NO CHOICE /r18

CHANCES

"Sometimes, the more chances you give, the more respect you lose. Your standards begin to dim and ignored when you let people get comfortable in knowing that chances always exist."

Mylene woke up the next day, with Alex beside her, sleeping soundly, his naked body close to her.

She remembered what happened last night, and once again, her body betrayed her.

Naging marupok na naman  sya at bumigay.

She thought about what will happen now at sa mga susunod pang mga araw.

Iba ang ang sinisigaw ng puso nya sa dinidikta ng kanyang isipan.

Her mind was telling her tama na, that she has to let go sa kung ano mang complications na meron sila ni Alex but her heart was telling her to give it a try again.

Matalino si Mylene. Alam nya ang gusto at pwede nyang gawin but sa sitwasyon nya ngayon, gulong gulo sya. 

Mahal na nya si Alex. She knew that. She felt that.

Kaya sya nagre-react nang ganito, nasaktan ng ganito, kasi alam nyang mahal na nya si Alex.

You wouldn't get hurt naman kasi if you don't love that person eh.

And the risk of her loving him was a stake too high for her to fathom.

and she isn't sure yet if handa na nga ba syang talaga.

So she will compromise while standing on her ground.

 He may have me as a wife but he will never have my heart. No, I won't give it to him. Katawan ko lang ang pwede kong maibigay sa kanya, pero di ang aking puso.

Dapat kong panindigan ang kasunduan, di lang sa kasal but to the deal we made about not meddling in each other's lives. 

Sana magawa ko

Sana mapanindigan ko...

Pipilitin ko...

And when the time comes na ma fulfill na ang last part ng deal, I will file an annulment...

Then live my own life...

Tama, eto ang dapat. This is what I must to do.

She slowly got up and went to the bathroom to prepare herself.

She had an important meeting today so she needed to focus on the things that were more important than her feelings.

She will be starting another business. Her family didn't know about this yet but she wanted to venture into importing vintage cars and their accessories to the Phils. 

Kamakailan lang ay may nakausap na syang mga tao tungkol dito.

She didn't wait for Alex to wake up. She got her car keys and she was in a hurry to leave their house.

She actually didn't know how to react or to face Alex today so kelangan nya rin ng mga ganitong distractions to divert her mind from thinking about her feelings.

*****

She arrived at La Pastileria a little early than her scheduled meeting.

That was better so she can grab something for breakfast bago dumating ang ka meeting nya.

Her friend Nola in Germany ang isa, among the other two, na magiging kasosyo nya sa bagong business venture na ito.

May isa pang lalaki, pero hindi pa nya na meet personally dahil nasa ibang bansa pa ito. 

Ang isa naman ay yung ka meeting nya ngayon, na first time nya makilala. 

Her friend Nola and her husband already had this existing business in Germany, along with the other two. 

When Mylene was in Germany months ago, napag usapan na nila nito at gustong dalhin ni Mylene ito sa Pinas.

And it so happened that one of Nola's partner, na magiging kasosyo na rin ni Mylene ay andito sa Pinas ngayon.

Mylene was in the middle of chewing her pancakes when a guy entered the coffee shop and he caught her attention.

He was dashing in his fair skin and good-looking.

He looked older than Mylene for a few years but he was sporting that strong, manly aura with his wide shoulders and muscled arms na mapapalingon ka talaga pag makita sya.

He looked around the shop and he stopped when he saw her. There are no other customers here right now so he assumed na sya nga ang ka meeting nya. He slowly approached her table, wearing that boyish smile that showed his dimples and it made Mylene flinched.

"Hi! Ms. Mylene Rivero?" he extended his hand for a handshake. "I'm Nola's business partner, Rovic de Marco."

Mylene stood up to accept his hands.

"Hello, nice meeting you Mr. de Marco. Have a seat. Anything you want? Sorry, I didn't have breakfast yet. " Mylene said.

"Oh ok." Rovic raised his hands to call the server. "A black coffee and a croissant please," he ordered.

Mylene stopped eating and waited for Rovic's order to arrive, which didn't take long.

"So Mr. De Marco, how do we start this?" Mylene asked, in the middle of her breakfast.

"Oh well, to start with, please call me Rovic. We are going to be partners here in the Phils. so I think it's best if we get to know each other first."

"Good, then, you can just call me Mylene too," she answered, flashing her sweetest smile that made Rovic captivated.

*****

Alex stretched his body and woke up. He reached his hand to his side, para sana yakapin ang asawa when he realized he was alone on the bed. Bigla syang napaupo when he realized  na wala na ang asawa nya sa tabi nya. Kinabahan sya. He wondered where she was. Baka kasi iniwan na naman sya.

or baka naman, ipinaghahanda na sya ng breakfast.

He immediately put on his robe para tingnan kung nasa labas ng kwarto nito, but he was a bit dismayed when he found out na wala na ito sa bahay nila.

He took his phone and sent her a message.

"Where are you love?" he typed.

Not long after, he got a reply from her.

"Sorry, I didn't wake you up. I'm out for a very important meeting." he read.

"This early talaga? You should have awakened me so I can accompany you," he texted back.

"It's a breakfast meeting, for your information... and no need para samahan mo ako. I can do it on my own."  Mylene coldly replied. Parang dinig na dinig ni Alex ang boses nito sa text.

Tss... Still my independent woman. Di ko man lang ba na tame last night??? Parang kagabi lang, inungol pa ang pangalan ko, tapos ngayon, parang anlamig na.

Hmmmm... Pakipot yata tong asawa ko. Malambing nga!

"Love, what time ka ba babalik? Can we have lunch together?" he texted her again.

"I'm in the middle of a meeting right now, so please stop texting... and I'm very busy today. And also, please... Stop calling me love. "

Alex smiled. Instead na ma offend sa sagot ni Mylene, mukhang kinilig pa sya dito.

Stop texting daw eh panay naman ang text back nya. Ang haba pa ng reply. Yan ba ang busy sa ka meetingAlam ko na yang style nyong yan. Kunwari, pakipot pero nagpapasuyo naman.

masuyo nga!

"So what do you want me to call you instead? Mahal? Honey? Or baby?" he texted again.

He didn't receive any reply from her anymore.

Okay, baka she couldn't decide yet kung ano ang magiging endearments namin :)

He poured himself a coffee and carried his cup into their room. Di nya  tinigilan ng kakatext ang asawa.

"Love, pupunta ako ng office. Please let me know if you're done na so I can pick you up for our lunch." he texted her again.

His phone beeped.

"I said I'm busy today so your invitation wasn't on my list of appointments. And in case you forget, may kotse ako, you dont need to pick me up." she replied

"Ok, sayang naman. I missed having breakfast with you, tapos di ka pa pwede for lunch. Sad. Anyways, may naisip ka na bang tawagan natin? Or  I will stick to "love" nalang?"

Mylene didn't reply again.

Ang kulit din kasi.

*****

Mylene didn't notice the time at halos tatlong oras na silang nag-uusap ni Rovic.

At eto naman si Alex, panay ang text sa kanya. Naiirita na sya.

 Ano ba??? Nilalandi yata ako nito! Wala bang ibang gawin ang taong ito at ako ang kinukulit nya? Bahala nga sya. Busy ako.

Mylene and Rovic talked about some personal kinds of stuff but more on their business partnership.

They did not divulge on their personal lives naman. Di alam ni Rovic that she's married and di rin alam ni Mylene kung single pa ito or not.

Rovic was so impressed with how knowledgeable Mylene was about cars, mapa vintage or sports car man and she knew about accessories din. He was even astonished at how she handled business deals like this, especially knowing na ang negosyong ito ay panlalaki.

Before meeting her, Rovic was already informed by Nola about Mylene and very few lang ang information that Nola shared about her.

That she was the only daughter of one of the richest clans in the country,

That she was young and simple, independent and smart...

And that for a petite woman like her, she carried herself strong...

Nola didn't mention that she was so pretty and sweet,

na ang gaan nyang kausap.

Rovic liked her, for sure.

"So," Rovic finally said, "I don't want to keep you long anymore. I know you're a busy person," he said glancing at her phone, "but well see each other again to draw the papers."

"Of course, let me know when it will be available so I can find time for you."

Mylene said and she saw that Rovic sheepishly smiled at what she said.

"Oh I mean, time to see you so we can sign the papers," she explained.

Tumawa si Rovic and he held her hands saying, "I really appreciate your finding time for me." he winked and stared at her for a while.

Then he broke those spell moments.

"I have to go now, Mylene. Until next time." he smiled at her again, showing his dimpled cheeks that looked so cute before he turned around to leave.

Mylene was left dumbfounded for no reason. Napasapo siya sa kanyang didbdib.

Luh, ano yun??? Ang landi din ng isang  to!

She shook her head trying to shake those thoughts.  It seemed like she had enough landi to last her for the day!