Chapter 15: I love you [THE END]

“Reschedule the appointment,” I massaged my temples as I stared at the papers in front of my desk. It’s another invitation from a friend to their wedding. I can’t help but to cringe seeing their name on the invitation. How the hell did they get a wife?

I’m the only one who never experienced any relationship in our friend circle. It’s nothing to be jealous of but I’m curious what does it feel like? Because all my life I never felt romantic love. Surprisingly even attraction. There are a lot of girls in this world and it’s surprising I don’t find anyone attractive.

That’s before I found that woman. That girl who cheated on me with just a fucking owner of a restaurant somewhere in Makati.

I’m planning to destroy everything about that guy. They both used me for my money. So when I found out about the guy’s restaurant, I immediately went there disguised as a random customer. I’ll fucking buy this so I can get back everything they worked hard for.

I sat in a corner as I stared at that jerk’s face on the counter. Iyan na ang ipinalit niya sa akin? Eh wala pa ‘yan sa kalingkingan ko. Ano bang nakita ni Amber at pinagpalit niya ako sa hindi na nga gwapo, hindi pa mayaman at lalong hindi pa bumawi sa ugali?

Sa paglipat ng tingin ko ay saktong pagbukas ng pinto ng restaurant. Sumalubong sa akin ang mukha ng babaeng naka-uniform pa mula sa isang pamilyar na kolehiyo. Isang hindi karaniwang pangyayari ang nangyari sa akin. Para bang biglang humangin nang malakas ngunit tanging ako lang ang nakararanas?

Napakaganda…

Sinundan ko ito ng tingin. Papunta siya sa counter kaya bahagya kong ibinaba ang sumbrero ko dahil baka tumingin sa direksyon ko ang lalaking iyon. Nandito ako para gumawa ng gulo, pero hindi para makipagbasag ulo.

Kinausap niya ang lalaking iyon. Hindi kaya nanloloko ang lalaking iyan kay Amber kasama ang babaeng iyan? With that girl’s beautiful face she can get any man she wants to. She looks ethereal. Too bad she’ll just fell for someone who already have a girlfriend he got from cheating.

Rosy lips and cheeks, fair skin tone, naturally wavy dark brown hair and a slender figure. She’s also slightly tall.

Umalis ako noong araw na ‘yon dahil bukod sa marami pa akong gagawin, gusto kong gumawa ng paraan para ipakita kay Amber na nanloloko sa kanya ang hinayupak na iyon.

“Sir you have an appointment today with Mr---” .

“Can you reschedule that appointment? Maybe tomorrow.”

“But sir they’ve been waiting to see you. Kanina pa po sila nasa meeting room.” Nagkamot ito ng tenga. “I don’t understand why your father still needs to get an appointment just to see you.” She whispered but I heard it.

I sighed and nodded.

This is literally the worst. I’m meeting my father again. “I hope this goes well…”

“My son, Cadmus!”

I fakely smiled as I saw my father seated.

“Good morning, dad,” I greeted as he stood up to hug me.

“How are you, son? How are you and Amber?”

Tuluyan na akong nawala sa mood nang mabanggit nito ang pangalan ng dati kong nobya na hindi pa niya nakikita.

Doon pa lang ay alam ko na kailangan kong gumawa ng paraan dahil kung hindi, mapupunta sa kapatid ko ang kumpanya… Sa kapatid kong walang ginawa kundi maging makasarili. The reason why our mom died.

“We’re doing great,” I lied.

Hindi ako makahanap ng ibang babaeng may kaparehas ng description ni Amber. I really have a unique taste huh…

I just went from a friend’s wedding. I’m about to go home when I saw that guy’s restaurant. Natanaw ko agad mula sa labas pa lang ang isang galit na galit na customer doon sa babae nung may ari.

Binaba ko agad ang car window upang maki-usyoso pero hindi ko pa rin maintindihan. Pinarada ko muna ang sasakyan sa parking lot bago ako bumaba.

“Waitress ka na nga lang, nanlalandi ka pa! Wala ka na bang kahihiyan sa sarili mo? Kababae mong tao ikaw pa lumalapit sa lalaki! Nilagyan mo pa ng pampaasim ang cake namin!”

“Ma’am, excuse me? Hindi ko nilapitan ang boyfriend mo! At mas lalong wala akong kinalaman sa pagpapaasim ng cake niyo dahil hindi naman ako nagluluto! Baka galing lang ‘yan sa kili-kili mo kaya maasim!”

Hindi pa ako sobrang lapit pero natawa agad ako sa aking narinig. Pawis na pawis ang babaeng ‘yon habang kausap ang customer. Hindi na siya nakapang-college na uniform, nakapang waitress siya na uniform.

“Erin, you’re fired! Napakalandi mo talaga!”

To my surprise, I saw my ex. Amber.

“Ano po? Wala akong ginagawa ma’am! Nag-iimbento lang po ‘yan!” Halos maiyak na siya, mata pa lang. Pero mas pinili niyang magbigay ng straight face.

That’s when I started to process everything. She’s not that guy’s ‘girl’.

I did a background check on her then I found out she’s living alone in a compound and she’s studying BS Business Administration. And she doesn’t have a boyfriend…

I immediately invited her to the office when I found out. I told my secretary to make an invitation.

“Sir, Ms. Crisostomo rejected our offer.”

Why the hell does she keep rejecting my offer? I fucking offered a hundred million just for her to pretend that she’s my girlfriend infront of my father. Does she want more? Fuck this.

I got her address. That day, I decided to talk to her personally so we can talk about it. Hell, she’s so lucky to meet a young self made and good-looking billionaire like me. I just know when she sees me, she’ll never reject my offer again.

Nakahinto na ang kotse ko sa tapat ng bahay niya nang makita ko siyang tumatakbo palabas. Kumunot ang nuo ko nang makita ko ang nagkalat na damit doon. Is that her clothes? Dali-dali niya itong pinagpupulot. I flinched when I saw a flying shirt. What the hell?

Marahas niyang pinunasan ang luha niya bago kunin ang cellphone na nasa bulsa nito. May kung sino itong tinawagan. Ilang minuto lamang ang nakalipas ay nakatanggap ako ng mensahe galing sa aking sekretarya.

‘Good morning, Mr. Arcajante! Miss Crisostomo finally accepted the offer sir. She said she’s planning to meet you soon.’

I smiled spontaneously. The hell, I knew it. She can’t bring me down.

Paalis na sana ako nang makita ko ang babaeng iyon na muntikan na siyang sampalin ngunit nailagan niya ito. Galit na galit ang babae kaya lumabas agad ako ng kotse.

My right hand is in my pocket. I slowly walked towards them until they felt my presence. They looked at me at the same time.

“Crisostomo, right?” I asked, knowing it is really her.

“Sino ka naman?” Nanginginig ang boses nito habang nagsasalita. Kita ko pa ang nagbabadyang luha sa kanyang mga mata. Hell, why is she beautiful when she’s about to cry. It felt like it was angel crying in front of me.

I was about to speak when I saw her torn shirt. I can see her undergarments even I’m still not that near to her. I looked up for a while as I removed my coat. I placed it on top of her shirt. I can see her eyes slowly enlarged. I smirked.

“My name is Cadmus Arcajante. CEO of the Arcajante Bank Holdings.”

Mas lalong nanlaki ang mga mata niya. And yeah, this guy just asked you to be his fake girlfriend. But you keep rejecting him.

This girl… She’s really stubborn. But unlike other girls, she doesn’t remind me of my ex or any other girls. She’s unique. She doesn’t care even she embarrasses herself just to make her love ones happy. She’ll do anything for money.

Just like we agreed to do so, she stays in our mansion for the meantime. That’s an advantage for me. To live with that woman.

Dad is a really smart person, he can smell when I’m faking it or not. He knows me so well. So I tried faking my feelings for that woman. But damn…

I fucking fell for her. I fell harder than I wanted to fake…

It was going well, then that guy appeared. Her ex. To my surprise, that guy also owns a company. So that’s why she’s hard to tame huh. She had him. And what’s more? That’s our rival company.

“I had her first, Arcajante,” Jarmin said and smirked.

I greeted my teeth. They’re still talking, does that mean they still love each other? I have not even confessed about my feelings to her.

When dad found out that Erin and I are just faking the relationship, he didn’t react as I imagined. He already knows, he met Amber before but he didn’t tell me. He keeps up with my lie but he let it happen because he saw that I’m happy with that woman.

But then my world turned upsidedown. We don’t have the subsidiary’s stock in companies so we’re dealing with the minority owners. We need to deal with it as soon as possible.

Pinagkatiwalaan ko siya, I trusted Erin because she knew what to do. But because of her, all of my father’s… Including mine’s work turned to an ash. Bankruptcy.

And then she left with that Jarmin for fuck’s sake. I cried a lot but I have no choice to put myself together. It took awhile to get everything back.

But I lost her. I haven’t told her about my feelings yet. I’m ready to hear anything but she left.

If she still loves that guy? Okay, I’ll try harder. She’ll blame herself for the company bankruptcy? I fixed it. I don’t blame her for that. Besides it’s fine now. I was ready for everything. I would drop everything for her. But she left with him. They went abroad to get married.

I’m still here, going to the restaurants we’ve been through. Eating alone unlike we used to before because we eat with each other… Going to familiar places I’ve been with her. But specially, I stay in that park whenever I’m sad because it cheers me up. Eating cheap foods she told me that would taste good while spending a few coins.

Hell, I miss her so bad.

But what can I do? She chose that guy.

So I continued my life because nothing will change if I stop something. I need to go on but I felt empty. I was hoping God will bring me another woman like her again. Or maybe even better than her but I can’t imagine any woman being better than her because Hell, she’s better than anything. My baby’s the best of the best.

I started to move on.

But cupid’s really playful huh? I saw her again.

“What the hell…” I blinked twice when I saw her on the airport while I’m waiting for my Cadesia who came from Japan with his boyfriend. “Maybe I’m just hallucinating…” I shook my head while looking at the same spot I thought she’s on.

“No sir, I think I’ve seen her too.” It was my secretary, Kimberly. “Is that possible that she’s back in the Philippines again sir?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Yeah of course I lied. “What’s the name of the company again?”

We’re about to go on a meeting with another company. My friend is one of the workers of this company we’ll be meeting now so I trust it a lot. I’ve never heard about the CEO though. I don’t really care unless we actually meet. This time, we’ll meet.

“Wait sir..” may tiningnan ito sa folder. “It’s Hyacinth Inc., Sir.”

Napatingin ako sa kanya kasabay nang pagkunot ng aking nuo. “Hyacinth? Did I hear you right? Are you sure it’s the name of the company?” Sunod-sunod kong tanong.

Hell, that’s her dream company name.

“Yes sir. Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing, I just thought the name is familiar.”

Pagpasok ko pa lang sa meeting room ay may mabigat na akong pakiramdam. Una kong nakita ang sekretarya ng CEO. Sino ang sekretaryang iyon? It was Amber. And the CEO, it’s her. It’s my baby. It’s Erin Crisostomo.

I chose to ignore her but stayed professional. She’s married right? I can’t touch her anymore. Not again.

“Fuck this!” I saw her crying in that park. “I miss him so bad! Why the hell is he ignoring me?”

What’s that? Is she on a call with her husband? Or a friend? Noong lumapit naman ako ay wala akong nakitang telepono. She’s talking to herself.

“I miss you so much, Cadmus Arcajante! Fuck you! Fuck this! Fuck everything! Fuck everyone!” I heard her sobbing. I want to hug her so bad.

But wait, what the hell did she just said? She misses me?

Lumayo pa rin ako, knowing I want her so much. I miss her so much.

Not until I found out she’s not yet married. What? Had they filed a divorce or what?

“Wala naman pong divorce sa Pilipinas sir.” My secretary blurted out.

“So she’s married in another country…” Hinilot ko ang aking sintido tsaka tumingin sa aking sekretaryang limang taong kasal at may dalawang anak. “Act like my girlfriend infront of her. Can we do that, Kimberly?”

“Grabe ka naman mag-overthink sir,” tumawa pa ito. Palibhasa ay malapit na kami sa isa’t isa na parang magkaibigan kaya kumportable na itong magsalita ng ganyan sa akin. “Dahil naging mabait po kayong dalawa sa akin ni Ma’am Erin, sige po. Pero sa sinabi niyong nagpakasal siya sa ibang bansa, siguro nga po. Pero malay niyo hindi talaga nagpakasal si Ms. Crisostomo at iyong bulldog na ‘yon.”

Natawa ako sa tinawag niya kay Jarmin.

Pero come think of it, maybe they didn’t really get married?

It was a celebration for another subsidiary company when I bumped to Jarmin.

“Hey, it’s been a while,” napangiti ito.

“It’s only five years,” sagot ko.

“How are you and Erin? I haven’t received a wedding invitation. But I expected that of course, after what I did to you both…” He sighed. “Congratulations to another subsidiary of your company and to your wife’s new company. You’re both doing well and you deserve it.”

“What?”  I feel like I’m going crazy with what he just asked me. Why is he asking me that question? Didn’t they both get married in another country? “Wedding invitation? I thought you guys got married?”

“What?” Tanong niya pabalik. “She haven’t told you yet?”

“Tell me what?”

“We never got married.” He sighed again. “It’s actually for a show. I want to see you fall down because I was jealous and I was childish. I’m telling you right now that I’ve changed… I was in charge of the stocks of your company so I wanted to ruin it all because I noticed how different Erin looks at you unlike the way she looks at me before. Erin and I had a deal.”

“Deal? What the fuck… So you’re the one who ruined me.” I smirked. “What did you fucking gain? What are you even doing here?”

“Please calm down. I just came here because Amber and I want to tell Erin we’re about to get married. Since she hasn’t told you about it yet, I hope I can help you a bit.” He lowered his head. “We made a deal that I would stop ruining you when she tell you we would get married abroad. I also asked her to break up with you and be with me instead. She did everything for you except one. She never wanted to be with me again after our relationship before. She doesn’t want me anymore.”

My eyes were blood shot. I grabbed his collar. “You did what?”

“I-I’m sorry, A-Arcajante…”

Sinubukan kong pakalmahin ang aking sarili dahil nasa mahalagang event ako. I inhaled hard. “So where is she the whole time?”

“I gave her money… To at least help her study on Chicago. But she declined my offer. She became a freelancer while she’s studying Business abroad.”

So all this time, it’s all fake?

What a relief.

“I also… have pictures of her in my phone. She always sends picture to Amber, Erin and I’s group chat to brag about how strong you guys are but now I found out she was lying the whole time. She’s blaming herself for something she didn’t do and it’s my fault.”

“It is your fault!”

Hindi niya ako pinakinggan. Pinakita nito sa akin ang picture ni Erin sa iba’t ibang damit--- iba’t ibang araw habang kumakain siya ng turon. So she still loves me? Does she?

I have no time for this.

“Hindi pa tayo tapos,” paalis na sana ako nang bigla siyang magsalita.

“Arcajante, she came back to New York earlier today. That’s why I never got to tell her Amber and I were about to get married.”

Mariin akong napapikit tsaka dali-daling tinawagan si Kimberly para ipadala ang private plane. I’m going to New York right now.

“I’m really sorry, Arcajante---”

“Fuck off!” Inis kong sigaw habang dina-dial ang pangalan ni Kimberly sa telepono kaya napatahimik ang ilang bisitang nag-uusap. “Answer please please.” Tumingin din ako sa paligid dahil hindi ko siya makita. Marahil ay nakikipag-inuman sa mga kapwa niya sekretarya ng ibang kompanya.

Inabot pa ng ilang oras bago ako nakasakay sa eroplano. Nakatanggap din ako ng mensahe galing sa hindi kilalang number. Alam ko agad na si Jarmin ito dahil nakasulat dito ang address ni Erin.

“What are you planning to do after this?” Kimberly asked. She’s on the same plane.

“When I see her I’ll ask her to marry me.”

“What?! That’s so sudden! You can’t do that if you’re serious!” She’s startled kaya medyo tumaas ang tono ng boses niya.

“I am serious!” Tinaasan ko rin ang tono ko para magpantay kami.

Pagkapunta ko sa bahay na iyon ay pinatunog ko agad ang doorbell. Pagkabukas niya rito ay mukhang hindi na siya gaanong nasurpresa dahil nakita niya na ako sa screen. Iniisip siguro nito kung ano ang ginagawa ko rito.

“Mr. Arcajante? Why did you come here so sudden?” She’s so professional. Kahit na nakasuot lang siya ng simpleng puti na silk night robe ay napakaganda niya pa rin.

“Marry me, baby,”

Natahimik ito. “I-I’m sorry, what?” Nanlalaki pa ang kanyang mga mata.

“Marry me, Erin Crisostomo,”

“You have a girlfriend!” Sigaw nito sa akin. Hindi makapaniwalang nakatingin.

“I made a deal with Kimberly.” I licked my lips. “She’s five years married and has two kids. She’s my friend, we wouldn’t do that. No one’s best at pretending other than you.”

Muli itong natahimik. Nagulat na lang ako nang bigla itong humagulgol at yumakap sa akin. “I have died everyday waiting for this moment. Kanino mo nalaman ang katotohanan?”

“Is that a yes or no?” Hinaplos ko ang kanyang ulo habang nakabaon ito sa aking dibdib. Oo, nagmamadali ako. Papakasalan ko na siya agad.

“That’s a yes, Mr. Arcajante.”

“You own me now then,” I chuckled.

“Of course,” she laughed while crying. “I always own that billionaire.” Tinuro niya ako kaya kinuha ko ang daliri niya para ilagay roon ang singsing na binili ko ilang taon na ang nakalipas.

The girl that used to be my fake girlfriend… She’s my wife now.

“Do you believe in love now then?” She smiled while looking at our daughter.

“Yes. Love is when I found you, Erin,” I smiled back and kissed both of their forehead. “Love is when I met you. I feel that love everyday.”

“So we’re believing the same love now then?”

I smirked as I remembered the conversation we had years ago. “Fine… I believe in that love now.”

“I love you, Cadmus,”

“I love you, Erin,” I said as I kissed her.

I’ve walked so far. I don’t have a goal. But when I started to walk with her, I stopped caring about that goal. The only thing that I care about is I’m walking with her. This is just the beginning. We might get tired someday but we’ll rest with each other. Then we’ll walk again. Because she’s the goal. That’s what I realized.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8a —

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

---- I Own That Billionaire | Wakas ----