NO CHOICE /r18

POSSESSIVENESS

"Possessiveness reflects the fear of losing. " -Abhi

*****

"Well, now you know." Alex replied as he pulled Mylene closer to him, smirking at Rovic.

There was a change of expression in Rovic's face nang marinig nya ang  sinabi ni Alex, his disappointment was evident,  yet he forced a smile on his face, pretended not to be affected.

"You're one lucky guy Mr. Montreal. Anyways, I have to leave you for now." Rovic told them and then he faced Mylene na mahigpit na hinahawakan ni Alex sa bewang, showing and telling him she is his. "Mylene, I'll see you in three days?"

Pucha, ang gago nito ah. Harap harapan ba naman nilalandi ang asawa ko???? 3 days, my ass!!!

"Sure Rovic, I'm already excited and I will look forward to it. I will see you then," Mylene answered and she smiled at him.

Tumango lang si Alex sa kanya pero sa loob nya, gusto nyang sapakin ang pagmumukha ng lalaking ito.

Rovic left them to join his father, na nag-uusap pa rin kasama ang ibang businessmen.

Rovic got a bit bored and was actually feeling dismayed.

He still could not believe that Mylene was already married.  He was disappointed.

He was lost in his thoughts when he heard somebody mentioned the Montreals and he couldn't help but listen to their conversation.

It picked his interest when he heard them talked about the merging of the Riveros and the Montreals.

"That old Montreal is one lucky bastard. Imagine, that arranged marriage of his son to the Rivero heiress is like finding a pot of gold in a free ride!" one guy said.

"Not that Montreal isn't a good catch but it was a brilliant idea to fix that marriage. " another guy said. "The younger Montreal is known to be a charmer of women. Palaging laman ng balita na ibat ibang babae ang kinakasama.  I wonder how Ramon could take that for his only daughter."

"Balita ko nga from my daughter, last week lang nong nakita nyang nag check in yang Alexanader na yan sa hotel na may kasamang babae. Eh di ba ilang buwan na rin silang kinasal? Tsk tsk." kwento ng isang negosyante.

"Naku, pag ginawa yan sa anak kong babae, makakapatay talaga ako! Kahit na ba arranged marriage yun, dapat may respeto pa rin." sabat naman ng isa.

"Oh well, the bottom line is, it's still business. Kayang lunukin ang mga bagay para sa ikauunlad ng negosyo." ani ng isa pang kausap na lalaki.

"But I heard, may expiration naman daw yang arrangement nila. Not really sure. By the way, have you heard about the latest innovation ng MCA?"  sabi ng isang Mr. Osmena na nagpaiba ng topic ng pinag-uusapan nila.

And so, napaisip si Rovic sa narinig. He also grew up in a world where fixed marriage is also a common thing. He too, was once fixed to marry someone chosen by his grandparents, but umayaw sya and stood up his ground. Lumayo din sya to avoid it, kahit na alam nyang meron gusto sa kanya ang babae. He just thought, love cannot be bought or sold, and so as marriage.

In the end, walang nagawa ang grandparents nya at hinayaan nalang sya. 

Kaya't alam nya na kadalasan, both parties have no emotional commitment sa mga ganito. In other words, napipilitan lang ang dalawang tao dahil sa responsibilidad sa pamilya at mostly, nagiging cause ng annulment and broken family due to infidelity, disrespect, and betrayal.

If indeed Mylene was in this situation, he wondered if merong emotional attachment ito sa kanyang napangasawa. Do they love each other? Or is it just a one-sided love? Or a no-love marriage at all?

He admits to himself he liked Mylene. He was so impressed by her simplicity and class. 

When she smiles, it's as if the world around her lights up.

In fact, it had crossed his mind to pursue her, matapos nilang maayos ang kanilang business.

He was disappointed to know now that she was married.

He didn't like Alex when he met him. Maangas, medjo hambog at parang malakas ang tingin sa sarili.

Kilala nya ang mga lalaking tulad ni Alex.

And he wondered what kind of relationship ang meron kaya sila ni Mylene.

He had been observing Mylene the moment she entered the convention hall with her parents and brother. Hindi nya kasama ang lalaking yun, which is very unusual for a married couple of their stature.

That perked his curiosity up and it gave him all the more reason to know more about the couple.

***

When Alex and Mylene were now alone together at the cocktail table of the convention, Mylene faced him and sternly asked in a whisper.

"And what was that all about Alex?" 

"What?" sagot na na hatalatang naiirita pa rin.

"That! Your face!" she hissed.

Alex took a deep breath and tried to control his irritation.

"You didn't tell me about having a new business with your new "business partner," he said emphasizing his words again.

Mylene's brows lifted and she crossed her arms but before she could say something,  Alex continued.

"And what are you wearing? Napakahaba ng slit ng damit mo at naka tube ka pa. Suutin mo nga tong coat ko. " sabi nya na akmang huhubarin ang suot na coat pero natigilan sya nang tumaas ang kilay ni Mylene.

 Ano bang problema nito??? Bat parang humahaba ang nguso nito.

"Ano bang problema mo ha?" she asked. "Sabihin mo nga, did I do something wrong?"

Napabunting hininga si Alex and he stared at her.

"Ikaw. Dahil wala kang sinasabi sa akin." sagot naman ni Alex. Nakakunot ang nuo at nakanguso.

"Ay excuse me po, di naman ako na inform na dapat ko pala sabihin lahat sa yo. I wasn't aware na may ganun pala dapat." Mylene shrugged.

"Asawa mo ako. I have the right to know." sabi pa ni Alex na iritang irita pa rin lalo na at tinangihan ni Mylene na suotin ang coat nya. Gustong gusto nyang takpan ng coat ang damit ng asawa.

She suppressed a sarcastic grin.

"Excuse me again ha. Nung  nag take out ka ng babae, sumagip din ba sa isip mo na ASAWA mo ako?" sarkastikong sagot ni Mylene sa kanya sabay taas ng isang kilay.

Di nakasagot si Alex at natameme sa sinabi ng asawa. Tinignan nya lang ito.

Si Mylene naman, nakikipagtigisan ng tingin sa kanya.

"O see??? Di ka makasagot," Mylene said as she rolled her eyes.

Forcing his stare away from Mylene, he let his gaze roam around when he saw his parents approaching their direction.

As his parents reached their side,  his Mom gave Mylene a peck on her cheeks.

"Hello Ija! How are you? You look so stunning! " Mrs. Montreal asked, admiring her looks for tonight.

"Ma, Dad." Mylene greeted them as she gave each one of them a peek on their cheeks. "I'm ok po ma."

"Look at that beautiful solitaire diamonds you're wearing!!! Napakaganda. Are these part of your new collection sa jewelry shopy nyo?"

"Yes po ma. We have several sets po na di pa namin pinapalabas. Maybe, you'd want to check it out? "

"Definitely! Or bakit di mo na lang kaya dalhin sa bahay sa gayun ay magkapag dinner tayong magkasama. What do you think? Alex, bring your wife sa bahay naman. "

"Sure po ma." sagot ni Alex.

Then ang dad naman ni Alex ang nagsalita.

"Oh, you've been married for more than 3 months now. Baka pwede nyo na kaming bigyan ng apo ng mama mo. Wala pa ba ija?" at tumingin kay Alex, " ang hina mo!"

"Ah kasi po, busy pa. Maraming "pinagkakaabalahang bagay" ang anak nyo po dad. " sagot naman ni Mylene sa kanyang father in law at umirap ito sa asawa.

"Ano naman ang pinagkakaabalan mo Alex? Mas importante ang makabuo ka ng tagapagmana kesa ano man yang ginagawa mo." he pointed.

"Tell them what's keeping you busy Alex," Mylene dared him and rolled her eyes.

Isang irap mo pa, hahalikan kita sa harap ng parents ko!

At that same time, Mylene's parents joined them. Nakaramdam ng pagkaila si Alex when he saw his parents-in-law. Di pa sila nagkausap ng masinsinan mula nong pumutok ang iskandalo ni Alex at nalaman ng pamilya ni Mylene.

"Yes, tell your parents what's keeping you busy, young man." Mr. Rivero said before facing Alex's parents. "Primo, it seems like your son here is too busy with his personal business. Time is ticking."

With confused looks on Mylene and Alex's faces, patuloy na nagsalita ang ama ni Mylene facing Alex's dad. "One year or the last part of the deal is off."

"Yes, as what we agreed." sagot naman ng ama ni Alex while he was also nodding his head in agreement..

"Teka, are we missing something here dad? Anong one year?" Alex asked his father.

Mylene's mom held her hands and squeezed them, giving her assurance and support sa kung ano mang malalaman nya ngayong gabi.

Alex's dad cleared his throat and faced the couple.

"The last part of the deal was to have an heir, di bah? At dahil sa huling iskandalo na nangyari, Ramon and I have added a clause to our agreement. "

"What do you mean by that? What clause?? " Mylene asked.

Her dad answered., "We are giving you a year to work out on your marriage and produce an heir. If that won't happen, then you'll have an annulment. With the annulment also comes the nullity of the last part of the merger deal. "

"What???" Alex asked surprisingly. Di sya makapanila sa narinig. "You're just kidding, aren't you?

"Ginawa namin eto to protect both your personal interest and welfare. We thought a year is enough to make it work." Mr. Rivero said as he looked at his daughter Mylene.

Mylene's mom squeezed her hands once again and smiled at her.

Sa mga oras na yun, ramdam ni Mylene ang pagmamahal at concern ng magulang.

Alex was a bit uneasy about the situation.

He felt pressured.

Pressured to make their relationship work,

Pressured to make their marriage work and

Pressured to make his wife fall for him

or else

tuluyan nang mawawala sa kanya ang asawa. 

Sa relasyong meron sila ngayun, medjo mahihirapan sya.

Napaisip si Alex ng mga dapat nyang gawin.

Habang ang mga magulang nila'y nag uusap, di nya maiwasan na pagmasdan nya ang asawa.

Marami ang lalaking gustong mapunta sa position nya ngayun.

His wife was a complete package.

Maganda

Edukada

Mabait

Mayaman...

And for sure, marami din ang magkakandarapa sa asawa nya pag nalaman na ma aannul na sila...

Isa na dito yung Rovic na iyon.

And it hit him, he couldn't afford to lose her.

Not for anybody!

Especially not with that Rovic!