The next morning, I woke up to a phone ringing. Why is he here? He is sleeping beside me soundly and peacefully. I look at his phone keeps on ringing and look at the caller.
Chezka’s calling.
Who the hell is Chezka? She’s always calling Kier and last time I eavesdropped on their conversation.
I hardly hold the phone and look at the man laying beside me. I didn’t notice that he slept beside me.
It stops ringing but it rings again. I decided to answer the call and I heard a woman's voice “Hello, Kier! Where are you!? I can’t contact you for days!” Is she mad? She’s shouting in the other line.
I covered the speaker when Kier moved.
“Hello! Moron, meet me later in the same place and same time.” She demanded.
I didn’t move and blink.
“You really don’t know how to reply! Even in a phone call!” She’s pissed and ended the call. I look at Kier beside me. I slap him in the face hard, “what the fuck?!” he roared.
“what the hell is your fucking problem?!” I really made sure; he will wake up to my slap. I’m just looking at him, he’s definitely a cheater. I suppress my tears.
He looks mad but I don’t care. He doesn’t like to wake up when he’s peacefully sleeping because he rarely experienced long peaceful sleep.
“Don’t start me with your attitude! Can’t you see? I’m sleeping!” His jaws tighten, I want to cry, he’s shouting at me because of that Chezaka. Why did he agree to this marriage if he had the power to decline it and marry Chezka.
He glared at me and clenched his fist. So, he is going to hurt me. I run and enter the bathroom. My tears fall down, he is cheating on me. I don’t know Chezka and it’s my first time to hear that name.
It makes me insecure when I hear her voice, her voice is angelic and soft even when she's shouting and when she said that Kier doesn’t know how to reply in a call conversation it seems that they've been talking for a long time.
I’m hurting again. We’re not yet about the issue in the mansion and there’s another one. I admit that he is handsome and that he's being a genius makes him look good-looking. He has Spanish blood. Who wouldn’t fall and like him? And look, he didn’t follow me, before he’s following me and coaxing me whenever I’m having my tantrums! Now it is different!
-
I came to work and I made sure he wouldn't see in the morning. He’s taking a bath when I left the house. I have a grudge against him. I can’t work properly, I am thinking that Chezka, they will meet. I don’t want to work, just stay in my room and cry. I’m not feeling well and my chest tightens.
I can’t leave early today. They need me here especially since our company is planning to have a new product and we all need to prepare tea. I’m getting stressed here. I regret studying business marketing, it’s hard to think of strategy, different products and proposals. It makes my brain bleed. I texted Yanie to meet me and hours before she replied, she told me she’s at work and she can’t come over but she told me to wait for her if it’s fine with me. I need a friend to talk to. I’m feeling at loss.
We had a meeting with my team and I don’t understand any single thing they discuss. My brain is flying. When work was done, I immediately stormed at the company and texted Yanie, that I’m on the road in the café beauty fa.
I waited for her in the café and when I saw my tears suddenly fell down.
"Hey, what happened?" she’s worried, she transfers her chair to my side and wipes my tears.
“What happened, huh? Did Kier hurt you?” How did she know? Did she see him with another woman, it pains me much more of that thought.
“Tell me I’ll punch him for you” I’m crying and I don't know where to start and what should I tell her. I don’t understand myself.
“C’mon tell me” she fixes my hair that has been blocking my face. I cried loudly and the people here’s looking at me, while the others were gossiping while looking at me.
“Tell me,” she shook me a little bit.
“Okay, I’ll call your husband?” I cried harder
It hurts so bad.
She gets her phone and dialed Layla, number.
"What, Vaneng!?" The other line asked "Are you broken again?" Layla rolled her eyes even though she’s not with her, but she knows her well.
“Hoy!” She started, “your sister in-law is crying. She doesn’t want to tell me what really happened. So, I called to ask if you know about it”
Yanie, put the call-in loudspeaker and she’s hearing noises in the other line. Maybe, Layla is at work too.
"What?!" she overreacted, that’s Layla.
“I don’t know about it, why? What happened?”
"That's why I called to ask and you return my question to me” Yanie complains and Layla laughs “Can you go here? She keeps on crying. She doesn’t want to tell me the truth” there’s a worry in her voice.
"Okay, okay girl" she used her barbie voice "I'll be there. I'll just say goodbye to my future husband, arasso? Byee. Labyu mwaa" Layla.
"K." She ended the call.
“Here, drink water,” she accepts.
“What really happened, huh?” She is looking at me.
“N-nothing” I look away.
"Been there done that many times. Your husband's cousin will be here. So, tell us the truth.”
She attempts many times to force me to tell her the truth and I really don’t want to teel. I’m ashamed of it.
“Nothing.” I wipe my tears “We had a proposal and it makes me stressed and frustrated” white lies. “I don’t know what to do,” I am about to cry again. “I think I’m not doing my best, enough.” I made my voice strong enough for me not to cry again.
I felt my eyes were swollen. I stare outside the café and there’s a lot of people passing by.
“You won’t cry that easily,” her voice lowered and there’s a pity on her eyes “I rarely see you cry and guess I didn’t know the reason. So, in my conclusion, the reason behind of those tears is your husband” she stops “tell me, so I can help” she urges me.
She’s really been kind to me and my best friend. I sincerely look at her. Why are men hurting her? She’s so pure and nice. She’s really a good friend.
Silence eats us.
I am really ashamed about my feelings. We didn’t talk, no one’s dare to talk, until Layla came wearing sunglasses and sexy in her outfit, she’s wearing a fitter skirt, white sleeveless and nude coat. When she gets near us, she turns around like she’s in a pageant. And when she faces us, she winks on us. Yanie rolled her eyes in the air.
"What's funny?" Layla asked those customers at the other table; they’re looking at her while laughing.
Tinaasan ni Layla, ng kilay ang babae "are you insecure?” she asked.
Yanie snaps on her “hey, start a fight” Layla. Lazily rolled her eyes and sat in front of us, she took her coat off and hung in the hair. Thank God! She didn’t start a fight and listen to Yanie. Layla is a war freak.
“Wow! you look beautiful today, Vaneneng!” She praises Yanie and holds her chin.
“Stop teasing me and please stop calling me Vaneneng, that’s disgusting” she complained.
Layla’s look at me “what happened my sisterly?” she caresses my cheeks.
"My poor baby girl, why are you crying?" She may be a bitch but she's the sweetest and the best one.
“Nothing, I’m fine” I can't look at her eyes.
“Do you think I’ll let you lie to me? I’m not Layla.” She’s proud “let me call brother Kier, if you don’t want to talk. We will ask him about you” she gets her phone and dialed his number. I bit my lower lip. This is more shameful.
I grab her phone and it’s ringing. I ended it “please no” I pleaded. I don’t want him to know that I am crying. We fight again. Never ending fights.
"Then tell us now why you're crying"
“If you still want to tell us the truth, I’ll call everyone” Yanie, threaten me.
“O-okay, I’ll tell the truth” I’m about to tell them when another set of tears run from my cheeks.
“you really hurt” Layla.
“I d-don’t know” I started. I saw someone looking at me and I looked away.
“I really don’t know” Yanie, caresses my back as if she’s comforting me and telling me it’s okay to cry.
“Start it, to the way that you know” she urges me.
“I’m hurting” Layla, is silent and serious about listening to me.
“I think Kier is cheating.” I started “there’s always a woman calling him on the phone, always, early in the m-morning” . It hurts, especially since I didn’t know that woman. “Then she shouted at me when I threw his phone on him and he got mad” I cried harder.
“He’s always on phone”
“Did you tell that to brother Kier? I bet no” Layla.
"Please don't tell him about this" pakiusap ni, Shielyn. I’m really shy crying about this matter.
“Do you think he has a mistress? Err” Yanie asked Layla.
“Duh, he doesn’t have girlfriend way back them, we even tease him that he is a gay. I don’t see that he will cheat” Layla said while looking on far away, as if she’s thinking of something. “I really can’t remember that he dated someone except to- never mind. Maybe she is business partner” Layla, is about to tell something but she changes it when she realizes something..
“You do better ask him about that” Layla advises.
“Cheater won’t be honest about their cheating unless you caught him,” Yanie said while thinking deeply.
“I didn’t understand why I am having this kind of feeling, I’m not familiar with these” I started to open up. “it hurts me when I always caught him talking on the phone”
Yanie, giggles on what she said,
I never had a boyfriend. I really have any idea about romantic things.
This feeling is new to her.
“you’re jealous” Layla said lazily
“you’re in love!” Yanie, happily exclaimed.
“I’m going to tell this to my brother” Layla’s mode came back and she looks alive now. She grabs her phone on me and about to dial his number again.
“Please no” I plead again. Layla at me “O-okay” she hid her phone.
This is the reason why she doesn’t want to open up to Layla, except that she is talkative. She’s the cousin of her husband.
“don’t be jealous, you’re the legal wife” Yanie, cheer her up “and I don’t see that he will cheat”
“Yeah,” Layla agreed.
“and if ever he cheats. I’m your back up. I’ll beat him” Yanie said with determination.
“He’s not a cheater.” Layla, defend her cousin “and maybe that woman is a business partner. You know the business world, it’s complicated” but he’s always on the phone.
My mood lifts a little bit because of their thoughts and advice.
"Thank you" I said wholeheartedly.
They stayed for almost an hour catching up with Yanie, hooking up to some boys in the coffee shop.
When they got bored, they roamed.
I don’t want to go home because her eyes are still swollen and I don’t want to see Kier. It’s late when they decided to go home and I didn't have a choice but to go home. She’s tired too and wants to rest.