Warning: This chapter contains violence. This may be uncomfortable for some readers so please, be advised. Prioritize one's state of mind all the time. Thank you.

THE event changed and Adamas was already beside Noa. Nasa loob siya ng kuwarto nito at hindi ito kagaya ng kuwarto na pinuntahan niya rati. Iba ang bahay na ito.

"Noa, kain na."

"Lalabas na, Ma," sagot ni Noa at dali-daling lumabas sa kuwarto.

Sumunod naman kaagad siya papuntang kusina. Naupo siya sa tabi ni Noa at pinagmasdang kumain. Maya't maya niya ring sinusulyapan ang  ina nitong halata na ang katandaan sa mukha, ngunit bakas ang masayahing aura.

"May dumaan pa lang lalaki kanina rito, nak. Hinahanap ka."

"Sino raw po?"

"Adamas daw." Humigop muna ng sabaw ang ina bago nagpatuloy. "Boyfriend mo ba 'yon, nak? First time lang 'to nangyari na may naghanap sa 'yo na lalaki."

Namula naman ang mukha ni Noa at napatikhim. "B-bakit daw, Ma? Saka ba't 'di niyo 'ko ginising?"

"Siya nagsabi huwag daw kitang gisingin, e." Ngumiti ang kaniyang ina. "Infairness nak, ha. Gusto mo pala ang mga bad boy ang dating. Nako! Mana ka talaga sa akin, kasi 'yong papa mo, ganoon din, e."

Kumunot naman ang Noa ni noo. He, too, frowned. Bad boy? Kailan pa nagmukhang bad boy ang iyakin na si Adamas? How could that soft and weak face be a bad boy when he even moved so timid?

"Sure ka, Ma? His name was Adamas?"

Tumango ang kaniyang ina. "May iniwan din siyang bulaklak para sa 'yo. Nandoon sa salas nilagay ko."

Pagkatapos kumain ni Noa, kaagad itong nagtungo sa salas at tinignan ang sinasabing bulaklak ng kaniyang ina. It was a bouquet of red roses.

But Noa didn't like that flower.

May sulat pang nakalagay.

'See me at lunch in the lake.'

"Who came in here?" Napahigpit ang hawak nito sa bulaklak.

He crossed his arms and thought as well. Something's up. At hindi maganda ang kutob niya. Adamas couldn't help but think that this was one of his families' doing. Based on the events he saw, Noa was not in good side of the Laurien.

"Ma, alis na ako," nagpaalam na si Noa at dali-daling lumabas ng bahay.

He followed her until she reached the school ground. Naglalakad sila sa loob ng hallway nang may babaeng biglang humarang. Nagtangis ang ngipin ni Adamas dahil sa kulay ng emosyong bumabalot dito. May masama itong binabalak.

"My Noa, you should stay away." He glanced at her with a worried face. The frustration he felt came back because he wouldn't be able to do anything again, just like how he just watched Adamas Laurien being looked down by his mother.

"Are you Lilianoa?" The woman looked at her from head to toe while pursing her red lips. "My little brother's taste is really awful. You look so basic."

"What the hell? How dare you call my Noa like that?!" Adamas didn't hesitate to run toward her and landed a blow on her face. But like what happened, it just passed through and that made him groan in anger. "Damn fucking annoying!"

"Who are you?" sagot ni Noa.

"I am Adamas' sister, Azaliah." Naglakad ito papalapit kay Noa. Pinaglaruan nito sa mga daliri ang dulo ng buhok ni Noa. "I'm curious. Why did you like my brother? Is it because of money? Sa pagkakaalam ko, your family is not really wealthy. Your father went abroad last year para buhayin kayo but unfortunately, he didn't bother to contact you nor come back. And now you're left with your sick mother who is barely holding on with her daily medications."

Kaagad na winaksi ni Noa ang kamay nito. "Get my family out of your mouth. It's disgusting to hear it from you. And to relieve your thoughts, I'm not using your brother for money."

"Is that so?" She laughed. Sarcastically. "Well, that doesn't really matter. Even if you love him, you will never be enough as his partner. You don't fit in our standards."

Dinutdot nito ang noo ni Noa dahilan para umusbong ang galit niya.

This damn human!

"Tandaan mo, Lilianoa. A cheap woman like you who wants nothing but to write will never be a good pair for a Laurien. If you want to be deserving, leave that fake dream and try to leave up to our expectations."

Nanatiling tahimik si Noa subalit nanginginig na ang mga kamao nito sa galit.

"Gets mo ba?" maarte nitong sabi at pumamaywang. "Or puwede rin namang lubayan mo na lang si Adamas. That will make it easier for the both of us."

Naglakad na ito paalis. Naiwan si Noa na nakatunganga.

"My Noa, don't listen to her. She's a dumb woman." He paced towards her. But as he took another step, the place suddenly turned dark.

The event changed again. When he blink, he was already beside a playground. Madilim na ang paligid at wala nang ibang tao pang makikita bukod sa dalawang nakaupo sa bench.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Napunta ang tingin niya kay Adamas Laurien na panay ang iyak. Nililinis nito ang sugatang mukha ni Noa. Kaagad siyang tumakbo at tiningnan ang kalagayan nito. Pumutok ang labi nito at nagkabukol ang noo.

Napakuyom ang kaniyang kamao. Hindi lang dahil sa nangyari sa mukha ng kaniyang manunulat kundi pati na rin kay Adamas Laurien. Nandoon pa rin ang pasa nito matapos itong sampalin ng ina. Ibig sabihin, hindi nalalayo ang araw na ito sa mga naunang nangyari.

"I'm fine. You should treat yourself first." Inagaw ni Noa ang alcohol nito sa kamay. "And stop crying."

Pero mas lalo lang itong naiyak. "I'm really sorry. Hindi ko pa malalaman na sinugod ka pala ni Mom kung hindi sinabi sa akin ni Ate Anais."

"Kasalanan ko rin naman. I already knew na hindi ikaw ang nagpadala sa akin ng bulaklak pero pumunta ako."

"Bulaklak?" takang tanong ni Adamas.

Noa nodded. "Someone went in the house and used your name. Tapos may iniwan siyang bouquet of roses and a letter. Nagpunta ako sa location na sinabi and then I saw your mom. And I think the other one was your brother."

"His name?"

"Your mom called him Azure."

Nagitla si Adamas. "It's m-my elder brother. Did he do something to you?"

"No. It was only your mom who lashed out on me."

Adamas pulled Noa into a hug. Siniksik nito ang mukha sa leeg habang patuloy pa rin sa pag-iyak.

Noa sighed and hugged him back. "I told you to stop crying. Hindi mo pa sinasabi sa akin kung anong nangyari d'yan sa mukha mo."

"I'm sorry, Noa. Mom found out about our relationship way before I was supposed to tell them."

"I know. Judging from your mom's anger earlier, she don't want me for you. She even threatened me and told me that I should break up with you."

Napahikbi si Adamas. He let go of the hug and stared at her with his tear-stained face. "Are you going to break up with me now?"

"Do you want me to?"

Kaagad itong umiling.

"Then I won't." Ngumiti si Noa at pinahid ang mga luha ng lalaki.

"Pero si Mom. For sure she won't be happy about it. And she might do this again to you." He carressed her cheek.

"You two could just act like you broke up. That's easy," suhestiyon niya sa dalawa kahit hindi naman siya naririnig ng mga ito.

"We could act like we broke up."

Kaagad na tumakas ang ngiti sa kaniyang labi nang sabihin iyon ni Noa. He put his thumb up. "We really think the same, my love."

Adamas Laurien smiled as well. He wiped his own tears and immediately nodded. "We could do that."

"That also means we will barely going to meet."

Napasimangot naman ito. "How seldom?"

"Once a month."

"Once a month?! That's too seldom!"

"If you don't want us to get caught, we don't have a choice but to do that."

He pouted. "Fine."

Mahina namang natawa si Noa at pinisil ang pisngi nito. "Don't sulk."

Hindi sumagot si Adamas at sumandal sa bench. Nagtaka siya dahil bigla itong pumikit nang mariin na parang may iniindang sakit. Hinawakan nito ang sariling dibdib at ilang saglit pa, nagsimulang mamuo ang pawis nito sa noo.

"Adamas?" Nagsimula na ring mag-aalala si Noa. Hinawakan nito ang braso ng lalaki. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Hindi ito nakasagot. Mabigat ang bawat paghingang binibitiwan nito.

"Hey! Adamas!"

"I . . . I c-can't . . ." Nagtaas-baba ang dibdib nito, hinahabol ang paghinga. Ang kulay ng balat nito ay tuluyang namutla. Nilingon nito si Noa. Pero bago pa man nito maabot ang mukha ng babae, tuluyan na itong nawalan ng malay.

Huli niyang narinig ang sigaw ng kaniyang manunulat bago tuluyang dumilim ang paligid. Pagkurap niya, nasa loob na siya ng ospital. Nasa likuran siya ni Noa. Kaharap nila ang pamilyang Laurien na masama ang tingin sa kanila.

"Ikaw na babae ka!" Sumugod ang ina ni Adamas at malakas na sinampal si Noa. Tumilapon ang babae dahil sa lakas. "This is all your fault!"

Natulala si Noa at hindi nakasagot. Before she could even recover, the woman walked toward her and with her heels, she kicked Noa's face.

"I told you to stay away from my child! Now he's suffering because of you! We got lucky because he was rushed immediately pero kung hindi . . ." Hinila nito ang buhok dahilan para impit na mapasigaw ang kaniyang manunulat. "Posible siyang mamatay!"

"Noa!" Kahit alam niyang wala siyang magagawa, sinubukan niya pa ring lumapit pero napatigil siya nang may mapansing kakaiba.

Napunta ang tingin niya sa lalaking nakasandal sa pinto ng isang kuwarto at nakatingin kay Noa. Adamas knew who were inside the room: Aivan, Asnael, Adamas' mother and sister. But the man wasn't familiar to him. Ito ang unang pagkakataon na nakita niya ito.

At hindi niya gusto ang mga malalagkit nitong titig kay Noa lalo na ang emosyong nakikita niya sa lalaki.

"Adamas can't bear any stress and you are the caused of it!" Dinuro si Noa ng ina nito. Habang ang mga kasama ay nakatitig lang sa pinaggagagawa ng ina. Wala sa kanila ang balak na tulungan si Noa.

"I'll give you one last warning, woman. Leave my child alone!" nangangalaiting sigaw ng ina. "If I ever saw you clinging on him again, I will not hesitate to ruin your life. Mark my words."

Tinulak nito ang kaniyang manunulat bago naglakad papasok sa kuwarto kung saan naroroon ang lalaking nakasandal. Sumunod din ang mga anak nito. Pero bago sila pumasok, sinadya nilang daanan si Noa.

Napasinghap si Noa nang biglang tinapon ni Asnael ang dala-dala nitong Iced Coffee. "Oh, sorry. Akala ko basura. My bad."

"Bro, that's too mean," saad ni Azaliah at lumapit din sa babae. Binuksan nito ang cup ng hot Capuccino at pinaliguan din si Noa. "Ayan, para balance."

At sabay na nagtawanan ang dalawa. Naiwan si Noa na mag-isa at nakasalampak sa sahig.

"Noa . . ." Adamas pursed his lips and hugged her. Kahit hindi man niya ito mahawakan, nagbabakasali pa rin siyang maramdaman lang nito na kahit papaano ay hindi ito nag-iisa. Na nandito siya handa siyang damayan.

"Lilianoa?"

Isang boses ng babae ang umalingangaw sa paligid kaya sabay silang napalingon. He froze when he saw who it was.

It was the woman he met in Noa's house.

Kaagad itong lumapit kay Noa at lumuhod. Hinawakan nito ang magkabilang pisngi ng babae. "Oh my goodness . . . what did they do to you?"

Kumuha ito ng panyo at pinahid ito sa mukha ni Noa. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry they did this."

"Who are you?" mahinang tanong ni Noa.

"I'm Anais. I'm Adamas' sister."

"Anais . . ." Hinawakan ni Noa ang magkabila nitong braso. "Please, tell me what happened to Adamas. The doctor refused to tell me about his condition. What happened? Is he doing okay now?"

"Calm down. He's fine now." She let out a reassuring smile. "The doctor said he had an episode of Takotsubo."

"W-what's that?"

"It's similar to a heart attack. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is triggered by stress and strong emotions," paliwanag ni Anais. Patuloy pa rin nitong pinapahid ang panyo upang linisin ang mukha ni Noa na punong-puno ng mga sinaboy ng dalawa nitong kapatid. "Adamas is our youngest. And siya lang sa pamilya namin ang lumaking mahina. Dahil na rin siguro sa asthma niya kaya ganiyan siya. The doctor said that he has been accumulating stress lately and that triggered him. Ito ang pangalawang beses na inatake siya. But don't worry, it is reversible, so he will recover soon."

Tumango lang si Noa bilang sagot ngunit pansin niya ang pagkuyom sa mga kamao nito.

"Noa . . ." Adamas could see the frustration building up in Noa's emotion. He was taken aback when a new emotion sufficed.

It was subtle but still noticeable.

And he already saw this.

It was the dark, heavy clouded emotion he saw in Noa's house.