Beneficial Marriage (Arranged Marriage Series #1) - Tagalog

"Marry our son, Davina." Ang mga iyan ang iniisip ko habang nakasandal sa swivel chair sa aking opisina. Ilang oras nang gumugulo sa isip ko ang sinabi ni Mrs. Marina Buenavista. Gusto niya at ni Sir Esteban Buenavista na pakasalan ko ang panganay nilang anak. Steven Buenavista. Ni hindi ko pa nga nakikita sa personal ang anak nila dahil ito ang namamahala sa branch ng kompaniya sa ibang bansa. I just see his pictures on magazines and social media. I respect the Buenavista family so much that I can't say no to their requests, but this one... Habang nagmumuni-muni ay tumunog ang intercom na nasa aking lamesa. "What is it?" Malamig kong tanong sa aking sekretarya. "Ma'am Davina, the COO said that she is expecting you to go to her office. May pag-uusapan daw po kayo." My secretary answered. I sighed. "I will go now." Sabi ko at naghanda na upang pumunta sa opisina ni Mrs. Buenavista. I am already expecting this. Mrs. Buenavista, the COO of the Company, will surely convince me about marrying her son. As I was confidently walking my way to the COO's office, the other employees are greeting me with their good afternoon's. "Good afternoon, Ma'am Davina." "Magandang tanghali po, Miss Davina." I just smiled and nodded at them before proceeding to Mrs. Buenavista's office. "The COO is already expecting you, Ma'am Davina. Tuloy na po kayo." Salubong sa akin ng sekretarya ni Mrs. Buenavista. "Thanks." I said to her before entering the COO's office. I saw Mrs. Buenavista sitting on the sofa of her office while sipping on something, probably tea. She smiled at me and motioned me to sit on the sofa in front of her. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Buenavista." I politely greeted her. "No need for formalities, Davina. Alam mo namang kapamilya na ang turing namin sa iyo." Sabi niya at binaba ang tasang hawak niya sa lamesang nasa harap. I smiled at her. "Ramdam ko po iyon, at nagpapasalamat ho ako nang lubos dahil hindi niyo ako tinuring na iba simula noong nagtrabaho ako rito." She then chuckled. "Enough with the expression of your gratitude, hija. Sa totoo lang ay sobra-sobra na ang nagawa mo sa kompaniya." She paused. "I think you already know why I summoned you here." Napalunok ako bago tumango sa kaniya. "The thing is... Steven is already here in the Philippines, at papunta na siya rito ngayon sa opisina ko." What?! "M-Mrs. Buenavista, I do not mean to disrespect you, but I still haven't agree to the marriage thing." Matigas kong sabi sa kaniya. "That is why I want you to know him more." She sighed, nakatingin sa akin na parang nagmamakaawa na. "You know, even if Steven is already 31 years old, puro pa rin laro sa mga babae." How nice, and still they want me to marry their son?! Eh playboy naman pala! "The girls around him are easily caught by his charm, kaya ikaw ang gusto naming ipakasal sa kaniya. We know you, Davina. Mas naiisip pa naming mapapatino mo ang anak namin kaysa ang ikaw ang magkakagusto sa kaniya..." I. AM. NOT. A. REHABILITATION. CENTER. FOR. f*****g. PLAYBOYS "...and if you two get married, for sure mas lalong lalaki ang kompaniya. You guys can merge your ideas, and your names will surely made it into headlines. Plus, ang pangako namin sa'yo ng asawa ko..." If only not because of my ambition, I won't even give a talk about this crazy arranged marriage. "You will become the CEO of the company, we'll make sure of that. Isa pa, pa-retire na kami ng asawa ko. Aside from our children, ikaw ang naiisip naming magtataguyod sa kompaniya." She reached out my hand and held it tightly. "Please, Davina." Before I could answer her, someone knocked on the door of her office. "Ma'am, Sir Steven is already here." Tumayo si Mrs. Buenavista. "Papasukin mo na." Ilang sandali pa ang lumipas ay bumukas ulit ang pinto at pumasok ang isang matangkad na lalaki. Lumapit agad dito si Mrs. Buenavista. "Son! You're here." Sabay yakap nito sa anak. Yumakap naman ang lalaki pabalik. "Yeah, I miss you, mom. But why did you call me here?" Tumingin sa akin si Mrs. Buenavista, dahilan kung bakit napatingin din sa akin ang lalaki. Tumayo ako at nilahad dito ang aking kamay. "Davina Mariano." Pakilala ko. Tumingin sa kamay ko ang lalaki bago ito inabot. "Yeah, I've heard a lot about you..." Napansin ko ang matiim na titig ng lalaki, his brown and almost merciless-looking eyes. "I am Steven Buenavista, nice meeting you by the way." Saad niya at pagkatapos ay binawi ko na ang kamay ko. So this is Steven Buenavista in the flesh. He's actually taller than I expected, probably 6'1. Maganda rin ang proportion ng katawan niya, bagay na bagay sa office suit niya. A really good-looking guy, dahilan malamang kung bakit maraming babae ang nagkakagusto rito. Aside from his money and status, of course. Humarap ito sa ina. "So, mom. What is the reason why you called me?" Tanong nito sa ina. Mrs. Buenaventura motioned us to sit on the sofa first. "Sit beside Davina, Steven." Medyo naguluhan si Steven at tumingin sa akin. I just ignored him, though. Umupo ka kung saan mo gustong umupo. "So, hindi na ako magpapaligoy pa. Steven, I want you and Davina to get married." Seryosong sabi ni Mrs. Buenavista. I looked at Steven who is sitting beside me... he looks shocked. That reaction's expected. Pagkatapos ay seryoso itong tumingin sa ina. "And what makes you think that I'll agree with that?" "May mga kondisyon ang daddy mo sa iyo. Siya na ang magsasabi ng mga iyon sa iyo, but he's not here so I think it's better to inform you beforehand." Kalmadong saad ni Mrs. Buenavista. Kondisyon? May mga kondisyon sila para kay Steven para mapapayag ito sa kasal kung sakali, ganoon ba? Gaya ng pangako nila sa akin kapag pumayag ako sa kasal. Hinawakan ni Steven ang sariling noo at hinimas-himas ito habang tumatawa nang nakapikit. "Marriage for convenience, huh. I didn't expect that you will do this to me." Ngumiti si Mrs. Buenaventura. "For a while, I want you and Davina to know each other more. I-didiscuss namin sa'yo ng daddy mo ang mga kondisyon at iba pang detalye pagkarating niya." "You guys sound so confident that I will agree with this, but no, I don't want to get married." Bumalik ang seryosong tingin nito sa ina. That's right, playboy. Disagree with this marriage thing! Dahil kung tutuusin, sa aming dalawa, mas siya ang may kakayahang salungatin ang mga magulang. "Kung apo lang naman ang gusto niyo, puwede ko namang buntisin na lang siya..." He then looked at me while smirking. This bastard! Hindi ko na napigilan ang pananahimik at sinagot na siya sa kalmadong paraan. "I am not a babymaker, Mr. Steven Buenavista. You did not even ask me kung payag ba ako rito, kaya wala kang karapatang mag-suggest ng ganiyang bagay sa akin." I said with certainty and coldness in my voice. Sinigurado ko ring mararamdaman niya ang malamig kong aura na kinatatakutan ng marami. "Oh, sorry for that. I didn't mean to offend you." He regretfully said. Nilipat ko ang tingin ko kay Mrs. Buenavista at nakitang kong nakangiti ito. Damn it, I know what she's thinking! She probably thinks that I can tame her son due to what she saw. This is bad. "Kung ayaw rin ni Davina, I mean Ms. Davina, ang 'kasal' na ito, then why push it?" Tanong ni Steven sa ina. "I and your father are just playing matchmakers." Tumawa ito pagkatapos. "Mom! This is not a time for a joke!" Inis na sabi ni Steven. I agree. Mrs. Buenavista cleared her throat. "It's because we can see that you two compliment each other well. You kids are both successful and ambitious, at wala naman kayong mga nobyo o nobya." Huh? "Sorry to say this Ma'am, but isn't that too shallow? In my opinion, marriage is not a thing that should be taken lightly. It is a vow that binds two people who love each other and who want to spend their life together." Seryoso kong saad. "Y-yeah, I agree with her." Segunda ni Steven na para bang gulat sa sinabi ko. "Really, Steven? Ni wala ka ngang balak magpakasal, hindi ba?" Tanong nito sa anak. "Well, I think..." He paused. Then he looked at me intently before he smiled, showing his dimple on the right side of his face. "...parang gusto ko nang magpakasal ngayon."