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“I thought you weren"t gonna come.” Leila greeted before we kissed check-to-cheek.
“I"m sorry. Don"t be mad. I"m already here. I came!” I said. I know her. She"s downhearted.
Is it my fault that I fell asleep as soon as I arrived at my condo? I woke up too late that we were not able to have dinner. I just agreed to accompany her in this art exhibit to make it up to her. Because I was in much of a hurry earlier, I wasn"t able to dress up well; right now I"m just wearing skinny jeans and a white long-sleeved top.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” She reacted, shaking her head. “So I should be thankful? Geez! I"ll spank that Allen! I"m sure he worn you out that"s why you fell asleep when you got home.”
My mouth dropped open to what she just said. I slightly hit her on the arm and bulged my eyes, “What are you talking about?! Nothing happened between us!” I lashed out in a low voice because there were a lot of guests inside the tent where the art exhibit was being held. They might have an impression.
She rolled her eyes on me, and then she started checking the artworks around. And I followed her.
“Hey, Vannie! Don"t fool me! Bodies don"t lie.” She said as she took out her digital SLR.
I frowned, “W-what body?”
She stopped from walking, and then pointed onto my neck, “There, what"s that? A mosquito bite? That"s a huge mosquito don"t you think?! I know the name of that mosquito. Allen, isn"t it?” And then she laughed out loud - t"was an annoying laugh.
I immediately reached for my hand bag to get my mirror and look at my neck. s.h.i.+t! I closed my eyes hard for a while – I"ve got a love bite! d.a.m.n! Why didn"t I notice this when I took a bath? I even tied my hair up into a bun, so it"s perfectly showed off. Embarra.s.sing it is!
“Nothing happened huh…” I heard Leila whispering, and then she started taking photos.
I returned the mirror inside my bag, and then walked near her, “Hey! Don"t think about us like that. Nothing really happened.”
She grinned and said, “So that"s why you"re dead tired huh? You did some work?” She teased.
I elbowed her, “Stop it, Lei. Somebody might hear you. There"s a lot of people in here!”
After taking several shots, she looked at me, “Why don"t you tell me honestly? What do you think of me, teenager? I don"t care if you wreck his condo the whole day. But really, did you two get back together? Huh? Huh? Did you forgive him already?” She asked, hitting me with her elbows like a high school friend that"s teasing.
I looked at her viciously, “I don"t have any plans of getting back together with him. So don"t push it.”
“No plans? Then what, just be friends with him… With benefits? Is that it? You"re such a b.i.t.c.h! If you get preggy, I"d laugh at you.”
I instantly hit slapped her on the arm after she yelled, “What the h.e.l.l! Shut your mouth. Your voice is too loud!” I confronted her. She just won"t give me some respect. I looked around to check if people were looking - and yes, a couple was laughing at us. Tsk!
Then I s.h.i.+fted my eyes back to my cousin, “Nothing happened, okay? Well, it was about to happen, but I held myself back.” I stressed.
“Okay.” She said, but I know she wasn"t convinced of my explanation and I just let her be. I don"t need her to believe me, though. I just enjoyed the beautiful artworks displayed on the exhibit.
The truth is, I"m not really into this kind of events. Allen didn"t allow me to go to such exhibits back then. I can count using one hand the number of times I have been to art exhibits. It was always Leila who would invite me to come to such events. She has a momentous interest in it.
Leila works as a freelance photographer - one thing that her family was against and also the reason that she lived away from them. She wanted to pursue her craft and I have always been there to support her. Though, I think what she studied back in college would only go to waste. But yeah, I couldn"t convince her as she didn"t like office work - she didn"t like what her parents and siblings did for a living; she thought it was boring. She didn"t want to work in front of a computer; she wanted to be traveling around, taking photos of every significant scenery and situation she would come across.
It"s a good thing that she and her family already settled the issues and she can legally do whatever she wants. She wasn"t able to tell me the whole story behind their reconciliation, but at least everything has been settled.
We stopped in front of one artwork, painted in oil. Many people were taking its photo, including my cousin, and so it also caught my attention. It was an image of a naked, fat woman. I was amazed of the concept and the artwork itself, so I looked for the name of its – Carla Sy-Robles.
I laughed deep inside me. I know a lot of people having the surname "Robles", but the first that came into my mind was Zian. Now I suddenly remembered him. We haven"t talked nor seen each other since the day he said goodbye. I haven"t heard from him since. How is he?
I was stunned when Leila suddenly pulled me on the arm backwards. She wanted me to check on the painting, “Hey look, it"s really beautiful and amazing. I want to meet its artist. Maybe I could see all of her works.”
“Maybe she"s here. Why don"t you ask?” I suggested.
She nodded, “Yes. You"re right. Okay, I"ll just ask the organizers. You roam around first.” She said, and then immediately left me alone there.
Look at that girl. She brought me here, and then she left me alone when she knew this wasn"t my kind of place. Tsk. I could only shake my head. I decided to just walk around and check some other artworks. The tent wasn"t so big that I was able to see all of the paintings displayed.
After a while, I started looking for Leila, but I couldn"t see her. It shouldn"t take her long, so I just sat on the chair nearby. I got my phone from my bag and remembered to call Claire. I"d ask her how the shop has been today.
I was about to dial Claire"s number on the phone when suddenly, a man sat beside me and he was on the phone with someone. I followed him with my eyes as he seemed familiar. I even squinted my eyes to recognize him clearly. His body just got bigger, but I"m sure I know this man.
He might have felt that I was looking at him which made him look back at me - and then it"s confirmed to be him! My heart throbbed fast! I gave him a smile while he bulged his eyes in surprise. Oh, life"s really full of surprises. I just thought of him earlier… And now he"s here.
I couldn"t just ignore him, so I gave him a bigger smile.
“Zian…”
He smiled back at me, and then he bid goodbye to the person on the line and put his phone back to his pocket. He sat closer to me and greeted, “h.e.l.lo, Vanessa. Long-time no see. How are you?”
I wasn"t able to respond right away. I felt disappointed to the tone of his voice. It was not as lively as before. We"re just like schoolmates who haven"t seen each other for a long time. Oh well, what do I expect?
I just smiled and answered, “Yea, right. It"s been so long. I"m doing well. You, how have you been? When did you get back in the Philippines?” I asked.
I hope he wouldn"t notice that I"m trying hard to make it casual because I"m quite uncomfortable. He seemed to be a different person - his looks and his eyes. It felt like there"s a barrier between us that I couldn"t act normal. I also didn"t expect that we"d see each other here, so I wasn"t really prepared.
“Two days ago. I won"t be staying for long. I"m just here to support my wife. We"ll be back to New York after this exhibit.”
I wrinkled my forehead, “Y-your wife?”
He smiled and showed me his ring, “Yes. I"m married.”
My mouth was about to drop open, but I held it back. I just nodded and returned his smile. I don"t know how to respond. I find this moment so awkward. “Uhm, good to hear that. I"m happy for you.” I said, but that"s true. I"m happy that he has found a woman who accepted him and loved him wholeheartedly.
“Thanks. How about you and Allen? How are you guys?”
Then I avoided his gaze and leaned on the bench. So… it turns out that he didn"t know what happened between us. I breathed deeply before I answered, “Uhm. We"ve broken up for four years now.”
I peeked at him secretly and saw a look of surprise on his face. He couldn"t believe what I just said and he exclaimed, “W-what? Why?”
I faked a laugh, “Well, it"s a long story. You might get bored.” I joked. The truth is, I don"t wanna tell him about it. I don"t want him to know what happened to me before - it"s embarra.s.sing. He might just laugh at me and tell me it"s my fault because I didn"t choose him.
I heard him sigh, and then he said, “So you guys decided to separate. What happened to what you"re fighting for before? You gave up? Or he gave up?”
I couldn"t look at him. It was humiliating that everything that I stood and fought for before turn out to be a waste. As for him, he seemed to be happy and well with his life right now.
“You"re separated, as in legally?” He asked again.
I shook my head, “Not yet. We"re still working on our annulment.”
I peeked at him. He was resting his elbows on his knees and his face looked confused. He really couldn"t believe what he"s hearing.
“All this time… I… I thought you"re happy, Vannie.”
“W-why, don"t I look happy?” I joked. I was just trying to lighten up the mood because we seemed so serious when we just only seen each other after so long. “Well… Honestly, I"m happy right now.” I stressed. “You know, I"m running my own perfume shop now. I"m busy with a lot of things that"s why I"m happy.” Then I faced him, “Oh hey, why don"t you visit my shop while you"re here? Bring your–”
I wasn"t able to finish what I was saying when a woman suddenly went near Zian.
Zian immediately stood up and kissed the woman on the cheek. Ito Maybe she"s his wife. “Hey, why are you here? You should be entertaining your fans.” He said. She"s a beautiful woman with a flawless skin. She looked like she came from a wealthy family.
“I"ve been looking for you.” She responded, and then she turned her gaze on me. I then stood up and greeted her.
“Uhm, baby, this is Vanessa.” Zian introduced.
I offered my right hand, but it took a while before she shook it. She was just staring at me like she was still thinking if she would be greeting me or not. I was embarra.s.sed.
“Hi. I"m Carla. I"m Zian"s wife.” She coldly greeted. “So…You"re Vanessa. It"s good to finally meet you.”
I was stunned to what she said. Aside from her name, I was shocked that she seemed to know me. ‘Finally meet you‘ she even said.
I avoided her gaze and pulled my hand back. I didn"t like her greeting. She was smiling, but deep inside she was cold. She seemed to feel some hatred against me by her tone and her actions. Maybe she knew what happened to Zian and I before and I couldn"t blame her for acting like that.
“Baby, I"m hungry. Could I take a break?” She said.
Zian looked at me. His face showed a hint of saying goodbye, so I came first, “Oh, sure. It"s okay. Good to see you again. I… I need to go as well.” I said to bid goodbye, and then turned around to leave. I closed my eyes tight as soon as I have walked away. Sh*t! I didn"t expect this!
Tsk! Just after a while, I saw Leila. She hastily came toward me.
“Hey, where have you been? I"ve been looking for you! I met the painter!” She said.
I turned my head to look at Zian and his wife, but they weren"t there anymore, “I"ve met her, too.” I said without looking at Leila.
“Vanessa, hey…”
I came back to my senses when Gavin poked me, “H-huh? W-why?” I haltingly asked. He was asking me about something, but I wasn"t able to hear him.
He laughed while shaking his head, “And what were you thinking about?”
I looked into a different direction and said, “N-nothing. I just remembered something.” I said.
Tsk. What was Gavin talking about that I suddenly remembered what happened on the art exhibit? I"ve already forgotten about that. I didn"t even tell Leila that I saw Zian because she might use her "Leila inquisition" on me.
After a while, my cellphone which was placed on the center table rang. I only looked at it.
“Hey, don"t you have any plans of answering the call? Should I just get it?” Gavin teased.
I turned my head to look at him. Maybe he"s already getting irked to its sound and I looked like I have no plans of getting it. I could only sigh as I shook my head - it"s Mom that"s calling. And who would call me next?
“Just ignore them. They"ll get tired of calling.” I said, and then I focused back to working.
He then laughed, “And you"ll let them wait, huh.” He was trying to get into my conscience.
Tsk. I rolled my eyes, “I didn"t tell anyoe I"d come. I didn"t promise neither.” I reminded.
After a while, my phone stopped ringing. I was stunned when Gavin turned off his laptop and fixed his things. I lifted my head to look at him and asked in a confused tone, “Wait, w-what? We"re done?"
He stood up from the couch and stretched his body, “You know what Vanessa, let"s just do this some other time. It seems like you have a more important thing to do.” He said.
My mouth dropped open, “are you serious? I told you I"m not going anywhere.”
He laughed as he placed his laptop inside his bag, “You can fool yourself, but not me, Vannie.” He teased.
I leaned on my chair, arms crossed, and said, “I don"t really plan on going there. Why won"t you believe me?”
“You want to. Don"t forget I can read people.” He said, and then laughed again. He lifted up his laptop bag and was ready to leave, “Come on Vanessa. Go fix yourself. Your husband is waiting. You know you can"t resist him. Because if you can, you have already filed the pet.i.tion. You even went home early today… Because you know you want to be there.”
I looked at him fiercely. Tsk, look at this man. I didn"t tell him about that just so he could use that against me. I just s.h.i.+fted my eyes to a different direction, “And even if I would go there, it"s because it is the anniversary of his parents and not because of him.”
He smirked as if he didn"t believe what I just said, “Ok, you said so. But admit it, you want to see him. You"ve been uneasy. You"re not even focused on what we"re doing. Your mind"s been wandering. Because of that, we can"t finish anything today. So go ahead, fix yourself and go there. He"s waiting.”
I loked at him again and said, “I told you I won"t go there. Why are you being so stubborn?” Then I rolled my eyes on him.
He laughed, “It"s not I that"s stubborn. It"s you. You better go there, Vanessa. You might regret if you didn"t.” He insisted, and then he winked at me.
“Whatever!”
“I want to drive you there, but you know we"re not in good vibrations. Allen might beat me and I might lose this handsome face.”
I sneered. He still had the guts to brag. I was about to speak when my phone rang again.
“See, there it goes again. They won"t stop calling you. You should go.” He teased, and I rolled my eyes on him. Then, he took his car keys from his pocket, “So? Do you need a driver? I"ll drive you there.”
Tsk. This one"s ticking me off. I could only shake my head. I reached for my phone to cancel the call, and then I looked at Gavin, “Okay, fine. Leave. I"ll go fix myself.”
“There! That"s my girl! So, should I drive you going there?”
I smiled, “No need. It might cause trouble if Allen would see you.”
“Okay, good. I also don"t like to go there because girls might mad dash on me.”
I raised an eyebrow, “Ah, this arrogant Gavin. Go ahead, leave! You"re talking too much.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow. Bye, sweetie?”
“Whatever!”
He laughed, “Your husband"s not here, so I can call you ‘sweetie".” He said, and then he winked. I know that he"s just teasing, so I just let him.
I don"t wanna be rude, so even if he"s used to visiting my condo, I still walked him out. He even kissed my hand before he left. He"s a gentleman indeed. There"s just a few men who would kiss a lady"s hand. The woman that he"d love would be so lucky to have him.
I went back to my room. I cleaned up the dished that we used when we ate earlier and put them on the sink. I"ll wash them first before I"ll take a bath.
Gavin"s not married, but I don"t know his whole love story. He just told me it wasn"t a good one between him and the mother of his child. That is the reason why after I told him my story, and our current situation, he kept on telling me it would cost me my sanity to be separated from the one I love the most. He was a bit downhearted when he knew I was married, but we"re okay now. He became interested with my story. He told me several times, that it still can be fixed, fix it.
He also told me that it"s okay if there"s divorce in the Philippines. With just a signature, everything"s settled. But we"re talking about annulment here - it"s more complicated than getting divorced. It will take a long process and a lot of preparations. They will investigate my husband and I, and then find all the dirty stuff in us. Apart from that, it will also cost us a lot of money. Overall, he advised me to think about it thoroughly.
It beats me, but I got more confused of what"s happening. I think I know what I want. After I left Allen, until I came back home in the country, I wanted only one thing - for our marriage to be annulled. But the past few days, I couldn"t be say I"m decided with what I want in life.
I can see Allen exerting much of an effort. He was far from this before. After he got well, he always visited me in the shop. He also always brought me food and stuff. He"s like a suitor – going back to basics.
One time, he visited me and brought me a white long-stemmed rose. I don"t know if I have mentioned that it"s my favorite. Sometimes, Claire would call me and tell me I have a visitor, and then when I"d go out, I"d see him waiting in his car with some food. We"d eat inside and exchange stories; most of the time, it will be about his work.
T"was really a different experience. We"ve never done those things before, and so we seemed to be teenagers.
Sometimes I couldn"t help but worry about him because he"s been consistently doing this every day. I think about his work because I might be a disruption. There"s also this one time that he even drove me to my condo because my car got broken. I really didn"t want to, but he insisted; now he knew where I lived. I prepared dinner for him that time, too, because he told me he missed my cooking. He stayed that evening in my condo, but nothing happened between us. We just slept and he"s been a gentleman.
Those were the reasons I put aside the filing of the pet.i.tion. I"m feeling torn. A lot of questions have been bothering me. I could see changes in him - he"s really a different Allen now. He has become a better version of himself.
But what if he"s only good in the beginning? I"m afraid to give in. I"m afraid to get hurt again. I want us to stay like this, no pressure and obligation at all. But I know he wouldn"t be content; he said he wanted me back. He wanted us to get back together.
Tsk. I shook my head and finished was.h.i.+ng the dishes. Before I could get inside the bathroom to take a bath, my cellphone rang again. I ignored the call and went inside the shower room. I know it"s them. Why can"t they wait?! I"m already fixing myself.
Leila"s been bothering me about coming to the party since this morning. Today"s the anniversary of Allen"s parents. She told me to attend because Allen wants me to be there. Tsk. Based on what I remember, I didn"t promise I"d come. I even told him I still had to check my schedule. But here they are, bothering me about it. Why couldn"t he understand that not just because he said it, I"ll automatically obey?
The truth is, I really don"t feel like going to the party. I think people will just be eyeing me and I really don"t know how I"d face his parents. How will I greet them “happy anniversary” when they knew it was I who left their child? Tsk. Though Allen told me it"s his parents who invited me, I still find it awkward.
I showered fast. I checked the time and it was already 7 in the evening! The party would start at 7PM, too! Oh G.o.d! I"ll look like a VIP if I"d come late.
After I got out the bathroom, I saw my cellphone ringing again, and so I sighed. Why are they so stubborn?! I answered the call just so they"d stop bothering me. I"m already in panic!
“FINALLY! YOU ANSWERED!” My cousin yelled at me as soon as I got the call.
“I"m just fixing myself.” I told her first so she won"t lecture me about attending the party.
“Good! You"re such an idiot! You didn"t confirm you"re going! My phone"s about to die reaching you. Why won"t you answer?!”
I closed my eyes hard and sighed, “Okay, okay. I"ll just finish preparing. Wait, did the party start already?” I asked because it seemed loud at her background.
“It"s about to.” She responded. “Make it fast! Drive fast if needed. Allen"s having tantrums! He"s been asking where you are and if you"d really come. He"s really a fcking sht! It"s like he"s gonna die if you won"t come tonight! So please, Vannie, make it fast? Your husband is bothering me!”
I laughed and stroked my temple, “Tell him I"m on my way. Okay, bye, I have to dress up now. I"m already feeling cold. I have just taken a bath.”
“Okay, fine, for as long as you"d come. Tell me when you"re already around the area? So I"ll pick you up at the gate, idiot.”
Tsk. Now, I"m an idiot. Why is it even a big deal if I"d come or not? I could only shake my head. I told her goodbye and then ended the phone call. I hurled the phone on my bed and started dressing up.
I chose to wear a simple attire – a plain black dress with an asymmetrical neckline and a silver zipper on the back. I used pearl accessories and black wedge shoes. They told me the party will be held on their house"s garden, so it wouldn"t be advisable to wear stilettos. I don"t want to wear something grand, but I want to look elegant. I also put on some make-up.
I grabbed my silver purse, hurriedly reached for my car keys on the door of my closet, and then I went to the parking lot of the condominium. I just hope I wouldn"t get stuck on the traffic so I wouldn"t be so much late. It will be embarra.s.sing.
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