he said firmly. His jaw was clenched, and he tightened his grip even more on her shoulder.

But instead of fearing him, Serena raised her head, a smile painted on her lips. And fvck! How could she be so calm? She welcomed his gaze with no trace of fear in her eyes; instead, she seemed to be enjoying the moment.

“Then try it, Mr. William. Try it!”

Naghahamon na tugon nito sa kanya.