Chapter VI

Prisoner

Millie and I went to the mall and she helped me shop for my new things...

At nagpagupit na rin ako ng buhok ko. And she just waited patiently for me to finish.

"Should we eat now? I think we should have lunch." I said after my haircut was done.

Nang bumaling naman ako kay Millie ay nakita ko na nakatingin pa siya sa mukha ko. Naninibago siguro siya kasi maiksi na ang buhok ko ngayon. I just smiled at her. While she cleared her throat a little and looked away a bit.

"Yeah, it's time to eat, too..." aniya.

Tumango naman ako. At pagkatapos ay naghanap na kami ng makakainan na restaurant. And we ended up eating at a Japanese restaurant.

"Do you like Japanese food?" I asked Millie.

Bahagya naman siyang tumango sa akin, habang nakaupo na kami roon at naghihintay na ma serve ang pagkain namin. "Yes, you can say that... Uh, at first I was only curious because I watched anime..." She said.

"Anime? The cartoons?" I asked her because I wasn't really sure. Pero natahimik din ako kasi may naalala ako...

"No. It's anime... Not like the Spongebob or the likes..." She tried to explain it to me.

Pero nag-angat na ako ng tingin sa kaniya at tumango ako. I know now...

I just remembered that Trina also used to love watching such shows...

Millie smiled. "Adults can watch anime," she said.

Tumango naman muli ako sa kaniya at ngumiti lang.

Until our food was served.

"Don't you want to go to Japan and eat their authentic food there?" I smiled at Millie.

And her eyes widened a fraction, she beamed. "I've always wanted to go to Japan... But, uh, I couldn't leave Don Antonio's side. He's relying on me..." she said.

Bahagya naman kumunot ang noo ko. "Why not? Does lolo not allow you to have vacations? You deserve it for working hard for him and the company," I said.

Ngumiti lang naman si Millie at bahagya siyang umiling.

Trina also wanted to go to that country...

MILLIE

Sometimes I would steal some glances at Anthony's face...

He just looked... Parang umaliwalas lang kasi ang mukha niya ngayon matapos niyang mag-shave ng facial hair niya at magpa-haircut din...

Sinamahan ko lang siya na mag-shopping at magpagupit, and I did not expect that I would enjoy myself, too...

"Thank you for coming with me today, Millie." Anthony said.

Bumaling naman ako sa kaniya at umiling ako. "It's all right. It's my job..." nasabi ko.

"Your job?"

Umiling akong muli. "I mean, it's fine..." I sighed a bit.

And Anthony shook his head. "Please don't consider this as just one of your job... Let's just say na sinamahan mo ang kaibigan mo ngayon na mag-shopping?" He said and then he smiled at me.

Napangiti na rin ako. It's usually the girls who goes shopping together. But it's all right to shop with Anthony, too, I guess.

"Thank you for today." He thanked me again.

At tumango na rin ako sa kaniya. "You're welcome," I just said.

Pagkatapos ay umuwi na rin kami sa bahay. At halos ginabi na nga rin kami ng uwi.

At naabutan namin si Damian sa bahay...

Pero bago namin siya nakita na nakasunod sa isang babae na halos wala sa ayos ang hitsura at medyo magulo rin ang buhok niya na mukhang nanggaling sa kwarto ni Damian...

Iyon ang naabutan namin ni Anthony. "What's going on?" He asked Damian and stopping him from following the girl...

Bumaling naman sa kaniya si Damian sandali pero sinundan pa rin iyong babae na yumuko nang makita kami ni Anthony at nagmamadali nang umalis...

"Kali, wait—"

Hinawakan naman siya ni Anthony sa braso niya at pinigilan siya sa pagsunod.

Bumaling din sa kaniya si Damian na kumunot ang noo. "What are you doing?"

"You. What are you doing? What did you do to her?"

"What?" Kumunot pa lalo ang noo ni Damian kay Anthony.

"So the rumors about you must be true," Anthony said.

"What are you talking about? What rumors? Let me go now." Damian's eyes sharpened a bit when he looked at his cousin.

At doon ay pumagitna na agad ako sa kanilang dalawa. "Ant, please stop," pakiusap ko sa kaniya.

"You're really violent, are you? You're hurting me..." Damian said. "What do I expect, you came from the prison. You were a prisoner..." He said to Anthony.

"Damian," pinigilan ko na rin si Damian.

"And you're a criminal who just got away from his crimes because of his rich grandpa... And you prey on women..." sabi naman ni Anthony kay Damian.

"Ant, please, I said stop it."

And when I turned back to Damian his lips was already parted as he looked at Anthony...

"Ant, enough." Binalingan ko muli si Anthony at hinila ko na siya palayo sa nakababata niyang pinsan...

"This is a misunderstanding." I told him when we're alone.

"What?"

Umiling ako sa kaniya. "Don't say things like that to Damian..."

He looked at me na parang hindi siya makapaniwala. "Don't tell me, pati ba naman ikaw ay pinagtatakpan din siya?"

Umiling ako. "It's not what you think, Ant. Hindi ganoon..."

"But there were evidence,"

"But it wasn't enough. Hindi ginawa ni Damian ang mga bagay na binibintang lang sa kaniya..."

"And how sure can you be?" He asked me.

At hindi agad ako nakasagot sa kaniya. Nagkatinginan lang kaming dalawa pagkatapos...

"I can't tolerate men who hurts women..." He gritted his teeth.

Nagbaba naman ako ng tingin pagkatapos ng sinabi niya. I remember what happened to him and his past...

Yes, he was a prisoner before... And he only got himself into prison because of a woman... that he just avenged...

And it was his girlfriend... Then I learned that her name was Trina...

Hindi ko nga agad maiaalis kay Anthony na kalimutan na lang basta ang nakaraan niya. And it was a big part din ng pagkatao niya...

Dumating na rin si Don Antonio pagkatapos. At agad niyang pinatawag si Anthony nang madatnan si Damian na nagsabi rin sa kaniyang lolo ng tungkol sa nangyari kanina sa kanila ni Anthony nang wala pa rito sa mansyon si Don Antonio...

"Where's Anthony," Don Antonio was kind of angry, because it was Damian we're talking about. Ang unang apo na nakita niya at noong bata pa lang ito...

And he's always been this protective to Damian...

"I'm here," Nagpakita rin naman agad si Anthony.

Damian hid a little behind their grandfather's back.

"What happened?" Don Antonio seriously asked, looking at Anthony.

"Don Antonio—" I tried to explain, but Damian cut me off.

"Millie was here, lolo. She witnessed what exactly Ant told me..." parang bata na nagsumbong si Damian.

I just ended up sighing a bit. "It was a misunderstanding, Don Antonio..." I said.

Kumunot ang noo ni Damian nang bumaling siya sa akin. "How could you, Millie?"

Tinaas ni Don Antonio ang isang kamay niya. Pagkatapos ay mahinahon niyang binalingan si Damian. He gently tapped his shoulder. "It's all right, son. You go to your room first now. I will go to you later, okay?" kausap niya kay Damian.

Unti-unti namang tumango si Damian. "All right..." Pagkatapos ay huling beses niya kaming tiningnan ni Anthony bago siya tumalikod na at umalis na rin.

Kami naman ngayon ang binalingan ni Don Antonio. And I was ready to explain for Anthony.

[Author's Note: Hello, readers! You can now read till Chapter 17 of this story it's available exclusively in Patreon or my Facebook VIP group! To join VIP, kindly message me directly on my Facebook account Rej Martinez and my Facebook page is temporarily unavailable. Membership fee is 150 pesos for 1 month of membership in the private group for my VIP readers. And you can pay the membership fee with GCash. And read all my other exclusive stories, too! Thank you so much for your support!]