Coldhearted (COMPLETED)

Fourteen

Marcus

I got news from my connections in the Philippines that my cousin, Shayla Milena Pontes, is the same woman that the son of the head of the country was marrying. Though she is known as Shayla, Papai said his twin brother Manoel preferred to call Shayla as Milena. That's why we also prefer to call our little cousin as Milena. I just really wish makita na namin siya dahil ang huling balita namin sa dati naming contact sa Pilipinas na si Lucio Santiago ay patay na raw si Milena at ang ina nito. But we later learned Milena is alive and Lucio Santiago was obsessed with her. At dahil sa bagong news ngayon na papakasalan ng anak ni President Ponce ang aming baby cousin na si Milena, we are about to seek the Philippine government's intervention to meet our long lost cousin. Ang kaso ay palihim pala itong pupunta ng Amerika upang makalayo kay Lucio Santiago, who's a mayor, suspected drug lord, and have powerful connections.

I didn't want to leave Philippines yet, lalo na dahil gusto kong hanapin si Pinkie. Gusto kong makasigurado na safe siya. Gusto ko siyang kausapin dahil unstable ang emotions niya. She seems to fear me, and I somehow understand. I know she had some sort of emotional trauma with what she has gone through, and she would probably need to be counseled. And, I intend to bring her to counseling to surpass the shame she was feeling, the brokenness, and fear she was going thru. She's been through a lot, and the least that I would want to do is force her to do something which she might just reject. Kaya as much as possible, sinusuyo ko si Pinkie. Nagpapaka-gentle ako kay Pinkie, kahit hindi naman ako ganun. Nasa wrestling varsity pa nga ako noong high school sa Brazil, pero heto ako ngayon, sinusubukan magpaka-gentle para kay Pinkie. But Papai, my father, asked me to meet with him and my other brothers in the US as soon as possible, kaya agad akong lumipad ng US para asikasuhin ang lahat ng kailangan ni Papai at ng mga kapatid ko from hotel reservation, security, transportation, and arrange for coordination with the Ponce family about the meet up with my cousin. Mabigat man ang loob ko na umalis ng Pilipinas, at isantabi muna ang pag-reach out ko kay Pinkie, tumungo ako sa US.

Ilang lingo ko din na-miss si Pinkie. Kahit na baliw yung babaeng yon, nakita ko sa mata niya ang puso niya. She loves so deep and gives her all, that's why she got so hurt, and broken. And that's what attracted me the most to her, aside from the strength I could sense from her, and my preference for Asian beauty. Just thinking about Pinkie, wants me hurrying back to the Philippines. But, here am I, stuck with my rascal brothers.

Kinailangan pa namin gisingin ang dalawa kong kapatid na bunso dahil galing ang mga ito sa Las Vegas. Sinuway ng mga ito ang kapatid kong si Matteo kagabi kaya naman pinilit pa namin pabangunin ang mga bunsong kapatid para sumama sa amin sa bahay ng mapapangasawa ng pinsan namin si Milena.

Sa isang banda, excited na rin akong makita ang nag-iisang pinsan namin sa ama na si Milena Pontes. I couldn't imagine how she looks like especially that what we have is her baby picture only. Ito ay pinadala ni Uncle Manoel sa Brazil bago pa ito mamatay. Sumulat kasi ito na kung sakaling mawala siya, inasahan niya ang kakambal na mag-alaga sa pamilya nito. Kaya naman Papai wanted to keep his promise to his twin brother. It was a long search to the point that he already sent me to the Philippines to search for Milena and monitor because Lucio was trying to manipulate our search for Milen back then. At para ma-enganyo akong tumira sa Pilipinas, malayo sa aking mga kapatid ay dahil pumayag si Papai na habang nag-aaral ako ng Management Engineering ay magtatayo ako ng sarili kong distribution business ng mga sasakyan, at ng sarili kong body guard agency dahil pinangarap kong mag-sundalo o magpulis pero hindi pumayag si Papai. Ayaw na raw niyang mawalan ng isa pang mahal sa buhay. It was unbearable for him if he would lose one of his children.

***

We are here in the Malibu beach now, walking towards the Malibu mansion, but Papai went straight to the beach shore. Inalalayan ko si Papai habang mabilis niyang tinungo ang isang babaeng naka- White na bathing suit na pinapanood ang mga surfers sa beach.

"Milena?" Nasambit ni Papai, at napalingon naman ang babaeng balingkinitan ang katawan kapag nakatalikod, pero nang humarap ito ay naka-umbok na ang tiyan. She is pregnant but she is still desirable, if she weren't my cousin, practically like our own sister.

Papai spoke to her. "You look exactly like Manoel!" Galak na galak si Papai na makita si Milena. Halos mangiyak pa ito sa tuwa.

"Manoel? My father po?" nahihiyang tanong ni Milena.

"Yes, you're father. I am Migoel, your father's only brother, and we are twins." Papai said then gave his hand to Milena to shake hands.

"Brother? Twins?" bahagyang napatulala si Milena. It seemed she was shocked with knowing the information that her Papai has a twin brother. She couldn't react and I saw it on her face. Hindi na nakapaghintay si Papai. Agad niyang niyakap si Milena.

"Yes," sagot ni Papai. "Manoel wanted to be a missionary and went here to Philippines. I, on the other hand, was busy with my career and the businesses of our family. When I learned about his death, I tried to find you and your mother. But this Lucio Santiago... he's a bad man. I gave him $ 100,000 to help me look for you in Laguna as he is the mayor there. He sent me photos of two dead women, birth certificates, autopsy report, and death certificates saying you and your mother died from rape and burglary. "

"But how did you know that I'm alive?" mahinang tanong ni Milena, na tuloy tuloy na ang pag-agos ng luha.

"I learned from the news that Gerard Ponce, the son of the Philippine President, was dating a certain Shayla Milena Pontes, a half-Filipino, half Brazilian beauty queen. I investigated further from there. Your birth certificate and the DNA result from the hospital matched with Manoel and mine. It confirmed that you are blood related to me. And just by looking at you, I know you are Manoel's child. You are my niece. My only memory of my twin brother." Pag-iyak na si Papai. Pati rin ako ay namamasa na ang mga mata sa nagbabantang luha dahil kasama ako ni Papai sa paghahanap sa aming pinsan na si Milena.

"I'm so happy to see you Uncle..." umiiyak na sambit ni Milena.

"Don't call me Uncle, my child. I am practically just like your father. Call me your Dad. I spoke to Gerard last month. He told me what Lucio Santiago wanted to do with you. I am sorry I was not there to protect you my child. I am here now. I will not let anything happen to you again. You are my niece, but I love you like a daughter. We are family." Sabi ni Papai.

Shayla just nodded. I knew she was trying to absorb all the new information that Papai was telling her. "Shayla Milena," Papai said. "These are my sons. Your cousins. The eldest are Matteo and Marcus who are twins. They are taking care of our car distribution and real estate businesses in Brazil. They are two years older than you. One year older than you are Malik and Maximillian who are also twins. They are both finishing Engineering course. Malik is into wrestling and Maximillian is into soccer. So you see, you are the only baby girl in our family."

"Oh, wow! A girl version of us." Sambit ni Maximillan, habang inaayos ang eyeglasses nito.

"So, that's how we look like if we turned out to be gays," si Malik naman iyon, na tinaggal naman ang suot na sunglasses.

"Are you saying I look gay?" nakataas ang kilay na tanung ni Milena pero napapangiti ito sa biglang pagbago ng histura ni Malik. Nag-worry kasi si Malik na baka na-insulto si Milena sa sinabi niya.

Napatawa kami kay Malik at napatawa na rin si Milena sa kanya.

"Come here baby girl, give your big brothers a hug." Sabi ni Matteo at umakbay sa akin.

"We are happy to finally see you." Dagdag ko pa at nag-group hug kaming lahat.

Ngunit may biglang humila sa braso ni Maximillan at sinuntok ang kapatid ko. I recognized the man who punched my younger brother. He's Gerard Ponce- the son of the Philippine President. I used to see him in billboards, and online articles. Galit na galit si Gerard. It was clearly a face of a jealous man. 

Sumaklolo naman ang isa ko pang kapatid na si Malik. Ngunit, may sumunod na isang lalaki at nakipagbunuan naman kay Malik.

"Shall we help them, Papai?" tanong ni Matteo sa aming ama. Umiling si Papai.

"Let them handle themselves. Sometimes, your brothers deserve some beating. And I want to know if Gerard is strong to fight for our Milena." Sagot ni Papai. 

Kami naman ng kambal kong si Matteo ay napailing at napatawa na lang habang pinapanood ang mga kapatid naming bunso.

Susuntok na sana si Maximillan pero nakaiwas si Gerard at tinadyakan pa ni Gerard ang kapatid ko. Napatawa ako at talagang aasarin ko mamaya si Max dahil naisahan siya ni Gerard. Si Malik naman ay rumi-recover pa lang sa pag-sipa rin ni Gerard.  Kung sabagay, Maximillan was never into fighting. He was more beefed up by soccer.  

Kumpyansa ako sa mga kapatid ko na kaya ng mga ito na protektahan ang mga sarili nila, pero alam ko din na hindi pa nakakapag-warm up ang mga ito, lalo pa't may mga tama pa ito sa pagklasing kinagabihan. Pero kung lalaban din ng mga ito at magseseryoso, sigurado naman akong hindi sila dehado. At saka malalakas din ang mga katawan ng mga iyan. Sanay sa bugbugan dahil apat ba naman kaming mga lalaki sa iisang bahay, at pare-pareho ding mga makukulit nung kabataan. Nag-alala nga lang ako kapag magseryoso na ang mga ito sa away. Baka mapuruhan nila si Gerard at ang kasama nito.

"Cuidado com a espancá-lo se você não quer nossa irmãzinha ser viúvo. (Careful with beating him if you don't want our little sister to be a widower.)" Paalala ko in Portuguese sa mga kapatid ko.

Pasugod na si Maximillan kay Gerard nang buhatin ni Gerard si Maximillan at balak yatang ibalibag sa buhangin. Ang isa naman nitong kasama ay nakalapit na rin at akmang susuntok naman kay Maximillan, nang itulak ito papalayo ni Malik. 

Napansin ko  naman na may nagsisitakbuhang mga babae mula sa isang puting beach mansion. Agad akong napatingin sa pamilyar na mukha ng isa sa mga babaeng paparating.

Si Pinkie!  I couldn't hide my smile. I must've have done something good in this lifetime for the universe to cooperate with me. 

Akalain mo yon? Nandito rin pala si Pinkie sa US! All this time, si Pinkie ay kaibigang matalik pala ng matagal ko ng hinahanap na pinsan kong si Shayla Pontes.

Napansin kong nataranta si Milena at di malaman ang gagawin. Nakita nitong ibabalibag ni Gerard si Malik, kaya sumigaw ito. 

"Stop Honey! Cousin ko yan!" Sa pagsabi ni Milena ay tumigil si Gerard na tila natauhan at dahan dahan niyang ibinibaba ang kapatid ko. 

Hindi naman ako napansin ni Pinkie, dahil nakatuon ang tingin nila sa nagrarambulang mga lalaki sa buhangin. Lalapit na dapat sila para pumigil sa mga nagrarambulan, pero agad kong binagtas ang pagitan naming dalawa para ilayo siya sa mga iyon.

"Hayaan mo sila. Baka masaktan ka pa." Pigil ko kay Pinkie. 

I think that was when she realized I was there. She gasped and was in shock.

I smiled at her, and I believe she knew that this time, I wouldn't let her escape me.