Chapter 24 – Below freezing point.

'Good morning folks... I know we have the same question in mind as Nate Sarmiento, Olive and their cute daughter Elisha were spotted together in an adorable family moment in Bali, Indonesia... Are we hearing wedding bells soon?

This family had truly touched the lives of many. They struggled to be together but hey, in the end, evil did not prevail...'

Tumaas ang sulok ng bibig ni Hannah as she watched the news. Evil talaga?

"Hoy!" Binatukan siya ni Leah.

"Aray!" reklamo niyang binalingan ang kaibigang kakapanganak lang. "Ano bang problema mo? Bigla bigla ka na lang nananakit?!"

"Nanonood ka na naman niyan!" Inagaw nito sa kanya ang remote at pinatay ang TV.

"It's not like alam kong ibabalita 'yon. I'm watching the news. Not them," kaila niya.

"Who are you kidding? You saw it on the headlines. But instead of turning the TV off, hinintay mo talaga ang balita sa mga Sarmiento."

"Of course not. You're too assuming!" She rolled her eyes.

"Hannah, 'wag ako. Di mo ako maloloko."

She suppressed a smile. Kilalang-kilala na siya ni Leah.

Three months na. Hindi maisip ni Hannah kung paano siya nag-survive na wala sina Nate at Elisha sa buhay niya.

Hindi na sila nakapag-usap pa ni Nate noon dahil sinamantala niyang busy ito kay Elisha. Para ring sinadyang 'wag na siyang pigilan dahil napakaluwag ng bantay. So ayon nga, nakaalis siya nang walang kaabe-aberya.

Dumiretso siya sa apartment niya at nag-hibernate ng two weeks. Noong maubos na ang luha niya at mukha na siyang tuyong zombie, saka siya nagpasyang 'wag munang mamatay. She fixed herself and hoped to restart her life. One that did not include her beloved daughter nor Nate Sarmiento.

Strangely though, nawala na ang mga balita tungkol sa walang hanggang pagmamahalan nina Nate at Olive at ng babaeng kontrabida na si Hannah. It was as if nothing happened in the first place. Maybe finally, Nate already did some damage control.

Her life was surprisingly back to normal. And she did not mean the normal where she had Elisha, but the normal where she doesn't get flocked by the media whenever she's out in public.

She got her job back. But she would miss the eleven AM call from ate Yoly na magsasabi sa kanya na nasundo na nito si Elisha sa school. Namimiss niya iyong magmamadali siyang umuwi para makita na ang anak niyang napakabait. She missed everything about Elisha pero wala naman siyang magawa.

On the second month, hindi na siya nakatiis na hindi makumusta ang kalagayan ng anak niya. She knew it was cruel to just ask for Eli's condition two months after she broke her little heart.

But she didn't do it just to hurt Eli. Ginawa niya iyon para protektahan din ang sarili niya and keep her sanity intact. Baka kasi kapag nalaman niyang hindi ito okay, baka magpatiwakal na lang siya sa paninisi sa sarili niya. She would never forgive herself, that's for sure.

Sa madaling sabi, she started reconnecting with a certain person na nagpapatago sa pangalang Paul. Hannah giggled at the thought. Sabi ni Paul, matagal na nitong hinihintay na kontakin niya ito. Somehow, the bodyguard sensed na ito ang kokontakin niya kapag nag-survive siyang di nababaliw sa kabila ng mga pinagdaanan niya.

Since then, he would secretly feed her exclusive news about the happenings in Eli's life. At syempre kahit hindi niya tinatanong, pinapasimplehan siya nito ng update sa mga latest naman kay Nate.

Eli started schooling again. But instead of Olive, yaya ang kasama nito sa school. Ayaw raw ni Olive na naghihintay lang habang nasa school ang anak nito. Sinabi ni Paul na hindi naman nagalit si Eli kay Olive. They act as mother and daughter pero cold daw ang bata sa ina nito. When Hannah heard about it, gusto niyang kunin si Elisha pero again, wala siyang magawa.

At si Nate naman, several weeks ago ay nakipagkita ito kina Adam at Benjamin. Paul wasn't able to give her details dahil hindi naman ito kasali sa meeting. Besides, Nate was reserved and silent kapag pamilya na nito ang usapan. In short, walang mai-tsismis si Paul sa kanya. But Hannah felt happy about the progress.

Bago siya umalis noon, she scribbled her final words for him at iniwan iyon sa ibabaw ng kama niya. That was– "Visit Your Dad', not I love you nor goodbye.

Hindi niya alam kung nabasa nito iyon because it took him a month and two weeks after she left bago ito nakipagkita sa ama nito. So, maybe he wasn't able to read it.

Fast forward to present, ang Bali trip ng mga ito ang first time na laman ulit ng news ang tatlo. So technically, iyon ang first time na makikita niya sila ulit.

Tama si Leah, she saw it first on the headlines at hinintay niya talaga ang balita bago ito nakialam at pinatay ang TV.

"I just missed, Elisha," mahina niyang sabi. "I actually remember noong bagong panganak pa lang siya ni Olive, parang si Bethany ngayon," sinulyapan niya ang natutulog nitong baby sa tabi nito.

"Hannah," hinawakan siya nito sa braso. "I've told you many times, Go and visit Eli."

"Sa Bali?" she faked a grin.

"Ewan ko sa 'yo," irap nito.

"Leah... They're already happy. Nakita mo naman. Nasa family vacation sila. I'm not ruining that again."

"You didn't ruin anything in the first place, Hannah."

"You see, naka-move on na silang lahat. I just hope, mapatawad ako ni Eli sa tamang panahon."

"At ni Nate, for walking out of their lives just like how you did."

"Leah, Nate's out of the question. Ilang beses ko bang uulitin sa 'yo? Hindi affected si Nate ng ginawa ko. That's our agreement." Tinapos niya doon ang argumento niya. Dahil kung sasabihin pa niya ang nasa isip niya ngayon, hindi siya nito tatantanan.

Because Hannah was thinking that if she really mattered to Nate, he should've tried to contact her. But he didn't. Wala siyang reaksyon na nakuha.

So, she figured na baka galit ito or simply because she wasn't important. After all, hindi niya dinala si Elisha. Ang bata lang naman ang dahilan kung bakit siya 'andoon noon. In short, wala na siyang silbi kay Nate Sarmiento.

And no matter how deep it wounded her heart, she chose to let it go.

"Alright. Fine." Leah conceded.

Sakto naman na pumasok sa private hospital suite nito sina Caleb at Seth. Nagpaalam na siya tutal at may kasama na ito.

Besides, mula nang mawalay si Eli sa kanya, hindi na niya matagalan ang makakita ng isang buo at masayang pamilya. Because it never failed to remind her of one thing she could never have, a family with specific people she wanted to be a part of, Eli and Nate.

Nasa lobby na siya ng ospital at papalabas na sana nang matigilan siya. In front of her was the person who had been bugging her mind endlessly. Una hindi siya makapaniwala. He's in Bali, right? But she couldn't be wrong. No way! It's Nate Sarmiento in full flesh!

Bigla ang pagsalakay ng kaba sa dibdib niya causing every fiber of her being to be numb. Kung isa siyang computer, malamang nag-shut down na nang kusa ang buong sistema niya.

She wanted to run pero mas mapapansin siya nito. Her mind failed to give her options. Sa huli, natagpuan niya ang sariling nakatayo lang at 'di na makagalaw habang mistulang slow motion na papalapit ito mismo sa gawi niya.

Hannah stared almost wide eyed at the mighty Nate Sarmiento as he walked past her. She was sure, he saw her. Pero nilampasan lang siya nito kahit sa mismong tabi niya ito dumaan. Feeling ni Hannah nagmukha siyang multo o kaluluwa na invisible at kulang na lang sa katawan mismo niya ito dumaan at tumagos lang at kumpleto na ang pagiging 'Casper' niya.

'WTH?'

Like seriously? Hindi siya nakita ni Nate? But Hannah could swear, he looked at her! Only that his eyes were void of any emotion. No sense of recognition. Just the plain unconcerned look someone gives to a random stranger on the street.

Wala sila sa tuktok ng Mt. Everest but his eyes were so cold. Para siyang nakasalubong ng prinsipe ng nyebe at pinalamig ng presensya nito ang paligid. Perhaps the temperature fell way below freezing point. Hannah found herself wrapping her arms around her while tears threatened their way down her cheeks.

Three months. She spent almost every day thinking about him and Eli. Masakit lang malaman that he didn't care the same way.

"Nate," usal niya nang makabawi sa pagkatulala bago nagmamadaling nilingon ang direksyong pinuntahan nito. But to her surprise, walang bakas ni Nate Sarmiento sa paligid. She resisted the urge to look around and search for him.

For a while, Hannah doubted herself if she really saw Nate o dala lang ng kakaisip niya sa binata kaya akala niya ay nakita niya ito. Nevertheless, she decided to inquire.

Kasi kung totoong si Nate iyon, ano ang ginagawa nito sa ospital?

Napatakbo siya sa information nang maisip na baka may pasyente itong kasama sa loob. It could be Eli, for goodness sake!

"Nurse," panic mode ang peg niya. "I-is there a patient here named Elisha Rodriguez? Ah... no... I mean, Elisha Sarmiento?"

Sinabihan siya ng kausap na titingnan nito sa record ang hinahanap niya. Habang naghihintay ay nagpapalinga-linga siya sa paligid just in case na si Nate iyon, she could easily spot his bodyguards. But no, she couldn't see anyone familiar.

"Ma'am, wala po tayong pasyente na Elisha Sarmiento."

That relieved her. She murmured her thanks and left.

'Paranoid, Hannah!' Kausap niya sa sarili. 'Nate is in Bali with Olive and Eli... He couldn't be here.'

She calmed herself and walked out of the building. Hannah smiled bitterly.

Napatunayan niya sa sarili na miss na miss na niya si Nate Sarmiento. It's not normal to see someone when that same person is currently out of the country.

'Nice one, Hannah.'

She was about to call a taxi nang biglang may humila sa kanya papunta sa gilid ng ospital.

On instinct, nagpumiglas siya.

"Hannah!" Si Paul. "It's me!"

"Paul?!" Shocked na react niya.

"Yeah. Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" tumingin ito sa direksyon ng ospital. "Is it true na maraming multo sa mga ospital?" He grinned.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, then realization hit her. Kung 'ando'n si Paul, did that mean si Nate nga ang nakita niya?

"Nate's in the building," tapos tiningnan siya nito nang mataman. "You saw him?"

Mas lalong sumakit ang puso ni Hannah.

"N-no," kaila niya, convincing herself that it was easier to deny that she saw him than admit and accept na hindi siya nito pinansin like he never knew her in the first place.

"Bakit ka pala 'andito?"

"I visited Leah. She gave birth last night. Why is Nate here? I just saw him in the news at nasa Bali raw sila."

"Just to visit an important business partner who got involved in a car crash." He shrugged. "He flew back at once nang malaman ang nangyari."

"Oh…"

"Hey, Hannah. Nakita mo siya, 'di ba?"

Tiningnan muna niya ito bago siya umamin. Hindi rin naman siya nito titigilan kung patuloy siyang magsisinungaling.

"He didn't see me."

"He must be really preoccupied. Kasi ako nakita kita agad." Tumatango-tangong sabi nito.

"Paul.... Is Nate mad at me?"

"I can't answer that. Ang alam ko lang, he didn't mention you again when you left," marahan nitong sagot na tila tinitimbang pa muna ang mga sasabihin.

"He's mad..." nagpigil siya ng luha.

"Hannah, you shouldn't have left," seryosong pahayag nito.

"I- I needed to," giit niya. "Hindi nila kailangan ng panggulong katulad ko. See, kung hindi ako umalis, hindi sana sila masaya ngayon."

"What made you think they're happy now?"

"Well–" Ano nga ba?

"Hannah... Hindi ka dapat umalis noon. Dahil sa ginawa mo, you turned the people you love into cold human beings."

Napatingin siya sa seryosong kausap. Then she remembered Nate's cold eyes, was Paul right? She's the one to blame for that?

"It's time to bring back the warmth, Hannah." Hinawakan siya nito sa magkabilang balikat. "Win them back."