LOGINThree months after my husband, Josiah Erikson, disappears in a skiing accident, I spot him in a bar. He's laughing freely with an arm slung casually around his "best friend", Monica Jones' shoulders. "Good thing you came up with the idea. I'd almost forgotten what freedom feels like." One after another, his buddies clink glasses with him and ask about when he plans to reappear. He looks down and thinks about it before saying, "In a week. I'll show up once she's gone completely crazy searching for me." Standing in the shadows, I watch him savor his freedom, then call my friend who works at the state vital records office.
View More“Ohhhh… Sige pa, idiin mo pa. Ahhh!”
Halos mapaigtad ako sa sarap nang bigla niyang ipasok ang sandata niya sa bukana ko. Halos punitin ko na ang unan sa higpit ng pagkapit ko dito. Tagaktak rin ang pawis sa aking noo at tumitirik na ang mata sa sarap.
Naramdaman kong hinaIikan niya ang tuktok ng kaliwang d!bdib ko habang ang isang kamay niya ay minamasahe ang kanan. Mas lalo akong napa*ngol nang biglang bumilis ang pagkadyot niya sa ibaba.
“Turn around.”
Muntik na akong malabasan nang marinig ang boses niya. Sobrang nakakaakit at ang sarap pakinggan.
“And bend your knees.”
“Ahhh…” at talagang hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili ko. Agad kong binaon ang mukha ko sa unan nang nanginig ako dahil may sumirit na puting likido sa aking bukana.
“Naughty!”
Napasinghap ako nang bigla niyang pinalo ang pisngi ng aking pwet. Nang bumaling ako sa kaniya, hindi ko makita ng malinaw ang mukha niya.
Sino ba to?
Maya-maya pa, naaninag ko na ang mukha niya. Nanlaki ang mata ko nang makita ko si Escalante.
“Ikaw? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Agad akong napaupo at napahawak sa aking dibdib dahil sa kaba. Hindi ko aakalain na mapapanaginipan ko si Escalante, ang pinaka-iinisan kong tao sa buong mundo. Napapunas ako sa aking noo at ang laki ng butil ng pawis ko.
Mukhang isang bangungot yun sakin. Tatayo na sana ako nang mapansin ko ang kapaligiran.
“Teka. Nasaan ako?”
Iba ang dekorasyon sa loob ng kwarto. Yung interior ay kombinasyon ng gray and black na alam kong hindi ko gusto.
“Kaninong kwarto to?” naghihistirikal na rin ako sa oras na to.
Tatayo na sana ako nang saka ko lang mapansin na wala pala akong damit na suot. Tapos ang sakit pa ng nasa gitna ng hita ko. Agad namilog ang mata ko at yung panaginip ko ay bumalik sa ala-ala ko. Para akong nanlamig sa aking kinauupuan.
“No, hindi naman siguro si Escalante, di ba?”
Agad kong binalot sa katawan ko ang kumot.
Shet ka Vida. Ano bang ginawa mo?
Inalala ko lahat ng nangyari. Una, dumalo ako sa company dinner dahil sa successful fashion show na ginanap dito sa Paris. Sunod uminom ako ng alak at pagkatapos…
Napatakip ako ng bunganga ko nang maalala si Escalante na agad akong hinawakan nang pupunta na sana ako ng banyo.
Para na akong maiiyak nang mapagtanto na yung panaginip ko ay hindi pala panaginip. Totoong nangyari yun kagabi.
“Si… Si Escalante ang nakakuha ng virginity ko?”
Para akong nawalan ng dugo sa katawan. Wala akong ibang gustong gawin kun’di ang tumakas. Agad kong hinanap ang mga damit ko sa sahig pero napamura ako nang makita na punit-punit na ang damit ko.
Pinulot ko ang panty at napanganga na pati panty ay hindi nakalagpas kay Escalante. “Ano? Sinira pa niya?”
Wala tuloy akong nagawa kundi ang umalis na tanging kumot lang ang nakatabon sa katawan. Agad akong lumabas at nagmamadaling bumaba pero halos mastatwa ako sa aking kinatatayuan nang makita ko si Escalante, nasa living room, nakaupo sa sofa habang ang laptop ay nasa mga hita niya.
Dahan-dahan siyang tumingin sakin. Kita ko kung paano niya hagurin gamit ang mata niya ang katawan kong nakabalot lamang ng kumot. Biglang nagbago ang expression sa mukha niya. Kumunot ang noo at parang nairita.
“What? I’m in a video meeting.”
Agad akong napatalon sa gulat at tumalikod saka kumaripas ng takbo pabalik sa kwarto. Gusto ko siyang murahin ng harap-harapan. Anong karapatan niya para kunin ang virginity ko? Pero hindi ko magawa dahil ang Escalante na yun ay ang boss ko.
Maya-maya pa, isang maid ang biglang pumasok ng kwarto at may dala siyang breakfast. Wala siyang sinabi pero nahahalata ko sa mukha niya na parang jina-judge niya ko. Iniisip niya siguro na kaladkarin akong babae.
Umupo ako sa pinakadulong parte ng kama, ni hindi ko ginalaw ang pagkain at baka mamaya may lason yan.
Nang makaalis ang maid, si Escalante naman ang sunod na pumasok. Hindi ko talaga siya tinignan.
“Here,”
Napatingin ako sa inaabot niyang damit. Kagat-kagat ko ang labi ko at parang maiiyak na.
Pinagkunutan niya ako ng noo. “What are you waiting? Should I dress you then?” masungit na sabi niya sakin.
Hinablot ko sa kaniya ang damit, at hindi nagpasalamat. Nakita ko kung paano nalukot ang mukha niya. Akala ko ay papagalitan niya ako, pero nakakagulat na tumalikod lang siya.
Agad akong nagbihis sa likuran niya at nang matapos, tumikhim siya dahilan para mapatingin ako sa kaniya.
“Eat first at saka ko sasabihin sa assistant ko na ihatid ka pabalik ng hotel.” Pagkatapos niyang sabihin yun, umalis siya agad ng kwarto.
Isa akong fashion designer sa AE Lines, isang top fashion company na pagmamay-ari ni Aristotle Escalante. Siya ang arogante at masungit na boss na nakilala ko. Ilang ulit na niya akong pinahiya sa trabaho, kaya hindi ko aakalain na magkakaroon ako ng one night stand sa kaniya.
Ayoko sa kaniya… Galit ako sa kaniya. Kung hindi ko lang kailangan ng trabaho, baka ay matagal na akong nagresign.
Napatingin ako sa pagkain na dinala ng maid. Agad ko na yung kinain para makauwi na ako sa hotel ko.
Pagkatapos kong kumain, lumabas ako ng kwarto at nakita ko si sir Dane, ang assistant ni Escalante.
“Tapos na po akong kumain sir,” nahihiya kong sab isa kaniya.
Tumango siya. “Tayo na…”
Bumaba na kami at pagdating ng living room, nakita ko ulit ang arogante kong boss sa ibaba na nakatitig sa akin. Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin at nakita ko kung paano kumibot ang labi niya paitaas na para bang natutuwa siya sa itsura ko.
Mas tumindi ang galit ko sa kaniya. Nang makasakay kami ni sir Dane sa sasakyan, agad niya akong nginisihan.
“Gaano kainit ang pinagsaluhan niyo kagabi at ang pula ng mukha mo nang makita si sir Aris?”
Nanlaki ang mata ko nang marinig na sinabi yun ni sir Dane. He’s teasing me kaya tuloy naalala ko ulit kung gaano kainit ang gabing pinagsaluhan namin ni Escalante.
Tumikhim ako at kumunot ang noo habang ang tingin ay nasa unahan lamang. “Walang nangyari sa amin ni sir Aris kagabi, sir Dane.”
No sooner had Josiah finished speaking than Claud yanked him away with force and hauled him to the ground."Josiah, stay away from my girlfriend!"Josiah crashed to the ground, eyes bulging with fury as he watched Claud pull me protectively into his arms."What do you mean by that? Nicole is my wife, Uncle Claud! You're my uncle!"Claud coldly looked down at him and gave a short, mocking laugh. "Did you forget? You're nothing more than an adopted child who was kicked out of the Eriksons."Josiah scrambled up to his feet and swung a fist at him. I instinctively threw my arms open and stepped in front of Claud to shield him, which made him go pale with fright.Thankfully, Josiah stopped just in time. "Who told you to get in the way, Nicole? Are you out of your mind?"I met Claud's furious gaze and forced a placating look. "Scold me later. Let me deal with Josiah first."After Claud swallowed his anger, I looked toward a corner and announced, "You can come out now."Monica step
Claud's expression turned serious as he leaned in a little closer to me. "That's not an issue. Josiah was just an adopted child taken in by my brother and sister-in-law. "When he came of age, he made a serious mistake and got himself kicked out of the Eriksons. I only paid for his college out of respect for my late brother and sister-in-law."I nodded and took his hand. "Three months' probation. Whether you get promoted to a permanent role depends on your performance."Claud eagerly nodded."Since work's done for the day, shall we get some steak again?"Maybe it was because I'd gone four years without steak, but I'd become a little too obsessed with it. Every two to three days, I had to have steak. It felt off all over if I didn't.Claud had been eating steak with me for a while now, yet he showed no sign of getting tired of it. Every time, he'd find a different restaurant so we could try it out, and today was no different."I just found another great place. Let's go."But jus
"I know that I've messed up, Nicole. Nothing's going on between Monica and me. That day was just a mistake any man could have made when he's drunk!""I swear I'll stay away from her. Please just give me one more chance!"Josiah held me so tight and refused to let go, no matter how hard I struggled. That was until a strong force pulled me free and into another pair of arms. When I looked up, I found myself staring at Claud's sharp jawline.His voice came from above my head, "Josiah, I warned you that if you keep harassing Nicole, the Eriksons won't protect you anymore."Josiah's grip on my hand finally loosened, but he insisted, "This is between me and my wife, Uncle Claud.""Between the two of us?" I echoed. His words made me laugh out of pure anger. "Who gave you the idea to fake your disappearance, Josiah? Don't tell me you came up with it yourself. You don't even have the brains for that, and you're only good at being led around by Monica. "She's always the best friend you
Claud pulled the car to a stop in front of a steakhouse. I froze when I saw the sign.Standing behind me, he casually asked, "What are you spacing out for? I thought you liked steaks.""I haven't had it in four years…"Josiah had a severe allergy to red meat, so I'd never stepped foot in a steakhouse in the four years I was with him.Claud tugged lightly on the hood of my sweatshirt and chuckled. "So today, I'm treating you to the steak you've missed for so long to celebrate your divorce."I laughed too, then proceeded to order a feast without hesitation.Over dinner, we discussed the upcoming partnership. It was a genuinely pleasant conversation.By the time we finished, night had fully fallen.Claud insisted on taking me home, but as soon as we arrived at my house, I saw an unwelcome visitor waiting at the door.Josiah was crouched by the villa gates, shivering in the cold. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Nicole, you're back!"I raised a brow, baffled by whatever tricks he






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