You Were Never Mine

Prologue

Year 2016

The month of September has turned into a chilly evening, and earlier today was the day both Yvette and Nate graduated from their respective schools. It was the day that the two of them had been anticipating the most, and as it turned out, it was the finest day of their lives. Of course, this is because they are finally graduating from school.

Sabay na silang bubuo ng pangarap nila na pinlano na nila sa loob ng apat na taong magkasama sila.

Nakarating sila sa dalampasigan matapos ng lengthy drive nila. Tumakas lang kasi si Yvette at sinabing pupunta sa mga kaibigan nito, para sa after party, pero heto sila ni Iñigo, magkasama.

They are not permitted to be seen together in public, and especially not by Yvette's relatives. Yvette's family has a strict no-contact policy. Malalagot siya.

"Grabe, at long last. Naka-graduate na tayo. ' Yung una nating pag-iipunan, wala nang bawian 'yon, ha?" tipid lang na ngumiti si Iñigo kay Yvette habang naka-titig parin sa papalubog na araw.

"Hindi k aba gutom, love?" umiling naman si Iñigo.

"Hmm…" nag-iisip si Yvette nang iku-kwento kay Iñigo.

"Love, alam mo ba… I saw a hand written letter na naka-display sa museum no'ng nag-tour kami sa France. Napansin ko lang, kasi hindi ba France 'yon," tumango naman ang lalaki habang malayo ang tingin,

"Nakaka-amaze lang kung bakit may letter na tagalog there. And what's more amazing was the fact na Iñigo rin ang pangalan ng tinutukoy ng tula roon, kaya binasa ko siya!" natawa ang babae sa kwento niya, habang ang lalaking katabi niya, ni hindi man lang ngumiti, pero nagkibit-balikat nalang ang babae sa reaksyon nito.

Bigla namang tumayo si Iñigo, kaya tumayo rin si Yvette at ipinulupot ang kamay niya sa braso ni Iñigo.

"Kaso medyo nagsisisi ako na binasa ko pa… Ang sakit, eh." When Yvette tells the story of what happened on their quick vacation to France, which was supposed to be a gift from her mother for her graduation, she smiles in a mockingly sarcastic way as she describes the events that took place. At the same time, both of them are gazing out toward the horizon as the sun begins to set.

Yvette is smiling the whole time simula na pagkagising niya sa umaga, hanggang matapos ang graduation ceremony, she was only smiling blissfully until...

"Yvette, mahal kita nang sobra..." Iigo looked intently into Yvette's eyes, which caused the girl to smile alluringly at tumingkayad in order to approach Iigo and kiss him on the lips. Iigo continued to fix his attention intently on Yvette's eyes.

The kiss lasted for seconds, ngunit pinutol iyon ni Iñigo at tumalikod kay Yvette na para bang pinagsisisihan niyang ginawa niya iyon. Agad na napa-isip si Yvette ng mga dahilan, pero pinigilan niya. It is difficult for her to mess up such a wonderful day when she is spending it with such an ideal man.

At the bare minimum, she wanted to have faith that this was the situation.

Yvette needs an answer from Iñigo kung bakit niya ginawa 'yon. It's possible that he doesn't give it much thought, but she was completely unaware of its significance. A important event for Yvette was the fact that she was the one who broke the kiss and gave the appearance that she was the only one who desired it. This gave the impression that she was the only one who desired it. That option is totally unsuitable for someone with her personality. That simply cannot be true.

"Love, what's the matter with you? Mabaho ba hininga ko? Do you need a nap? Gutom ka ba? It's possible that we'll eat at a different restaurant today." Igor, there is no reason for you to be concerned about it; all I have to do is inform my mother that I won't be able to attend the supper that we have planned for later on. Hindi naman siguro siya magtataka, kasi alam nila aalis kayo ni Nanay Yolly, para mag celebrate. The main point is that –"

"I truly apologize..."

"Love, If you are saying sorry, beacause you feel bad about me saying no to our family supper, then wala 'yon sa akin..." ngumiti si Yvette at niyakap ni Iñigo.

"Yes, both of these things are known to me; nevertheless, that is not the issue... I am compelled to convey my deepest condolences because—"

Because I couldn't even convince you to travel to France with me, I'm going to have to charge you for the dinner that we had planned for tonight when we finally get the chance to catch up. The answer could be yes. The anxiety that Yvette is experiencing is showing signs of becoming significantly more intense.

She is worried about Igo's behavior both simultaneously and concurrently, which is causing her concern. She was making an effort to lighten the mood, despite the fact that she was never the jovial type of person, but nothing she said had any impact on how others felt about the situation. Sobrang bigat at lalim kung paano huminga si Iñigo.

"Yvette, I'm sorry…"

"Alam mo, Love, there is absolutely nothing important about it at all. It's conceivable that you're just too tired to give me a kiss; that could explain why you didn't "umiling si Igo and tumitig sa mga mata ni Yvette." (Kissing Igo and putting your lips to Yvette's) Gustung-gusto nang umiyak ni Yvette, ngunit pinipigilan niya. Ayaw niyang magmukhang kawawa sa harapan ni Iñigo. Hindi pwede. Hindi siya pwedeng magmukhang kawawa.

"I really apologize. I'm sorry, Yvette, but I just won't be able to keep up with this schedule." parang isang bombang sumabog ito kay Yvette.

"I implore you, Iigo, to refrain from making light of this predicament. Gutom na ako..." Nagsimulang mamasa ang mga mata ni Iñigo and Yvette can't do anything, but just stare at him, wishing he's just kidding.

On the other hand, Nathan Igo Rios, who is notorious for never crying in public, just shed a few tears. Obviously, she possesses it at this point. When he recommends that they look into other options instead of continuing with their current arrangement, he is not joking.

Kahapon pa, Yvette was sensing na something is wrong, nevertheless she turned a blind eye, dahil hindi sa wala siyang pakialam o pakiramdam, but because ayaw niyang ma-absorb ng utak niya.

But the big question is… bakit ngayon pa?

Bakit ngayon pa siya bibitaw sa loob ng apat na taon na nagtiis sila sa mahirap ang set up? Na nalampasan nila ang relasyon na mahal nila ang isa't isa, ngunit walang sila... Bakit ngayon pa a-ayaw si Iñigo sa pagmamahalan nila na walang titulo, kung kalian puwedeng magkaroon na?

Hindi ako maghahabol. Hindi ako magmamaka-awa. Hinding hindi ako dapat magmaka-awa, para lang hindi iwan ng isang tao—- lalo na ng isang lalaki. Babae ako at hindi babae lang.

Hindi.

Hindi.

Hindi—

"Iñigo... huwag mo naman akong iwan..." Yvette, completely contradicting what she had just stated, begged him to stay after she had told him to leave.

Akmang aabutin ng kamay ni Yvette ang mukha ni Iñigo para haplusin nang iwaksi naman ni Iñigo ang kamay ni Yvette na humahaplos sa pisngi nito.

"Iñigo, huwag ka namang ganiyan… Please…” wala pairing imik ang lalaki.

Kahit ilang beses kumbinsihin ni Yvette ang sarili niya na kaya niya na wala ito sa tabi niya, hindi niya parin talaga kaya.

Mahirap.

Sobra.

Lalo na kung si Iñigo ang pag-uusapan.

Oo, maaaring katangahan 'yon para sa iba, but to Yvette, She's more than willing to risk it all, kahit wala nang matira sa kaniya.

"Iñigo! Talk!” napataas ang tono sa boses ni Yvette, ngunit hindi naman natinag si Iñigo. Nakatingin parin siya nang malayo sa dagat habang nasa dalampasigan.

"Hindi ko alam kung saan ako nagkamali. If I'm the only one trying really hard to come up with a solution to this problem, how on earth are we going to figure out how to fix it?" Hindi na nipigilan ng luha niya na kanina pa gustong kumawala at umagos. Yvette's emotions broke down and she started crying at the end.

"Yvette, you listen to me, okay?" saw akas, tumingin din siya kay Yvette, kaya naman, pinakinggang mabuti ni Yvette ang sasabihin niya, "Hindi ka para sa akin—"

"Hindi ka Diyos, Iñigo! Bakit alam mo kung sino ang para sa'yo at sino ang para sa akin?!" She does not possess any pakialam, hence she is unable to exercise any control over the pitch of her voice. Sila lang dalawa ang nasa dalampasigan.

"Sorry..." walang masabi si Iñigo, kung hindi sorry lang. Yvette is racing her brain in an effort to think of reasons why Iigo could have turned out the way he did.

"Bakit?" napa-salampak si Yvette sa sahig. Katatapos lang ng graduation nila. Ang mukha niya ay puno ng luhang kulay itim nang dahil sa mascara niyang hindi naman pala water proof.

"Hindi na kita kayang tiisin, Yvette. I can't take any more of the nonsense that you keep hurling my way. I've had enough. Pagod na'kong mag put up sa lahat." He isn't exactly the most persuasive liar in the world. Yvette has the ability to recognize when someone is lying to her. "Look. Kagaya ngayon. You are so naive that you don't realize that I don't really want this and that I want to leave this relationship badly, and yet here you are acting as if you can't feel it. Matalino kang tao, but you are so naive that you don't realize that I don't really want this and that I want to leave this relationship badly. I'm sorry, but you just aren't smart enough to comprehend that I don't really want this." Even Iago is unable to meet Yvette's eyes in a straightforward manner.

"Kung pagod ka na sa ganito... I could change the way I—"

"Sorry. I don't think either one of us deserves the other." He has ceased weeping at this time.

"Then what is your justification?" Umiiyak si Yvette, but Igo wouldn't want to answer her question even if she asked him.

"Give me a cause, Iigo!," I shouted. "Give me a reason!"

Isang tanong lang, pero hindi niya kayang sagutin. Ganoon ba kahirap magbigay ng katanggap-tanggap na rason?! Iiwan na siya ng taong mahal niya nang hindi niya alam kung bakit. Nababaliw siya sa kaiisip kung saan siya nagkamali.

They were content; therefore, where did things go wrong? Why is he treating her in such a terrible manner?!

"I'm sorry, but if I have to leave you, at least I'll drive you home," the individual apologized.

"Oh... so now, you think ikaw ang mang-iiwan sa akin, Iñigo?" Yvette cracked a wry smile as she dabbed away her tears. "You're delusional."

"Yvette—-"

"Have you forgotten na isa akong Hilton? We are able to break others' hearts, but we will never let anyone break our own." Yvette observed and coldly smiled matapos niyang hilain ang tali na nagsisilbing ribbon ng toga niya to remove it and to cling it around her arm.

"Yvette, I got someone pregnant."