#DS7Unbalanced #InoCent #SMCouple #DaggerSeries

CHAPTER TWENTY: WISH

DOMINO'S POV

"Mag-iingat ka ha? Tumawag ka lang kapag may kailangan ka."

Pinagmasdan ko ang dalawang babae na parang parehas pa na maiiyak. They're acting as if they wouldn't see each other again for a long time. Aakalain mo na ang tagal nang magkakilala ni Lucienne at ni Tiara sa paraan nang pagkakayakap nila sa isa't isa.

Tiara said something in her mother tongue that I doubt anyone of us could understand. Pero kahit siguro Tagalog ang sabihin niya ay hindi na rin masyadong maiintindihan ni Lucienne. She's as drunk as the other women that are now crowding the open window of the van, even though she really didn't drink that much. Hindi pa nga ata niya nauubos ang panghuling baso niya. Hindi nakakapagtaka iyon dahil parang hindi naman ata siya madalas nabibigyan ng pagkakataon na uminom. Baka hingi pa nga.

Lucienne was a lightweight as well. Kung tama ako ng pagkakatanda ay sa tagal ko siyang nakilala ay ngayon lang siya umabot sa pang-apat na baso ng alak.

Inipit ni Lucienne ang mukha ni Tiara sa mga kamay niya. I couldn't help but grin at how cute Tiara looked with her cheeks mush together. "Bakit nabago ang audio? At bakit walang subtitle?"

I heard a few deep chuckles inside the van. Napagpasiyahan ng mga kapatid ko na hindi uminom nang magkaayayaan ang mga babae. Surprisingly, Luna, who arrived late but would have normally joined in didn't. Something that is making not just me but also our other brothers suspicious.

Nilingon ako ni Lucienne. "Anong nangyayari?"

"Hindi pa uploaded ang subtitle," pagsakay ko.

She "ahhed" before turning her attention back to Tiara. "Don't worry. I know you can feel my intention. Language barrier lang 'to. Even the sea can't stop us from being friends."

"See the line where the sky meets the sea?" pakantang tanong ni Tiara.

"IT CALLS ME!"

Ipinagpapasalamat ko na lang talaga na wala akong kapitbahay dahil kung hindi ay baka nabulabog na ang mga iyon hindi lang sa lakas ng boses ni Lucienne kundi pati na sa pasigaw na pagkanta mula sa mga babaeng lungayngay ang mga ulo sa bukas na bintana ng van.

They've been singing Disney songs since their spirits started to leave their body with how many alcohol they consumed. Especially songs from Moana which happened to be Tiara's favorite. Nanood pa nga sila ng movie habang nag-iinuman.

It turns out that my Millie Mouse loves Disney movies. I caught her a couple of times watching something on her phone, but I never got the chance to see what it was.

Napapabuntong-hininga na nilapitan na ni Kuya Thorn ang asawa niya para mailayo niya na ang babae kay Tiara. Hinapit ko si Tiara palapit sa akin nang makita ko na bahagyang bumuway ang tayo niya.

I watched as my brother patted Tiara's head when she waved at him while still singing before he turned to me. "Her manager notified us about a new event to which Tiara was invited too. She might receive a call tomorrow."

I sighed. It's either her mother or her manager. I can't keep her away from them, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to. The rare times they called, Tiara's mood would often shift, and she'd become quiet.

"Can you tell her to call after lunch?" Tiara's going to be hungover tomorrow, and it will already be hard for her to put food in her system. Mabuti ng hindi siya lalong mawalan ng gana.

"I'll see what I can do."

That means yes in my brother's vocabulary. I threw him a smile that he just answered with a chin lift.

Inangkala niya ang braso niya sa beywang ng asawa niya at inilalayan iyon papunta sa nag-aantay na sasakyan. Pero bago pa man makapasok sa van ay lumingon ulit sa direksyon namin si Lucienne. My sister-in-law skewered me with a sharp look.

"Anong plate number mo, Kuya?" Nagtataka man sa tawag niya sa akin at sa tanong niya ay sinagot ko pa rin siya. "I have your plate number now. May memory ako. Memory photo. Photo... ay wala palang photo. Ah basta! Iuwi mo 'yan sa bahay nila ha? Kilala ko ang anak ng presidente kaya 'wag kang mag-iisip ng kalokohan."

"Ginawa mo pang Grab driver si Kuya Domino," natatawang sabi ni Luna na sumilip sa bintana. "Bye, Kuya! Ang ganda ng bahay mo. Baka pwedeng i-feature someday kapag pumayag si Tiara na ma-interview. Well, unless bastedin ka niya."

I blinked at her. "Hindi kita kilala."

Tumawa lang siya at nag-peace sign. After awhile, the van stirred to life, and it wasn't long before they were driving off. When I saw the automatic gate open for them and close again, I turned to Tiara, who's waving in the direction that the others took.

Nag-angat ako ng tingin sa madalim na langit. I could hear the distant rumble of thunder. Buong maghapon din na makulimlim ang kalangitan kaya hindi na ako magtataka kung uulan ngayong gabi.

Hinapit ko si Tiara palapit sa akin at iginaya ko na siya papasok ng bahay. She leaned into me, and I know it's not just because she wanted me close, but because she literally can't walk by herself.

I wanted to stop her from drinking too much. I doubt she's used to drinking alcohol. But she was enjoying herself, smiling more than I have ever seen her do since I met her. I decided to just let her. I don't want to ruin her fun. Isa pa ay nandito lang naman kami sa bahay. And she has me to take care of her.

Tiara let out a scream when a deafening sound of thunder blasted outside. From the open windows, we could see how the lightning struck, creating a magnificent display of electric fury in the dark sky.

Too close. I hope it doesn't hit any power lines— "Damn it."

I let out a sigh when the house was plunged into darkness. The only consolation is that there are still small lights coming from different parts of the house, which tells me that the security system of the whole place didn't fail me. Not that I thought it would.

One of the things Dagger made sure of before letting Tiara stay with me was that the system has an uninterruptible power supply. There's also a backup generator installed, which I'm sure is currently providing power to the extensive surroundings of the property.

Iyon nga lang ay ang pokus no'n ay ang security system. Masyadong malaki ang lugar kaya halos lahat ay doon mapupunta. It will power the fridge and some of the lights, but it won't be able to handle the whole vicinity of the main house.

I was planning to put up solar panels and solar generators, but Link, a Spine Point that we like to call our tech guy, is currently busy updating the available units we have at Dagger. He promised me that he'd come by this week, though.

"I'm blind." Napatingin ako kay Tiara nang marinig ko ang paghikbi niya. "Alcohol is bad. I've been bad. Now I'm blind."

I swallowed my laughter, and I pulled her closer. "You're not blind, doll."

"I can't see."

"It's just dark."

"Oh."

I can hear confusion in the tone of her voice. Naiiling na dinala ko siya sa sala at pagkatapos ay pinaupo ko siya sa sofa. "Can you do something for me?"

"Okay."

I chuckled at the way she readily agreed. "Can you stay here for awhile? Don't move and wait for me."

"It's dark."

"Yes. That's why I don't want you to go anywhere. You might get hurt."

She didn't say anything for a moment, as if she were thinking hard about it. "How long? A minute?"

I'm not sure where I put the candles, so it might take more than a minute. Or I can look for the emergency light. "How about you sing that Moana song for me? I'll be back before you're done."

"Okay!"

Iniwan ko na siya at naglakad ako papunta sa kusina. Mas malapit iyon kesa sa opisina ko kung saan sa tingin ko naroon ang emergency light. But it's also possible that it's in the basement.

"I've been staring at the edge of the water. Long as I can remember, never really knowing why. I wish I could be the perfect daughter. But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try."

Hindi ko mapigilan na hindi mapangiti habang pinapakinggan si Tiara. She knows all the songs in the movie, which makes me think that she hadn't just watched it once. She was even singing other songs from different films with Lucienne, which I'm pretty sure came from Disney too, because I think I've heard some of those from my nieces' favorite movies.

I opened every cupboard in the kitchen, but I couldn't find the candle sticks. Akmang tatayo na sana ako para hanapin na lang ang emergency light nang may madaanan ang kamay ko. I pulled it out, and I saw that it was a pack of tea candles.

"Pwede na 'to."

Nakapa ko ang tray na pinaglagyan nila Mireia kanina nang cupcakes na dala niya mula sa TDN at hindi na ako nag-abalang alisin pa iyon at binitbit ko na lang iyong lahat. I can still hear Tiara singing, but she sounds more like she's rapping than singing. She must really hate being alone in all this darkness that much.

"You're back!" she cried happily.

"Of course. I wouldn't leave my Millie Mouse for a long time."

"Leave..."

I didn't hear her clearly, and I waited for her to repeat it, but she didn't say anything more. Binuksan ko na lang ang pack na hawak ko at kumuha ako roon ng ilang kandila. I pushed the cupcakes to the edge of the tray, and I lined up the candles at the front. Kinapa ko ang zippo lighter ko at sinindihan ko ang mga kandila.

The flickering glow of the candles illuminates Tiara's face, casting her a soft, delicate glow. Flame reflected amber hues in her eyes as she stared at them as if she's in a trance.

"Is it my birthday?" she whispered.

She's just too precious. She's often stiff, as if she's afraid to make a mistake. But sometimes I could see this childlike wonder in her. When I do, it breaks my heart. Dahil alam ko na kaya siya ganoon ay dahil marami siyang mga bagay na hindi pa nararanasan.

She's deprived of a lot of things, not just because she was told that she shouldn't want those things, but because she's also stopping herself from wanting anything.

"It could be," I told her. "What's your wish?"

The small smile on her lips melted, and her eyes dimmed. "Nothing. I stopped wishing for anything a long time ago."

"Why? You don't want anything anymore?""

"No. It's because when I started wanting things and wishing for them, they would soon be taken away from me."

TIARA'S POV

Pabagsak na humiga ako sa kama. When I saw that Naomi was calling me, I decided to take the call in my room. Ayoko na kasing pag-alalahanin si Domino. Kahit kasi ilang beses kong sabihin sa kaniya na sanay na ako sa manager at nanay ko ay para bang ginawa niya ng parte ng trabaho niya ang masiguro na walang makakagambala sa akin. May it be from the danger that is trying to get to me or the stress I always seem to feel whenever my phone rings.

"Everything okay?"

Pinikit ko sandali ang mga mata ko. I forgot to locked the door. When I opened my eyes again, I looked at Domino, who was standing at the door. "I'm fine."

"Your manager called?"

Nagsalubong ang mga kilay ko. "How did you know?"

"We told her to call Dagger first if it's about your commitments. Kuya Thorn told me last night that she might reach out to you today."

It's a good thing I feel better now than when I woke up in the morning, when I felt like I wanted to bang my head against the nearest wall. Domino took care of me all day. He was also the reason why I don't feel the hangover now that hit me earlier today.

Napapabuntong-hininga na pinako ko ang atensyon ko sa kisame. "They want me to attend the party of a senator."

"The senator's son's party."

Nagkibit-balikat ako. I don't know any of them. They probably just invited me because of the recent issues, starting with what happened in Moscow. They also gave me bodyguards that couldn't protect themselves, much more me.

"Naomi told me that my mother said that I shouldn't bring a lot of bodyguards with me. Baka raw talunin ko pa ang anak ng presidente na pupunta rin sa event."

"We can't do that. There would be a lot of people at the party. Hindi pwedeng ako lang ang kasama mo."

"But the invitation said I could only bring a plus one."

Umangat ang sulok ng mga labi niya. "Don't worry, doll. We have our own invitation." Naguguluhang nakatingin lang ako sa kanila dahilan para lumawak ang ngiti niya. "We're friends with Damian Salazar, the son of the president. Best friend niya ang may birthday. I have also met Emeric a couple of times through Damian, and Dagger also provided security for him before, so my siblings and I were already invited before your manager called."

I blinked at him. That was actually genius. They could go to the party as guests while still working, and my mother couldn't turn up her nose about it because they were all invited.

"You're friends with the president's son?"

He grinned. "He was trying to date Lia before."

Namilog ang mga mata ko. How could I forget? The son of the president has been mentioned in Lia's story.

"Lucienne really didn't alter anything in her books?" I believed her when she told me that the books were about them, but I didn't really expect that every bit of the book was true. I may not know a lot about writing books, but I do know that even in films that are about true events change some things in the stories.

"Wala siyang binago pero may mga tinanggal siya. She also didn't put much detail in the way we operate in Dagger since those things shouldn't be disclosed to the public easily."

"Wow," I murmured.

Humakbang siya palapit sa kinaroroonan ko at inilahad niya sa akin ang kamay niya. Nagtataka man ay inabot ko iyon. He helped me up on my feet.

Bago ko pa maibukas ang mga labi ko para magsalita ay hinila niya ako palapit sa malaking walk-in closet. Binitawan niya ako nang makapasok kami sa loob at nilapitan niya ang mga naka-hanger ko na mga damit

He skipped the clothes that I own, and he went straight to the ones that his sisters-in-law bought for me. He pulled out a dusty coral-colored pants, a soft-looking light orange knitted cardigan, and then he took a white crop top from one of the drawers.

"Huh," I blurted out as I looked at the outfit he put together. "I didn't know you're into fashion."

"I'm not." Kinindatan niya ako. "Picking clothes for you is easy because you'll look good in anything."

Napailing na lang ako. "You're biased. Even if I'm just wearing a sheet of paper, you'll still say that I look good."

Kumislap ang mga mata niya. "Especially when the wind blows off the sheet of paper."

I could feel my cheeks burning, but I ignored them by narrowing my eyes at him. Pinagkrus ko ang mga braso ko. "It will be nighttime soon. Wouldn't it be a hassle for Dagger to look for people to send to us at this late notice?"

Domino wanted to have backup whenever we were going out. Which is not a lot, but still, whenever we do, at least two Dagger Blade Points will be following us.

"Kaninang umaga ko pa sila nasabihan."

"Saan ba tayo pupunta?" nagtatakang tanong ko.

"Last night, you told me one of your favorite wishes that came true when you were young. You said that you wanted to experience it longer, but you didn't have the chance to."

I tried to rack my brain for what he's telling me, but my memories are hazy. Especially those that happen when I'm in a state of not just being drunk but also sleepy.

"I don't... I don't remember."

He didn't look disappointed that I couldn't remember what he was talking about. "Go change your clothes, and I'll help you remember."

Nang hindi pa rin ako kumilos ay humakbang siya palapit sa akin. He patted my head gently, and I found myself leaning into his touch. The familiar glint in his eyes flashed, and I watched as he swallowed hard.

"Come to my room when you're done. I have something for you there," he murmured, his voice coming out hoarse. "I'll take a shower first."

Sinundan ko na lang siya ng tingin nang maglakad na siya palabas ng kuwarto. Domino's been working on one of the rooms while I read where he could see me. He didn't let me help since he wanted me to rest.

I looked down at the clothes he had placed on the ottoman. With a sigh, I changed into them. I grabbed a white sandal before I went to do as Domino instructed.

Pumunta ako sa kuwarto niya at kumatok ako doon. Nang walang sumagot ay bahagya kong binuksan ang pintuan at sumilip ako. I opened the door wider when I saw a small box on top of the bed. I approached the box, and I didn't delay in opening it. I knew that it was for me even without asking him.

Laughter bubbled out of me when I saw the necklace inside. I pulled out the chain, and I clasped the chain around my neck. I touched its pendant. A slice of pizza. A reminder of the man who relates more to a pizza brand than the game dominoes.

"You like it?"

I looked up, and I saw Domino standing at the ajar door of the bathroom, clad in just a towel draped around his hips. What a great view.

Domino raised an eyebrow at me, and I saw the challenge in his eyes. I squared my shoulder, and I pushed myself to hold his challenging stare. "I love it."

"Good—"

"And I don't just mean the pizza." I pointedly looked down before meeting his gaze again, and I used the same words he did earlier. "I love it. Especially if that piece of fabric will get blown off by the wind."

I gave myself an imaginary tap on the back when I saw Domino's jaw drop to the floor.

Good one, Tiara.