Lahat ng Kabanata ng ANOTHER DAY ROTTING IN VAIN: Kabanata 11 - Kabanata 20

 Van sat quietly on the wooden bench on the porch, a bottle of beer in hand, watching Demani as she played with Coreen’s children in the garden. He smiled as he watched his wife laugh and chase after little Calvin and Conrad.The truth was, his appointment in Macau was not yet over. But for several nights, guilt had eaten away at him for missing yet another Sunday gathering with the Dominico family. He always wanted to please his wife, which was why he made an effort to attend her family’s weekly get-together. At first, it was no issue for him to come along. But as time went by, he found himself looking for excuses not to go. There were too many complications within that family. Issues he wanted no part of.Work had become his go-to excuse, and to be fair, there was some truth to it. The company was going through a rough patch. But if h

 "Hey honey, I'm home."She turned at the sound of her husband’s voice echoing from the hallway as he stepped into the kitchen. She was in the middle of preparing dinner when he arrived, the warm, comforting aroma of seasoned poultry filling the air."Hey, I didn’t even notice you come in," she said, slightly startled by his presence. She quickly pushed the baking tray back into the oven after realizing the roast chicken wasn’t quite done. Then, with a small sigh, she removed the thick oven gloves from her hands, set them carefully on the island counter, and made her way over to greet him with a gentle smile.Van leaned forward and placed a soft, affectionate kiss on her lips, the kind that said he’d missed her even after just a day apart. 

“Why are you out here alone, Van?”He opened his eyes and looked up at the man who had spoken. It was Demani’s uncle, the eldest of Lola Val’s three children, Uncle Lau. He was the father of the twins, Maureen and Coreen. A bit stout and already balding, he was holding a bottle of the family’s favorite organic beer.Van was lying on a wooden bench beneath the large shade of an old acacia tree in the garden. Inside the house, the women of the family were busy preparing food in the kitchen, while the men had gathered on the porch for drinks. He had been with them earlier, but excused himself to find solitude in the garden.Uncle Larry, the other son of Lola Val, and his only son Levi had been discussing their favorite basketball teams. Meanwhile, Maureen’s husband Jimmy had been boa

A week passed by quickly, and Van remained deeply engrossed in his work. Each morning, he would leave for the office earlier than usual, and by the time he returned home at night, it would already be quite late. They still managed to have dinner together, but right after their meal, Van would head straight to his study room to continue working. Demani would always go to bed ahead of him, often with a quiet ache in her chest, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by his soft kisses, which always melted away her resentment.She continued to be understanding about the company’s situation and the time her husband could no longer give her. She remained patient, reminding herself that everything he was doing was for their shared future.And in that entire week, they had made love only once. That, in itself, was strange, considering they used to b

“I told my family about your offer to host the Sunday get-together on your yacht, and surprisingly, they all agreed to come.”Van gave a short nod and continued eating. It was dinnertime, and the maid had prepared a satisfying meal. Demani didn’t bother putting up an act and simply joined him at the table. She didn’t want to wake up the next morning again with an aching stomach just because she skipped another meal. Besides, she was about to live with him again for the next six months; she couldn’t afford to sulk every single day of those months.After their talk earlier that morning, she had taken time to think about whether or not to accept his offer of using his yacht for the family’s Sunday gathering.The truth was... she hadn’t seen most of her family for about a month.