His Six Months Rule

Yael 6

The night after their meeting, Jam found herself inside an upscale bar in Makati. She rarely went out these days bukod kasi sa magastos ay wala siyang kasama. Pwede naman niyang tawagan si Wennie pero may ibang lakad ito palagi. She can't blame her though lalo at alam naman ng kaibigan niya na struggling siya with her financial aspect, lalo na ngayong hawak na ng kanyang stepmother ang lahat ng mga yaman ng pamilya nila. Her father let the villain in, simula nung dimating ito sa bahay nila ay naging masalimuot na ang kanyang buhay.

Technically ay nag iisang anak lang siya at saksi siya kung paano naging masalimuot ang buhay ng Mommy niya sa piling ng kanyang ama. Kaya di na siya nagulat pa nung lumayo nalang ang Mommy niya, pero di pumayag ang Daddy niya noon na isama siya ng Mommy niya even nung nagmakaawa pa ang Mommy niya. Kaya kahit iniwan siya nito ay di siya kailanman nagtanim ng sama ng loob dito. Para sa kanya kung may failure man sa pamilya nila iyon ay ang ama niya. Kaya don't give a damn kahit pa sinabihan na siya ng step mother niya na tatanggalin na nito ang financial support ng Daddy niya sa kanya dahil graduating na naman daw siya, as if may ambag ang ama niya sa pinang aral niya ng college.

Maybe she is too young pero madiskarte siya at marunong siya sa buhay, she have a lot of sidelines and that's more than enough for her to sustain her needs. Akala ng iba ay will provided siya ng pamilya niyang mayaman, pero wala siyang nakukuhang kahit na anong support mula sa mga kaanak niya. All she received from her abnormal relatives is Mockery, slander, insult, and oppression. But to give a damn about it, they can mocked her all they want, they can name names but they can't let her down.

She's maybe alone but she is not a coward to give them the satisfaction of making her give up. Wala na siyang anumang pakialam sa opinyon ng mga ito tungkol sa kanya, mga pesti sa buhay niya ang mga kamag anak ng tatay niya. Pinagkalat pa ng pinsan niya na mahina siya sa klase, madalas daw bagsak ang subjects etc. and the best part is naniwala naman kaagad ang mga bobo nilang kaanak. Tinatawanan lang niya dahil alam naman niyang ang sarili nito ang tinutukoy nito.

May mga pagkakataon kasi na isa siya sa mga nag check sa mga test papers ng mga ibang course at tsamba dahil test paper ng kanyang magaling kuno na pinsan. She took picture of that and sent it anonymously to their cousins and aunts na paniwalang paniwala sa katalinuhan kuno ng pinsan niya. And the result is so amazing, kahiya hiya ang pinsan niya, pero wala siyang naramdaman na awa o konsensya sa ginawa niya. Deserve naman ng mga kaanak nila na malaman ang totoo. Until now ay topic parin ito sa kanilang mga family gatherings.

Nagtitipid siya, but tonight she needed space. A drink. A moment to breathe away from deadlines, meetings… and him. Akala niya ay kaya niya na gawin ang plano niya that night na iniligtas siya nito. Gusto niyang patunayan sa lalaki na hindi lalayo ang babae sa lalaki ng walang dahilan na valid lalo na ang mag iwan ng anak.

Halos pareho kasi silang dalawa na inabandona ng kani kanilang mga ina. She overheard him talking about it and maybe that's what made her fall for him. Di niya lang matiyak kung awa ba ang nagtulak sa kanya para magkagusto siya sa lalaki kaya ganun nalang ang pagnanais na makapasok sa buhay nito. Pero after that incident ay tila nagising siya sa kahibangan niya. Alam niya na isang kalokohan ang patinuin ang isang Yael Vergara. He is hopeless case.

She sat in the corner booth, nursing her mojito in silence, scrolling through her phone. The laughter and music around her blurred in the background. Sa ganung paraan kahit papaano ay nababawasan ang kanyang mga alalahanin kahit saglit lang.

She didn’t notice the tall, familiar figure entering the bar confident strides, sleeves rolled up, smirk already in place.

“Small world,” Yael’s deep voice came from behind her. Natigilan siya and she felt tensed, slowly lowering her glass.

“You’re everywhere,” she muttered.

He slid into the seat across from her as if it were his right.

“Correction. You’re everywhere I happen to be.” giit pa nito na puno ng mapaglarong ngiti ang mga labi.

“Don’t start, Yael please pretend that you didn't see me, leave me alone I want peace.” sabi niya sa lalaki. Pero parang walang narinig ang lalaki at umayos pa ito ng upo na tila ay close talaga sila. He signaled the bartender for a drink without taking his eyes off her.

“I’m not starting anything. Just… collecting something I’m owed.” makahulugan na sabi pa nito.

She froze. “Excuse me?”

Yael leaned forward, elbows on the table, lowering his voice.

“You remember that night, Jamela. The night I saved you from those bastards. You told me… one month, one month in my bed.” bulong nito na tila naghatid sa kanya ng kilabot na di pa niya naranasan sa boung buhay niya.

Her heartbeat spiked, flashing back to that horrifying night when those bastard tried to do something bad to her. Then Yael appeared out of nowhere he didn't do punching, kicking, but end up dragging her out of danger. Away from those bad guys kaya paano niya makakalimutan ang gabing iyon. She promised yes, di naman siya makakalimutin pero kasi di naman niya kayang panindigan ang pangako niya, yun ang problema niya.

Flashback

"One month in my bed baby, right?" untag nito sa kanya. Sinamaan niya ng tingin ang lalaki.

"Paulit ulit lang oo nga diba, ayan na sila o di pa nga tayo nakakaligtas pero sa kama na ang isip mo." inis kung sabi dito.

"Okay, hold tighter baby. We will f**k hard later." sabi nito. Sumulpot na ang isang lalaki. Then he finally save her.

End flashback

She hated that moment.

Her eyes hardened. “That was a year ago. I was terrified, Yael. I said something out of shock.” Yael didn’t flinch. Di man lang nagbago ang hilatsa ng mukha nito.

“Still, a deal’s a deal.” sabi pa nito.

“Then you’re more pathetic than I thought,” she hissed. His jaw tightened but his smirk remained, though thinner now, less playful, more personal.

“You think I forgot that night? You think I forgot the way you looked at me? You offered.” sabi pa ng hudyo.

“And I took it back, besides ano bang ipinagpuputok ng butsi mo? Hello di kapa naman siguro mauubosan ng babaeng willing na bumukaka para sayo.” she shot back, voice sharp. “You don’t own me, let's just act like matured human being. Hindi ako premyo and I'm not into playing games with guys like you.” sabi niya pa.

For a moment, silence hung heavy between them. The music faded into the background. Yael’s usual arrogance faltered, just slightly, as if her words hit deeper than he expected. But stubbornness was second nature to him.

“I’m not asking you to sleep with me,” he said finally, voice low. “I’m just reminding you… you owe me something.”

She laughed bitterly.

“Then consider this my payment.” She tossed a folded check on the table. “Bayad ko para sa lahat ng ginawa mo. I’m not yours, Yael. Not now, not ever.”

His eyes flickered to the check, then back at her, the infamous Yael Vergara who always got what he wanted. But this woman was different. She wasn’t begging, she wasn’t impressed. She was walking away.

She stood up, picked up her clutch, and looked down at him with cold defiance.

“Hindi lahat ng utang binabayaran ng katawan, Yael. Hindi ako isa sa mga babae mo.” alam niyang kahit sinabi niya ang ganun ay di matatahimik ang kaluluwa ng lalaki. Alam niyang sanay ito na pinapalugoran at pinupuri and what she did now is an opposite of his liking.

Yael’s throat tightened, a mixture of anger and something else he couldn’t name burning in his chest. Alam niyang grabeng apak na apak niya ang ego ng lalaki ngayon, it is not intentional, but then she can't control her mouth.

She turned and headed for the exit, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. Right that moment she know that Yael is upset or maybe mad at her after hearing those words from her. For the first time in a long while, Yael felt something he didn’t like, rejection… and regret. Nang makalabas ay nagtago lang siya sa mayabong na halaman sa gilid at hinintay na lumabas si Yael sa bar na kanyang pinanggalingan.

Yael slammed his drink down, eyes following her retreating figure. Para bang sinasabi nito na.

“This isn’t over, Jamela.”

And right now she is scared, baka kung ano ang mangyari sa kanya.